Aug. 25, 2008

Washington, D.C. - Throughout the storied history of the Georgetown basketball program, much has been written about the Hoya legends that return to the Hilltop to work out with each year's current group of players. But for sophomore Chris Wright (Bowie, Md./St. John's College [D.C.]) and senior Bryon Jansen (Kent, Wash./Seattle Christian), they found that the Georgetown network extends far away from McDonough Gym and far beyond the basketball court.

In early August, Wright and Jansen travelled to New York City to visit with Georgetown alumni on Wall Street for the opportunity to learn more about the inner-workings of America's financial capital. It was the second time in two years that a pair of Hoyas had the option, as recent graduates Jonathan Wallace and Tyler Crawford made the trip a year ago.

On the first day, the players had the chance to meet with former Georgetown center Ralph Dalton (C `85). They met with him as well others at Merrill Lynch, visited numerous trading desks and learned about different markets.

The duo then met with Steve Paluszek (B79) during the afternoon and then went to the New York Stock Exchange before having dinner. Paluszek, a member of the Georgetown University Wall Street Alliance who is a supporter of both the men's and women's basketball programs, is the Principal Investment Manager for PRB Advisors, LLC.

"I remembered hearing about when the guys went last year and thought it would be a neat experience," Wright said. "Both Jon and Tyler told me it was a once-in-a-lifetime type of experience, to visit the Exchange and to meet so many people. I'm really glad that we had the chance to do it."

"Chris and I were joking because in the last article, all of Jon and Tyler's quotes were like, [working on Wall Street] is just like basketball, so we were joking how we didn't want to have quotes like that," Jansen said. "I found myself putting my foot in my mouth afterwards, because I can't deny there were a lot of connections, like all of the real-time decisions where they know they are going to have mistakes and be able to deal with those mistakes and still keep going with all the energy they have."

For Wright and Jansen the trip to New York was a chance to see up close what they have only read about and seen on television. It was also an education in what goes on behind the scenes.

"One of the most eye-opening aspects was getting out on the floor," Wright said. "It's a lot different from what you think and being down there, you realize how hectic it is. It was amazing to see how things fast move for them. I just tried to absorb as much as I could."

"For me it's always been a text-book knowledge of what goes on and what I've read in magazines," Jansen said. "I read The Economist all the time and so I see some of the impact of how things are affected, but I've never seen the hands-on, people behind the numbers, the people behind the companies and the banks."

Despite it being their first trip to Wall Street, Wright and Jansen easily found common ground amongst the people they encountered. "I felt very welcome there," Wright said. "We would walk into a room with a hundred people that I didn't know or didn't recognize and then after being there for a half an hour I realized that a good portion of them were Georgetown alumni so it made Bryon and I feel very welcome and we felt like we fit in very well."

Along the way they came across a few familiar faces, namely Dalton, who helped the Hoyas win a National Championship in 1984 prior to his work on Wall Street.

"It was interesting to meet with him because he talked to us much less about his job and the financial world and more about life in general," Wright said. "Being able to come through Georgetown and the basketball program and to see what he's doing now, it showed what we can accomplish too."

"Ralph was able to give us perspective on how our shared task plays out in the real world," Jansen said. "The thing that I noticed most is that every person we met there is filled with energy, it seemed like they have energy 24-hours a day. There was no one there that was taking it easy or bored, but you could tell they loved being there."