NYU Business Graduate Gabriel Kauachi’s Unexpected Path

Gabriel, who was born in Mexico and moved to Brownsville, Texas, at the age of 10, initially planned on studying law. But after a trip to New York City in high school and a fateful visit from an NYU admissions officer who introduced him to the Business and Political Economy (BPE) major at Stern, he realized his future was in global finance. “BPE caught my eye because it was a great combination of all the things that I wanted to do,” he says. “Political science, economics, and business.”  

In the BPE program, students explore business through a global perspective. The major requires two semesters of study away, typically at NYU London and NYU Shanghai. However, due to lingering COVID-19 restrictions in Shanghai during Gabriel’s sophomore year, he spent semesters in London and Madrid instead. Still, the experience abroad was transformative. He gained international work experience through an internship at a hedge fund in London and a winery in Madrid.

Gabe used those work experiences in combination with an international perspective to shape his path forward. “I completely changed my plans after Madrid,” Gabe says. “I previously thought management consulting was something I’d be interested in. But in Madrid, I applied to investment banking internships, and got accepted to JPMorganChase’s sophomore summer internship, which was super fun.” He enjoyed it so much that he returned for a second internship the following summer. Then, he accepted the offer for a full-time job in JPMorganChase’s security services department after graduating.  

“I’m going to be walking into this new job with two summers of experience,” he says. In the role, Gabriel will work with clients to manage financial assets across the globe. It’s a position his BPE major perfectly prepared him for. “With BPE, I gained a very global perspective,” he says. “Not just from studying abroad: We also learned a lot about the governments in different countries, the regulations, international banking systems, the way they do finance, and how governments interact with businesses in general.”