After four weeks of learning how to evaluate the business models and underlying stocks of 2 companies, Dunkin Donuts and Krispy Kreme, our Dallas/Ft. Worth students got to SEE the business of supporting hundreds of billions of dollars in client assets and the 400,000 plus daily customer trades that flow through the multiple TD Ameritrade trading platforms. The girls learned about the flow of funds and how TDA, through use of use of technology, revolutionized the financial services sector with fintech and built one of the largest online trading companies in the world.

Daphne Hatterman, Senior Manager, Payment Services and Carita Blocker, Relationship Manager, Human Resources, welcomed the girls and then outlined the story of how TDA grew through the use of fintech and how the firm weathered the ups and downs of the stock market including the 2007-2009 financial crisis, government regulation and investors’ changing preferences.

The students then took a tour of the Payment Services department, where they learned how being a team member goes a long way in getting a job done. They met department managers and staff who work together in accomplishing company and personal productivity goals.

Claudia Gross, Government Reporting Manager with students – on their way to the floor – where all the action is! While on the floor, the girls huddled with: Courtney McGill – Tax Services; Jennifer Lewis – Banking Ops/Loss Prevention; Lisa Newkirk – Advisor Relations; and Val White – Retail Trading.

Daphne Hatterman escorting the students through the various departments of TDA in Dallas/Ft. Worth and sharing with them her own story of how she came to work in the financial services sector.

After the office tour, the girls got to hear from four financial professionals, (Moderator – Emily Jackson, Team Manager, Retirement Account Services, Brokerage Ops; Rachel Bradford – Sr. Manager, Trading Ops; Harriet Carvalho, Team Manager, Institutional Brokerage Services, Advisor Relationships; Val White, Manager, Retail Trading). The panelists discussed their college and career paths, what a typical day at the office looks like for them, their challenges and triumphs in their careers, working in the M of STEM, post college education and tuition reimbursement policies.

One of our students, who had been asking excellent questions throughout the day, asked a zinger of one to the panelists. She asked, “How do you go about asking for a raise?” The answers included:

• Your supervisor probably has 5 or more people reporting to her. So, be aware that you will have to toot your own horn when it comes to being monetarily rewarded.
• Document your work, achievements and how you contributed to solutions and advancements.
• Your supervisor will respect you MORE and not less for having asked for that raise. She now knows you expect more so she can expect more out of you as a team player and as an emerging leader.

As the field trip came to a close, the founder of RTSWS, Maura K. Cunningham, presented the girls with their Certificate of Completion for having finished their RTSWS series of workshops. They can now add this distinction to their college applications, intern and job resumes.

Byron Nelson High School girls on their way back to school. All the wiser now with a financial services industry field trip under their belts and a copy of The Money Queen’s Guide, by Cary Carbonaro. They are on the road to personal financial responsibility, employing their stock analysis skills and exploring a career in finance.