While most students would try to get away from work during this spring break, a group of students will go to the Big Apple for business.

Students in the Neeley Fellows Program, the business school’s honors program, will travel to New York City for the chance to network and look at career options.

Beata Jones, the director of the Neeley Fellows Program, said New York was chosen to learn about Wall Street and Madison Avenue outside of a classroom setting. 

New York was also chosen because students could use what they had learned in the classroom in a business setting, Jones said.

“We’ve all watched Mad Men, and we would like to see if the world is really like that on Madison Avenue,” she said.

The trip, which is for sophomore fellows, was crucial because it allowed students to determine what career they wanted to pursue, she said. The trip would also show students who were trying to decide their careers some of the opportunities available outside of Texas, she said.

According to the Neeley Fellows website, students on the trip would have the opportunity to visit the New York Stock Exchange among other businesses. They would also be able to talk with Neeley alumni who lived in New York. 

Sophomore finance and economics double major Yatin Agarwal said he thought the trip was a great opportunity to build relationships and to network with Neeley alumni.

He looked forward to getting a taste of the corporate culture of New York and experiencing Wall Street, he said. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. were among the companies he wanted to visit.

Sophomore accounting major Chloe Johnson said she was excited about the opportunity to visit what she called “big-name” companies.

Agarwal said he was nervous about being prepared for the trip.

The program required students going on the trip to research the companies they would to visit and come up with questions to ask, he said. This included knowing about the companies he would visit, knowing what questions to ask and making a good impression, he said.

Sophomore finance and Spanish double major Blaire Butler said she was nervous about being able to keep up with top business executives.

“Obviously, [the executives] have huge amounts of knowledge that we don’t have yet,” she said.

Jones said the trip to New York would begin March 18 and end March 21.

The trip would cost $400 plus airfare and some meals, she said.

The trip would be a great bonding opportunity for the students in the program, and it was a great opportunity for them to experience different career paths, she said.

This story was corrected to state the motivation for the trip.