Summer Internship Spotlight: Sarika Patel (MSF’19), MSF Investment Clinic

Each year, our students spend their summers in Washington, D.C., across the nation, and around the world working in corporate, nonprofit, and government organizations. This month, we’re featuring Master of Science in Finance (MSF) students with particularly interesting summer internships. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Sarika Patel (MSF’19)
Student Consultant, MSF Investment Clinic
Washington, D.C.

What kind of work did you do for the MSF Investment Clinic?

We partnered with a venture capital firm to set up a fund of Indian startup companies that aim to have a social impact in education, technology, and health care. Because my team and I are not located in India, we had to do extensive research on which companies we wanted to place into our fund.

Why did you choose this internship?

I chose the venture capital project because I thought this project could offer me the most growth in terms of financial analysis that I have not experienced. I was challenged because I had to look at building the fund from a different perspective than I typically encounter from my job as a project finance and infrastructure investment analyst at AIG.

How did you incorporate what you’ve been learning as part of the MSF curriculum into your work?

More than anything, the case studies that we do weekly help us break down the problem and set goals. We learn how to think outside the classroom and examine real-life business situations and issues.

What are your plans after graduation?

I hope to stay in the global infrastructure space, because I really enjoy seeing projects around the world that impact how people in a certain country live. However, I am not tied to any certain median to achieve that, whether it be debt or equity.

Do you have any advice for other finance students?

Do what is uncomfortable, and do it often.