Don't Be Afraid to Stand Out
LAUREN MORRISON, OIP ‘21
LAUREN, A JUNIOR STUDYING FINANCE AT TEMPLE UNIVERSITY, SHARES HER EXPERIENCE LEARNING TO EMBRACE THE THINGS THAT MAKE HER STAND OUT IN THE FINANCE WORLD.
I will never forget my first finance meeting at Temple University during my freshman year. As I passed the threshold, I immediately saw a sea of men, all in suits.
Feeling intimidated, I walked back out, took a deep breath, and contemplated my initial decision to pursue finance. Although I was terrified to go back in, I reminded myself that I was interested in the field and should not let anyone stop me from pursuing my goals. Feeling determined, I walked into the room for my first, of what turned out to be many, finance meetings.
As I met additional colleagues upon joining the investment fund, I continued to feel more comfortable attending the meetings and presenting. However, I still felt out of place in the industry. As my focus turned toward finding an internship and thinking about the interview process, I began to lose confidence in myself. Through my experience at Temple and from conversations with my father, who worked in the finance industry for many years, I came to understand that I was not a typical candidate for a finance role. My visual of a worker in finance was an athletic male who attended a top private school. In contrast, I grew up as a musician, know very little about athletics and attend a public school. Essentially, I was the opposite of what I pictured to be an ideal finance recruit.
When I came to the realization that I may not be what a recruiter is looking for, which I later realized to be completely inaccurate, I continued to be unsure of myself and where I fit in the world of finance. I downplayed the fact that I was a woman trying to get a job in finance and while I wanted to discuss my music experience and passion, I instead felt the need to only engage in my experience managing the business side, instead of the teaching and performing experience I have. I was always trying to come up with something I could say in an interview to justify why I went to a public school.
Through my experience in the Girls Who Invest Online Intensive Program and my internship at Citi in its Sophomore Leadership Program, I learned how important diversity actually is in the field. Investing is an art, not a science, and people from different backgrounds bring a unique perspective that can improve the investment process. As I became comfortable with this concept, my confidence rebounded, as I realized I bring a distinct perspective to the table. It is a fact that women think differently from men, especially when it comes to risk. My experience in Temple’s Investment Fund, the Owl Fund, prepared me well for Girls Who Invest and my internship, so it turned out going to a public school served me well after all.
Additionally,
while I always thought my background in music would never translate to a career in finance, I realized that I learned so many valuable lessons along the way that I can apply to any situation. Performing music live shaped me the most. Growing up, I was always someone who kept to myself. When I started performing, I found my voice and felt more comfortable contributing to a discussion and presenting in front of my peers. Performing also taught me how to think on my feet while remaining calm. There were many times before a show where I was asked to learn a song at the last minute or I had never practiced the song with the band before. In those instances, I had to be very alert and be ready to change what I was doing at any second while still putting on a great performance. Given that, I also learned the importance of teamwork and collaboration. A band is only as strong as the weakest link; if one person is off, the whole band can be thrown off. That is why it is important to make sure everyone is included, working together, and on the same page.
To any young woman who might be doubting yourself because you do not see yourself represented in finance: know that diversity is an asset, not a liability.
Whether it is gender, religion, race, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, school, major, or interests, your uniqueness will change the face of investing. By embracing our diversity, I hope that one day, when we picture a finance professional, we will see individuals possessing a wide variety of characteristics and experiences.