The Project Wall Street Mission

Why Students Need Our Help

Underrepresented students face significant hurdles in accessing finance roles, even at elite institutions like Ivy League schools. First-generation and low-income students often lack the generational knowledge, connections, and financial support that many of their peers take for granted. This makes their journey to successful careers in finance much more daunting. Many also experience social isolation and emotional pressure, striving to succeed not only for themselves but also for their families. This added burden can hinder their career prospects (Chaudhary, 2020). In fact, a study from the National Center for Education Statistics shows that first-generation students are 50% less likely to graduate within six years compared to their peers (NCES, 2019).

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How We Help Them

We tackle these challenges head-on through mentorship, education, and networking, helping students not only get their foot in the door at top firms but also thrive once they’re there. Our fellowship program provides essential mentorship that builds valuable connections and enhances students’ economic capital. Research from the Brookings Institution highlights that friendships and social networks significantly influence economic mobility (Chetty et al., 2020). By connecting students with industry mentors, we help them develop the relationships necessary for upward mobility and career success.

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How We Help Wall Street

The students we choose to be in the fellowship placement program are special – shaped by a life of unique experiences. They will lead with compassion and a commitment to social impact. They are poised to become future leaders in finance and understand the necessity of balancing profit with purpose. But on a broader scale, investing in talent from varied socioeconomic backgrounds is not just the right thing to do; it’s a smart business move. They bring diverse perspectives shaped by their varied experiences, enhancing problem-solving capabilities in high-pressure situations. This range of perspectives fosters innovative thinking, essential for developing unique financial solutions and strategies. Individuals from the backgrounds we support are statistically proven to outwork and outperform their peers. They just need a chance.

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Join Us In Our Mission

By partnering with PWS, financial institutions can access a pipeline of exceptional talent ready to reshape the industry. Together, we can create a more inclusive, innovative, and profitable financial landscape driven by resilient and empathetic leaders. Project Wall Street champions the importance of socioeconomic and perspective diversity in finance. By investing in students from underrepresented backgrounds, we show that profitability and purpose can go hand in hand. Join us in transforming the industry for the better.

Project Wall Street was established as a nonprofit to remove money as a motivating factor, determinant of success, or influence in our decision making. We were formed as a humanitarian effort and are committed to remaining a humanitarian effort. Our success is, as will always be, measured by impact and impact alone. And it was through this lens that we asked ourselves the following questions: How do we spread out mission the farthest? How do we make the biggest impact? How do we grow? And thus, Project Wall Street was born.

Step one, spread our mission as far as possible. Because we do not charge for access to our education, we have no incentive to limit or dull the education that we supply. And this very education is primarily structured to help high school and college students, a demographic readily accessible through social media. Albeit a relatively unorthodox approach for the industry - we could not allow our impact to be limited by trivial concerns about perception or ego. We knew that as long as the quality of the education and content remained to our professional standard (a standard that the general public is simply not used to), the right people would be drawn to Project Wall Street regardless of the platform. So we began sharing our industry knowledge for free en masse and, fortunately, the right people took notice.

Through this education, we have managed to cultivate a community of over 15,000 college students, professors, Investment Bankers, Consultants, Traders, high school teachers, and more within the calendar year. It was through showing, not telling, that this was accomplished - demonstration of our education has not only attracted students interested in the industry, but current and former industry professionals who appreciate exactly what is being provided. Only with the online support of Wall Street professionals far more senior than ourselves have we managed to grow so quickly among our nation's top schools - drawing in hundreds upon hundreds of applications from college students from all around the globe for our very first official Fellowship cohort (without any direct marketing). And it is through this very support that we have begun working with our flagship high schools to bring Project Wall Street to a school near you.