Lou Seraqui de Buttafoco
Summer Student Story
What struck me most was the quality of the teaching. Complex concepts were explained with a clarity and simplicity I had rarely experienced before.
As a Chemical Engineering student at Stellenbosch University in South Africa, I have always been drawn to numbers, logic and critical thinking. Yet as I approached the end of my undergraduate degree, I became increasingly certain that I wanted my next academic step to take me somewhere new.
My first real exposure to finance came through independently studying the CFA curriculum. What started as curiosity quickly became a genuine interest, and I began considering a Master's in Finance. But before making such a significant change in direction, I wanted to understand what finance truly looked like beyond self-study. I wanted to experience it in practice and find out whether it was really the path for me.
HEC Paris felt like the natural place to do that. I enrolled first in Accounts for Finance & Strategy, followed by the more advanced Mergers & Acquisitions program. Coming from a non-finance background, the combination was invaluable: the first gave me the foundations I needed, while the second allowed me to immediately build on them in a far more practical setting.
I arrived excited, curious and slightly apprehensive. I knew there were gaps in my knowledge and wondered whether I would be able to close them quickly enough. Those concerns disappeared surprisingly fast. What struck me most was the quality of the teaching. Complex concepts were explained with a clarity and simplicity I had rarely experienced before. As we worked through financial statements, something began to click. When questions were posed to the class, I increasingly found the answers coming to me almost instinctively. A subject that had once felt unfamiliar began to feel remarkably natural.
M&A then challenged me in a different way. I was immediately drawn to valuation because of its analytical and numerical nature, but negotiation introduced me to a side of finance I had not expected. Engineering had taught me how to solve complex problems, but HEC showed me how much judgment, communication and interpersonal skill can influence the outcome of a deal.
The professors’ ability to combine deep expertise with extensive professional experience made the teaching feel both credible and practical. I began to understand that progressing in finance is not only about mastering numbers; the further you advance, the more important it becomes to understand, communicate with and influence people.
The experience extended far beyond the classroom. I had promised myself that I would take part in as much as possible, and I did: wine and cheese tastings, Pilates, dinners near Versailles, football matches, walks through the forest and a nighttime picnic with fellow students from around the world. The diversity of backgrounds, cultures and ambitions at HEC was one of the most memorable parts of the experience, and I formed friendships I hope to carry with me for many years.
Perhaps the greatest lesson HEC gave me went beyond finance. It taught me that certainty does not always come before a decision. Sometimes, you have to step into the unfamiliar first and allow the experience to show you what you are capable of. I arrived at HEC asking myself whether I belonged in finance. I left no longer asking the question. I knew that I wanted to pursue a Master's in Finance and build my career in the field.
I have always believed that the opportunities that challenge you are often the ones most worth taking. You do not need to feel completely ready; you just need to be willing to take the first step. HEC was one of those opportunities for me. I stepped beyond the path I already knew and found the direction I want to follow.
Sometimes you do not find your direction by waiting for certainty. You find it by daring to move without it.