Since arriving on Grounds, McIntire fourth-year Allyson Wang (A&S ’25, McIntire ’25) has been committed to surrounding herself with people who share her dedication to academic and career development, mentorship, and personal growth. Along the way, she’s been remarkably adept at navigating the demands of the Commerce School’s rigor and progressing along her professional path.
With a longstanding penchant for quantitative disciplines, Wang attended a STEM-focused high school because of an early interest in math. By the time she came into college, that passion had evolved into a drive to understand how data informs decision-making, leading her to pursue a double major in Statistics and Commerce. With Finance and Accounting concentrations in McIntire, she was drawn to how “business sits at the crossroads of numbers and narratives, with an added twist of the complex real world,” she says.
Crucial to her journey as someone who grew up in Richmond, VA, and attending college in state was her involvement in the Girls Who Invest program—a monthlong investing boot camp at UPenn’s Wharton alongside female sophomores from across the country with a shared passion for investing. From panels with industry professionals to taking classes with top university professors, she immersed herself in the technical rigor of investment management while gaining insight into what it means to be a female leader in the industry. As she finished up her summer interning as an Investment Analyst for a Boston-based hedge fund, she expresses that the most valuable part of the program was forming a lifelong support network in the female investment community.
The subsequent summer took Wang to Evercore in New York City, where she joined the generalist M&A team. “I had the opportunity to analyze deals in various industries and sizes but more importantly I saw firsthand how important soft skills like relationship building were in a professional environment,” she reflects as she returns full time to start her career there as an Investment Banking Analyst in late June 2025.
Mentorship and More
Throughout her college years, connecting with those who have given advice and guidance has been seminal for Wang in shaping her academic and career paths. Before McIntire, she shares, “I found mentors not only were pivotal in helping me navigate my McIntire journey and the finance industry but also played an important role in encouraging and helping me to reach my fullest potential,” she says. Beyond her peer mentors, she also greatly values what she learned from both Professors David C. Smith and Mike Gallmeyer in McIntire’s Finance Academy program and its trek to banks in New York in preparing her for the finance recruitment cycle.
Those formative relationships inspired Wang to pay it forward, particularly through her extracurricular roles serving as President of Global Markets Group, a student-led investment club, and as a McIntire Ambassador. She credits her mentors for setting her on the right path early on and making networking inroads—support she now strives to provide to younger students, including prospective high schoolers. “Having advocates in your corner outside the classroom experience is crucial, and I want to provide that source of encouragement and guidance for others.”
Wang’s time at McIntire has also been shaped by experiences from professors that have prepared her for a career in business. Recognizing a need for both technical and soft skills, she actively pursued experiences that fortified her professional repertoire. Engaging deeply with McIntire’s curriculum, she lauds Professor Felicia Marston for her interactive and practical approach in Advanced Corporate Finance and Private Equity courses—whether that be hands-on modeling, case studies, or guest speakers. She calls Marston the most impactful faculty figure during her time at UVA for her teaching prowess and unwavering commitment to her students. “Professor Marston never hesitates to carve out extra time in her day, or even late nights, to create additional learning opportunities and personalized feedback for students. It reflects her genuine dedication to student success.”
Finding Growth through Community
Coming into UVA, her biggest challenge was finding a community that not only shared her ambitions but could also push her to grow. “I wanted to find a close-knit community that could challenge me in and outside the classroom,” she recalls. Fortunately, she found exactly that in the Comm School. “It’s an environment where we constantly challenge each other’s ideas, and also are each other’s biggest advocates by pushing ourselves to be the greatest,” Wang reflects.
The intensive Integrated Core Experience (ICE) curriculum would ultimately prove to be a highlight of her McIntire education, providing the backdrop to some of her favorite memories. She fondly recalls presenting her ICE project to Hilton executives: “That day was full-circle moment to see everyone come together with their respective teams. It represented a culmination of a semester’s worth of rigorous learning and teamwork.”
Reflecting on her time at UVA, Wang shares a key takeaway: “Who you surround yourselves with matters—they’re the ones who challenge you, support you, and help you grow into your best self. It’s one of the most important lessons I’ve learned.” As Wang takes time off to travel after graduation, she expresses her excitement for her transition to New York to begin her next chapter—one where she will draw upon the lessons and experiences from her time at McIntire.
