North Carolina State University Athletics
PEELER: Chandrasekar's Big Apple Move
6/15/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
June 15, 2006
RALEIGH, N.C. - BY TIM PEELER
RALEIGH - Former NC State tennis standout Nandita Chandrasekar recently signed a two-year contract to get started on her professional career.
But the native of Madras, India, won't be earning paychecks on the courts. She'll be working on Wall Street in international mergers and acquisitions as a financial analyst for Citigroup.
Chandrasekar, 22, recently sold all of her non-tennis possessions and moved to New York City, where she shares an apartment with two Indian roommates she met on-line. It's exactly the kind of fast-lane life that Chandrasekar had hoped for when she got her degree in May in business finance.
"I couldn't ask for anything better, now that I am done with tennis," Chandrasekar said. "I feel like things have fallen into place really well. I am just going to take it from there."
Not a bad career path for someone who never gave a second thought to coming to the United States for an education and tennis career until the native of Madras, India, was recruited to play at Charleston Southern University by then-head coach Hans Olsen.
She was an All-Big South selection as a freshman, then transferred to NC State when Olsen became the Wolfpack's head coach in 2001.
She and fellow senior Barbara Orlay had a huge hand in Olsen's rebuilding of the Wolfpack women's tennis program over the last three years, even though Chandrasekar had to sit out the entire 2004-05 season with a knee injury. She returned for her final season this past year and was instrumental in leading the Wolfpack to a school-record 17 victories and the second NCAA Tournament bid in school history.
With the first-round match against William & Mary tied at 3-3, Chandrasekar came from a set down to defeat her opponent, giving the Wolfpack its first ever NCAA Tournament victory.
Chandrasekar, however, has been preparing for her post-collegiate tennis career for some time. She did a summer-long internship two years ago with Citigroup, which led to her getting a two-year contract as a financial analyst.
And while some recent graduates may find moving from Raleigh to New York a bit daunting, Chandrasekar is looking forward to the challenges that lie ahead, even though she has few acquaintances in the Big Apple.
"I am looking forward to working in New York, where it is fast-paced and busy all the time," said Chandrasekar, whose native Madras has a population of 7.6 million people and is the fourth largest city in India. "I will never feel like I am by myself. I will always feel the pace of the people around me. It's going to make me feel like I am at home, since I grew up in a crowded city."
Admittedly, it's going to be a different experience, entering the world of international finance, which has long been her goal. But Chandrasekar believes her tennis career has prepared her for her professional life.
"It's different in a lot of ways from being an athlete, but also similar in that I am going to be working with a team," she said. "I am going to be competing every day and working hard and trying to get to my goals.
"It's a totally different setting, but the same ideas."
You may contact Tim Peeler at tim_peeler@ncsu.edu.
