Aug. 29, 2007
I had a wonderful summer, I have so many thoughts, and I don’t even know where to start …
First, let me say it has been really hard not being around South Bend and the team this summer, and I missed everyone more than I can say. The team and staff have truly become an extended family to me and there was a great void in my life for the past few months. On top of it, I absolutely cannot believe how fast the time has gone and that I am going to be a senior already. Ok, enough of that, I know …
Anyways, I guess I should start back right after finals in the spring. I had less than 24 hours after I got home before I left for Greece. I went for 10 days with my Dad and Grandpa, who is originally from Athens, and it was an amazing trip that I can hardly put into words! We stayed the first five days in Athens, went sightseeing, went to my grandfather’s old neighborhood and visited with friends and family, saw the Parthenon, etc., and I even saw one of my friends from Notre Dame who was currently studying abroad in Greece.
Then, I began my workouts with the Greek National Team, which went really well, and I felt well-prepared from practicing against the talent of our teams the last few years. The Greek players were all really cool and I had a great time with them, and maybe someday I’ll play with some of them again … who knows! Then, my Dad and I went to Meeknos and Santorini, two of the Greek islands, which were incredibly beautiful – I can’t even describe it in words and will just have to show you pictures when I get them posted. It was really a trip of a lifetime, and I am very lucky that I got to go!
So I got home from Greece and had two days to get everything packed and ready for Chicago, spend time with the family, and get my life somewhat back in order.
My Dad (after working after-prom for my brother until 4 a.m.) and I had more quality time driving up to Chicago (it’s amazing how much “stuff” I managed to fit in the car – for 10 weeks no less!). So we get to Chicago and the location is amazing, right downtown (the apartment had a bedroom, kitchen, full bath and loft with another bed), and my roommate, who is also a finance major from Notre Dame, was extremely nice and we had a lot of fun exploring Chicago together! So anyways … where was I? Oh, right. My dad drops me off in the big city. Well, I was really close to everything and I wish I had more time to explore – but I went to Navy Pier, plenty of shopping, went running along the lake, ate deep dish pizza (Giordano’s – yummm!), walked around and realized I’m not really a city girl but I LOVE Chicago, saw and met so many ND people, walked past DePaul University (can’t wait to get some revenge there in a few months), went to the beach (yes, despite what my teammates say – it IS a beach with sand and everything), went to two Cubs game in Wrigleyville, met Brad Pitt and George Clooney (just kidding … but they were down the street for an “Ocean’s Thirteen” premiere), saw parts of the new Batman movie being filmed, saw the musical Wicked with my mom, aunt, and grandma, and so much more.
Did I mention work? Oh yeah, the reason I was in Chicago! I had a 10-week investment banking internship with JPMorgan, which was a wonderful experience. At the beginning of June, they flew us to New York City for three days for training and networking. I went a day early to have dinner with my former teammate Courtney LaVere, who is working in NYC and has not changed one bit, and it was great to catch up with her. So we learned about JPMorgan, investment banking and the financial world, and gained some accounting and financial skills, as we also met people we were working with, and watched the Cavs in the NBA playoffs. (Seriously though, how about those Cavs/Cleveland sports – making a comeback 🙂 … and we can hope Brady Quinn will do the same for us with the Browns.)
Then, I started in the Chicago office and I even had my own desk, large cubicle, phone with a headset, and Blackberry. I was placed in the Tax-Exempt Capital Markets group, which means our clients consisted of institutions interested in issuing tax-exempt debt to fund their projects and expenses – so hospitals, governments, airports, transportation, schools, higher education, etc. They even helped finance the renovation to the Colts’ new stadium, and I was flown to Indianapolis for a day to go to the meetings with some of our management. It is a really interesting area of business, and I soon found that there is an extremely steep learning curve. It was a little overwhelming at times, with the industry as a whole being pretty intense. There were some long days when deals had to be finished up! Overall, I really enjoyed the people I worked with and the challenge and excitement of the job. Therefore, I have accepted a full-time position in this same group upon graduation, which I am very excited about!
Anyways, that is all that is new here. If you made it all the way through, I hope that novel did not bore you too much. I had such an amazing summer, and now I cannot wait for everything my senior year holds, including the thrilling season that we are currently preparing for!
God Bless and Go Irish!
#11 Amanda Tsipis