Senior Manager, First Line Risk Management, Charles Schwab
Sebastian is an experienced financial professional who specializes in
risk management. He graduated in 2012 with a bachelor’s degree (double
major) in finance and accounting from The University of Texas at Dallas.
In 2017, he earned his master’s degree in finance from UTD while working
full time at Capital One.
Sebastian attributes his career success to the
MS in Finance
program studies. He highlighted:
“The level of academic preparation I received through the program was
top-notch, and my career has benefited greatly from the experiences. …
In my mind, the most important things I’ve learned from my time at UT
Dallas were how to think critically, formulate my own opinions, conduct
my own analysis, and how to adapt to the ever-changing environment
around me.”
In six years, Sebastian has risen to a management role at a top 10 bank
and manages seven direct reports. At the end of April 2018, he was
slated to take a new role at Citi Bank as operational risk vice
president supporting risk management for the entirety of Citi’s retail
consumer and mortgage business and reporting directly to the senior vice
president of risk management at Citi Bank.
Any student considering or currently undertaking the MS in Finance
program at UT Dallas has the unique opportunity to make the program work
for him/her in their own way. Not with just the scheduling flexibility,
but also with the opportunity to learn as much about any particular
topic as they wish. I never felt that the classroom was limited to a
linear curriculum; it was much more organic than that. Moreover, the
School of Management has every opportunity to learn outside the
classroom you could possibly want — I especially enjoyed the trading
lab.
My strong recommendation to students is to broaden your horizons when it
comes to your education. I’ve always felt learning is a lifelong process
and only begins once you’ve left your educational institution. In my
opinion, the most important thing you can learn is how to learn better,
and there is no better place to master that skill than at UT Dallas.
Investment Analyst at GHR Foundation
My MS Finance journey gave me an insight into the practical side of the investment and finance world. Having knowledge about the core concepts is crucial but knowing how to apply them is more important than that. MS Finance at UT Dallas provided me with an environment of practical learning by offering practical courses, workshops & competitions. Working in teams with people from different backgrounds and cultures from all around the world gives you the ability to view the problem at hand via multiple perspectives. In addition to this, the CMC also supported me in my growth on the non-academic soft skill side for overall career development.
Finance Controller at Alex Hemani Inc.
The MS in Finance program at UT Dallas was the best decision of my life which helped me tremendously to achieve my personal and professional goals. With its world-renowned faculty and a rich, global, and robust curriculum with participants from diverse cultural as well as professional backgrounds, it enabled me with the advanced skills necessary to create a niche for myself in the finance industry. I also made some great connections that helped me navigate my way forward.
Senior Valuation Consultant, CBIZ Business Valuation Group (Acquisition & Investment Analyst, Hardeman)
With the aspiration of working in the most mature financial industry in the world, I came to the United States to pursue my Master’s degree. UT Dallas MS Finance program provides international students the opportunity to start a chapter in the US at the most reasonable rate with abundant resources in one of the fastest growing cities in America.
Investment Analyst, Invitation Homes
My biggest takeaway from the MSF program is my improved knowledge of statistical and quantitative methods and their applications to solving today’s business and financial problems. My recommendation and advice for incoming students and prospective candidates is to be ready to learn advanced methods and techniques to conduct quality & intelligent financial analysis, and to explore new programming softwares you haven’t used before. You get what you put into it, and if you put in the hours, you’ll have an amazing graduate experience.
Credit Risk Senior Analyst, CitiGroup
The MS in Finance program in JSOM is one of the most valuable MSF programs — with sophisticated and ingenious curriculum design, flexible career directions, and affordable tuition. With a various range of workshops and events, students can obtain many opportunities to network with finance professionals and prepare their future careers based on the suggestions and recommendations from those professionals. The thoughts I would like to share with the students are: Find your real passion, keep putting in the effort and never quit easily.
