Ava Cruz ‘24 plans to take classes at Harvard Medical School while also working at Massachusetts General Hospital to pursue her career to be a psychiatric nurse practitioner.
AVACRUZ/COURTESY
By Maizy Swift, Production Editor/Asst. A&E Editor and Mary Haley, Social Media Editor/Asst. Features Editor
This summer, Manhattan College students have plans for their futures with many seniors soon to start their upcoming careers.
Ava Cruz, a senior biology major, has a job lined up for after graduation.
“I actually just received a job offer from Massachusetts General Hospital in their psychiatric outpatient unit,” Cruz said. “I’m going to be a clinical research coordinator for a minimum of two years, but while I’m there, there’s a joint program between the MGH Institute and Harvard Medical School. I’m going to be going there in the fall to take classes to become a psychiatric nurse practitioner.”
At her job, Cruz will be studying the genetic components of autism. She has aspirations for her career to help neurodivergent people and better understand autism.
“I just want to make sure that people who might have different neurodevelopmental conditions get the best quality of life, because in the past you see a lot of limitations that are set on these individuals,” Cruz said. “They’re human beings and they deserve just as much and they have a lot of cool capabilities that a lot of us don’t have, so that’s always been my dream.”
As Cruz begins working, she will have her younger brother and inspiration by her side.
“My younger brother, he’s on the autism spectrum so he’s been my biggest inspiration, he is very minimally verbal, but he’s been going there for a long time so it’s really cool that sometimes he’ll get to be there,” Cruz said.
Billy Connors, another senior graduating this spring, told The Quadrangle how he is continuing his internship with Andersen Tax, where he will be working in Midtown Manhattan this summer to lead into his full-time position starting in 2025.
Connors will be working in their private accounting solutions group, where he does accounting functions for high-net-worth clients and provides advisory services for clients based on their information. Connors started his relationship with Andersen in January of 2023 when he started interning for their group. He credited his education in accounting at Manhattan College and clubs like the accounting society and Beta Alpha Psi for getting his connection to Andersen.
“Through Beta Alpha Psi, I was able to network with a partner at Andersen who heavily recruits from Manhattan College,” Connors said. “I really do owe it all to Manhattan College, and I feel well prepared through my education here. I am sad to leave [the college] but I am also excited for where I am going.”
Although graduating soon from his undergraduate career feels bittersweet for Connors, he is working to get his masters degree at Manhattan College to further his knowledge in the accounting field.
While many seniors are getting ready to pursue their Manhattan College educations professionally, underclassmen are getting started as well. Sophomore finance and global business major, Cara Loganadhan, has a packed schedule this summer as she is preparing for her internship at ICICI Bank Canada, where she will be organizing data and market research at their offices in Toronto.
“It is an Indian multinational bank in Toronto, and the premise of the job is two different things,” Loganadhan said. “I help with data entry and data analysis. They [deal with] a lot of loans, so I organize all the data for that. I also do market research for getting new customers for buying bonds and banking.”
As a sophomore, Loganadhan explained how she realized many of the recruiters for business internships were looking mainly for juniors and seniors to take on these roles, yet she still wanted to get her foot in the door of experience in professional and international business.
“A lot of finance jobs want juniors and seniors, so it was really hard to find this job,” Loganhadan said. “Through applying, I had to reach out to family members and ask them, ‘do you know anyone that works in banking, and could you help with an internship?’ And my uncle actually knew someone that worked at the bank. I also worked with [human resources] to get the job, so I was also pretty lucky because my uncle was helping me out in that sense.”
Loganadhan is excited to learn more about her field this summer, outside of the academic world.
“I feel like finance is easier to learn hands-on than from a book,” Loganadhan said. “I am excited to learn in that sense. In terms of global business, in the future I want to do something somewhat international. The bank I am working with is headquartered in India, but they have a subsidiary in Canada, so it is cool because it has a global aspect because I will also get to hear from their Indian headquarters.”