Sophomore economics major Tenzin Yangchen ’25 is exploring career options. “Investment banking caught my eye,” she says, but there was a lot the first-gen student didn’t know. A Tibetan refugee in India, Yangchen came to Wellesley after two years at a United World College in the Netherlands. Last fall she was excited to learn that over Wintersession 2023, Career Education was offering new four-day-long immersive learning programs called Upskill. Students would gain hands-on experience and begin building skills in specific industries—in 2023, investment banking and entrepreneurship.

In the investment banking program, students took a two-day Wall Street Prep course. On the third day, they interacted with a panel of people who work in the industry, and on the fourth, they visited Canaccord Genuity’s Boston office and delivered stock pitches to staff. Yangchen and her partner, Sarah Jelimo Kimutai ’24, pitched Bath & Body Works. They learned a lot from the experience and from meeting industry professionals. “As a first-gen student, you’re not 100% sure all the time, because you have so many questions. … Now I feel much more confident to pursue a finance career,” Yangchen says.