Three Must-Haves for a Preppy Wardrobe

Erin Bergano, a former resident of Glen Cove, has spent more than three years handling campus recruitment for Morgan Stanley. The manager of fixed income campus recruiting, she coordinates recruiting at college campuses around the country. In addition to her professional pursuits, Erin Bergano has been involved in various extracurricular activities, including the writing and management of the Perfectly Preppy blog.

Below are several must-haves for any preppy wardrobe:

1. Opaque tights: In recent years, tights have become an extremely popular part of many wardrobes since they are easy to pair and make the legs look great with minimal effort. This is why they are an essential part of any preppy wardrobe. Not only do they look great with a little black dress, they work well under a button-up dress shirt or colorful skirt.

2. Blazers: When paired with a scarf, headband, or other feminine accessory, the blazer appears chic and professional. It’s a great substitute for a proper business suit when worn with a pair of dark pants or a pencil skirt. And, when paired with colorful shirts, pants, or suits, they can help someone appear comfortable and fun.

3. Pearl jewelry: Necklaces, earrings, and bracelets made from pearls add a sense of timelessness and elegance to any preppy wardrobe. They match with nearly anything and are often inherited as heirlooms, thus giving them unique sentimental value. Further, lookalike pearl jewelry is available at a huge range of stores for stylists on a budget.

University of Rhode Island Public Relations Major

A former resident of Long Island's Glen Cove, Erin Bergano serves as part of the campus recruitment program at Morgan Stanley in New York, and has held this role since 2015. Prior to taking on this position, Erin Bergano studied public relations at the University of Rhode Island, where she made the dean's list and completed an internship with the Rhode Island Library Association.

The public relations program at the University of Rhode Island offers a bachelor's degree that draws on a diverse range of disciplines including art, communications, and writing, in addition to dedicated public relations courses. Students must complete an introductory public relations course and an introductory communications course before being accepted into the major.

Students in the public relations program must also choose a concentration in order to graduate. Students can learn how to address the needs of new businesses in the entrepreneurial public relations program. In the event management concentration, meanwhile, students learn how to coordinate events while they develop their art and design skills. The final concentration, social media, leans more heavily on writing than the others, and also focuses on communicating effectively using new media.

Why Financial Firms Recruit Non-Finance Majors

New York City-based Erin Bergano first joined Morgan Stanley as a member of the fixed income team, then transitioned into the equity side of the firm. A former resident of Glen Cove, Erin Bergano is now a campus recruiter at Ivy League schools, where she seeks out candidates who may be a good fit for Morgan Stanley.

In what may seem surprising, financial entities often look beyond an applicant’s major when hiring for entry-level positions. Leading firms like Morgan Stanley recruit not only majors in finance and business but also those in fields of study including social sciences, language, and music.

Industry experts note that humanities students often have a broader worldview and skills that go beyond the mathematical, with a more creative mindset and a greater openness to unconventional ideas. These qualities often come alongside the ability to research a topic and present it convincingly, which can translate to a competitive edge for the hiring firm.

Financial firms and banks are now reaching out to these students to make them aware of the interpersonal, societal, and persuasive aspects of a career in finance. Meanwhile, firms encourage these students to develop a grounding in the basic concepts of finance so that they can be more competitive candidates throughout the interview process.

How SoulCycle Differs from the Traditional Spin Class

A graduate of the University of Rhode Island and a former resident of Glen Cove, New York, Erin Bergano has coordinated Ivy League campus recruiting efforts for Morgan Stanley for the past three years. A fitness enthusiast, Erin Bergano has completed multiple half-marathons and regularly participates in SoulCycle classes.

Rapidly gaining popularity throughout the United States and Canada, SoulCycle currently has well over 80 locations. The indoor cycling classes build upon the standard spin class in a variety of ways.

Designed to provide a high-intensity cardiovascular workout and a muscle-sculpting strength-training workout at the same time, SoulCycle combines the dynamics of group cycling with the intensity of aerobic dance and a variety of hand-weight work. Other upper-body workout elements incorporated by SoulCycle include abdominal crunches and handlebar push-ups. Participants complete all of these exercises while they continue to pedal and keep an elevated heart rate.

Why Morgan Stanley Targets Non-Finance Recruits

A Glen Cove, New York, native, Erin Bergano is a dean's list graduate of the University of Rhode Island who has worked in the campus recruitment department of Morgan Stanley since 2015. In this position, Erin Bergano coordinates campus recruiting at Ivy League schools throughout the United States.

Morgan Stanley is one of the largest financial services firms in the world, but its success isn't built solely through the work of Certified Public Accountants or those with degrees in finance, mathematics, and computer science. While the company does attract graduates in those fields, its yearly intake of recruits includes a significant amount of arts majors. According to Becci McKinley-Rowe, managing director of Morgan Stanley's London-based institutional equity division, it's essential to compose a team of individuals with different perspectives, and those with humanities degrees often bring a broader view to the table. 

Moreover, students who specialized in history, languages, or geography are generally more interested in world events and politics, and thus more apt to consider the wider economic or political landscape in regard to business decisions. Language students, for example, pay particular attention to minute details in spelling, which can foster a strong attention to detail that can be applied to financial analysis. It's crucial to have a strong grasp of arithmetic, but much of the technical aspect of financial modeling is taught in-house.