Nick Capowski, MSRM ‘14
What especially impressed Nick about Stern’s Master’s in Risk Management program was the exceptionally high caliber of his cohort. “Some of the greatest insights I took away from the classroom came from the many great questions and views from the rest of the class that I hadn't considered,” he says. “I believe I learned equally as much from them as I did the professors.”
Nick’s decision to pursue the MSRM was a lengthy process. Like many young finance professionals contemplating the next steps in their careers, he hadn’t been sure which aspect of the field he wanted to specialize in, so he applied for an MBA. The broad exposure the program provided, along with his job at Citi, enabled him to gain exposure to many facets of finance. As he began to work on more projects with Citi’s risk department, he realized that risk management would be the field for him.
His next job was as a senior model risk analyst for the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York. He continued to sharpen his skills in the field with a certificate from NYU’s School of Continuing and Professional Studies. That association led him to Stern’s Master’s in Risk Management Program. “Once I decided to get into risk, I found that the best way to advance would be to get a more specialized degree,” Nick says. “I decided Stern’s MSRM provided the best opportunity to expand my risk management background.”
The MSRM program proved its value right off the bat in Nick’s job at the Federal Home Loan Bank. “The material I learned in the Securitization class was very useful and even directly applied to a project I was working on related to pricing repurchase risk,” he recalls.
Additionally, networking during the program led Nick to his current job at JPMorgan Chase, as an associate in the Wholesale Credit Analytics and Solutions group. An MSRM classmate who worked there helped him land an interview at the bank, where he was able to leverage much of the material he learned at Stern, both in class and from his capstone project adviser.
The ROI from the MSRM program has continued, Nick notes. “Working in a credit analytics role, many of the projects I have taken on at JPMorgan have been directly related to material we learned in the program, particularly the credit and bankruptcy classes. We’ve even utilized some of Professor Altman’s Z-score models, along with other valuable insights I learned from him as our capstone advisor.”
Nick’s decision to pursue the MSRM was a lengthy process. Like many young finance professionals contemplating the next steps in their careers, he hadn’t been sure which aspect of the field he wanted to specialize in, so he applied for an MBA. The broad exposure the program provided, along with his job at Citi, enabled him to gain exposure to many facets of finance. As he began to work on more projects with Citi’s risk department, he realized that risk management would be the field for him.
His next job was as a senior model risk analyst for the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York. He continued to sharpen his skills in the field with a certificate from NYU’s School of Continuing and Professional Studies. That association led him to Stern’s Master’s in Risk Management Program. “Once I decided to get into risk, I found that the best way to advance would be to get a more specialized degree,” Nick says. “I decided Stern’s MSRM provided the best opportunity to expand my risk management background.”
The MSRM program proved its value right off the bat in Nick’s job at the Federal Home Loan Bank. “The material I learned in the Securitization class was very useful and even directly applied to a project I was working on related to pricing repurchase risk,” he recalls.
Additionally, networking during the program led Nick to his current job at JPMorgan Chase, as an associate in the Wholesale Credit Analytics and Solutions group. An MSRM classmate who worked there helped him land an interview at the bank, where he was able to leverage much of the material he learned at Stern, both in class and from his capstone project adviser.
The ROI from the MSRM program has continued, Nick notes. “Working in a credit analytics role, many of the projects I have taken on at JPMorgan have been directly related to material we learned in the program, particularly the credit and bankruptcy classes. We’ve even utilized some of Professor Altman’s Z-score models, along with other valuable insights I learned from him as our capstone advisor.”