Martin J. Gruenberg, Chair of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, receives O”Malley School of Business hat after his inspiring Conversation.
THEQUADRANGLE/COURTESY
By Maizy Swift, Production Editor/ Asst. A&E Editor
Martin J. Gruenberg, chair of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), visited Manhattan College to speak to O’Malley School of Business students about both his life experiences and how to make a difference through civic engagement.
Gruenberg’s talk gave insight as to how the FDIC works, as well as the importance of doing what you love and using it to help people. His background in building affordable housing in the Bronx and working to make the Bronx a better place was inspiring to students and others who attended.
Liam Donahue, a senior economics and finance major, attended the event and found Gruenbergs talk insightful.
“I think it was really interesting to hear how the FDIC stepped in and saved the regional banks last year, specifically Signature Bank,” Donahue said. “It was cool to hear how they were able to step in and save neighborhoods in the Bronx.”
This event also helped Donahue learn more about the FDIC.
“I was familiar with the FDIC before the event, it was kind of seen with their current ads and different banking sector stuff, but it was unique to kind of hear about how they function, especially for banking prices across the country.”
Many students such as Donahue appreciate having speakers like Gruenberg come to MC as it is informative and inspiring.
“I think it’s really good to have speakers come from the real world because you can only learn so much in the classroom,” Donahue said. “It’s really good to hear from people outside the classroom and motivate them [students] to see their career path.”
Don Gibson Ph.D., dean of O’Malley School of Business, also expressed the importance of having speakers such as Gruenberg visit MC.
“I think it’s important for our business students and for all students at Manhattan College to meet leaders in government and business who are really making a difference and Mr. Gruenberg, who’s chair of the FDIC really has had an impact on the sustainability of banking,” Gibson said. “But as we talked about in this program, it also affects affordable housing in the Bronx, it really has a connection to real people.”
Gibson expressed two of the most important takeaways he felt students should have after the event.
“Students should think about going into civic engagement and the government,” Gibson said. “There are some really important jobs that need to be done and I think sometimes students, especially business students, think in one-track, for-profit jobs. The banking industry affects all of us and when you’re in a community, like the Bronx, where there’s a lot of people who are unbanked, or who cannot have banking services, it makes an impact.”
Owen Sweeney, a sophomore business analytics major, felt Gruenberg’s talk gave great insight.
“I really enjoyed all of the insights that he gave about the business world and how things work in the actual workplace,” Sweeney said. “Doing stuff for the public good is also a great point.”
When asked if this event inspired Sweeney to take part in civic engagement, he mentioned its reinforcement of his career path.
“It did in some ways, because I’ve always thought about trying to do some public sector work and I really liked when Mr. Gruenberg’s talked about that part,” Sweeney said.
This event was one of many the O’Malley School of Business holds each semester in order to help students envision what they want to do with their futures, and find ways to become successful in their careers. Both Gruenberg’s experience in business and growing up in the Bronx made for helpful advice for students at MC.