New Keeley Academy Cohort

September 10th marked the beginning of the Keeley Center Academy school year with a virtual orientation and student welcome event for the 80 students now enrolled in the Keeley Academy. Winter quarter 2020 welcomed the first Keeley Academy cohort with 37 students and 43 students at the beginning of the autumn quarter to kick off the 20-21 academic year.  The new department chair for the Finance and Real Estate Department, Thomas Berry, was on hand to welcome and congratulate all of the new students on their achievements and wish them the best as they begin their journey as Keeley Scholar Candidates.

The Director of the Academy, Martin Essenburg, provided an overview of the activities and opportunities for students as part of the two-year co-curricular program. In the upcoming year, Academy students will take part in a number of industry-relevant learning opportunities including the CFA Institute Investment Foundations Course and the Bloomberg Market Concepts training. The previous cohort that has already participated in this training will actively serve as mentors for the new cohort to help support and guide them through these experiences.  Additionally, the older cohort will be working on competitions throughout the year, as well as on their FINRA Security Industry Essentials program. As students conclude their two-year Academy experience, they will participate in a pay-it-forward exercise, helping teach financial literacy to marginalized populations.  We are looking forward to all of the great things both of these cohorts will be doing in the upcoming year.

Jim Valentine provided an update around the newly added Investment Management track that is being offered to Academy students at the beginning of year two, where after completing the first year of the Academy, students will now have the option of pursuing the Banking & Capital Markets route or the Investment Management route.  The Investment Management route will include a CFA research challenge that starts in October for regional competition that is essentially a stock pitch and is great experience for students interested in going into investments.  The Banking & Capital Markets option will include an industry specific competition using Bank Sim and other industry related activities.

Finally, Lamont Black provided some words of encouragement, stating that the Academy really just wants to help the students reach their full potential. Professor Black also spoke about how our current situation with the pandemic and the racial unjust, should be something we evolve and grow from.  We are all looking forward to a productive academic year!

By Mackenzie Larsen

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Skip to toolbar