Elisa Barthelemy in the Gabelli School of Business trading room. Photo by Kelly Prinz
Growing up in a small village in France, Elisa Barthelemy always had big dreams—particularly working on Wall Street.
“I wanted to be as close to Wall Street as possible,” she says. “I didn’t know specific financial concepts, but I just knew I wanted to be a trader because I like looking at the market.”
To turn that dream into a career, Barthelemy chose Fordham, where she paired her business degree with a major in math and economics. That combination helped her see how the stock market and economy are tied together. And it gave her the technical language and analytical skills she needed to succeed in finance in New York City.
Building Her Own Algorithm
In her junior year, Barthelemy translated theory into practice by creating a trading algorithm that predicts market movements following Federal Reserve interest rate announcements.
“I wanted to create something that would be really relevant for my career, and something that I like too,” she says. “I know it’s very niche, but I really like [analyzing] market movement on a small time frame.”
That technical edge—plus Fordham’s connections in the financial capital of the world—helped her land a summer internship at Barclays. After rotating through several roles, she landed a full-time job as an electronic trading analyst after graduation.
Gaining Financial Knowledge and Connections
Barthelemy credits her Wall Street readiness to both of her majors but says she particularly loved the Student Managed Investment Fund. That yearlong course gives students a chance to invest more than $2 million of Fordham’s endowment.
Assigned to the commodities sector, she tracked how geopolitical events and tariffs affected the price of gold. “It was a class, but it was also a real experience because we were investing real money,” she says.
Ultimately, all of her Gabelli School of Business classes gave her “the right vocabulary” and connections to start her career on Wall Street.
“Where I’m from, working in a major investment bank was something incredible,” she says. “Fordham really gave me all the opportunities I needed to broaden my perspective and speak with professionals and get to where I am now.”