From Bristol Pike to Wall Street

A group of 11 Holy Ghost Prep rising seniors traveled to New York City and met with Wall Street executives from July 12-14 as part of their finance and investment course.

The nine-week course, taught by Tom Murtaugh, combines in-class lectures and class trips, the latter of which allows Holy Ghost students the opportunity to learn high finance from experts in the field.

The 11 Holy Ghost students enrolled in Murtaugh’s finance and investment class are Teddy Barbe, Erik Fenstermaker, Conor Gibbons, Paul Horgan, Tommy Horgan, Justin Letizia, Dominic Macaluso, James Nycz, Michael Roche, Harry Scuron and Preeth Vijay.

While in New York City, the students visited Assured Guaranty, one of the leading providers of financial guaranty insurance in the United States. The students even had a lunch meeting with the company’s President and CEO Dominic Frederico, the father of HGP alum Frank Frederico ’00. 

Frederico is clearly dedicated to supporting HGP students interested in finance. He earlier donated $25,000 to establish the Frank Frederico '00 Student Investment Fund,  a fund which the students in this finance course and other AP Economics students manage as fiduciaries.

Following their lunch meeting with Dominic Frederico at Assured Guaranty, the Holy Ghost Prep students then met later that afternoon with David Smith III ’96, the Executive Director of Capital Markets for Morgan Stanley. 

“The students characterized Mr. Frederico's words as aspirational,” Murtaugh says. “Through his stories, he impressed on the students how to succeed in business and in life. Dave Smith introduced the students to what he does at Morgan Stanley as well as having his co-workers speak with us and explain their roles. The students said they enjoyed this because they had an opportunity to meet the people who made the financial transactions they learned about in the classroom.”

On July 13, the HGP students were given a guided tour of Wall Street by William Bautz, former Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer of the New York Stock Exchange and the grandfather of Grayson Bautz ’18 and Connor Bautz ’20. They also visited the Museum of American Finance.

The July 14 itinerary included a visit to Fordham University's campus in the Bronx. The students received a campus tour and met personally with Michael Dahlgren '10, a Fordham admissions counselor and one of Murtaugh’s former students.

 “We are indebted to the kindness and generosity of the many members of the HGP family that made this trip possible. Their commitment to host our students, share their real-world counsel and advice, and give back to Holy Ghost is deeply appreciated,” said Gregory J. Geruson ’79, President of Holy Ghost Prep. “This experiential learning is a key to ensure that our students are poised for success in college.”