In close partnership with the Notre Dame Alumni Association, the Notre Dame Club of Brazil, and the Center for Career Development, the São Paulo Global Center has developed a network of companies, foundations, and international associations familiar with Notre Dame and receptive to exploring opportunities for employment with Notre Dame students.
"Despite my choice of major, I have always been interested in more business-related areas, and more specifically in the past year, investment banking. Spending two months at Morgan Stanley's Investment Banking Division in São Paulo provided me with a thorough experience on what it is like to work in a big investment bank such as Morgan Stanley -- spending long hours at work, having to come up with detailed company pitches and presentations, and working on transactions that will have great impact in the market. I had the chance to gain extremely important finance and corporate practice knowledge that I would not have the chance to gain with engineering, while at the same time using my engineering problem-solving background to come up with solutions for issues and tasks that were given to me during my internship.
The analysts and associates were very kind and smart, and always tried to teach me financial concepts or how to execute specific tasks that are essential for investment banking. I had the chance to work closely on M&A and IPO processes of major companies for example, in the sectors of fields of education, retail investments, energy, oil & gas, pulp & paper, and transportation. I feel that now I have way more technical knowledge necessary for business that I did not have before this internship, and feel actually engaged with finance and interested in pursuing investment banking opportunities for my career."
"At Gaveteiro, I worked on analyzing data related to customer churn and inventory. I also assisted in creating keywords for products and making product recommendation dashboards on Salesforce. These tasks provided me with the opportunity to learn about what data analysis looks like in the real world and how I could apply what I had learned in my classes to real business problems.
Additionally, the chance to visit São Paulo was an unforgettable one that allowed me to gain a greater appreciation for Brazilian work culture. Working with real and sometimes imperfect datasets in a foreign country, this experience has trained me to not only think of more creative solutions to problems, but also to be more adaptable to new environments."
"At Ashoka, I got the opportunity to hear about and interact with some of Brazil’s most innovative social entrepreneurs. For several weeks, I attended meetings, translated articles, and participated in events that all revolved around the concepts of change, entrepreneurship, and social projects. In June, I met the founder of União Mãe de Anjos, an association for mothers whose children suffer from microcephaly. When she noticed a lack of assistance from the government, she decided to turn her fight into a project that is now supporting hundreds of families in Brazil.
This experience not only enlightened me on the urge for social engagement, but also made me aware that the solutions to our current global issues reside in our own desire to change things. In other words, I realized that the most important element about change is the human mind - it is a powerhouse of ideas, and thereby a powerhouse of change."
"My job at Base was incredible. It is hard to believe that in only 3 months, I was able to experience so much. Researching our possible investments involved everything – from interviewing couriers to going to Turkey, from talking to CEOs to reading highly technical research papers. I got to meet remarkable people from several different fields, of which I would highlight Venture Capital legend Michael Moritz. My experience at Base solidified my interest in the financial markets and in cutting-edge technology."
"After taking two courses, I decided to seek out an opportunity for language immersion through a summer internship in Brazil, and I was beyond excited to receive a grant from the Center of Undergraduate Scholarly Engagement to spend two months in the Medical Quality department of the healthcare company dr.consulta.
I asked to go to every meeting I could, and slowly my ear became accustomed to the unique accents and sayings. As I gained confidence and asked more questions, I gained a deeper understanding of dr.consulta’s intricate electronic health records and their advanced medical protocols. I began to learn about the way people work, their experiences, their life, and how their diverse outlooks were reflected in everything they did."
"During my time at the investment bank BTG Pactual, I worked with the Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) Risk Management and Sustainability team, specifically focusing on the recently-created Impact Investing group. Even as a summer intern, I got to actively participate in the group initiatives that ranged from mapping the Brazilian market and meeting with the biggest players in the industry to helping them design products and coming up with a successful action plan to enter the market.
This experience not only helped me materialize the idea that the private sector plays a very important role in contributing to the sustainable development of any country, especially in Brazil’s case, but also allowed me to develop a mindset that takes into account ESG and sustainability factors when making decision as a future business leader. One of the greatest lessons I got out of the experience was that we don’t need to choose between making money and changing the world, we can achieve both financial returns and a positive impact when we make use of transformative tools such as impact investing."
"Working in the area of Human Resources at BTG Pactual allowed me to grow as an individual and as a professional since I truly identified myself with the company’s culture and values. Given the hands-on experience, it allowed me to understand the dynamics of the day-to-day and embrace the environment at the bank. During my internship, I belonged to a network of individuals and was welcomed by compassionate coworkers that showed me how hard work and dedication leads you to great outcomes.
I can definitely say that I am now a different person than the one I was when I first started my internship. It was an honor to be surrounded by talented coworkers who helped me grow both professionally and as an individual."
