Matiss Ansviesulis
BSc Business Studies, 2009
Country of origin: Latvia
Employer: JP Morgan, UK
I chose to study the BSc in Business Studies at Lancaster University Management School because the School is ranked in the top 10 in the UK and during the application process LUMS displayed professionalism, interest and understanding in explaining the prospects of studying in the UK and studying a particular course. The campus environment was attractive, safe and very suitable for a foreign student like me. Also, because the University is located in the North of England, living costs are less expensive than in many other places.
I really liked the freedom to select the subjects I was interested in and appreciated the highly organised course management, from lecturers to course co-ordinators. The responsiveness of staff, including lecturers, was incredible. By the end of the second year, everyone in the undergraduate groups knew me and I felt like I was a part of the LUMS community.
In my first year I joined the Lancaster University Volleyball Club, and became captain of the men’s team later that year. I stopped active training in my second year, however, in order to focus on my studies and planning for an internship over the summer. Also, in my second year I joined the University’s Economics Society, and became part of its committee whereby we had to organise the first Economics Summit in LUMS in January 2008.
During the summer of 2008 I completed an internship with JP Morgan, working in the operations and management part of the business. My role was in the commodities trading business support group. Business tasks involved project management, data analysis, presentations to managers, group meetings, and conference calls, all within the commodities business of JP Morgan Europe Ltd. The internship worked out very well, because JP Morgan offered me a permanent position on graduation - working as a graduate analyst.
Following my degree, and before starting work with JP Morgan, I started work on a short-term investment analysis project in Latvia which involved co-ordinating several activities in order to attract investment for a gravel extraction/processing project.
