This year, the Kenyon Finance Club is poised to help students take an early leap into the competitive field of finance. Since Kenyon does not offer a finance or business major, the club has served as a valuable resource for students hoping to pursue careers in investment banking, private equity and similar fields. Although the club has existed since 2019, it is expanding its scope this year with several new offerings intended to prepare its members for the post-graduate world.
According to Nathan Le ’25, one of the club’s co-presidents, the club’s main goal is to prepare its members for the industry’s demanding recruitment process. “One thing about finance is that it’s not a very hard field. It’s not rocket science,” Le said. “The main thing is that it’s very competitive.”
Students typically begin the intensive recruitment process for investment banking in January of their sophomore year of college. Because banks often recruit from select top schools, it is often difficult for Kenyon students — who lack the same resources as students from larger universities — to break into the industry.
The club hopes to fill that gap. It plans on hosting seven different speakers this semester, primarily executives with extensive experience in the finance world, giving members the opportunity to network with industry professionals. According to Le, the club will also simulate coffee chats and networking calls so that members can practice their interviewing skills and receive feedback from the club’s co-presidents and vice presidents, all of whom have found success in the internship recruitment process. He emphasized how continuous practice will help students improve their general conversational skills: “[It is] hugely beneficial for [students] as they head into the recruiting process.”
The Finance Club also hopes to provide its members with practical experience through events like its stock pitch competition, which will have teams of three to four club members assess the attractiveness of a particular company within one of four sectors and collectively decide whether or not to invest. Their investment theses will be evaluated by three equity research analysts.
The club’s leaders also plan to host educational workshops that will offer students insight into the finance industry based on their own internship experience, as well as teaching members how to write industry-specific cover letters and resumes.
The club welcomes anyone with a potential interest in finance, and they do not require any previous experience. Their motto, as Le described it, is to “never leave anybody unheard.”