Eric Stroiber, BA Class of 2009

REGULATORY AFFAIRS ANALYST, BANKING

Majoring in history does not limit one to becoming a history teacher. Many industries, including banking, are recruiting liberal arts majors because of their ability to think critically, understand and manage complex social and political relationships, and develop new ideas on how companies should navigate current and future business environments. My work experience in banking speaks to these factors. How does the study of history prepare one for a career in the new regulatory environment of the banking industry? I point to one of the seminars I took with Dr. Ellis. It was the approach of Dr. Ellis to assign large research projects to students without providing too much detail on how to select topics, which resources to reference, or the type of argument to construct. While challenging at the time, the skill set that this approach to research projects fostered has become indispensable in my role as a Regulatory Affairs Analyst. Very often, my managers will ask me to craft memorandums denoting regulatory concerns at the bank, conduct statistical analyses based on historical examination data from regulatory agencies, and develop power point presentations to convey important messages about the status of the examinations and how the results may impact the bank. These tasks require the employee to conduct accurate research, highlight critical aspects of regulatory feedback, ask questions, and identify historical trends of regulatory agency focus on examinations. After review by management, these analyses are often used to assist in assessing the strategic outlook of the bank, whether it is a consideration of a merger and acquisition, or to increase profits by other means. If the pattern of conducting research and organizing data in a coherent manner sounds familiar to writing a research paper in a history class, it is. While the information may not be the same, the skills in approach are. History has a future.