Summer 2007

Lewis Supports Wall Street Program

Imagine being 20 years old and working on Wall Street.

Through the Wall Street Week program, which allows finance majors to spend a week learning what it means to work on Wall Street, Miami students have the opportunity to both enjoy and learn from this real-life educational experience.

According to Tom Lewis '97, a bond trader for Morgan Stanley, the Wall Street Week program brings Miami students to Manhattan where they learn about the many facets of Wall Street. "It helps them understand the opportunities that exist on Wall Street, and in finance in general, that they may not have thought about," said Lewis.

Students who have participated in the past have interacted with credit analysts, traders, investment bankers, and others. The experience has carried them to the New York Stock Exchange, Lehman Brothers and JP Morgan trading floors and the Federal Reserve. They have also participated in more than a dozen seminars on topics ranging from bond funding to initial public offerings.

"The program gives the students a better understanding of how investment firms function. They even participate in a mock trading desk on a real-time basis," Lewis reports. Lewis enjoys the time Miami students spend in his workplace each year and has a desire to see the program continue. His belief in the value of the program is so strong that he recently made a $50,000 gift to help endow the Wall Street Week program.

Along with supporting an initiative he feels strongly about, Lewis hopes his gift encourages other young alumni to make gifts to Miami that promote the continued growth of many other programs offered at the university.