Janshaaz Khan (BS'13)

Janshaaz—or “Shaaz” for short—spent his high school years at a tennis academy in Florida, training with some of the country’s most promising young players for four hours each day. Needless to say, moving from Sarasota to New York City and from a life of tennis to the life of a business student represented quite a transition.

However, Shaaz points out, there is some similarity between his years of elite tennis and his experience here at Stern. “In both cases,” he explains, “you’re doing the same thing—surrounding yourself with the best people so that you learn, grow, and improve your skills.”

Although he still loves to play tennis with friends, as well as soccer, Shaaz has chosen not to play team sports at NYU in order to focus fully on his studies. “Right now,” he says, “this is my priority and what I really want to excel at.”

Looking back on his time at Stern so far, Shaaz says that the best thing about it may be the balance—between coursework and internships, and between classes of different kinds. “I’ve really enjoyed the Social Impact Core,” he says, “with courses like Business and its Publics, which exposed me to public figures such as Cory Booker, the mayor of Newark. And I also love the technical courses, which are helping me build a solid finance and accounting skill set.”

Shaaz’s choice of a double concentration reflects an interest in balance as well. “Economics gives you the broad theoretical perspective,” he says, “while finance is more practical and technical.” He cites courses such as Corporate Finance, Real Estate Finance, and Debt Instruments as providing specialized, highly applicable skills.

Shaaz has also had great experiences beyond the classroom, including summer internships in sales, with Oberoi Hotels and Coca Cola—both in Calcutta, and another last year in equity research with BNP Paribas Securities in Mumbai. This summer, he’s looking forward to an internship in New York City in the mergers and acquisitions group.

“It’s great to get out and learn the kind of thing you really can’t in class—for instance, what it’s like to do sales,” Shaaz says. He also points out the value of having experiences in different areas, from the hotel industry to investment banking, in helping shape career plans for after graduation.