Vanessa Zhang
Corporate Banking Associate
Citi
What was your introduction to the Finance industry?
I fortunately had an opportunity my sophomore summer to intern at JP Morgan within the Office of the COO, where I was introduced to the world of banking and the complex intersection with government regulation and policy. Up until that experience, most of my coursework and focus at school was on international relations, but after that summer, I added Economics as a second major and became more involved in finance-related clubs.
The following summer I joined Citi's Summer Analyst program in the Public Sector Group. That summer was such a great experience - building on my previous summer experience and college coursework, broadening my knowledge of the banking industry and meeting such amazing people. It was an easy decision to join full time and I've been at Citi ever since!
What type of impact are you hoping to make in the ACE community?
More than anything I am hoping to bring a sense of authenticity and relatability to other women in finance and those who are interested in a career in finance. Much of what is available online and even in books is written from the male perspective, so I think it would be great to shed light on what it is like to be a woman in finance from the highs and lows, challenges and successes and work and play, etc.
When and why did women empowerment in finance start to become an important issue for you?
As a first gen college student, my experience navigating the college application, internship process and job search were quite challenging when I was trying to do it on my own. I quickly realized that there were so many unwritten rules that were out there but not widely known or transparent, some of them could even limit chances of success.
That's why I think it's so important to build support networks, channels to democratize "pro-tips" and opportunities for mentorship and sponsorship for women in order to widen the path to success within finance at all levels, analyst to CEO.
What inspires you and keeps you motivated?
My family! Both of my parents have such amazing life stories of dreaming big and going out and chasing them. My sister, too, has such a killer sense of grit and perseverance. Whenever things start getting tough, I always think of them and their journeys to reignite my fire.
What are your interests and a fun fact about yourself?
I love traveling/hiking, playing volleyball and fitness classes like Soul Cycle and Barry's, but since quarantine hit I have really gotten into indoor plants and cooking! I now have 16 plants in my apartment and it keeps growing every weekend!