These were the powerful words of Daisy Casey, Community Bank President, Sumner Co, First Tennessee Bank to Hillsboro High School students during their RTSWS field trip. It was her candid and instant reply to the question: “Daisy, what is the BEST thing about your job?”
The students capped off their semester series of financial education workshops by going to the offices of their volunteer instructors. There, they saw and heard from women in the M in STEM, finance.
Meet JennySai—one of our success stories. Jenny, a first generation American, participated in the RTSWS program when she was a student at Hume-Fogg High School, a Metro Nashville Public School. When we first met Jenny, she had no idea that a profession in finance was even available for her consideration.
Jenny interned with us at the RTSWS offices in Nashville for the past three years and then, this past summer she interned as a Financial Analyst with Amazon in Seattle. Jenny will graduate next year from Washington University in St. Louis with her Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Economics and Strategy. We sat down with Jenny to learn more about her experiences as an undergraduate studying business, economics and finance.
Tell us about why you were drawn to finance as a college major and career path? I like finance because it’s analytical and can apply to small and big businesses. If you think about just the numbers though, that is not enough. You need to think beyond them and how learning about basic finance, financial instruments and financial policy can impact your world and the world of those around you.
What qualities do you believe are most important to be a leader? I’ve had some really good female leaders. A leader should not be afraid to tell you when you might be on the wrong track. They should give you constructive criticism with encouragement. Sometimes women are afraid to tell you what are doing wrong. We need to change that mindset.
What inspired you most about the women you met as a student in the Rock The Street, Wall Street program? One memory that really sticks out is when our RTSWS class went on a field trip to the Entrepreneur Center. We heard from two entrepreneurs, (female) who were just launching their products. They shared how hard it is to “make it”. They weren’t afraid to take a chance and they committed their time, money, etc. to making their dreams a reality. It was really inspiring and got me thinking about my future.
How specifically have you benefited from meeting female financial professionals with Rock The Street, Wall Street? My RTSWS mentor put the financial world in perspective–she opened my world to all the possibilities. Getting a finance degree is really smart for the future. She also taught me that hard work pays off and opening yourself to opportunities pays off. Rock The Street, Wall Street sets girls up for endless possibilities.
Jenny listens to Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon, at their summer internal company meeting.
There’s a lot to be said about “getting to the next level” as a potential summer intern. Can you explain how you stood out among the other candidates to get the summer gig as a financial analyst at Amazon? Apply to everything is my advice. Get ready for rejection, but chances are you will get a couple of opportunities. Talk to your career and guidance counselors. Get used to talking to people in a professional manner. I did all of these over and over so when the Amazon opportunity came along, I was ready, willing and able.
What achievements are you most proud of to date? Being a good listener is one of my better assets–I consider it an achievement. People respond to that and will tell you more if you give them a chance to talk. Being receptive to other people is imperative.
What is your key takeaway from your internship at Amazon? One thing I learned is that you can speak up. No one will ding you for speaking up as you are new and learning. At Amazon they instilled their interns to “Think Big”. This is so important for young people. When stuck in your work, you get muddled in details. You have to rise above and think about the big picture.
What would you like to achieve in the next five years? Entering my senior year at college, there is pressure to find my dream job. This can lead to putting too much stress on myself. I know I have to build to get to where I want to be…put in the work and commit. I’d like to use my analytical skills to do something beyond the numbers, like managing the entire lifecycle of a project. I also want to make an impact on the future of commerce – directing where the industry goes not just short term, but long term, too.
The answers to that question is too lengthy to address here today. What we can do, however, is continue to encourage girls to reach their full potential and excel in the M in STEM: finance. There is NO LIMIT to what they can achieve and having the financial tools to navigate their own way through life is paramount to a successfully led life.
Great big thank you to our sponsors, volunteers, school champions and parents! You all rock!
Get girls the skills they need to succeed in life and business. It’s so fetch!
Valiere, a TD Ameritrade professional, and Megan, a senior at Byron Nelson High School in Texas, (pictured above) recently shared with us the impact their Rock The Street, Wall Street mentor-protege relationship has had on their personal and professional lives. Listen in on what makes this pair a dynamic duo:
Rock The Street, Wall Street prepares high school girls for college and careers by offering mentoring and job shadowing to our students in the spring semester. Connecting with a female financial professional in a one-to-one mentor/protege relationship helps develop the future female finance professional pipeline. Equally important, it gives girls an opportunity to see financial professionals at work in this field where females and minorities are underrepresented. This is critical as women in STEM aren’t depicted in popular culture from which girls at this age are predominately influenced.
RTSWS Mentoring and Job Shadowing Helps Girls:
Set career goals and take the steps to realize them.
Expand their personal contacts industry professionals, find internships, and locate possible finance jobs.
Identify resources and organizations they may not be familiar with.
Understand the skills needed for seeking a finance job, interviewing for a finance job, and keeping a finance job.
Why is this important?
One in three young people surveyed in The Mentoring Effect (2014) did not have a mentor while they were growing up. Applying their experiences to the U.S. Census demographics for 8 to 18 year olds, it is projected that 16 million young people, including 9 million at-risk young people, will reach adulthood without connecting with a mentor of any kind. It doesn’t have to be this way; contact us to make a difference today.
“When you get where you’re going, don’t forget to turn back around. Help the next one in line. Always stay humble and kind.” –Tim McGraw
The 2017/2018 RTSWS academic year is starting off with a bang! We have a record setting number of girls participating in our programs this year and we have two new school districts joining our team roster…The Dallas Independent School Distritct (TX), and Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools, (NC).
We couldn’t do it without the support of the school superintendents, principals, teachers and volunteers who help us recuit our students across the cities.
The list of cities where we’ll be offering our newly enhanced year-long financial “hands-on” projects for girls include:
Dallas
Ft. Worth
Nashville
New York City
and our newest location, Charlotte!
Making it Happen –
Thanks to Our Sponsors
Our program is provided at no cost to students. We rely on the generosity of our corporate donors, foundations and individuals to provide high school girls with the financial tools they need to succeed throughout their lives and to meaningfully impact the lives of those around them.
Finance is at the heart of opportunity.
On behalf of our students, parents, volunteers, teachers, schools and the communities we serve, we thank all of our generous sponsors!
Wanna be the most popular kid in high school?
Get YOUR company to sponsor a school near you. Get YOUR colleagues involved, too, as volunteers.
According to LinkedIn’s August 2017 Workforce Report, Nashville (where Rock The Street, Wall Street is headquartered) has a skills gap driven by a scarcity of workers with certain skills.
Our female financial professionals are teaching high school girls FIVE of the TOP TEN skills needed in today’s economy.
IT infrastructure and management
Software engineering and requirements gathering
Process and project management
General finance
Web programming
Risk management
Trading and investment
Banking
Pet care and services
Management consulting, business strategy and analysis
How many programs for girls in your city can make this claim?
Women’s Investment Management Leadership Summit in NYC
For the first time, The Opal Group scheduled a Summit in New York City with only women money managers on the day-long series of panels—The Women’s Investment Management Leadership Summit. The attendance was on par with the Emerging Managers Summit which was being hosted concurrently. Financial professionals including members of Single Family Offices, Allocators, Hedge Fund Managers and Venture Capitalists agreed the addition of the women’s conference made for a better, more mind bending conference.
Our Founder, Maura Cunningham, and RTSWS Board Member, Meredith Jones, discussed during one session, their ideas on filling the pipeline with more women and the steps needed to increase gender equality in financial careers. RTSWS was designated as the charitable partner for the event and connections were made with female and male leaders in the investment management industry and beyond.
