Experiences Are Stepping Stones to Career Goal

Chicago’s opportunities and Illinois Institute of Technology’s Accelerated Master’s Program drew Mohamed Shamel from Cairo to Stuart School of Business to study finance. Throughout his time on campus, he used his courses and a variety of hands-on experiences outside the classroom as stepping stones toward his goal of landing a job in equity research after graduation.

For an applied experience in equity valuation, Shamel joined Stuart Investments, a student-run equity endowment fund. His activities with the organization included conducting research and analysis on companies and managing a portfolio of financial, information technology, energy, and communication stocks.

Shamel also had the chance to hone his presentation abilities and test his quantitative and qualitative skill sets in the exciting atmosphere of two prestigious global competitions. He was selected to represent Illinois Tech on teams that competed in the 2020 McGill International Portfolio Challenge, where he and his teammates earned a spot in the semifinals, and on the team that won the Chicago area competition in the 2021 CFA Institute Research Challenge. 

“Being in Chicago allowed me to attend networking events, which led to obtaining an internship,” he says. “During my interview with Wintrust Financial Corp., they were extremely interested with the work we do in Stuart Investments, [which] allowed me to stand out compared to [other] applicants.” 

As a risk management intern at Wintrust, Shamel conducted research on securities, performed credit scoring and credit reviews, and learned how to use a variety of models to analyze financial institutions and assign risk ratings. “It is rewarding to apply the curriculum I study in the classroom to real-life situations,” he says.