For seven years, Katharine Hawthorne, MBA 20, pursued a double career. By day, she’d head to her office at the University of California, San Francisco, where she managed contracts for medical research in Africa and the Middle East. At night, she hit the dance studio, where she spent hours rehearsing modern dance works for professional performances.
“My greatest achievement was being able to thrive in both of these environments,” she says. Now at Haas, Hawthorne has shifted her entire focus to finance as her long-term career goal. As one of 12 full-time MBA students who were named the Haas 2018 Finance Fellows, Hawthorne plans a career in investment management and impact investing.
This year’s fellows are:
- Kristine Leary and Rohit Rana: CJ White Fellows (selected in spring)
- Adam Burgess, Michael Doherty, Shawn Meyer, and Patricia Sanz-Pastor: Investment Banking
- Katharine Hawthorne, Patrick Hamm, and Benyam Teklezgi: Investment Management & Quantitative Finance
- Ran Fu, Anna Soybel, and John Terada: Entrepreneurial Finance
“It’s a strikingly international group of students from China, India, Spain, and the U.K., all coming to Haas to pursue some interesting sector of finance,” says William Rindfuss, executive director of strategic programs for the Haas Finance Group. “We’re so proud of these accomplished students and happy to support them with these resources.”
Haas awards the Finance Fellowships and the CJ White Fellowships to full-time MBA students annually through a competitive application process. Fellows receive a scholarship award and priority enrollment for elective classes. They also each work with a mentor, generally a Haas alumnus working in the applicable sector of finance, who provides career advice and support.
Burgess, MBA 20, is eyeing a career in technology investment banking after working in banking compliance and in forensic accounting as a litigation consultant. “Litigation is inherently backward looking, reactive to allegations or incidents,” he says. “I’m looking to bring my work into a proactive, growth-oriented context, which is why I wanted to enter investment banking.”
Burgess, who says he’s particularly looking forward to classes in corporate finance, strategy, and negotiation, adds that “the Haas platform for getting into investment banking is exciting in itself, but to add the opportunity for mentoring just makes the whole thing feel a lot more real and exciting.”
After working at a management consulting firm, a venture philanthropy fund, and an education technology startup, John Terada MBA 20, a fellow in entrepreneurial finance, is now planning a career in venture capital and impact investing. He’s especially interested in investing in areas including education technology, the future of work, and enterprise solutions.
“I strongly feel there’s a need to focus on workforce development to ensure that people are prepared for technological advancements and aren’t ultimately left behind,” he says.