Our Alumni feature this week highlights 2020 graduate, Zain Jaliawala. Zain grew up in Des Plaines, Illinois and decided to attend DePaul due to its proximity to the Chicago Financial District and the many opportunities the Loop offers finance students. While studying finance in undergrad, Zain had his first internship with DeCarl Levine & Friedman, LLC as an equity research analyst. In his junior year, Zain held a summer internship as a credit analyst at First Midwest Bank. Zain shared with us that his favorite class while at DePaul was the Principles of Stock Picking course with Professor James Valentine. His favorite memory while at DePaul was when he won the Driehaus Capital Competition, with hardly any finance knowledge going into the competition!
Upon graduation, Zain began his professional career at RSM as an associate risk consultant. As a consultant, Zain works with banks to determine the likelihood of the borrower’s ability to repay a loan. Zain enjoys the work that he does especially because, outside of COVID, he has been able to do a good deal of traveling in his role. Through his current position as well as in past internships, Zain has come to realize that one of the most important skills to have to be successful in the finance industry is to be a good communicator. Having the ability to talk and connect with people has been a great advantage.
For anyone studying or pursuing finance, Zain advises the best thing students can do is to never turn down an opportunity. While in college, Zain tried to sign up for every event, competition, or club he saw on the finance bulletin board. This allowed for him to push outside of his comfort zone and grow more confident. Outside of finance, Zain has many hobbies, too. In his time spent working at Nordstrom, Zain developed an interest in fashion and clothing. He also likes to go to the gym and travel!
We wish you the best of luck, Zain!
By Mackenzie Larsen