MIT Optional Essay — Lucas Correa, CFA
Becoming a CFA Charterholder requires intense focus and dedication, with more than 300 hours of study necessary to pass each of the exam’s three levels. Less than 20% of the candidates that enroll in the program finish it and less than 35% of the people that go until the end finish the certification without repeating at least one level, so most people actually need to spend more than 1200 hours studying to finally become a charterholder. This was my case. Though it was frustrating to repeat a level, I was determined to reach this goal and now am proud to be one of the 850 charterholders in Brazil.
Most people in Brazil, however, end their involvement with CFA after these 1200 hours. After receiving my charter, however, I decided that I wanted to be more than just someone with a certification, I wanted to be an active member of the CFA Society Brazil, given the alignment of the organization’s mission and my own, namely our shared goal of leading the investment industry by promoting the highest standards of ethics, education, and professional excellence.
I shared this willingness with a board member and was invited to become a volunteer, helping with career and employer relations. After 5 months, I was invited to become a board member of the Society. Since then, I have been able to help make strategic decisions that will help the Society grow and evolve into something with far more impact. At present, we just launched our office and we hired 4 full time employees, something unthinkable in the past. We actually became one of the very few societies around the world that have an actual office.
I want to take all this knowledge and apply it to the MIT Sloan and Boston communities. One way I plan to do so is by building a bridge between the local CFA society and the MBA students. I see that there are a lot of opportunities for mutual benefit when Sloan students and CFA Society members come together to share finance knowledge and expertise. In particular, I plan to use the experience I have had organizing CFA events around Brazil to help organize the MIT Fintech Conference in order to be able to bring in speakers and participants from the Boston CFA Society and from other societies as well, promoting interaction between these communities of finance professionals.
For me, CFA is so much more than three letters on my resume.
Obtaining my charter and being a board member has taught me that focus and hard work are the key factors needed to obtain great achievements. It has also taught me the value of having a group of like-minded professionals to count on. Thus, I cannot wait to be at MIT Sloan and build connections that I hope enrich the Sloan and Boston communities for years to come.
