Economics major Anthony Wong of Malaysia attended a United World College in New Mexico. He has been a summer intern with two investment banks, JP Chase in New York City and Morgan Stanley in Hong Kong, and after graduation will return to work at Morgan Stanley in its global capital markets division. He studied Japanese for a term at Waseda University in Tokyo. At Carleton, he is a peer career advisor and a multicultural peer leader and is learning to play the guitar.

Tell us about your senior comprehensive exercise in Economics

I’m comparing corporate dept securities pricing between universal banks like Citigroup, UBS, and JP Morgan Chase, which have commercial banks, investment banks, and other kinds of financial services underneath the same holding companies, versus traditional investment banks like Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and Merrill Lynch. I’m trying to see if both types of banks have comparative advantages in serving different corporations in the United States, ultimately answering the question of whether the future coexistence of these two types of banks is possible.

Is there a class outside your major that you’ve particularly enjoyed?

I enjoyed observational drawing a lot. I discovered the power of observation, and now even I can do a good job of drawing if I spend enough time looking at the details, lighting, and negative space. And of course guitar lessons. I didn’t play an instrument before coming to Carleton and now I’m thinking of taking lessons on a Chinese instrument, too.

Tell us about your off-campus study at Waseda University in Tokyo

To really stretch myself, I joined a traditional Japanese yosakoi dance club called Oodoroi Samurai, which means “dancing Samurai.” We traveled to different cities, dancing at university festivals and at club gatherings. I was the only international student in the club, so I had to speak Japanese a lot, because all of the other dancers were native Japanese. I learned a lot because of that. There was a social part as well- I learned how you should address someone more senior than you, how you should behave, and what you should say after dances are over.

How would you describe the overall academic atmosphere at Carleton?

Students are trying to do well for themselves, but at the same time they don’t compete with each other just to win. We help each other a lot. Some friends and I started a Wall Street Journal discussion group. We talk about things that interest us based on what we’ve read in the Journal. We end up educating each other, and that is so much more beneficial than just trying to learn everything on your own.