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Student Featured: Patrick Gavin, ’26
Major: Financial Economics
What are you doing to develop your career this summer?
This summer I am working as an Equity Research Intern at Tocqueville Asset Management at their Vero Beach, FL office. Through my job, I have learned how to value a publicly traded company through bottom-up analysis and valuation. In addition, I have gained experience with financial modeling, financial analysis, and industry research. Through this opportunity, I was able to attend the Goldman Sachs Annual Global Healthcare Conference in Miami Beach. Here, I was able to network with investors, sell-side analysts, and executives of billion dollar healthcare companies as well as sit in on eight different companies panels (Johnson & Johnson, AbbVie, etc.). Outside of work, I attended Raymond James’ Sophomore Showcase at their headquarters in St. Petersburg, FL to get exposure to their core business units and received a certification in Financial Statements for Decision Making from Denison Edge.
How did you find this opportunity?
I found my Tocqueville internship through the Knowlton Center. The internship first came on my radar from one of the weekly FCB newsletters. I looked at the job description, researched the company, and was interested so I reached out to Ryan Brechbill to see if there was anyone from the company I could get in contact with. Through Ryan, I was able to set up a call with a senior analyst, who is now my boss, to learn more about the firm as well as what the internship entailed. I applied in late October and followed up with my connection in early January. A couple days after following up, he reached out to set up an interview and I received an offer in early February.
For Raymond James’ Sophomore Showcase, I was able to find it through Ask a Denisonian. Back in early September, Ann Shaler ’87 responded to my Ask a Denisonian question and I set up a call with her. From this call, she put me in contact with Scott Curtis ’83 who works for Raymond James. Mr. Curtis kindly put me in contact with a campus recruiter from Raymond James who told me about the opportunities they have for sophomores going into their junior year. From here, I applied for the Sophomore Showcase when it became available in early January, completed a Spark Hire, and received an invitation to attend in late March.
What is the biggest takeaway from your summer so far?
If you are interested in a career in finance, specifically within capital markets, I highly recommend utilizing the resources that Denison offers. Whether that be Professor Pat McGonagle’s Financial Accounting class, the Investment Club, Wall Street Prep, or Denison Edge, Denison’s resources will help you come into your internship well-prepared and will allow you to learn as much as possible during your internship.
How do you see your summer experiences benefitting your career long-term?
Having a foundation of financial modeling, financial analysis, industry research, and Microsoft Excel opens up many opportunities within finance. These are skills that I will utilize in the field of value investing or any other job in finance. What I have learned from Tocqueville and the connections I have made are invaluable and will stick with me for the rest of my career.
