My DCU Experience
My time at DCU has been defined by growth, both intellectually and personally. From the moment I arrived as a first-year Business Studies student, I immersed myself in the coursework, celebrating each high-scoring exam, and learning how to approach problems with curiosity and precision. While moving away from home to live up in college was difficult, it has really defined who I am as a person. It taught me adaptability, resilience, and gave me the confidence to embrace new challenges. I picked this course as I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do in life, hence, I left my options open by picking a broad course. I learnt a wide skill set across analytics, finance, marketing, and management, where I then realised that my true interest lies in data analytics and finance. Throughout my degree, I have consistently achieved first-class honours results in each year of my studies, ranking 2nd in a course of over 200 students in the process. I am also on track to achieve this again in my final year after a 78% average in Semester 1!
In my final year, I decided to serve as a Peer Mentor, helping to guide new students through deadlines, study techniques, and navigation around campus. This has been extremely rewarding, and seeing the students’ confidence grow throughout the year has been a real bonus.
Looking back, it’s the moments of uncertainty, late-night study sessions, navigating group projects, and balancing academics with a new independence that taught me the most. Whether troubleshooting a stubborn dataset, pitching a business idea to investors, or simply finding my way around Dublin, I learned to trust my instincts and seek support when I needed it.
Representing DCU at SG-FECC (USA)
In January 2025, I was lucky enough to be one of four students selected from the DCU Business School to represent the university at the Schlesinger Global Family Enterprise Case Competition in Burlington, Vermont, USA. This experience was definitely the biggest highlight of my time at university. We spent a week dissecting our pre-arrival case, then faced three days of closed cases, each limited to just four hours of offline analysis. In that tight window, we identified the problems, developed three recommendations as well as alternative recommendations, mapped out implementation timelines, and created presentation slides. We then presented for twenty minutes to a talented panel of judges, from private equity managers to retired Amazon executives, where they then quizzed us for a ten-minute Q&A session. There was intense time pressure as we had barely any time to rehearse our pitches before presenting, but our preparation and trust in one another paid off as we topped our division every single day, earning a perfect score of 16/16 points. Competing against universities from the US, Canada, Mexico, and Germany, I saw my presentation skills sharpen, my ability to remain composed under extreme time constraints deepen, and my confidence in group collaboration soar.
Outside of competition hours, exploring Burlington’s snowy streets reminded me that growth often happens outside our comfort zones, and that the friendships and professional lessons gained are among my most treasured takeaways from DCU.
Future Goals
Looking ahead, I am excited to build on the strong foundation I have developed at DCU and during my 14-month internship with KKR. My immediate goal post-graduation is to begin working towards the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) qualification, deepening my expertise in investment analysis and portfolio management. The analytical skills and real-world financial knowledge I have gained, both through my degree and my internship experience, have prepared me well for the challenges of the CFA programme.
Alongside this, I aspire to move into a front-office finance role, where I can work directly with clients on asset allocation strategies, investment decisions, and broader financial solutions. I am passionate about this career path and I believe my experience so far has given me the right balance of technical, professional, and interpersonal skills to succeed. As I continue to grow, I am excited to apply what I have learned, and what I will continue to learn, to make a real impact in the world of finance.