Marcus Astesana '17: Finance opens up new possibilities

Marcus Astesana '17, an international student from Sweden, was attending Elmira College when the Finance program launched in 2014. Astesana was majoring in International Business, but he enjoyed his Economics courses with Dr. Mariam Khawar, Professor of Economics. She asked Astesana about his interests and together they worked out how he could reach a triple major in Business, Economics, and Finance.

"One of my biggest achievements was balancing the triple major and still doing well academically," he said.

For Astesana, Finance opened up new possibilities he hadn't considered before.

"I felt like I was learning the hacks of investing and personal finance," he said, "things I thought were super hard and only people on Wall Street understand."

Astesana is now back in Stockholm working as an investment specialist at Nordea Asset Management. He has excelled at his company thanks, in part, to his Finance and Economics classes. But Astesana also credits the broader liberal arts focus, particularly his English and writing courses.

"My English skills helped me stand out in my work," he said. "Since we are an international firm where English is not most of my colleagues' native language, having solid writing and English skills comes in handy."

Astesana looks forward to helping people through a career in finance.

"I get to help clients meet their goals, and that is exciting," he said.