From Pace University to JP Morgan: Kelsey Berro ’15

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Kelsey Berro ’15

After helping to lead the Pace University College Fed Challenge Team to a national title—Pace’s team is now tied with Harvard for the most championships in the history of the competition—former team captain Kelsey Berro ’15, Business Economics, has taken the skills she learned in her time at Pace to a career as a portfolio manager at JP Morgan Asset Management. Berro is one of a long list of Pace economics department graduates and former Fed Challenge Team members who have gone on to work at big-name financial firms.

What initially interested you about joining the Federal Reserve Challenge Team?

I was looking for an opportunity to get involved with the department, make friends, and challenge myself academically. I have always had an interest in the financial markets. The encouragement I received from my professors in the economics department is what got me to show up and actually try out for the team. I am so grateful they did.

What skills did you learn from the Federal Reserve Challenge Team?

The list is endless. I was part of the team for three years including two years as a captain. During that time, I learned how to become a subject matter expert through hours and hours of studying in which I discovered that I was capable of much more than I thought. I also learned how to communicate messages effectively through data, presentations, and live Q&A with economists. Ultimately, the Fed Team is a team sport and so teaching the more junior members of the team is also crucial to the process and that includes interacting with a robust alumni network of former Fed Team members who are in the industry.

What is your favorite memory of being on the Federal Reserve Challenge Team?

I have so many wonderful memories: the late nights going through our presentation and debating monetary policy with Clinical Associate Professor Mark Weinstock and Professor Greg Colman, PhD; the anticipation while waiting to present at the NY Fed and being accompanied by Professor Anna Shostya, PhD, who always had snacks on hand (clementines and chocolate) in case we got hungry (I was too nervous); the three trips I took on Amtrak to Washington, D.C., where we got to present and tour the Federal Reserve Eccles building. On those trips to D.C., I shook hands with two Fed chairs: Ben Bernanke and Janet Yellen. On our way back home from D.C. after winning nationals my senior year, we got photographed by Humans of New York in Penn Station.

What challenges did you have to overcome in your time with the team?

Every year is a new challenge because the economy is always changing. The learning curve when you first join the team is very steep and there are always new things to learn, speeches to read, and research papers to review. I likely spent hundreds of hours on my own reading to make sure I could bring the most informed perspective to the team. As I became more senior, I also needed to learn how to teach others and get the best out of them. As you can imagine, time management was a key challenge between classwork, internships/part-time work and Fed Team. I leaned on my professors for support as well as my teammates especially my co-captain.

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How do you feel the Federal Reserve Challenge Team prepared you for your career?

There are both direct and indirect ways. More directly, I work as a portfolio manager in the fixed income market so the skills I gained to help me analyze market and economic data, assess the US economy and Fed monetary policy have a clear translation. More indirectly, the Fed team taught me how to think critically, have an opinion and be able to express that opinion to others in a persuasive way, which is highly important in the professional world.

The Pace team has won five national championships, a mark matched only by Harvard. How does that statistic make you feel, and what do you think are the keys to Pace’s tradition of success?

Hard work, grit, determination, and a lack of entitlement. We have won because we study the hardest, prepare the most, and because we earn it.

The Pace team also has a history of having a strong representation of women on the team. What does the Pace economics department do to empower women and how was this impactful to you?

The economics department saw potential in me and encouraged me to harness it. I continue to see them do that time and time again for all people in the department. I mentioned earlier that the Fed Team taught me how to have an opinion and not be scared to share it, essentially to have confidence in myself. I think my professors did an excellent job empowering those who may be less "seen" in a room, perhaps because another male counterpart initially jumps to the front, and giving everyone a chance.