Victoria Zhu, WH ’26, State College, PA
This summer, I had the opportunity to intern in HSBC’s Innovation Banking Division in San Francisco, California. It was my first time in San Francisco, and I was both nervous and excited to explore the city. From wandering through the Financial District, the Marina, and Sunset, to taking day trips to Santa Cruz and Monterey, I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know the city’s vibrant culture and meeting its diverse people.
As for my internship, this was my first real look into finance, and I specifically worked within Venture Debt. With no prior experience in this area, I was eager to dive in. The team I joined had only been established the previous year, and I was the first intern on the Credit Solutions team. Right from Day 1, I was immersed in the work, meeting my desk managers and receiving an overview of the team and the venture debt space. I was then given the task of creating a sensitivity model with some initial guidance and resources. The experience was highly hands-on and involved a lot of self-directed learning. I’m grateful to have had desk managers who had such confidence in my abilities that they entrusted me with the autonomy to learn independently while being available for guidance when needed.
As the summer progressed, I became increasingly involved with deliverables and client calls, and I even had the chance to complete an underwriting project on my own. For my final project, I chose to research and present on an industry of personal interest—biotechnology. This summer has been an invaluable experience, and I have gained a wealth of knowledge and skills that I am excited to carry forward into my future endeavors.
This is part of a series of posts by recipients of the 2024 Career Services Summer Funding Grant. We’ve asked funding recipients to reflect on their summer experiences and talk about the industries in which they spent their summer. You can read the entire series here
