Thinking Critically to 'Do Good in the World'

Finance and philosophy double major Jennifer Wang ’22 landed a job at Bank of America, where she will finance large-scale renewable energy projects around the world.

By Jessica Weiss ’05

For graduating senior Jennifer Wang ’22, thinking critically comes naturally. For as long as she can remember, she had questions about why things are the way they are—and how they could be better.

At the University of Maryland, Wang’s double major in finance and philosophy gave her the opportunity to apply that thinking to some of the most pressing issues facing society. While her business degree taught her to effectively “execute” ideas, such as by mobilizing people and conducting strategic planning, study in philosophy ensured that her actions were always underpinned with “sound judgment and moral principles.” 

“The world is complicated and so are its issues,” said Wang. “There’s no simple solution that can fit within a soundbite for anything. And I never want to close myself off from seeing the full picture of a problem.”

This summer, she’ll begin her professional career in New York City as an investment banking analyst at Bank of America. In the Power & Renewables group, she’ll work on a team that is financing large-scale renewable energy projects around the world.

Wang, who grew up in Germantown, Maryland, knew from an early age that she wanted to “do good in the world.” As a freshman at UMD, she became involved in the University Student Judiciary, a student governance organization that holds students accountable to the conduct policies of the university. By sophomore year, she was a presiding officer, responsible for facilitating and managing hearings, constructing reports and ensuring the overall fairness of the process. She was on the executive board both sophomore and junior year.

During the pandemic, Wang saw the need for improvements to the conduct review process to ensure “more equitable, holistic sanctioning” for students facing extenuating circumstances. As a result, in Spring 2021 she co-founded the Student Conduct Review Coalition, which aims to bring together students to identify points of reform in the conduct process.

“We actively create a space for there to be continuous discourse and review of the process,” she said. 

A University Honors student, Wang was an undergraduate teaching assistant for an upper-level core finance course and completed numerous internships, including one at the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission. She served as a volunteer with the Petey Greene Program, tutoring math and English at a correctional facility to help incarcerated people pass the GED. 

In November, she was named a finalist for the 2022 Marshall Scholarship, among the most prestigious academic awards available to college graduates.

Wang said she hopes to eventually pursue graduate school, or join a startup or nonprofit that aligns with her beliefs and values. For now, she sees investment banking as a way to “get a more thorough training of how the world actually works.”

“Whatever I do in life, I want it to have a positive effect,” she said. “At the end of the day, I think we can all agree that what matters in this world is the quality of life inside of it for everyone and everything.”

ARHU students can benefit from “Be Worldwise. Get Worldready.,” a career initiative that blends new and reimagined course offerings, integrated academic and career advising and access to internships, alumni networking and other opportunities across the region. Learn more.