Students trek to Washington, D.C., visit Federal Reserve, World Bank

Twenty MIT Sloan students are visiting Washington, D.C., Feb. 26-27 on the first-ever student trek to the city. The leadership team of the MIT Sloan Finance & Policy Club planned the trek. Club vice president Sho Nakayama, MFin ’16, talked about the trek and the club, which launched last year.

Why did you decide to organize a trek to Washington, D.C.?

We decided to host the D.C. trek because we saw an unprecedented number of students interested in the space at the nexus of finance and policy, and private and public sectors.

It is also a great time to visit Washington, D.C., given the amount of attention we all pay to the Federal Reserve and the world’s macroeconomic news. It’s been almost eight years since the financial crisis, but there are still many uncertainties and issues to tackle around the world. We thought it would be a great opportunity to meet and gain insights from practitioners that are at the very front line of policy making. We hope this trek will also help students develop career opportunities in the public sector and provide meaningful conversations with the professionals in Washington, D.C., as well as with fellow students who share common aspirations.

You will go to the World Bank/International Finance Corporation, the Federal Reserve, the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia, and the International Monetary Fund. How did you choose where to visit?

We sent out a survey to the entire MIT Sloan community. Naturally, the list (mentioned above) also matched the institutions we had in mind. The Saudi embassy, although, was a pleasant surprise arranged by Majid Al-Ibrahim, MBA ’17, who also organized the Saudi Arabia trek last year.

The MIT Sloan Finance & Policy Club just started last year. What other exciting developments has the club made?

In the first year of its existence, the club focused mainly on developing a debate on policy-related issues among the student community and by organizing a rich speaker series that mixed a number of exceptional speakers from both the academic and practitioners’ perspective. This had a tremendous impact on the MIT Sloan community in terms of getting people interested in careers at the crossroads of financial markets and policy, so this year we wanted to make a step forward and support students who are making career choices in that direction.

If I were a student coming into MIT Sloan, why might I want to join the Finance & Policy Club?

We all understand the importance of having well-governed and functioning financial markets for the development of an economy. We believe all MIT Sloan students, regardless of their aspired career goals, would benefit tremendously by being part of our club. It can be a phenomenal platform for students contemplating a career in financial policy or who just want to keep on top of what is going on in the regulatory sphere.