The following story originally appeared as an online exclusive for the W&M Alumni Magazine. – Ed.
For Sully Naef ’28, a trip to visit William & Mary alumni working on Wall Street helped clarify his career plans and opened opportunities for further exploration.
A finance major with a minor in biology, he was among 20 W&M sophomores who recently participated in the Office of Career Development & Professional Engagement’s 24th Annual Wall Street Program.
This three-day excursion to New York City allows students to explore careers in finance through site visits to some of the industry’s top firms. The students visited 13 such companies during their time in the city, interacting with over 60 W&M alumni along the way.
“I went on the trip to figure out if that world is for me,” Naef says. While participating in the program, he learned about the Royal Bank of Canada’s Capital Markets Pathways Program, a professional development program for undergraduates in which he is now participating. “That all stemmed from the Wall Street Program, because I probably would never have had that exposure otherwise,” he says.
During the program, the participants heard from alumni about their career paths and experiences working in financial sectors, toured facilities and sat in on daily meetings.
“The program exposes students to opportunities, networking and confidence-building experiences with major Wall Street firms and alumni to strengthen their competitiveness for junior summer internships and entry-level jobs,” says Caroline Herath, director of business careers at the Office of Career Development & Professional Engagement.
“Throughout the program’s 24-year history, over 500 students have participated, with many going on to pursue successful careers in finance,” she adds.
For Naef, the connections he made within the William & Mary community, both with alumni and current students, were the highlights of his trip.
“Knowing that those alumni are out there is nice. They’re all very willing to help,” he says. “I also met a lot of people at William & Mary that I didn’t know before and got to know a couple of people in my classes that now I’m good friends with. Just meeting new people was the most fun part of the trip.”
At the heart of this program are W&M alumni in the finance industry who make the experience possible by inviting students to their places of work.
Andrés Ramos ’12, senior marketing specialist at Nasdaq, was one of the alumni responsible for organizing the Wall Street Program’s first ever visit to Nasdaq’s headquarters. He and fellow W&M alumni gave the students a presentation about the work he does for the company, then took them to witness the closing bell ceremony and to see the William & Mary cypher displayed on the iconic Nasdaq tower, as shown above.
“The students were really great — answering our questions, raising their hands, bringing their own questions,” says Ramos. “I was really impressed by their intellectual curiosity and what they already knew about the industry as sophomores. It just shows how great the education is at William & Mary and the types of students that it pulls in.”
Lauren Finikiotis ’21, senior associate at JPMorgan Chase & Co., was one of the organizers of the participants’ visit to the firm. She says she made it a point to be a part of their experience because she was helped in her career journey by W&M alumni.
“When I first started at JPMorgan, I had people who supported and mentored me, so I think it’s important to pay that forward,” she says. “What I love most about being part of the Wall Street Program is helping students go from not knowing much about banking or their career path to landing analyst roles and really finding their footing.”
A celebration for the 25th anniversary is being planned for October 2026. If you are interested in being involved, please reach out to Rachael Carberry, senior director of development for career initiatives, at recarberry@wm.edu.