When Ruth Pietrzykowski, Kogod/BS ’27, returned to American University this fall, she had a rare certainty in hand: a full-time job offer as an equity research analyst at Goldman Sachs, secured before the first day of her senior year. In an increasingly competitive post-graduation landscape, Pietrzykowski locked in her career plans a full nine months ahead of commencement.

The offer arrived just days after she wrapped up an intensive, nine-week summer internship at Goldman’s New York headquarters. Embedded within the firm’s semiconductor research group—and subletting an apartment on Wall Street—she was at her desk each day by 7 a.m., analyzing supply chain shifts, parsing corporate earnings, and contributing to industry research notes alongside seasoned analysts.

“I think the special thing about equity research is that you’re trying to become an expert in a specific industry,” Pietrzykowski said. “I knew nothing about semiconductors going into this. For people who are curious—[the type] Goldman tries to hire—it’s fun to pick a brand-new industry and get paid to research, learn, and share your opinion.”

Her transition to the desk was seamless from day one, driven by years of hands-on financial analysis on campus. “Literally everything I did this summer, I felt completely prepared for,” she said.

Yet that Wall Street trajectory was hardly premeditated. 

When she arrived at AU from western Massachusetts, Pietrzykowski initially leaned toward political science—but just before her first semester began, she made a deliberate pivot. Seeking a practical application for her quantitative strengths, she enrolled in the Kogod School of Business as a finance major—viewing the decision as an open-ended experiment.

That curiosity crystallized into a vocation during the second semester of her first year, when Timothy Timura, professorial lecturer in the Department of Finance and Real Estate, encouraged her to join the Student Managed Investment Fund (SMIF).

Sitting in on her first SMIF meeting, Pietrzykowski found the environment both intimidating and energizing. “People were pitching their stocks, and I didn’t know what ‘bull’ or ‘bear’ meant. I didn’t know any of that finance lingo,” she said. “It was intimidating, but it seemed like a fun challenge.”

Surrounded by collaborative peers in Kogod’s Financial Services and Information Technology Lab, she quickly learned to navigate a Bloomberg terminal and evaluate corporate fundamentals. 

Over spring break of her first year, she spent hours in her hometown public library constructing her first formal equity pitch: an in-depth thesis on Regeneron, a biotechnology company. Despite battling the flu on presentation day, she delivered her findings, and the student-run fund voted to initiate a $50,000 position.

Realizing her natural talent for dissecting companies, Timura encouraged her to explore equity research. Pietrzykowski leaned in, rising to fund manager within SMIF by the spring of her sophomore year and helping steer the fund’s real-dollar portfolio decisions.

That experience proved invaluable when recruiting kicked off for junior-year internships. Having visited Goldman Sachs on an AU networking trip during her first year, Pietrzykowski skipped the scattershot approach and targeted equity research at the bank with laser focus. 

Early on, she connected with Tyler Williams, Kogod/BS ’18, vice president of capital markets at Goldman. Williams—who, like Pietrzykowski, was an alumnus of both SMIF and the business fraternity Alpha Kappa Psi—spent more than an hour on the phone coaching her ahead of her final “super day” interviews. 

During spring break of her sophomore year, the call arrived with her internship acceptance—more than a year ahead of schedule.

Securing a desk at one of the world's most competitive financial institutions yielded distinct career lessons that Pietrzykowski now shares with fellow Eagles navigating their own professional searches.

First, start recruiting early and resist the urge to apply indiscriminately. Especially in fields with accelerated hiring cycles, she stresses zeroing in on a role you genuinely understand rather than casting a wide net. “My strategy was that I really understood what equity research was,” she said. “I knew why I wanted to do it, and I connected my skills to the job very clearly for the interviewer.”

Second, approach the alumni network as a source of authentic insight rather than a shortcut for referrals. “AU alumni are almost always willing to help,” Pietrzykowski said. “Just call someone who is doing the job you’re curious about and ask, ‘What do you do on a [daily] basis?’ Because it’s so hard in college to know what these jobs actually are until you hear someone talk about it.”

Now back on campus serving as a SMIF fund manager once again, Pietrzykowski can fully savor her senior year in DC, knowing she has already paved the path to her future—and ready to answer the call when the next Kogod student reaches out for advice.