This summer, Howland Capital hosted Luz Perez-Arias’s internship through the UNCF Lighted Pathways Program. Luz is a rising junior at Fordham University, majoring in applied accounting and finance.
Luz’s interest in the finance industry stemmed from her mother’s background in business administration, which sparked her curiosity about various fields within finance. The prospect of stability and real-world applications attracted her to pursue a career in this field.
During her internship, Luz worked on several different projects, including creating budgets for clients and preparing summary reports. Her “capstone” project involved researching a company and making a stock pitch to Howland Capital’s Investment Committee. Luz’s objective was to not only seek out what interested her but to observe others’ day-to-day activities to identify any duties or tasks that brought challenges.
Throughout the summer, Luz honed her listening skills, realizing that active listening is crucial for working with clients. Her advice to other students interested in the finance industry and the UNCF Lighted Pathways Program is to remain open-minded, persistent, and unafraid to try new things. Apart from the professional growth, Luz also cherished the company culture, bonding with coworkers during lunches, the company-wide outing with colleagues and their families, and learning from one-on-one experiences with Tony Howland, the CEO of Howland Capital. “My experience at Howland Capital was one of a kind. While I learned a ton about finance, I most importantly gained a family away from home that I will cherish forever.” – Luz Perez-Arias
The Lighted Pathways Program was founded in 2021 by The United Negro College Fund (UNCF), a leading charitable organization that provides support to deserving students of color through scholarships to increase diversity in the finance industry. The program aims to develop a pipeline of talented college students of color by providing internships and mentoring opportunities.
We are proud to be involved with this program and help shape the future of our industry.
