HFAC Story of Self
Five semesters later, I am in Jae’s former position as one of the co-presidents of HFAC. HFAC is Harvard’s largest undergraduate finance organization – this spring semester, we have 134 undergraduates in our educational comp which introduces the basic principles of finance, 118 undergraduates in our Asset Management group which manages a $40K investment fund, 40 undergraduates in our Quantitative Finance group and a 22-person board. Founded in 1996, HFAC has helped serve a needed void at Harvard, a liberal arts institution, to educate and provide opportunities for undergraduates looking to enter the financial services industry.
Since joining HFAC as a freshman, I have seen the wonderful assets that this unique organization has from its vast alumni network, strong sponsor relationships and, most importantly, a broad on-campus network to connect like-minded peers. However, I have also seen HFAC’s value diminish as our offerings to our peers have become stale and static. From my experiences as co-president and with conversations with other board members, it is clear that HFAC has not properly adapted to the needs of the student body – we do not have strong initiatives or institutional perspectives on how to address pertinent topics ranging from diversity (across a gender, race and orientation) in finance, mentorship and interview preparation, quantitative finance and providing real-world experiences. However, recent changes in board structure and culture have created an opportunity to redefine the mission of HFAC and the organization itself – I recognize my fellow board members and I uniquely have the opportunity to redefine HFAC, an organization in flux, for years to come.