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“I owe Stevens for where I am today,” says Chase Greenberg ’15. He isn’t kidding when he says this, acknowledging his successful job in finance and his wife and classmate, Ashley Tomasura Greenberg ’15, who is also a successful analyst at a well-known financial firm in Manhattan.
At the uptown Starbucks in Hoboken, the couple isn’t far from what will soon be home. The pair will shortly move into a sleek, new building by the waterfront. “If we didn’t go [to Stevens] I don’t think we would have had the same opportunities,” Ashley said. “When they say it’s a hidden gem – it’s a hidden gem. Although, it’s not so hidden anymore.”
For Chase, the decision to come to the School of Business at Stevens was an easy one, especially after talking to a few people in finance who recommended a degree in computer science. He describes the Quantitative Finance program as competitive, but with a sense of comradery. Ashley agreed and added that all of their close friends are from the same program. Stevens fosters students and makes new students work in groups the first week of school, she said.
While Ashley has always had varied interests, she had focus with her career. She knew she wanted to work in the finance industry. Her problem freshman year was that her school didn’t offer technology classes, but Stevens did. Chase, who was dating Ashley at the time, saw an opportunity to get his future wife to transfer.
Ashley recalled going to Professor George Calhoun’s class. Calhoun, director of the Quantitative Finance program and the Hanlon Financial Systems Center, had students take a Wall Street Journal quiz daily. On that eventful day, Ashley was asked, “How much sales per square foot does Lululemon have?” She initially wondered why anyone would need to know that. In answer to her unasked question, Calhoun went into a spiel about why students needed to know these kinds of financial analysis metrics. “I’m studying for an industry-wide exam right now and one of the practice questions is about this. It’s coming full circle,” she said.
The attractive and charming pair are relaxed when telling stories about Stevens, even when acknowledging the coursework was difficult at times. Although the classes were challenging, it all paid off. They both believe that Stevens fully prepared them for the real work world.
“I think the coursework is completely on par with almost every examination that students will go for – whether that is your series exam or your CFA or FRM exams. They have so many ways to set students up for success. When you are a student you might complain about the coursework, but now, I’m so grateful,” said Ashley.
“The coursework is so perfectly aligned with what you are going to be doing – no matter where you go. You would actively have to be trying not to get a job. It is so in demand – both the program and the graduates,” said Chase.
By the time Ashley and Chase were seniors, they had already completed several internships at Fortune 500 companies. But the experience that best summed up the Stevens experience for Ashley was work on the Student Managed Investment Fund, which they helped create. It was the first year of SMIF and Ashley was one of the three portfolio managers and responsible for writing the investment fund policy statement. They were scheduled to do a presentation before the finance board immediately following spring break. Ashley recalls getting a phone call from a professor about the project on a Saturday night:
“I will never forget it. It was in that moment I realized this isn’t a class, this is a job! Those four years really built up to this point where I was able to take everything I learned and apply it. It really showed me that this school had a purpose. It set in stone that I had made the right decision,” said Ashley.
The SMIF is just one example of the outstanding work they will be remembered for. Ashley wanted to make the most of her college career and threw herself into a variety of projects. She was a founding sister of the Sigma Delta Tau sorority and was also the historian. In addition, she was Student Government vice president, a student tour guide, an orientation leader and part of the Gear and Triangle leadership society. Her reasoning for getting involved in so many activities was simple. She had to help pay for her education and she was determined to get the most out of it. And she still does. She is still very involved as a mentor, giving career advice to five women undergrads.
“Realistically, you can say you want to be an investment banker or a trader, but you don’t really know what that is until you do it. Sometimes it’s not what you want,” she said. It’s important to have an industry person give insight about all the different jobs available in a chosen field.
“We have the ability to give back right now,” Ashley said. “Why not do what someone else did for us?”
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