Senior Megan Schwarzkopf is a finance major with a mathematics minor from Atlanta, Ga. Initially intending to be a math major, Schwarzkopf eventually found herself choosing finance after taking various accounting and finance courses. 

“I originally was going to be a math major because I’ve always liked math. However, math courses here become too theoretical and focused on proofs, and I noticed that in my first finance course that it had the math problem-solving that I liked in a more analytical and applicable way,” Schwarzkopf said. 

Finance offered her something that stuck out to her. Throughout her time in the business school, Schwarzkopf has taken many courses across disciplines — including accounting and in Business and Enterprise Management. Yet, her finance courses stick out as favorites.

“I like the different courses that I have taken; they are really Excel heavy. I am in a Financial Modeling class that is really cool, because it is all on Excel and forecasting things and making things applicable to the real world,” Schwarzkopf said. 

“Beyond being a top performer, Megan has made it a point to spend time with me outside of class to learn as much as possible on our core topics and related tangents as well,” said Professor Brian Young, who teaches the  Financial Modeling class. “Her work ethic, thirst for knowledge and positive attitude give me confidence that she will do well with anything she takes on after graduation.”

Professors Bill Marcum and Deon Strickland wrote a joint nomination letter on behalf of Schwarzkopf for the Calloway Spirit Award earlier this semester. In the letter, the two said, “Megan is a rare individual [who] pursues her dreams relentlessly without losing sight of the aspirations and needs of the people around her.  She is a person who has demonstrated through her actions her sincere desire to positively impact the students, faculty and organizations that comprise Wake Forest University.”

Schwarzkopf also noted that she’s thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to get to know her professors outside of the classroom. 

“I’ve really appreciated how close I have gotten with the professors and their ability to test me critically. I’ve learned things really deeply, in the sense that I am not studying but more understand concepts,” Schwarzkopf said. “It is puzzle-solving, and I get to build relationships with professors and them have them challenge me in unique ways.”

While at Wake Forest, Schwarzkopf has been a member of Kappa Delta, serving on the executive council as Vice President of Community Service, an executive member of the Finance Club and is also a teaching assistant for Accounting 111. 

Schwarzkopf interned with Barclays last summer, in the Financial Sponsors group and will be returning to investment banking at Barclays after graduation. She is excited about the opportunity to return to Barclays and for what the job will bring her. 

“It is a cool combination of Excel and writing and understanding situations and working with people. It is exactly what I wanted because I always thought that I socially could never merge with myself academically and I actually can. I get to work with people and do really cool analysis,” Schwarzkopf said.