By Tierra Patmavanu ’18

           My experience as a research assistant at the Kravis Leadership Institute for Professor Ron Riggio was a fundamental part of my development not only as a student at Claremont McKenna College (CMC), but also as an investment banking summer analyst at Cain Brothers.

            It seems like yesterday that the Class of 2018 sat down for a sophomore class dinner at the Athenaeum. At this event, I met Professor Riggio and explained my interest in research and the Kravis Leadership Institute. Shortly after, I started working as a research assistant. While I did not have explicit experience in leadership studies, Professor Riggio saw my potential. Cain Brothers also recognized my potential – the potential to grow and develop not only professionally, but also personally.

            It has truly been an incredible summer experience. From contributing to a live sell-side deal and helping with creating a winning sell-side pitch book, and managing the initial client due diligence process in preparation for an upcoming kickoff meeting with Rob Fraiman, the President and CEO of Cain Brothers, I have experienced a tremendous amount of growth. The skills that I have developed at Cain Brothers such as the ability to take criticism, adapting to a quickly changing environment, developing self-awareness of my boundaries and learning to say no, are skills that I have continued carry on in my academic career at CMC. But what genuinely resonates with both the Kravis Leadership Institute and Cain Brothers is the mentorship. At the Kravis Leadership Institute, Professor Riggio and Professor Julie Christian from the University of Birmingham, England served as remarkable mentors. At Cain Brothers, I found the same type of mentorship from both junior and senior bankers.

            While there were challenging times, my experience at Cain Brothers was unbelievably rewarding. It taught me the importance of realizing the bigger picture and of maintaining your authenticity as a person. CMC cares and Cain Brothers cares as well. During my last year at “Camp Claremont”, I am looking forward to continue building my acumen in finance and accounting and enjoying all of the experiences senior year has to offer.

About the author

Born and raised from Las Vegas, Tierra Patmavanu is a senior at Claremont McKenna College. After graduating from CMC in May 2018, Tierra will work as an investment banking analyst with the Mergers & Acquisitions team at Cain Brothers in their San Francisco office. This past summer Tierra interned at Cain Brothers as an investment banking summer analyst. As an Edward J. Sexton PPE Fellow, a Robert Day School Scholar, and a 2017 CMC Nominee for Harry S. Truman Scholarship, Tierra will graduate with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and a Sequence in Financial Economics from CMC’s Robert Day School of Economics and Finance.