Boarding the plane for my first international trip in over seven years was beyond exciting. I was most excited to try airplane food, as the only other flights I had been on were three hours long and, on those, you are only given a beverage and a snack. Little did I know I was about to embark on such a memorable experience.
I vividly remember learning about the opportunity to study abroad in London when I visited the Frank G. Zarb School of Business after receiving my acceptance letter from Hofstra University. I thought to myself that this would be such a cool experience and kept it on the back burner in my mind. Then, as I was registering for my Spring 2026 courses, I realized I had already completed one of the three courses offered for the trip: IB 150, “Introduction to International Business.” This class just happened to be the only course that counted toward my degree in finance. Realizing I did not want to miss out on this chance to travel internationally, I enrolled in ENTR 126, “International Entrepreneurial Consulting,” with no hesitation.
To me, this sounded like a great plan because I was already enrolled in ENTR 115, “Entrepreneurial Mindset,” so taking two entrepreneurship classes at the same time seemed like a cool undertaking that I could learn a lot from as a finance major. On top of that, taking both classes with Professor Shu Yang appeared to be a strategic way to network with a professor in a discipline different from mine. Making this choice was probably the best decision I could have ever made in my academic career.
The first thing most students who have been on the “Zarb in London” trip recall is going to the London Stock Exchange (LSEG) and ringing the closing bell or, more specifically, pressing the button to close the market; it is the first thing I remember, without a doubt. It is the most important professional event that takes place over the course of the trip, occurring on the last day before returning home. Everyone in attendance also gets the opportunity to sign the visitor book, which is then recorded in the National Archives (United Kingdom).
Prior to the trip, I remember my teammates for the project asked our professor, “Who will get to press the button?” She responded that the faculty usually nominates a graduate student. This answer did not prepare me for what I would learn in a virtual call just a week before the trip: that I was nominated to press the button.
As aforementioned, having two classes with the same professor was a great decision. Being that both courses are driven by team-based projects, I got to showcase my abilities to take initiative and collaborate with other students. I became the team leader for projects in both courses and conducted several team meetings – both in-person and virtually – to meet project deadlines. They say hard work never goes unnoticed, and now I can genuinely say I believe this is true as Yang recognized my efforts and nominated me for the prestigious opportunity to close the market.
This great news was just the start of what would be a great trip. While in London, I was counting down the days until the group went to the LSEG. That being said, I was counting slowly because nine days can go pretty quickly, and I did not want to rush my time in the city. There was a lot to look forward to: visiting the Big Ben and different companies, sitting down for group lunches and exploring the city in my free time.
Being a commuter at Hofstra, the closest I have ever come to being someone’s roommate was staying overnight during New Student Orientation prior to my freshman year, which was a great experience. This kept me in high spirits as I got extremely lucky to room with a member from my project team, senior management major Krisley Lian. She played a role in making London such a memorable trip. We made memories before we even boarded the plane: the two of us cluelessly walked to an entirely different gate in the airport and had to take the shuttle bus back to the correct gate. Luckily, we made this silly mistake an hour before the flight’s departure time.
While in London, the most fun times were after or in between company visits, where Lian and I would explore the city with our professors. While other students went off on their own, we took a ride on the London Eye and the Uber Boat by Thames Clippers, traveled to the Tower Bridge and went souvenir-shopping with professors Yang and Songpol Kulviwat. Doing so allowed both of us to interact with the professors, share our personal and academic interests and learn things we will take with us throughout the course of our careers.
A major part of this trip was meeting with the London-based entrepreneurs we were working with. My team was very excited to meet one of the three co-founders of our start-up, RegentComply.ai. This was such an important meeting for strategizing and learning how to move forward with our project. Amidst all the fun everyone was having in London, this was a business trip for a reason.
Speaking of business, the company visit that served as a pivotal learning opportunity and eye-opening experience was with Apollo Global Management. There, we met Justin Sendak, Zarb School alum and the head of Capital Market at Apollo. He spoke about the current state of the capital markets and the projection of the job market. His honesty about the realities of job growth halting amid increasing reliance on artificial intelligence was refreshing and now resides with me.
In Brixton, London, we had the chance to tour the Black Seed VC space and meet the team spearheading the initiatives behind the Black-led venture capital firm that supports Black entrepreneurs in the United Kingdom. Meeting these two businesses and seeing the impact of the work they do was incredible.
The major highlight of the trip was closing the market. I felt a surge of excitement the moment I set foot in the building, knowing it was only minutes away. It all felt unreal. I remember our host shared that many important and famous individuals had opened or closed the market. Realizing I was about to press the same button was gratifying. Before the final countdown, watching all the final orders take place and billions and billions of pounds being traded in the market at that very moment was extraordinary. Amidst watching the big screens, I was carefully watching the clock to make sure I did not press the button a moment too soon or too late. Right after pressing it, I felt proud and grateful – proud of the hard work that brought me to this moment and grateful for my parents’ support along my life’s journey.
I made the most of my time on this trip. My main takeaways were not mainly from what I had done on the trip, but from what I had done before – choosing to test my limits and take two demanding courses where I worked to make a positive impression that led to the greatest honor of my life thus far.
