Lara Bubalo grew up in Edina, Minnesota, but was enticed to SMU Cox by its southern hospitality and generosity. She was also invited to be a Business Scholar in the Business Scholars Program. This program offers a small number of select students direct admission into the Cox School in their first year rather than during the third year, in addition to a multitude of resources such as early access to Cox programs, advisors, and career counselors.
During her Cox career, Bubalo enjoyed studying abroad in Madrid, where she took a business ethics course with Professor Kurt Tennant. She found the course challenging because it forced her to reconsider preconceived notions about business and cultural differences.
She also enjoyed Professor Jeffrey Hart's courses in advanced financial management, and investment analysis and portfolio management. After learning some key concepts in Hart's class, Bubalo was able to approach job interviews with a much higher level of comfort, thanks to a greater understanding of financial theory as well as practical application.
"Professor Hart has a gift for teaching that makes his classes interesting, entertaining, and informative," she said. "He is also extremely committed to helping his students find jobs for after graduation. In fact, I landed my job thanks to Professor Hart and one of his former students."
Upon graduation, Bubalo will begin working for Lehman Brothers Private Equity, participating in the three-year analyst program. Her short-term goals include obtaining an MBA and passing all three levels of the CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst). In the long term, she would love to start her own non-profit organization, as inspired by Warren Buffet and Melinda and Bill Gates.
In addition to her coursework, Bubalo took advantage of the wide resources available through the Cox network, including the Business Leadership Spotlight (BLS), an executive speaker series.
"One of my most enjoyable experiences was the presentation by Michael Coles, CEO of Caribou Coffee," she said. "Caribou is based in Minnesota and is the second largest retailer in the country after Starbucks. It is one of my favorite places to visit when I go home. The opportunity to hear the trials and tribulations of today's top business executives is priceless."
In her early days at Cox, Bubalo originally planned on majoring in marketing. After a summer internship, however, she decided that was not the career path she wished to pursue. So she changed her major to finance and pursued another internship in the hedge fund industry.
"Every internship experience provided an incredible learning opportunity and refined my own career goals," said Bubalo. "I'm extremely happy to now be working in private equity."
For Bubalo, the Cox network provided an excellent spring board to jump-starting her career.
"I can thank the Cox network for the job I will begin after graduation," she said. "I would encourage students interested in private equity to read as much material as the possibly can on the subject, and try and land an internship in the sector because nothing compares to on-the-job training. Also, utilize the Cox resources by talking to your professors and tapping into the alumni network."
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