The Psaros Center for Financial Markets and Policy, a research center housed within the McDonough School of Business (MSB) that focuses on the intersection of global finance and policy, announced a cohort of 14 students who will take part in the second annual FinPolicy Trek on April 15.

The FinPolicy Trek, which will run from May 13 to 17, offers selected students the opportunity to visit landmark policy and financial institutions in Washington, D.C., and New York City, N.Y., including the United States Department of Commerce and Goldman Sachs, a global investment and securities firm, to learn firsthand about current issues facing the finance and technology industries. This year’s cohort of scholars features first-year, sophomore and junior students across the MSB, College of Arts & Sciences (CAS) and School of Foreign Service (SFS). 

The 14 students will also join the FinPolicy Trek Scholars Program, which offers previous FinPolicy Trek attendees opportunities to learn from policymakers, market participants and other professionals in related fields through a monthly dinner and speaker series.

Reena Aggarwal, founding director of the Psaros Center, said the FinPolicy Trek allows students to see how policy affects the financial world.

“The Psaros Center for Financial Markets and Policy hopes that the FinPolicy Trek helps students understand the impact of policy and regulation on the functioning of global financial markets,” Aggarwal wrote to The Hoya. “Students have an opportunity to learn about the current issues faced by policymakers and business leaders.”

Anvitha Reddy (SFS ’26), a 2024 FinPolicy Trek scholar, said the Trek offers a unique opportunity to learn directly from industry leaders and explore how different firms interact with each other. 

“It’s just a really unique way of getting knowledge directly from the people that run it and I think that it’s a program that offers something that I don’t think is very accessible necessarily,” Reddy told The Hoya.

“It’s a great way to complement some of the things I learned in my classes, because you get to hear from real world leaders in their field. I think there’s a really unique interplay between all of these organizations and to get to hear from all of them is a really great opportunity,” she added.

David Vandivier, executive director of the Psaros Center and organizer of the FinPolicy Trek, said the Trek gives students a chance to learn about government and finance by hearing directly from prominent figures in those industries.

“One of the things that we believe, here at the Psaros Center, is that it’s a great way to experience the intersection of finance and policy by actually hearing from officials and market participants who are involved in these issues,” Vandivier told The Hoya. “We really try and give them a hands on experience.” 

Rafael Bruder (MSB ’27), another 2024 FinPolicy Trek scholar, said he is excited to gain an insider’s perspective on the workings of the government and financial industries.

“I hope to not only learn more about each governmental and private sector institution but to see inside and close up how they operate and what each industry works with behind the scenes,” Bruder wrote to The Hoya. “I think it will be cool to visit the normally hard-to-access White House and Treasury as well as network with investment banking and asset management professionals in New York.”

Hailey Walker (MSB ’26), a 2023 FinPolicy Trek scholar and a student assistant at the Psaros Center, said she especially enjoyed learning about the interaction between the policy and financial sectors and connecting with industry leaders during last year’s Trek.

“I thought it was really cool to learn about how these government entities manage economic policy and then going to New York, seeing how these just massive financial institutions truly operate and the way that the government and the business side of things, just the public and private sectors are very interconnected,” Walker told The Hoya. “As things were coming up in the news, we were able to discuss that with the people who are directly handling it and I thought that that’s one of the most special things about the FinPolicy Trek.”

Vandivier said he hopes this year’s cohort of students will similarly be able to engage with policymakers and finance executives against the backdrop of real-world events, referencing last year’s unexpected theme of the debt ceiling, the limit set by Congress on how much debt the U.S. Treasury can incur.

“These students were able to ask these questions of people at the Treasury Department about the debt limit, and then go up to New York and ask the same question or a very similar question to market participants,” Vandivier said. 

“One of the things that I think it’s going to be interesting to see is, ‘Will there be a theme that’s going to develop as these meetings go on?’ And that’s something you really can’t script,” he added.