2024 Summer Intern Spotlight: First Impressions
July 2024
July 2024
This summer, we welcomed our largest intern class to date with more than 180 interns joining us across businesses and departments around our global offices. We asked four of our summer interns to share their early experiences with the firm, the skills they hope to gain from their internship, and more.
Tell me a little bit about yourself and what you’re doing at the firm this summer.
Shuchen: I’m originally from China, where I lived until high school before moving to Canada. I am currently studying computer science at the University of Waterloo and am set to graduate this December. I am a Research Engineering Intern on the Cubist Central Research Technology team. Our focus is on research and development. We provide shared tools including trading infrastructures and distributed computation that can be utilized across the firm.
Katherine: I was raised in Norwalk, Connecticut, and I am entering my senior year at Dartmouth College, majoring in economics and government. I am captain of our club water polo team and involved in our DREAM program that provides mentorship to young children in the Upper Valley of New Hampshire. This summer I am interning with the Point72 Academy, an investment analyst training program that’s a blend of classroom instruction, portfolio coursework, and mentorship. Our first week was primarily classroom-based. Then we moved to a three-week rotation on investing teams, which we just completed, and we will spend the next few weeks back in the classroom with Academy coaches.
Rohan: I am from Bengaluru, India, often referred to as the Silicon Valley of India. I came to the U.S. for my studies at NYU, where I am majoring in data science with a minor in business. I am also a member of our Scholars of Finance club. I am a Market Intelligence intern covering the technology, media, and telecommunications (TMT) sector. My role is primarily extracting insights from compliant alternative datasets to produce research for our investment professionals to use in their day-to-day.
Edison: I am from Glasgow, Kentucky, and am studying finance at the University of Kentucky. At school, I enjoy engaging in a wide range of campus activities, including Greek life, student government, and my honors program. I’m interning on the Portfolio Management Reporting and Analysis (PMRA) team. My job involves reviewing contracts and preparing deal summaries to provide a comprehensive summary of end of the year compensation to anticipate the 2024 payout season.
What was the most valuable thing you’ve learned in the first few weeks of your internship?
Shuchen: My team is very fast-paced. I began my internship project on my second day of the program. I also feel like everyone on my team is very passionate about what they do and enjoys solving problems collaboratively.
Katherine: At Point72, diverse thought and process is not only encouraged but valued. From talking to my friends, I cannot think of another internship that prioritizes dynamic learning and development like Point72 does. With this, some of the most valuable learning that I have done has been introspection on my own process; I am in a constant state of reflection and development. I truly love it.
Rohan: I believe that everyone is very welcoming and willing to engage in conversation. There’s a big collaborative nature and entrepreneurial spirit. Another notable aspect of the firm is that, in my experience, everyone is incredibly driven and humble. This mindset allows for the recognition and rectification of mistakes, which contributes to encouraging innovation.
Edison: The importance of immersing yourself in your community. I believe Point72 does a great job involving interns in activities in and out of the office. Some of the highlights so far have included the family picnic, volunteering opportunities, and Wednesday night volleyball games at the Stamford office.
What do you hope to take away from this internship?
Shuchen: The experiences that I am already gaining from this internship are amazing. I have already learned a lot about taking ownership of my work. In my current project, I’m overseeing the end-to-end process of a product, from designing it, developing it, testing it, and demo’ing it to other teams and portfolio managers.
Katherine: These eight weeks are going to be really great for developing my toolkit. I hope to continue to develop my passion for investing and the public markets. Being in the middle of my rotation, I definitely see this happening. It is really exciting to be in an environment where you are not only expected to generate ideas, but can potentially see them implemented.
Rohan: One thing I want to adopt is giving 200% in everything I do. I think there is ample time in the day for everything if you truly manage your time well. Ultimately, it’s about doing what you love. That’s something I certainly want to embrace.
Edison: I believe there’s a lot of different skills I can learn on the technical end, for example, navigating the PMRA platforms. I also think I will learn a lot about industry news, AI, and other topics through working with my team, meeting interns on different teams, and participating in Learning & Development events.
What do you enjoy most about the Point72 culture?
Shuchen: It seems to me like Point72 and Cubist try to hire the smartest people and are diligent in placing people with a team that suits them best. The firm also places a big importance on the wellbeing of their employees.
Katherine: From day one, the coaches have emphasized that Point72 is an idea meritocracy. Sitting on my rotation and watching PM and analyst interactions, I have loved witnessing the genuine truth behind that. I love that the culture prioritizes not only a love for learning but also a responsibility behind it. A great idea is not only a right one, but it is one that is full of conviction and intellectual honesty.
Rohan: From my time at Point72, I’ve experienced a truly collaborative environment where colleagues are eager to share insights and support each other’s success. What stands out to me is the drive and intellectual curiosity everyone brings to the table, which helps foster a culture of continuous learning and growth.
Edison: Employee satisfaction. While firms generally acknowledge its importance, some may not know how to foster it. I think at Point72 that everyone is engaged in hard work. Yet, I believe there’s a strong sense of humanity and compassion, and a concerted effort to not only get to know others within the organization but to cultivate an inclusive culture.
What is a fun fact about you?
Shuchen: I enjoy karting and have recently gotten my karting license.
Katherine: This feels a bit crazy, but I am swimming from Alcatraz to San Francisco in an open water race with my friend from Dartmouth at the end of the summer.
Rohan: I co-founded a news media company when I was in high school, and it turned out to be the largest student-led news media company in India.
Edison: This summer I started to learn how to DJ.