A Merit Fellow Poised for the Future
By Ed Barr
Sabina Lenskaya's experience
Originally from Moscow, Russia, Sabina left home at 15 for “a credible global education.” Accustomed to travelling because of many trips to summer camps, Sabina left Russia to attend a boarding school, Columbia International College in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. After one year she transferred to EF International Academy High School in Westchester and, as she said, “fell in love with New York.”
A young woman interested in mathematics, Sabina enrolled at NYU. “It was in the top 10 for math studies, but it was also very expensive,” she said. “My parents invested all their savings in my education and NYU rarely provided meaningful scholarships to foreign students. My dad was in the music business and my mother in the beauty salon business, but they weren’t rich, especially after the dissolution of the USSR and Russia’s subsequent default. Moreover, collapse in the ruble against the dollar in 2014 coincided with the start of my first semester at NYU”.
In thinking about a career in finance, Sabina was led, during her full-time position, to MSCF by two of its alumni, Sonali Kapoor and Darwei Kung, while she was at DWS Investment Management. “They showed me that MSCF had exactly what I was looking for, a place where I could deepen my knowledge of quantitative finance with a balanced, all-encompassing curriculum and top faculty.”
The MSCF Merit Fellowship provided additional incentive to Sabina whose budget for a master’s degree was running low. The geopolitical uncertainty and a potential repeat of 2014’s ruble collapse was on the top of her mind and receiving a scholarship ultimately helped her make a decision to join. All admitted students are automatically considered for this partial merit fellowship, and Sabina was one chosen for the class of 2023.
“MSCF has a goal of creating graduates who are ultimately successful,” Sabina said, “people who give back. That greatly impressed me about the program. It meant to me that they continued to believe in the structure and goals of MSCF.”
Sabina gives as much as she gets. “With my three years of working experience, especially having been involved in the recruiting process for DWS, I have been able to help my classmates prepare for interviews and networking. And, of course, they have helped me as I move through the challenging program that is the MSCF degree.”
A Chartered Financial Analyst, Sabina has had internships at Goldman Sachs, BlockTower Capital Advisors, and Neuberger Berman. At DWS she was on the commodities team and had broader responsibilities including work with Liquid Real Assets team.
Sabina sees herself making decisions as a portfolio manager, perhaps then a CEO, and even the owner of her own investment shop. Whatever comes, she plans to keep in touch with the MSCF program and its students and encourages alumni to do that, as well.
“Alumni can give so much to us students,” she said. “Not just scholarship funds, which are very important, but advice and wisdom they’ve gained. We as current students are very open to hearing from the alumni and look forward to learning from them.”
Support of the MSCF Merit Fellowship allows Sabina and other students to achieve their educational goals, no matter their financial means. Alumni who give to this fund invest in the future of Carnegie Mellon students and continue its tradition of excellence. The MSCF Merit Fellowship greatly impacts students and is often the biggest factor in drawing the next generation’s top talent to the program.
It drew Sabina, a top talent, indeed.
Your support of the MSCF Merit Fellowship allows students to achieve their educational goals, no matter their financial means. Your gift to this fund invests in the future of Carnegie Mellon students and continues our tradition of excellence. The MSCF Merit Fellowship greatly impacts our students and is often the biggest factor in drawing the next generation’s top talent to the program.
