Christina Kallinosis

Rutgers Business School, New Brunswick

“Extremely loud, extroverted young adult motivated solely by the idea of not being a failure.”

Fun fact about yourself: I hiked to the top of Mount Olympus in Greece.

Hometown: Rahway, New Jersey

High School: Union County Magnet High School

Major: Finance

Minor: Modern Greek Studies

Concentration: Real Estate

Favorite Business Course: Real Estate Finance

Extracurricular Activities, Community Work and Leadership Roles During College:

• Office of Career Management Marketing & Operations Intern
• Delta Sigma Pi – Co-Ed Professional Business Fraternity – Vice President of Pledge Education, Recruitment Committee, Community Service Committee
• Women BUILD – Corporate Relations Chair, Peer Mentor
• Rutgers Road to Wall Street – Participated in selective financial modeling class and program designed to prepare students for Wall Street interviews and internships
• Hellenic Cultural Association – Vice President
• Rutgers Business School 75th Anniversary Scholarship, Rutgers Center for Real Estate Scholarship
• Dean’s List – Fall 2016 – Spring 2019

Where have you interned during your college career?

• Summer 2018 – Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation (DTCC) – Jersey City, NJ – Third-Party Risk Management Analyst
• Summer 2019 – Bank of America – New York, NY – Securitized Products Summer Analyst

Where will you be working after graduation? Bank of America – Commercial Mortgage-Backed Securities Analyst

What company do you admire the most? A company I admire is Bank of America where I will be going back to work full-time after graduation. I really love the culture there and the dedication the company has to advance diversity in the workplace and how committed it is about giving back through its corporate social responsibility program.

Who is your favorite professor? My favorite professor is Morris Davis. I took my first real estate class with Professor Davis not at all interested in real estate. I learned a lot in that class, including a passion for real estate I was not aware I had. Everything I learned in Real Estate Finance prepared me for my internship at Bank of America and helped me in deciding that commercial real estate was the right group for me.

What did you enjoy most about your business school? My favorite part about Rutgers Business School is the free snacks they give out in the afternoon in the lounge. It really helps me power through my day.

What is the biggest lesson you gained from studying business? It is really important to remember this applies in most cases: It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.

What advice would you give to a student looking to major in a business-related field? My biggest piece of advice would be to learn how to network with people early in your college career and get comfortable with being uncomfortable. Being able to strike up a conversation and find common interests with people is a good skill that can land you in a position you never thought you could be in, but you won’t be able to get there if you’re too shy to talk to anyone in the first place.

What has surprised you most about majoring in business? I learned that wherever you end up working in corporate America, it is imperative to your survival to understand how that place runs. Know who to talk with to get what you need done.

Which academic, extracurricular or personal achievement are you most proud of? I am most proud of my resourcefulness and ability to always find additional ways to fund my education. There is always some scholarship I randomly find, apply to and win.

Which classmate do you most admire? I most admire Julian Fonsenca, a close friend of mine. I admire his ability to always find the silver lining, even in the dimmest situations, and his positive attitude towards life.

Who would you most want to thank for your success? I would like to thank my dad for showing me throughout his life that hard work overcomes all else and that I can achieve anything I motivate myself to do no matter where I started from in life.

What are the top two items on your professional bucket list?

• Being important enough that people stalk my LinkedIn before meeting me.
• Becoming my own boss.

What are your hobbies?

Going to raves/music festivals; exploring new countries with my designated travel buddy; obsessively watching new shows on Netflix until I am caught up and have to find a different show, and forcing myself to go to the gym so I don’t torture myself later for not going

What made Christina such an invaluable addition to the Class of 2020?

“Christina has always been extremely involved at Rutgers Business School. As a freshman, she joined the team at the Office of Career Management (career services for business school students), working as an intern and learning the ins-and-outs of events, and adding her own style and ideas throughout her 4 years.

During her sophomore year, she became involved in the Rutgers Road to Wall Street program. Road to Wall Street is a competitive program that only allows 50 of the top applicants to participate in a seminar series and financial modeling class that prepares them for the rigorous interview processes to obtain an internship on Wall Street. Christina also interviewed and attained a position in Rutgers Business School’s Women BUILD program. There, she completed a certificate in Women’s Business Leadership and served as the corporate relations committee chair for the annual Leadership Summit, an event that brings in prominent female figures in the business world for a day full of panel discussions and networking.

More recently, Christina has become extremely involved in the Rutgers Center for Real Estate by pursuing a concentration in real estate. She discovered a passion for real estate after taking a real estate finance course and interning at Bank of America’s securitized products groups.

Christina continues to expand her knowledge of the industry, finishing her last courses to complete the minor and has received many scholarships from the center. She will graduate this May and move to New York City where she will be returning to Bank of America in their commercial real estate securitized products group.

Eugene Gentile
Director, Office of Career Management
Rutgers Business School-New Brunswick

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