My STEP Signature project was to attend the Open Data Science Conference (ODSC) Bootcamp in Boston Massachusetts. The bootcamp consisted of several workshops, demos, and talks to teach machine learning (ML) in the field of artificial intelligence. I worked on hands on programming examples on my laptop throughout these workshops where we learned various ML-related skills.

My understanding of myself changed during the STEP signature project because I began to see how the power of machine learning can play a role in my career. By seeing what I could do with ML, I started to think bigger picture about projects as I learned what could be created with these tools. This also gave me confidence in my own programming and data abilities because I was taught ML tools by professionals in the field instead of trying to figure some of these ideas out on my own online. My view of the world changed as well because I saw how many places AI/ML have a role in and how much this can shape the world for better or for worse. This made me see how important it is for good decisions to be made now about AI/ML so the tools are used safely.

One interaction I had that led to my transformation was in talking with my STEP project was when talking to my STEP project consultant, Freddy. Freddy and I talked about the role of applications in machine learning from a software development perspective. His talk was oriented around a software library that allowed for machine learning applications to be deployed and tested very quickly and accessibly. This gave me confidence in my ability to use these tools and integrate them into my own projects. Freddy was a good example of someone young succeeding in the field as well so that also gave me confidence.

Another interaction I had during the experience was during the talk about natural language processing. This talk was rather advanced for where I was at but I was still able to get a lot out of it. It taught me how many roles that AI can play in different fields, especially what natural language processing can do. This was transformative because it made me think about how I can use these tools in my career and future projects. It was also transformative because the talk discussed how important decisions must be made about something like natural language processing so the language models do not become biased or do harm in other ways.

One more interaction I had during the STEP signature project was during the networking event at the end of one of the days of workshops. I spoke with various companies, many of which were startups, about their product and I learned about how many different applications there are and how fast development can be with machine learning and AI. I had transformative conversations with one company about the intersection of UI/UX with software development and machine learning. It was a great conversation that helped me clarify my career interests in that intersection and discuss with an industry professional the value of that combination. This was transformative because it helped me figure out more precisely what I want to do with my career.

Change and transformation is valuable in my life because the world is constantly changing and I find it important to be able to adapt to it. Several years ago I was intimidated by AI and was mostly thinking about how it could be harmful. However, I think its important to recognize when change is occurring like it did with AI and so I wanted to see it differently and change accordingly so that I can hopefully make an impactful and positive change in the world. Developments are important to my professional and personal goals because I want to be able to adapt to new changes in the world and take them on in my own life in positive ways instead of being intimidated by something new. I think its important to try out new and uncomfortable things so I want to welcome transformation into my life.

For my STEP Signature Project, I participated in a 3-day Financial & Valuation Modeling course through Wall Street Prep. In this class, myself and 9 other participants were taught how to create the three financial statements, a discounted cash flow (DCF) model, and a merger & acquisition (M&A) model, along with other components that go along with each. 

Before my project, I didn’t go in expecting to learn much more about finance or investment banking outside of the models themselves. However, I gained a lot of knowledge about different applications of the models and IB career paths that I hadn’t had exposure to before. It has definitely encouraged me to look at more types of jobs outside of those traditionally advertised at career fairs. For example, one individual in the class did investments for a hospitality organization. This is something I hadn’t really heard of before, and I am now planning to look at paths similar to it. Working for an institution like J.P. Morgan, Moody’s, etc. isn’t the only option in IB.

The main experience of my project was the building of the financial models themselves in Excel. This is something that I had almost no experience in before, so I was nervous going into the first day. Even though I probably had the least experience out of the professionals within the class, I was able to challenge myself to follow along with the instructor piece by piece to achieve the same results within my models, while still following best practice standards and learning new Excel shortcuts in the process.

I realized soon after beginning building my first DCF model that I was not going to know how to do everything on my own. For example, I had never seen an M&A model in my life before, so I certainly had some questions as to how and why the different components worked together. This 3-day course was great practice in asking questions when I was curious, lost, or confused. 

As previously mentioned, an unexpectedly beneficial aspect of my experience was getting to interact with and learn from other participants in the class. After each break, the group had a chance to interact and get to know each other a bit better because the class size was so small. Through this and getting to chat with everyone, I was able to learn more about topics such as working in biotech, living in New York post-graduation, and transitioning from other careers into finance.

My STEP project is valuable for my life because it gives me a headstart in my future endeavors, both academically and professionally. I will be able to enter my internship this summer with the confidence that I already understand the basics of the aforementioned models, and will be able to strengthen my skills throughout my job. Academically, I will have a greater understanding of basic financial concepts (as well as a reinforcement of accounting) before taking upper-level finance courses. Lastly, I now have a better understanding of career paths that are of interest to me, and will be able to explore options to a greater degree in the future.