Help an absolute monkey

Hey monkeys,

I am a baby chimp. Let me preface this by being completely, 100% honest so that the critiques I get (if any) are hopefully justified and full of constructive criticism which could genuinely help me make a career for myself.

I introduced myself about a month or so ago (if memory serves correctly), but I have been snooping around these forums trying to inhale as much information as possible. I cherish this forum because of all of the helpful pointers that I have come across and the invaluable lessons/story that I have read.

I am currently a junior in college. I go to a reputable business school, but would say that it is not a preference for recruiters when it comes to finance related jobs, rather accounting & supply chain (the big four accounting firms are always here recruiting). My biggest regret thus far has been my concern for my GPA. My performance thus far has been lack-luster, and it is completely my fault. When I was a senior in high school, I found about a program that an alum has run for the past seven or eight years (at the time). He took on one or two applicants (out of an application pool of about 70-80) and awarded them with four-year internships. Each year, the internship would be different and even in a different business-related field. To me, this was my golden ticket. When I was awarded with an offer to accept, I nearly jumped through the roof. I had a good high school resume. Aside for good grades and community/athletic involvement, I was president of the school's business club for two years and competed in regional and state-wide events in a marketing-related event (I chose the marketing specific event because it more was of an interest rather than a career-guided event, even though I placed amongst the top-ten in the state overall).

My first year of interning (summer heading into my freshman year in college), I interned at a renowned financial company. I was in the investment advisory department, where I dealt with updating 401(k) plans for affluent clients and more specifically, dealt with mutual funds with a little bit of stocks/bonds as well. At the time, I thought it was impressive to have a finance-related internship before college even begins. My mentor was a senior managing director who mainly dealt with advisory and financial planning. The summer went great, and I felt as if I genuinely enjoyed the work I was doing (especially when it came to participating/witnessing meetings with clients).

When college began, I was fazed. The idea of "college" hit me, and my first semester at school I acted like a typical college student. No, I didn't get into any trouble or anything, but I didn't take my academics as seriously as I could have. At the end of my first year, I ended the year with a 3.1 GPA (bad, I know). That summer, I interned with a sports media company (as aforementioned earlier, getting involved with different fields of business was likely). I was on the marketing side for them. I conducted research and analyzed statistics for them. I enjoyed the company and the people, but not something I could envision myself doing in the future.

My sophomore year of college began, and I would say that my grades took a slight dip. I got more involved with extra-curriculars on campus that I diverted too much time to: my school's investment club (Asset Management) and Republican club. At the end of my sophomore year, my GPA dipped to a 2.9. It wasn't due to my lack of effort in the classroom either. I interviewed for a position (and received it) to be the business manager of my student paper. This is my biggest commitment outside of the classroom. I spend 25-35 hours a week on the job. I am responsible for a staff of ten sales representatives, and I am also in charge of budgeting, forecasting, salary for not only my sales staff but all the writers, editors, photographers, etc. that work for the company. These are just are some of the responsibilities that I assume.

This past summer, I studied abroad in multiple cities in Europe as part of an International Accounting and International Law program. As my peers around me started to get involved with interning at companies that they wanted to pursue, I interned at an architecture and consulting firm after the trip. Don't get me wrong, an internship is an internship, but this was certainly an industry I have marginal interest in, or at least I thought. What I learned from this internship was a new interest in real estate. I don't want to immediately go into real estate, but down the line when I hopefully make enough money, it is certainly an avenue I would like to consider. I didn't do any architecture-related work with the company, but I conducted research and did some number crunching, and was involved a little bit with the consulting part of the firm and their potential clients. I worked with excel mainly and capitalized on my skills, which I thought was important.

So. If you are with me thus far, thanks for reading. Here I am today, with a mediocre GPA hoping to work for a BB on Wall Street when I graduate. While I know this seems very far-fetched, I am really, really curious about what I can do to help my chances. I know academics should have been #1 from the get-go when I entered college. I truly am remorseful for my past mindset. I know there are millions of students out there who "want to work on Wall Street", who "want to be the next Wolf". I am not one of them. As I write this in September, I know that the window is not closed for internships for the Summer of 2015. Here I am spending countless hours lately working on my LinkedIn profile and searching for jobs that meet my interest criteria. I WANT an IB, PE, M&A, etc. internship for next summer. If an opportunity presents itself, I will let the alum know that I HAVE to accept the internship offer. I am forever grateful for what he has done, but I want to be responsible for paving my own road from here on out.

Monkeys, what I ask of you is to give me suggestions for what I can do. I feel like I am at a crossroads at this stage in my life. I know I am hindered by my GPA, but there has to be something that I can do to improve my chances for working in an industry that I have badly wanted to work in since I was 15 (when I joined my first business club). I'm not trying to make this a motivational story or anything of the sort, nor do I seek compassion. I just seek an opportunity. What can I do. What should I do.

If anyone can give sincere advice that would be beyond greatly appreciated. Once again, if you took the time to read my story, I can't thank you all enough. For those who felt I wasted their time, I apologize.