Opportunity cost: need for a financial focus at Bowdoin

Deal with it: Don’t snooze your alarm: build mental discipline doing what you hate

The unnamed dad in the Calvin and Hobbes comic series had a popular refrain. Whenever Calvin complained about something (usually a father-son bonding activity) his dad always responded with a because-I-said-so reason, followed by, “Besides, it builds character.” The importance of these character-building moments in our lives should not be understated.
As long as I can remember my family motto has been “suck it up.” I have come to realize that through their mildly ostensible harshness, my parents were trying to do me a favor. Not only do excruciating experiences—such as airport hang overs on international flights—make someone a more versed and interesting individual, they also contribute to the stock of mental discipline.
Before proceeding, I think it is wise to actually define ‘mental discipline.’ I see it as the ability to muster the willingness to do something that is undesirable, but ultimately necessary or beneficial. Ending a Netflix binge and getting back to work, resisting a third helping of pie at Bowdoin’s Thanksgiving dinner, and showing up to class on Friday morning (shudder) all in some way require varying degrees of mental toughness.

Deal with it: Ask and you might possibly receive

This past winter break I flew back from a relaxing vacation on the West Coast and made a routine connection in the fine city of Cleveland, Ohio. Unfortunately, the situation quickly degraded into the typical travel clusterfuck with the onset of a major snow storm, soon to be exacerbated by the ensuing Arctic chill.
Airport monitors gradually moved from “on time” to “delayed” to “cancelled.” Hundreds of frustrated passengers formed spontaneous lines just waiting to argue with the helpless gate agents (“there’s not that much ice on the runway, come on, I need to get to ATL”). Children screamed and cried; people abandoned the last shreds of human decency, You know, the average airport nightmare. Despite all this, however, I managed to come away having learned the value of asking.
It is amazing how much the world opens up when you make your desires or intentions known to others. In Cleveland, my experience was made much easier by actively seeking out those in positions of authority or knowledge. Instead of blindly stumbling around the mountains of suitcases piled up in the terminal or waiting in a useless line, I asked a baggage handler to search the black hole that was the backroom luggage storage. Thirty seconds later, he emerged with my blue duffle. Later that night at around 3 a.m., after having looked at all sorts of ridiculous transportation alternatives (think a $600, 14-hour train ride leaving at 2:15 a.m.), I finally called and asked a rental car service if they would provide a vehicle to someone under the minimum age of 25. To my surprise, the company said yes and several hours later I embarked on an impromptu solo road trip home (the car had an iPod connector so, rest assured, Waka and 2 Chainz got plenty of playtime).

Deal with it

Opportunity cost: need for a financial focus at Bowdoin

This piece represents the opinion of the author:

Will Powers

Columnist

January 23, 2014

The notion of “finance” at Bowdoin is a polarizing subject. Many see it as the antithesis of what a liberal arts education stands for and as a soulless construct that produces nothing, yet takes much. Others, however, exhibit great desire (perhaps quietly out of fear of derision) and ultimately intern and work within the financial realm. Consulting firms such as Deloitte and Cambridge, investment banks such as Cowen, and a host of hedge funds regularly recruit Bowdoin students. There is no question that a future in finance is an aspiration shared by many at this school. The Career Planning Center sees this interest and in turn does its best to attract relevant companies and personalities. They have even been accused of placing too much emphasis on finance.

But even with this obvious enthusiasm for the field, there is little support on the academic front. No doubt Bowdoin has a strong economics department. The absence, however, of a full-time professor who focuses on finance or accounting, basic business concepts and, frankly, Excel, is quite mysterious. The College currently does not have a tenured position or even a tenure track for an academic who wishes to become a professor of finance. For this reason, it is difficult to attract high caliber applicants like other departments. This is not an attack against potential future Bowdoin finance professors, but a reality the school faces today.

Returning to the aims of a liberal arts education, I agree that extreme specialization in a discipline such as accounting is contrary to the critical thinking Bowdoin is trying to instill in its students. We are not a business school, just as we are not an engineering, trade or “sports development” institution, nor should we try to be any of these. At some point, however, specificity in more routine, dull or “low IQ” skills, like Excel modeling, should be taught to those whose futures require it. Two weekends a year of Training the Street courses is simply insufficient.

It is no secret that finance is an incredibly competitive industry that is enormously challenging to enter. The slightest advantage or extra exposure to relevant knowledge can and does mean the difference between a résumé staying on the table or being relegated to the trash with those of the indistinguishable applicants who are “smart kids, but really struggled to walk me through a basic DCF.”

I ask the administration to consider these grievances when constructing the curriculum in the future. It can only improve Bowdoin’s academic prowess and further strengthen its young, job-seeking alumni.

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