Meet Ronald Feng, SMP Council President
Greetings! This is Ronald, a second-year student from the SMP Fintech Analytics program. Right now, I can totally feel the excitement of around 500 incoming SMP students about their new life at Olin—not because I have strong empathy—but because I’ve indeed become one of them again. This summer, I started the MS Corporate Finance program as my double degree for career reasons. Now I guess I am ready to reintroduce myself to my friends as the Class of 2025 about a hundred time.
St. Louis is a city with a rich musical heritage, and I’ve especially enjoyed the symphony performances by the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. Last year I attended the SLSO’s concerts almost monthly and often found myself much younger than other audiences. (I guess that makes me a bit old-fashioned.) I can still remember once, after a sleepless night cramming for an exam, I found myself dozing off during the orchestra’s slow movement—right in the middle of the front row! I realized my head slowly tilted back and then suddenly dropped and this went back and forth many times. I felt embarrassed after I jolted awake, and tried to cover it up with some overly enthusiastic and sustained applause at the end. A concert-goer behind me, mistaking all my behavior for deep musical passion, asked if I was a musician. Let’s just say I’ve never walked out of the Touhill Art Center so quickly!
My first year at Olin helped me clarify who I want to be. Olin offers an incredible array of activities and events, a kind and professional faculty, and the Weston Career Center, which provides invaluable career training and advice. These wonderful experiences were so rewarding that made me want to give back to Olin. Then I joined the SMP Council. I’ve been serving as the President of the SMP Council 2024 since the start of the 24 Spring. Being part of the Council has made me more self-disciplined and has given me opportunities to get closer to students, faculty, and alumni. I am lucky to work together with 7 VPs from distinct programs. With support from advisors and faculty, the team can work on creating more opportunities for interaction and communication.
The SMP Council represents the interests of all SMP students and acts as the students’ voice to the administration. In short, the Council financially supports Olin’s student clubs and holds public activities that SMP students would love to have. In the previous semester, the Council held several events that were conducive to students’ personal development. To foster interaction between SMP and MBA students, the SMP Council and the Graduate Business School Association organized a trip to St Charles for indoor rock climbing. We also held a golf event with the Graduate Program Office in downtown with 200 participants. On the career part, we invited a dozen alumni to a panel discussion at Emerson Auditorium and held a bowling event in the evening of that day at the Tropicana Lanes to maximize networking opportunities between SMP students and alumni. We also customized Olin-themed business cards for 160 students in need.
SMP Council Fall 2024
This fall, the SMP Council plans to bring two popular events back: the tour to Six Flags and the SMP Formal. These two events have been well received by past students, and tickets are often booked out within days. To be honest, I was shocked and frustrated when I couldn’t get a ticket to Six Flags last year even after they were released a second batch. So, this year we are planning to increase the capacity by 1/3, with 800 tickets in total. This should be good news for anyone who’s slow in grabbing tickets.
I studied in Beijing and Dublin, and life in St. Louis has given me a deeper understanding of yet another culture. I am still learning more about the American work environment through various roles, like being a Practicum Student Advisor for the St. Louis Economic Development Partnership, participating in the 2024 CFA Research Challenge, serving in the SMP Council… and striving to be more inclusive. Let’s grab some coffee and start a conversation if we run into each other on Campus!