Krystal Lo ’17 has always loved two things: math and music. When she was in middle school, her family moved from Long Island, New York, to Marietta, Georgia, and those two interests eased the transition.
taking her
passions abroad
Krystal Lo has always loved two things: math and music. When she was in middle school, and her family moved from Long Island, New York, to Marietta, Georgia, those two interests eased the transition. Her passion still burns brightly. When the economics major is not studying the current affairs of the world markets, she enjoys playing the violin with other members of the UGA Chamber Music Society, a student organization she co-founded during her sophomore year.
Krystal, a Foundation Fellow, credits the Honors program with making campus feel like home.
“UGA has over 35,000 students on campus, and the Honors Program makes the campus feel much smaller,” she said. “I have a lot of mentors, which speaks volumes regarding the support you can find in the university. One of my mentors, Professor Julio Garin, and I connected over our love of classical music. He helped me to coordinate an internship at the Central Bank of Uruguay.”
Krystal interned abroad at the Central Bank of Uruguay in the Department of Financial Stability for four weeks, collecting data on the Uruguayan economy. While there, she stayed with a host family, with whom she bonded through music.
“I was the only Asian and the only American, but I was able to connect with my host family and colleagues through economics and music,” she said. “On the last day of my internship, I played the piece, ‘Tango Por Una Cabeza’ for the office and my boss ended up singing along with me!”
In her own words
“UGA has over 35,000 students on campus, and the Honors Program makes the campus feel much smaller. I have a lot of mentors, which speaks to the support you can find in the university. One of my mentors, Professor Julio Garin, and I connected over our love of classical music. He helped me to get an internship at the Central Bank of Uruguay.”
-Krystal Lo
seizing
every opportunity
When Krystal returned from Uruguay, she flew to Washington, D.C., where she interned with the State Department for the remainder of the summer. She has also studied abroad with UGA in Oxford, and she was a member of the university’s team for the Kelley School of Business National Diversity Case Competition team, which ranked number four out of 34 teams.
In addition to her studies, Krystal explores all that Athens has to offer. Her favorite place on campus is Lake Herrick, where she goes for weekend runs. She also enjoys the Athens food scene, with her favorite locations being Thai Spoon, Heirloom and The Grit. Though she is an economics major, she says that one of her favorite classes at UGA is Comparative Asian American Literature.
“The class made me reflect on my own childhood and my mother’s,” Krystal said. “My mother’s family moved to New York from Taiwan when she was nine years old. It was interesting to compare stories with other people who weren’t of Asian heritage.”
Upon graduation, Krystal will return to New York, with violin in tow, for a full-time position in the Markets and Investor Services Division at J.P. Morgan. She interned with the financial services firm after connecting with the institution through the university’s Corsair Society and several alumni. Corsair Society was started in 2006 by two UGA alumni, and the program allows students who plan to pursue careers in finance to connect with alumni and to participate in internships on Wall Street.
“Through the Foundation Fellows program, I have been able to travel to a lot of different places like Cuba and Morocco, but the most important part for me has been the support from peers, alumni and administration,” Krystal said. “They have been very helpful in talking to me about different opportunities on campus and abroad, especially going to J.P. Morgan.”
Update: Krystal accepted a position as a structured credit analyst at J.P. Morgan in June 2017.
