One of the scholars, Diana Velez MSF ’21, shares her unique journey to pursue her master’s while also playing on Fairfield’s Women’s Golf Team.
In collaboration with Bank of America, Fairfield Dolan recognized three master’s degree candidates last semester as part of the Women Scholars Program. Cristina Pellegrino ’20, MSBA’21 , Diana Velez MSF’21, and Katheryn Xenelis ’20, MSF’21 were selected as recipients of the scholarship based on their academic merit. The scholarship is part of a grant from Bank of America that also supports Fairfield Dolan’s Professional Development Series and the Women in Quant Interdisciplinary Mentoring Series Program that provide practical skills for women entering quantitative fields.
One of the Women Scholars Program recipients, Diana Velez, had a unique journey to Fairfield with both enriching academic and extracurricular experiences. A competitive golfer since age five, Velez received an athletic scholarship to Florida International University. Due to the pandemic, she was given an extra year of eligibility to pursue competitive golf at the college level and started to consider where she might be able to pursue a master’s in finance while also playing golf.
“I am from Puerto Rico and I previously interned at Banco Popular de Puerto Rico (Puerto Rico's leading bank),” she said. “ Through networking I heard from several people that Fairfield has a strong finance program and I decided to look into it. I am so glad that I did.”
After being accepted to the MSF program and also to Fairfield’s Women’s Golf Team, Velez moved to campus where she trained during the day with her teammates and took her courses online during the evenings.
“Even though my classes were online my professors put a lot of effort into making them engaging. Every class had a final presentation and we did interesting projects where we analyzed data from real firms and companies.”
Since recently graduating with her MSF, Velez has started a one-year training program in City National Bank of Florida’s Wealth Management / Private Banking division in Miami. She is excited about the opportunity to have hands-on experience with an increase in demand in her field due to the current tax conditions which have influenced many people to move to Florida. Velez is also excited about settling in Miami where she’ll have exposure to international clients as she pursues her interest in wealth management.
“Being recognized by the Bank of America Women Scholars Program is an honor to me as I am pursuing a career in banking. I am aware that this field is known to be a "men's world," and in order to stand out and gain credibility as a woman, you must be brave and willing to put in double the effort. The fact that I was able to receive this award and join such an amazing group is something truly amazing that gives me a great push and motivation to continue working hard.”
