For seven Business School students, a recent trip to New York City was nothing short of a dream come true.

“To be honest, a tear came to my eye,” said Collin Berndt, a senior Business School student, concentrating in Finance.

Collin and six other members of the Finance and Investment Club toured the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), thanks to University of Vermont Alum Peter Low (’63), who hosted the students as part of the club’s annual networking trip to New York City.     

“This was definitely a cool networking opportunity,” said Gilles Crelly-Meyers, a freshman in the Business School.

Peter Low, a Managing Director and Senior Advisor at the Griswold Company, was active on the Floor for 36 years and is still a Member in good standing. He spoke to the students about his family history, including how his father was active on the Floor for nearly 50 years.  One of Peter’s favorite memories was meeting Warren Buffet in 1998 at the Stock Exchange.  Knowing that Buffet had a love of financial history, Peter came across John D. Rockefeller’s original 1937 obituary from The New York Times and sent it to Buffet.  Several days later, Buffet sent Peter a personal thank you letter that is now on display in his den at home.

“Everyone enjoyed hearing about his experiences,” said Collin. 

While in New York, the club also visited Irwin Goldberg (’74) at Goldman Sachs and Stephen Penwell (’84) at Morgan Stanley.

Irwin Goldberg is the head of the Supervisory Control Group in the Securities Division at Goldman Sachs.  He earned his BS in Chemistry at the University of Vermont and an MBA from Cleveland State University.  He offered some sound advice to the students about being in the workplace.  Irwin told the students that the most important thing they can learn to do is become a good listener. 

Stephen Penwell is the Director of Equity Research for North America.  He received his BS in Business Administration at the University of Vermont and his MBA at New York University.  Stephen is also a member of the School of Business Administration Board of Advisors.

The Finance and Investment Club is just one of eight undergraduate student-run organizations in the School of Business Administration. More information about our clubs/organizations.