The air inside the main lobby of Vance & Sterling Financial Systems was so cold it felt like an operational hazard.
Floor-to-ceiling sheets of reinforced glass looked out over Midtown Manhattan, slicing the summer sun into sharp, brilliant angles across polished marble floors. A massive, four-sided digital ticker hummed overhead, streaming real-time algorithmic trades, foreign exchange rates, and market indices in bright green and amber. It was a cathedral of high-frequency capital and proprietary code—and the precise battleground where forty-two elite undergraduates from across the country were competing for exactly three summer analyst positions.
I stood by the glass balustrade on the twenty-fourth floor, holding a condensation-beaded glass of iced water, wearing a tailored navy blazer
