Students in the NIU College of Business are all phenomenal individuals who we love to celebrate. As commencement approaches, it’s our great pleasure to share a couple examples of the many outstanding students who make up the Class of 2022. These individuals were nominated by their faculty and academic advisors to be spotlighted by President Freeman during Spring commencement. All told, more than 20 NIU College of Business students were nominated by college faculty and staff throughout the college. We were asked to submit only one nomination. We submitted all 20-plus.
In celebration of the ever stellar NIU College of Business students, here’s our next entry, written by Chenfang Su, NIU finance academic advisor and NIU finance alumna.
Nick Stone
I am Chenfang Su, academic advisor of the Department of Finance in the NIU College of Business. I work closely with students and have seen many outstanding individuals in our department. Nicholas Stone is one I have worked with who uniquely stands out.
In December 2021, Nick graduated at the top of his class with a Bachelor of Science in Finance. Through the accelerated Master of Finance program, he will graduate this spring 2022 with a Master of Science in finance as well as a Master of Science in Data Analytics.
Nick has a great sense of service, stewardship, and inclusion. In his capacity as one of the analysts for the Treasury Management Association of Chicago Student Managed Portfolio, he analyzes and manages the portion of the NIU endowment fund that has been invested in the communications services and energy sectors. By making appropriate buy/sell/hold recommendations, he has helped the sector funds outperform previous holdings by 8.28%.
Along with being a full-time student, he also works as a graduate assistant for the Department of Finance, where he helps maintain academic excellence by generating new questions that are designed to encourage students to maintain academic integrity in the principles of finance course Finance 320. Additionally, he works to collect and refine data on NIU finance alumni in an effort to assist with the college-wide commitment to enhance and further develop the NIU alumni network.
Nick is also a finance peer assistant where, for the past three semesters, he has helped fellow students understand and excel in their courses. He also serves as president of the student organization the NIU Investment Association (NIUIA). In this capacity, he consistently demonstrates an inclusive leadership style. He welcomes all majors and creates an environment where everyone is treated as equals; students learn about market trends/performance, have opportunities to present and build upon their public speaking skills, and volunteer to raise funds and awareness for other clubs.
Another example of his outreach activities includes working with faculty to extend NIU’s name to adjacent high schools and inviting students to compete in the NIUIA Valuation Challenge every April. It’s not only his sense of service and inclusion that impresses me; he is also a joy to work with because of his amazingly positive attitude, creativity, and responsibility. He is valued not just by myself but also by his teammates, who together won the Chicago chapter of the highly competitive CFA Institute Research Challenge. Nick committed himself to this challenge and spent countless hours researching and preparing. Sacrificing his evenings, weekends, and winter break, he and his teammates refined their speeches and slides repeatedly, doing rounds of practice before the competition. Their hard work paid off beautifully, resulting in a first-ever first place finish for the NIU team in the Chicago region round of the competition.
I am absolutely confident that Nick Stoner would be a great fit as one of the nominees for the Spring Commencement.
by Chenfang Su, academic advisor in the Department of Finance; posted by Michelle De Jean, director of marketing, NIU College of Business
*Update: The university agrees with Chenfang’s assessment and selected Nick Stone to be spotlighted by NIU President Freeman during the formal commencement proceedings for the College of Business.
