Hi! My name is Donna Wong, and I’m an associate at Zenyth Partners. Before Zenyth, I was in Jefferies’ Healthcare Investment Banking group based in NYC. I’m originally from Hong Kong and I graduated from Tulane University in December ’21 with a BS in Economics. During college, I also took on leadership roles within CHAARG (Changing Health, Attitudes and Actions to Recreate Girls) and Consult Your Community. I decided to pursue healthcare investment banking for its exposure to all kinds of public/private transactions across the healthcare universe and the various learning opportunities. As a former international student who did not formally intern in banking in the summer prior to graduation, I encountered all the usual obstacles during the recruiting process due to my visa status, on top of limited openings in the full time cycle. I can be most helpful in discussing recruitment strategies as an international student, breaking into banking from a liberal arts background, and/or full time recruiting.

Hi, I’m Aakash Patel. I’m currently an Associate at H.I.G. Capital in the San Francisco office, where I joined in the latter half of 2024. Before H.I.G., I worked in Investment Banking—first in Seattle, and later with Perella Weinberg Partners in San Francisco. I was born and raised in India, lived in the U.K. for some time after that before moving to the U.S.  I started undergrad at a community college before transferring to Haas at UC Berkeley, so it’s fair to say my path to private equity hasn’t been the most linear or traditional. Now, I wouldn’t claim I was born to generate alpha for my LPs, but I’ve always been drawn to what this job really cultivates: (1) qualitative/quantitative roundedness, and (2) independent, critical thinking. Always happy to chat—about the job, recruiting…or European soccer (bias towards CR7 fans!)

My name is Justin Huang and I am currently an analyst at BDT & MSD Partners, where I work on transaction analysis and execution of investments and strategic advisory assignments. I graduated with a B.S. in Business Administration and a B.A. in Economics from the University of California, Berkeley. I'm originally from Sydney, Australia, and moved around a few different countries, so I'm able to speak to recruiting as an international student. Happy to chat about recruiting, interviewing, and career paths in general.

My name is Drew Duff and I am currently a Senior Consultant at Deloitte, based out of New York City. My journey began when I moved to Brazil to live and work for several years at the U.S. Department of State. Around this same period, I chose to double major in Economics & International Affairs at Wake Forest University. Consulting offered the prospect of addressing complex social, financial, and health issues through private-sector solutions. I found this opportunity fascinating and consequently, at Deloitte I now focus on helping clients make strategic choices to solve challenges within the Financial Services and Life Sciences industries. In addition, as a member of Deloitte’s ALPFA committee (Association for Latino Professionals) I have worked hands-on to champion dozens of students and professionals from non-traditional backgrounds. I would be happy to chat on anything related to the consulting life and recruiting process.

Hello, my name is R.J. Shamberger, and I am a private equity associate at A&M Capital (an independent affiliate of Alvarez & Marsal Consulting) based in Greenwich, CT. Prior to my current position, I spent three years in Partners Group’s rotational analyst program based in Denver, CO where I spent time across their secondaries, private credit, and buyout business services teams. In my current role, I focus on executing majority buyouts in the middle market for transactions up to $200 million.

I am originally from Charlotte, NC and earned my BA in Economics from Williams College in Massachusetts. I spent my first-year post-grad as a teaching assistant at a New England boarding school before transitioning into private equity. As someone with a non-traditional background, I can relate to the daunting task of breaking into finance and am always happy to share the ins-and-outs of how I worked my way from the classroom to the desk as well as the lessons I learned along the way.