As a Stern sophomore studying finance, Miranda Zhou often can be found with her eyes fixed to her laptop screen. An excel spreadsheet is open on her desktop most of the time, but when she has time to relax, her browser is open for browsing through Imgur.

Currently, Zhou works for State Street Corporations, a financial services provider affiliated with State Street Bank. She had been part of State Street’s marketing department in 2013. Now, Zhou is part of the anti-money laundering group. Her tasks include frequent data processing and doing financial projects that process the
collected data.

Although it is a paid internship, Zhou also keeps a second job here at NYU. She works at the computer labs, which fall under the IT Department. Her main job is to manage student entrances and to check up on hardware. Due to her morning shifts, Zhou said she usually does not get enough sleep.

Additionally, Zhou is involved with multiple student clubs, being on the executive board for the Finance Society, a club that teaches members finance skills though guest lectures.

Out of all her tasks, having a job is the most reassuring factor for Zhou.

“I’m not putting too much financial burden on my parents,” Zhou said. “I think having a job de-stresses me more than anything else.”

Zhou adds that having both an internship and an on-campus job has helped her earn money and gain vital social and management skills. She hopes that these experiences help her find a career.

“I think a lot of things I do at State Street will help,” Zhou said. “It only helps more if the employers think that the skills I learn are relevant.”

As for future career plans, Zhou hopes to one day open a cafe. Unitl then, Zhou has plans to take up a computer science major in addition to her finance track. Zhou will face a new environment and hopefully apply her newly gained skills when studying in Shanghai next spring.

A version of this article appeared in the Dec. 7 print edition. Email Yeho Hwang at [email protected].