Rebecca’s story

My name is Rebecca (Jihang) and I’m from China.

I studied a bachelor’s degree in my home country and realised I wanted to follow a career in finance. As the financial centre of the world, I decided that New York City would be the perfect place to do this.

Why I chose to study in the USA

I wanted to experience US culture, and the best way to truly experience it was to live in the USA. I chose Pace University because it’s in one of the most exciting cities in the world — New York!

I decided to study on the Global Pathways program at Pace University in New York so that I could gain entry to a master’s degree in Finance.

Also, according to my research, I could see that Pace has great careers services, good connections with lots of banks and accounting companies in the USA, and is very friendly towards international students.

Studying at Pace University and doing an internship

I successfully passed my Global Pathways program, and progressed to a master’s degree in Investment Management at Pace University. During my degree, I had the opportunity to take an internship as a Financial Analyst with Merrill Lynch, part of Bank of America Corporation.

My Global Pathways program and degree prepared me so much for my internship. The academic classes were very helpful. I learnt a lot of theory in class, so that when I actually came to apply that theory in my internship, I knew why I was doing certain things.

Also, my professor expected me to read the Finance news every day. That was really useful because it helped me to understand how the financial system works in the USA.

Starting my career

Whatever path you follow, you can apply skills from your pathway course. I completed a 2nd internship with Merrill Lynch during my degree, and gained a valuable set of skills and experiences while I studied abroad.

I believe that all of this, and being a Pace University graduate, helped me stand out to employers and that’s why I was offered a great job with IBM in Beijing.

I got several job offers when I graduated from Pace University, and I’m so excited about my career. I couldn’t have done it without Pace University or my pathway program. I learnt so much, and I’ve made friends with people from all over the world!

My advice for international students would be: try to challenge yourself — even if you think you’re not qualified for a position, you should still try, because you have the ambition, so just go for it!