Juliana Ritrievi ’16 is a senior at the University of Pittsburgh studying finance, political science, and economics. This summer she completed a competitive internship with Citi Bank, in New York City. She worked in the investment banking division, specifically within the media and telecommunications coverage group.

“During my internship, I helped prepare client materials and presentations. This entailed gathering company research and financials, and then analyzing and formatting the data into a pitch book. I also gained experience in valuing companies/transactions on a stand-alone basis and in comparison to peer companies/transactions.

“This internship appealed to me is because I want to start my career in a role that allows me to learn a lot about finance and banking. It is also important to me that I intern at a global institution that provides a variety of opportunities. I was hoping to learn more about how mergers and acquisitions are structured and valued, and about the sports media industry–which I definitely did!

“The first business class I took was accounting at Trinity with Mrs. Magni, which definitely sparked my interest in pursuing business in college. I remember visiting Susquehanna University with our class for an accounting conference and learning about how it is the ‘language of business,’ and the wide range of applications of accounting.”

Juliana also founded the Pitt chapter of Smart Women Securities (SWS), a national organization whose goal is to empower undergraduate women through promoting financial literacy and investment education. This is accomplished through a seminar series that focuses first on personal finance, and then builds to investment knowledge and quantitative analysis. After completing the seminar series, members have the opportunity to invest in a real-world setting through the SWS student-led portfolio. The portfolio allows members to apply what they have learned during the seminar series through engaging in equity research, investment pitches, money management, etc.

“When I first transferred to Pitt at the beginning of my sophomore year, I instantly joined several investment/finance focused clubs. I quickly noticed that I was either the only woman in the room or one of the few women. This was weird for me, because I didn’t feel that there wasn’t an interest in investing from the women on campus. After talking with several women in the business school, I realized that the lack of representation was more due to an intimidation factor that surrounded these predominantly-male clubs. I then set up a meeting with one of Pitt’s finance “executives in residence” about how I wanted to start an investment club for women, and she showed me information on establishing a chapter of SWS. From there, I spread the idea on campus through info sessions (with free food so people would come) and quickly conducted interviews for board members. A year and a half later, we received our official recognition from the national chapter!

“Leading this group gives me a unique opportunity to learn skills I wouldn’t have the chance to learn otherwise. One of the first things I had to do was pitch the idea to the Dean of the business school to secure funding for the project. This was my first presentation in a professional setting, which was extremely nerve-racking, but I practiced my pitch a lot and received $5,000 for SWS in the first semester. This taught me to always come over-prepared when speaking in front of people. Additionally, I gained direct experience in managing a budget, leading/organizing a group of people, public speaking and marketing.”

After college, Juliana plants to continue to work in the financial services industry in New York City, with the ultimate goal of entering politics and eventually running for public office.