When Tessa Bosnic, GSB ’26, left France for New York at 17, she didn’t just change locations; she made the decision to change her future.
“I didn’t know anyone in New York,” she said, “It was the scariest experience of my life.”
Despite the fear, Bosnic looks back on that decision as the best choice she has made. Not just learning to live and adapt to a brand new environment, but learning more about a career that suited her best. Bosnic reflects on her transition and her time at Fordham as a period of growth that set her up for success.
Prior to being at Fordham, Bosnic had always imagined a traditional French path. Growing up in France, high school was more specialized than that in the United States. Bosnic chose economics and law as her areas of study, with plans to move to Paris and practice law there. “Most of my friends followed that route,” she said. “You move to Paris, study law, and stay in France.” However, even as she seemed set on this path, Bosnic had been cultivating a love for New York City.
“Every summer I’d beg my mom to go back,” she recalled from her visits to family in the U.S. “I didn’t want to visit once a year, but like every day.”
It was this pull that ultimately led her to Fordham, which appealed to her for its Jesuit values and for the traditional American campus. “We don’t have campuses in France,” she explained. “When I visited, it felt like the movies. I walked through Keating Hall and Gabelli [School of Business (GSB)] and thought, ‘This is it.’”
And while Fordham is now Bosnic’s home away from home, it took time for this transition to feel comfortable. Bosnic explained how the French education system differed significantly from Fordham’s curriculum, which is based on American educational customs. The U.S. favors exams and an unspecialized pre-college curriculum, which is much different than the highly specialized and writing-intensive work that Bosnic was used to.
“In high school, I wrote 12 page dissertations every Saturday morning for philosophy class,” she said. “We couldn’t use laptops or phones. You’d stand when the professor walked in and sit when told. It was very formal.” Fordham’s classrooms, by contrast, were filled with laptops and online quizzes; concepts completely new to her. “I was not used to multiple-choice quizzes,” she said. “It took me a long time to get the hang of that.”
Academically, math proved to be her biggest hurdle. “In France, you specialize early, so I hadn’t taken math in years,” Bosnic said. “When I came to Fordham, I had to start over—pre-calc, calculus, statistics. Most of my freshman classes were math because I needed to catch up.”
And it wasn’t just academics that challenged her. “I was 17, and everyone felt older,” she said. Like most students going through this adjustment, Bosnic was no stranger to imposter syndrome. But she did not let that stop her from achieving her goals and eventually grew into the new life she made for herself.
“Sophomore year, I gained confidence. I realized I belonged here,” Bosnic said.
It was this confidence that also sparked a new shift in her career path. Though Bosnic initially planned to study law, while at Fordham, she found herself increasingly drawn to business and economics.
“Law made sense for me because I’m detail-oriented and analytical,” she said. “But economics made me think about how the world actually connects … foreign exchange, inflation, geopolitics. It’s like a puzzle, and I like understanding how the pieces fit together.”
That curiosity led her to sales and trading, a fast-paced field she explored during her internship at BNP Paribas, a French global bank. “I was a summer analyst in their global markets division,” she explained. “I rotated between foreign exchange and equity derivatives, learning how to price options and understand client strategies.” The workdays were long, often from 6 a.m. to midnight. “It was intense,” she said. “But once I got into the rhythm, I started loving it. I could see myself wanting to do this every day.”
Bosnic said that the experience confirmed that she had found her career path. “[Sales and trading] combines everything I’m interested in,” she said. “It’s about understanding how the world works, how markets respond to policy, how economies connect. It’s very global, and that’s what I love.”
Now as a senior in GSB, she uses her passion in her leadership roles at Fordham. She serves as a portfolio manager for Smart Woman Securities (SWS), a student-run investment fund and sits on the executive board of the Global Markets Society.
“I help students with resumes, coffee chats and understanding how the desks work,” she said. “It’s rewarding to help them navigate what can feel like an overwhelming field.”
Looking ahead, Bosnic plans to stay in New York after graduation while still maintaining close ties to France. “New York is where I want to build my career,” she said. “But I’d love to have an apartment in Paris one day … somewhere I can travel for work and see family. I want to keep both parts of my identity.”
Bosnic is one of many students planning on taking their education international. When asked what advice she’d give to those who are debating making this decision, she said, “If you’re unsure whether to take the leap, do it. It’s scary, and you’ll doubt yourself. But looking back, it’s the best decision I ever made. You’ll grow more than you expect.”
Bosnic mentioned how her friends and advisors helped her settle into her new life and made her the person she is today. She emphasized how Fordham’s Gabelli advisors, especially Cynthia Bush, was a guiding hand towards her bright future. “There were times I missed home, but Fordham became home,” she said. “Once you find your people and your purpose, everything clicks. You realize you’re exactly where you’re supposed to be.”
