Washington and Lee University
When I came to W&L, I imagined I would graduate with a degree in politics and go straight to law school. I graduated with so much more - literally. I graduated with three majors (business, politics and German), two degrees (a BA and a BS), and one certificate in the Shepherd Program for the Interdisciplinary Study of Poverty and Human Capability.
It was this last achievement which shaped my year after graduation as I went to Hong Kong on a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship and studied poverty and social welfare. It was this certificate, in addition to my Shepherd internship at the East River Development Alliance, that made me passionate about education, about poverty and about the cycle of poverty which exists in New York City public housing.
I now work at a large bank in New York City - Goldman Sachs. Believe it or not, I am still passionate about these things because the Shepherd Program gave me the tools to be passionate and educated about different facets of poverty, while utilizing the other skills I studied at W&L to build my career.
I plan on staying in the field of business/finance for the long haul. But on the side, I hope to use what skills I develop in my career to aid in the betterment of educational opportunities, especially of those kids who would otherwise not be given these opportunities due to their socioeconomic class, and helping to eradicate poverty and its cycle in New York City public housing.
Sonia Siu '07 interned at the East River Development Alliance (ERDA) in New York in 2006. She is now an analyst at Goldman Sachs in New York, volunteers with ERDA and is a member of the Shepherd Alumni Advisory Committee.