Students step into the world of investment banking through Costello Fellows on Wall Street

Katelynn C Hipolito — Wed, 13 May 2026 14:52:31 +0000

Students step into the world of investment banking through Costello Fellows on Wall Street Katelynn C Hipolito Wed, 05/13/2026 - 10:52

To learn through experience and gain a competitive edge, finance and accounting students from the Costello College of Business at 91�� participated in the Costello Fellows on Wall Street program, connecting with major financial services firms and alumni in New York City. What has become an annual tradition continues to grow, with participation expanding significantly—from 10 students in previous years to approximately 30 this year.

Costello College of Business alumni networking. Photo by Alina Alam

Using his extensive connections, the trip this past April was organized by Derek Horstmeyer, an instructional professor of finance at the Costello College of Business, who is also the co-founder and director of the Montano Student Managed Investment Fund (SMIF). SMIF is an all-equity fund administered by select finance students at Costello. Those selected as officers are responsible for managing a $492,000 portfolio.

Additionally, Costello offers a SMIF course taught by Horstmeyer, where students learn about the decision-making process involved in managing the fund. Along with other students who seized the funded opportunity to visit Wall Street, many of the participants were members of SMIF.

“A lot of these firms will give you the same experience by flying you out to private recruitment events, but those programs are really competitive, and sometimes they don’t consider you because of your major, year, or some other location factor.”

—Alina Alam, current accounting student at the Costello College of Business at 91��

Costello College of Business alumni reception signage. Photo by Alina Alam.

Alina Alam, a senior studying accounting, first learned about SMIF as a freshman and decided to get involved. She was accepted through the rigorous interview process for her final semester as an undergraduate student. As SMIF’s director of marketing, she documented the trip, capturing photos and moments to share across the organization’s rapidly growing social media platforms.

Over the two-day event, the group moved quickly from firm to firm with a packed itinerary. On the first day, they visited Raymond James, Oppenheimer, and S&P Global, and attended an alumni mixer in the West Village organized by the Costello Alumni Chapter featuring a panel of firm representatives—Manya Vij, BS Finance ‘21; Jannat Bhinder, MS Business Administration and Management ‘18; Megan Farina, BS Management Information Systems '01; and Michael Marino, BA ‘11. The next day consisted of visits to Wolfe Research (an equity research firm), J.P. Morgan, and BMS Capital.

Costello College of Business alumni panel. Photo by Alina Alam.

Many of the students participating in Costello Fellows on Wall Street rank among the top of their class and are applying—or planning to apply—to internships at firms on the trip itinerary. Experiencing the offices firsthand and engaging with professionals across varying levels of seniority provided invaluable insight into the careers they are preparing to pursue.

“A lot of these firms will give you the same experience by flying you out to private recruitment events, but those programs are really competitive, and sometimes they don’t consider you because of your major, year, or some other location factor,” says Alam.

She found tremendous value in the office visits in terms of networking and sharing information with other students. “The students who were on the trip, even the really shy, introverted ones, opened up, and they made friends with the people on the trip,” she says. “If you know people within your major, it gives you an upper hand in so many ways because you know exactly how to get more involved with on-campus organizations like the SMIF once you return from the trip.”

Costello Fellows on Wall Street program student participants. Photo by Alina Alam.

For students interested in working in the highly competitive world of investment banking and equity research, Costello Fellows on Wall Street offers a highly impactful experiential learning opportunity. Throughout the trip, the students learned from finance professionals—many of them alumni—and from each other about the actions they need to take to become stronger job candidates and stand out from the crowd. They are not waiting for firms to come to them—they are blazing a pathway and meeting them where they are.

To get involved with the SMIF, follow them on Instagram @smifgmu or access their official website www.smif.business.gmu.edu to learn more.

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Costello’s Office of Career Services pilots agentic AI platform

Katelynn C Hipolito — Mon, 02 Mar 2026 14:44:55 +0000

Costello’s Office of Career Services pilots agentic AI platform Katelynn C Hipolito Mon, 03/02/2026 - 09:44

Powered by nSpire AI, Career AI is the new agentic AI platform being piloted by the Costello College of Business Office of Career Services within the Costello College of Business at 91�� this semester.

Jay Liwanag, Costello career advisor, facilitating a virtual info session. Photo by Hannah Patterson/Costello College of Business

The platform is designed to help students navigate a rapidly evolving job market by bringing together cutting-edge AI capabilities and the business college’s career-readiness resources. As employers increasingly rely on digital tools to source workforce talent—from applicant tracking systems to AI-assisted screening—Career AI equips Costello students with the skills, confidence, and technological fluency they need to stand out.

“What employers are looking for is changing and how people find jobs is changing,” says Kerry Willigan, assistant dean of Costello’s Office of Career Services. “AI is a really critical piece, whether you love it or hate it. Learning how to use it in the job search now, while you’re in school, is really important.”

Career AI consists of three main components. The first is the resume optimization platform. With applicant tracking systems filtering out approximately 75 percent of submitted resumes, Career AI analyzes student resumes and identifies adjustments students need to make for their resumes to stand out to employers. The second is its interview preparation component, where Theo—the AI-enabled career coach bot—generates interview questions based off industry information, role requirements, and data from job sites, along with additional information it deems relevant to the opportunity. The third component is the entrepreneurship module that helps students develop a personal pitch and business plan. With so many entrepreneurial-minded students at Costello, the tool is poised to be a game changer for the business college.

Kaleb Gajeton -Lewis, director of Costello’s Office of Career Services, is especially excited for the resume optimization platform. “I think students sometimes have a hard time understanding or seeing what their resume is actually reading in comparison to a job description,” he says. “I find that Career AI’s platform does a good job of understanding business process, understanding business curriculum, and is able to tailor the feedback in a way that actually shows results for students.”

“What employers are looking for is changing and how people find jobs is changing. AI is a really critical piece, whether you love it or hate it. Learning how to use it in the job search now, while you’re in school, is really important.”

—Kerry Willigan, assistant dean of Costello’s Office of Career Services

Students concerned about data privacy can be confident knowing that Career AI passed through 91��’s Architectural Standards Review Board with flying colors. Already, about 400 Costello students are actively using the platform, with more than 1,700 slots still available. “We are starting to partner with faculty members to allow full class sections access to the system so that they can optimize their resumes, practice interviewing, etc.,” says Gajeton-Lewis.

Costello students are encouraged to embrace Career AI as a tool for improving their success with current job searches and for building fluency in agentic AI. Fluency in agentic AI will help to prepare them for a not-so-distant future where AI will be used by members of the workforce to help them do their best work.

Costello students who are interested in learning more about Career AI can contact the Office of Career Services at mycareer@gmu.edu for more information.