About Me
Who am I
Name
Phoenix WangPhone
(512) 994-0485Birthday
JuneCity
Austin, TexasNationality
United StatesLiving Meaningfully
I enjoy broadening my horizons by pursuing topics ranging from social work in inner-city communities to reading the latest developments in econometrics. I’m looking to combine my desire to improve the world with a business-focused mindset through social entrepreneurship.
Some of my favorite pastimes is reading (currently reading The Real Price of Everything) and biking (find me pedaling away up and down the hills of Northwest Austin). My eclectic set of research interests have been in development economics in the Global South, subaltern communities in Southeast Asia, and the bright side of deglobalization in America.
Turning knowledge into action
Risks I've taken and what I've learned
Aka Work Experience
Public Finance Investment Banking Intern
TD Securities
Worked with cities and local government entities to raise funds for capital improvement projects, contributing to over $10 million of new debt issuance. Built Excel models to compare cost of issuing debt across various banks. Built slide decks to demonstrate TD Securities’ competitive advantage as a lead underwriter. Wrote and compiled weekly reports on municipal market to assist traders and bankers
Data and Compliance Intern
Amherst Capital
Researched and reconciled portfolio pricing differences on individual swaps and bonds with counterparties, BNY Mellon, and Bloomberg, reducing $10M+ discrepancy to less than $100K. Built automated pricing reconciliation and reporting tool via Bloomberg Gateway, SQL, and Excel
Research Assistant
The University of Texas McCombs School of Business
Tested the hypothesis that ratings analysts’ subjective bias affects municipal bond pricing through analyzing and compiling credit spreads from 15,000+ datapoints using Python, R, and Excel
Automation Intern
RigUp
Automated the W-2 contractor payroll process for increased efficiency, reducing workflow time from 5+ hours to 15 minutes. Built performance reporting processes for the operations team using Excel, Visual Basic, and the Zendesk API
Mayor's Office Intern
City of Austin Mayor's Office
Contributed to Austin’s land development code rewrite by researching small area planning in five economic centers, conducting 450+ constituent calls, and writing reports, resulting in two mayoral recommendations to council
Engineering Intern
National Institute of Standards and Technology (US Department of Commerce)
Developed a prototype of a 3D-printable rheometer based on open source software and off the shelf hardware that would be 20x cheaper than comparable commercial rheometers
On the verge of the rest of my life
Education
What starts here changes the world
Received Degree
August 2018 to May 2022
Bachelor of Arts in Plan II Honors, an interdisciplinary liberal arts honors degree with focus on classical literature, philosophy, history, and political science.
Bachelor of Business Administration in Management Information Systems, a business degree with a focus on leverage information technology to increase value.
Graduated Summa cum laude
Notable classes: Statistics and Modeling, Healthcare Analytics, Multivariable Calculus, Engineering Physics, Managerial Accounting, Financial Accounting, Financial Markets, Urban Business Engagement, Business Communications, Business Law and Ethics
Area of Interests
My Interests
Skills
Language Skills
Native English and Mandarin Chinese speaker. Learning German and Bahasa Indonesia to engage with the technology of the current industrial powerhouse of Germany and perhaps position myself for the future fastest growing economy of Indonesia.
English
Mandarin Chinese
German
Bahasa Indonesia
Previous Companies
Words from
Testimonials
Phoenix’s work contributed to a better future for our city and I am sure that he will do the same for you as well.
Steve AdlerMayor, City of AustinPhoenix impressed me as a serious and intelligent person who works hard and is eager to learn. He was always polite and did get along well with other members of the research teram.
I really love [Phoenix’s] get-it-done, dive-in attitude! I’m so thankful to work with [Him]. [He is] always upbeat and open to learning whatever we throw at [him]!
Camryn HareClient Integration Specialist, RigUp
Phoenix’s abundant generosity continues to show up in leadership by his advocacy for others.
Bill BlaineLecturer, Harvard Kennedy School of GovernmentAgain, Phoenix represents what I admire most in elite students other than intelligence and ambition. Modesty and respect. He exudes a cordial personality with a sincere balance of maturity and talent, arriving with a polite smile everyday even though I can tell he is exhausted from navigating his AP glutted schedule and aforementioned commitments.
Scott ChalkTeacher, Westwood High School