WIBcast

Zijia Song is an Emerging Markets Reporter at Bloomberg, focusing on covering Latin American sovereign debt and corporate credits. She was born in China and attended her province's school system until her second year of high school. We talk about the culture of academia in China and why she moved to Minnesota and stayed with a host family for the rest of her high school years. During the transition, she went from being an only child to living with six other kids and many pets. After her experience in the US school system, she chose to stay in the United States for college. She worked with a college counselor while home for the summer and decided to attend Boston College. She entered BC as a math major and added a second major in the Communications department after a journalism internship while home one summer in China. Zijia was accepted to Bloomberg's Diversity Exploration program during her senior year of college. The program took place the last week of senior year, causing her to miss all the senior week activities, but she says it was well worth it. Before joining Bloomberg full-time, she received a second degree from the Global Journalism Program at New York University. She networked with program directors and was mentored on how to best present herself in her grad school application, which is excellent advice she shares with listeners in the episode. While at NYU, Zijia reported on sex work in the Chinese community. She shows her dedication to her work with stories about spending long nights out reporting and building rapport in the community. She has now returned to Bloomberg in a rotational reporting program. She was not initially interested in business reporting but gives the advice to take opportunities when presented, even if they are different from what you expect/are comfortable with. We talk in-depth about the elements of good market reporting. Because her reporting is read by many traders who have to make quick decisions with significant monetary consequences, balancing speed with credibility is at the core of her work. She pays attention to all aspects of LatAm markets, from specific names, such as an oil company in Mexico, to the political landscape of Latin American countries to inform on debt performance and developments. She also gives excellent advice on how to find internship opportunities in journalism as an undergraduate and how she advocated for herself to make all of her accomplishments a reality.

Sarah Winglass attended Boston College on an ROTC scholarship and graduated in 2014. She did not come from a military family or participate in ROTC in high school. Still, when applying to colleges, she spoke with a close friend who participated in an ROTC program and was attracted by the broader opportunities connected to the scholarship. This meant that on top of her classes and personal extracurriculars, Sarah participated in Army ROTC-specific physical and leadership training. She started her career in the US Army in an operations unit in Colorado. Over time because of her high performance, Sarah earned the opportunity to be trained in the Counterintelligence force. She mentions that one of the biggest challenges transitioning to the military - was that she was so eager and excited - that performing a support role was out of character. She then served on Counterintelligence teams in Washington, DC, and then on an extended deployment in Iraq. She said her deployment was one of her two goals for her military career - the other being company commander. On her deployment, Sarah is very insightful about the renewed sense of dedication and focus toward a mission that thrilled her. Sarah accomplished both of her goals in her career with the help of mentors along the way. We talk about the organization and trajectory of a career in the military and the traits of successful military leaders. Sarah connects to how many of those skills transfer into the business world. This conversation also highlights Sarah's experience as a woman in the Army and imposter syndrome in general. We end on an empowering note about how to find mentors to guide you through new missions and business ventures alike.

Hannah McGowan is the founder of a talent and corporate development consultancy. She specializes in cultivating crucial soft skills in individuals and transforming business management strategies to boost engagement and results. Hannah also worked as a childhood counselor for years, and we talk about the transition from personal to professional counseling. This conversation highlights communicating with your managers, shifting career goals over time, and what makes for high performers in the workplace. After years in sales and counseling roles, Hannah took the leap to start her own business as a talent development coach in 2021. She graduated from Boston College ten years prior and started her career in a healthcare consulting position, where she was promoted rapidly. She said that what contributed to her success was her eagerness to contribute to the business beyond her day-to-day responsibilities. She developed a training program for new hires and realized that her genuine affinity was consulting with individuals over corporates.  She got her master's at Harvard's graduate school of education and served in many counseling positions focused on empowering students. Now as the head of Hannah McGowan Coaching, she is bringing her talents to individuals looking for career and advice and corporates looking for management tools. She specializes in cultivating crucial soft skills for individuals to succeed and adapt across jobs. More than what someone should study/pursue as a career, Hannah is focused on how to make those decisions. Entering the second year of her business, she is focusing on transforming organizational management strategy to boost engagement and results. We discuss the gap in quality development opportunities and how Hannah builds a strengths-based learning culture at the businesses she works with.  In this fascinating and thoughtful conversation about creating a sustainable ethos surrounding work, Hannah gives tips for choosing a college major, common traits of high performers, shifting definitions of success throughout your career, communicating with managers, and advocating for yourself in the workplace.

Alisa Fitzgerald is a Municipal Bond Trader at Morgan Stanley. As an Executive Director, she helps build and manage various portfolios. When Alisa was a junior in college, she interned with Fidelity in a trader assistant role and continued the internship throughout her senior year of college and has progressed in title across different firms since. We introduce what a career as a trader looks like compared to other jobs in finance like Investment Banking or Consulting. Alisa is also part of a buy-side team vs. sell side. She explains that a sell-side trading desk has its own profit/loss statement to strategize for along with servicing clients, but in her job, she buys and sells bonds to fit a portfolio that retail investors can then buy and hold. However, the core understanding of how economic conditions affect bond prices and markets is the same. Even more specifically, she trades Municipal Bonds and explains the nuances of Municipals as an asset class. Because Alisa has been in trading for her entire career, she has a unique perspective on how external shocks from 9/11 to the financial crisis and technological innovations have changed her job. We will talk about each instance in depth. Because the entire financial industry faced a set of regulations amid a technological boom, Alisa emphasizes the need for adaptability and eagerness to learn in a career. We will also talk about her career in the context of culture and personality fit, which she believes will always be crucial to a long and successful career - even in a field that seems to be more technical. Alisa explains why the fast-paced and social nature of trading has played to her strengths and gives an authentic look into a day in her life.

Cordelia Meserow is an Associate Director in UBS's Realty Investor practice. She studied English as an undergrad, but with guidance from a family member in residential real estate, Cordelia concentrated on professional opportunities in real estate early on. After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania, she joined a top real estate investment bank in Chicago that focused on deal-making for real estate firms. She says the best advice she could have given her younger self as a banking analyst would be to listen first and ask questions. "Having that sense of awareness is hard to cultivate, but being humble and saying you don't know something will get you a lot more points than being too confident, maybe overly so, and making a mistake." We discuss different real estate investment considerations, from sheer asset types like a mall vs. an office building to owners' risk profiles when buying real estate. An owner can pay more for the newest building in the best location and be sure that the building will attract tenants shortly. On the other end of the spectrum are value-add buyers. "It's really the model of buy it, fix it, sell it." Cordelia talks about the trends in strategy she has seen across her career and the impact of Covid on the commercial real estate industry during the shift to hybrid work models. She has been interested to see that, for the first time, property owners in New York are focused on updating and renovating their spaces. "It's not enough to just own a building in New York anymore." "It is important to be social at work. Those two things do not contradict each other." Cordelia emphasizes the importance of relationships in any business, and it is fascinating to hear how she has been connected to new clients and has heard about new investment opportunities by prioritizing her business relationships.

Kyleigh Leddy earned a spot on this year's Forbes 30 Under 30 list in the media category for her first book, The Perfect Other. The Perfect Other shares the story of Kyleigh's sister's disappearance and assumed death in 2014 after years of struggling with schizophrenia. Kyleigh pairs personal experience with scientific research to address how mental health is viewed and treated and finding peace amid grief. In 2019 Kyleigh won the New York Times Real Love essay for "Years Ago My Sister Vanished; I See Her Whenever I Want." This piece is about how grief has changed in the digital era and caught the attention of many big-name publishers. She received multiple book deal offers and chose to sign with Harper Collins. She spent her first-year post-grad writing The Perfect Other. Kyleigh talks about the influx of messages related to her NYT essay that made her feel called to push through any hesitation toward writing the book in full, and we talk about the opportunities for young writers. The first time she submitted her writing to a contest, she did not even include her name out of nerves. Now, Kyleigh pushes for young writers to put themselves to submit their writing to contests and magazines. As it was in her case, the second time she decided to share her writing, this time with a byline, changed the trajectory of her entire career and life. With platforms like TikTok, there is no limit to the amount of promotional content authors can create for themselves. Her Forbes 30 Under 30 declaration has also aided in getting her name out there. We discuss the business behind books in depth and the friction between this tragedy in relation to her career. Kyleigh explains how she decided on her manager and which publisher to sign with. Money, trust, and differing editing processes were all factors in Kyleigh's decision. We also discuss shifts in how authors market themselves and their work. The next step for Kyleigh is turning her book into a video production. Although unsure what the final format will be, Kyleigh talks about her transition from prose and narrative writing to writing for film. View Kyleigh's work here: https://kyleighleddy.com https://www.amazon.com/Perfect-Other-Memoir-My-Sister/dp/0358469341 Year Ago My Sister Vanished. I See Her Whenever I Want - New York Times 2019 Modern Love Essay Contest Winner When There's No Word Like 'Widow" - New York Times essay published Feb. 11, 2023

Lucy Alexander is a 2019 Boston College graduate who now works in the Cyber Security arm of a multinational software business. Early in her college experience, she sensed a massive shift toward technology in the early stages of finance recruiting and changed her major to Computer Science. Lucy started from scratch in her junior year of college but found that the opportunities for computer science majors extend far beyond back-end coding. For example, her early experiences and interests were related to pseudocode, which is more related to designing the steps in an algorithm versus technical back-end coding. After an internship with an IT Consulting Firm after her junior year and a few years on the job, she has mastered how to leverage her strong communication and interpersonal skills with her knowledge of computers. Lucy is now a Customer Experience team co-leader and has taken her expertise globally. Lucy has spoken in New York, London, and Berlin at conferences about the Future of Customer Engagement with Cyber Security Products. We have a fascinating conversation on why brands and individuals have started to care more about data privacy, how the rules and regulations differ in the United States vs. Europe, and the shift from Cyber Security as a cost to a value driver. Lucy has also had a speedy and impressive trajectory in her career as a result of her personal professionalism. Lucy talks about the abundance of opportunities in the Cyber Security business, even for people with little computer science background. More importantly, she talks about how she has always aggressively advocated for herself and is unafraid to ask to be paid more. Salary transparency is a conversation that is becoming more mainstream, and Lucy gives excellent insight into things to think about when evaluating your own value in the workplace.

In a career twist that Bridget Burke could have never predicted, she has spent the last two years building NurseWallet, a financial empowerment platform for nurses. Bridget became a Registered Nurse in 2019 and started her professional career only a day before Covid-19 disrupted the US healthcare industry forever. One day when she was out of work with Covid herself, Bridget offered to give feedback on a new GenZ-focused investing app but realized that most of the features were not optimized for the unique finances of a nurse

Kate Schumacher was always told that she should consider being a lawyer growing up. With an affinity for reading and writing, she knew her skill set was the right fit, but pushed off the idea of the LSAT until senior year to open up her post-grad optionality ✍️

Maddz Ciccone, a master soul cycle instructor in Boston and the host of the Wicked Fearless podcast, joins WIBcast this week to talk about how she “found her fearless.” After graduating college, Maddz moved to California and worked with some of Hollywood's biggest names. With a continued passion for branding and fitness, she took what she learned in the corporate side of Hollywood and moved to Boston to grow her own brand as an athlete and confidence coach. We talk about the building blocks that have lead her to success and a day in the life of a soul cycle instructor, both on and off the bike. Maddz always had west coast dreams in college, so when she got the opportunity to be an intern for The Ellen DeGeneres Show, she moved to Los Angles after graduation. Working closely with production professionals and hustling around the set, Maddz became equipped with managing high profile names and from there, continued further into the corporate and creative sides of Hollywood. However, no matter how busy her schedule became, Maddz would always find a way to fit in a workout - even if it mean waking up at 4:30 AM. So when faced with career struggles and uncertainty on where to turn next, she took a leap of faith and auditioned to be a Soul Cycle instructor. "It is a completely different animal," Maddz said about how her life changed with that career jump. She moved to Boston and now balances her days between being an athlete, mentor, and entrepreneur. We talk about her passion for fitness and how the Soul Cycle community has built her up to be much more than an inspiration in the studio. Maddz described 2019 as the best year of her life. She had just started her podcast and was promoted at Soul Cycle to Master Instructor when Covid-19 completely disrupted all that she had been building in the previous years. With no fitness studios open, Maddz had to pivot platforms to connect with others. She started her Wicked Fearless Confidence Coaching business which has since taken off. We talk about how she builds her own confidence, growing a social platform into a business, and we reflect on the decision to put yourself first in a social and professional environment where it can feel like so much is out of your control. Love this episode? You can find more of Maddz here: https://www.maddztaddz.com/about https://open.spotify.com/show/1hcnwbWBcc9Sde9kFFBEGn?si=87c42930b03a4689 https://www.soul-cycle.com/instructors/10367/Maddz/ https://www.instagram.com/wibcast/

This week on WIBcast, Allison Minogue will remind you never to settle. At Boston College, Allison studied Psychology and Economics and found her niche in behavioral economics in the middle. After graduation, she joined a market research firm where her academic interests were elevated in practice. She gives a deep dive into what it means to apply data to human behaviors, and we discuss how to turn data collection into applicable strategic goals through visualization and narration. We also talk about concepts from Daniel Kahneman's Thinking Fast and Slow, one of the more influential works on behavioral economics. Allison has adopted many of Kahnmenan's ideas into her own work. Allision attended Columbia Business School, and in a different view on business school than I have heard before, Allison explained that she viewed her time there as a chance to pivot. She joined McKinsey afterward. Her interest in consulting stemmed from a desire to work across industries, and the role at McKinsey allowed her to travel and develop a new set of hard skills. Now, Allison is a year into her newest role as a Strategy and Operations Lead for Google Cloud. She helps with everything from headcount and budget to reporting and metrics of special projects. The importance of Cloud technologies was elevated to the forefront of how we work during Covid, and Allison is diving into what consumers want out of a streaming experience and how to create that.

Theresa Mahoney started her career in Deloitte's consulting practice after graduating from Boston College and has stayed there her entire career. We get into a detailed conversation on anything and everything students interested in consulting would need to know. If you are unsure of what you might be interested in as a potential career, Theresa is far from the first to say that consulting is an ideal first position because of the broad skillset and industry exposure that young consultants gain access to. She also explains that one of the advantages of a bigger firm like Deloitte is that analysts can find a project in any industry they find fascinating, from luxury goods to tech strategy. Throughout her career, Theresa has developed a specialty in Healthcare and Lifesciences. She volunteered at a hospital as a student. We note that consulting provides opportunities for people passionate about a specific industry to stay close without needing the niche technical skills that a doctor or engineer would. We also discuss the day-to-day as an analyst. Many of Theresa's memories from the beginning of her career were centered around travel. Although based out of Boston, Theresa was on the road four days a week. While traveling, she remembers being in meetings with executives and learning the job through action. Theresa is an active recruiter and gives tips on what makes candidates stand out in the consulting recruiting process. As a senior manager, she oversees a broader range of responsibilities, but most of her projects focus on Lifesciences. We have a great conversation about what clients were looking for during Covid and how the consulting industry changed during the pandemic. This is a must-listen episode, as Theresa's advice is applicable far beyond the consulting field. Follow @WIBcast on Instagram for more content and updates on new episodes!

Emily Wilson joins WIBcast this week to talk about her career as a Product Growth Manager at Meta. We discuss the growth of platforms such as Meta and Google as advertising tools and the culture at big tech firms. This is a great episode to learn about what goes on behind doors at the tech companies that have changed the world. Emily studied English at Boston College, giving her a broad but vague sense of potential career paths. After her junior year of college, she accepted a role at a startup called SocialCode, which would become a pioneer in social media advertising. At SocialCode, Emily worked closely with all of Meta's products to help clients advertise and with employees at Meta directly. In 2016, she joined the Meta, then Facebook, team directly. Now, as a product growth manager, Emily thinks about how to build tools for advertisers on Meta. We focus a lot on tech firms' capabilities from the perspective of both an advertiser and end user and compare how tech platforms compete with each other for business. Emily also shares a look into the culture of the tech industry. She describes Meta's massive campus in California and its office in New York. With perks such as complimentary meals and coffee, a laundry service, and flexible working conditions, the environment is part of the reason Emily has stayed at Facebook for so long. On that note, we talk about why it is hard for companies to keep young talent in one place. Emily mentions that hopping from one company to the next is a methodological way to get a raise, but by staying at Facebook, she has genuinely integrated into the culture and become an expert in her practice. Emily emphasizes the importance of a liberal arts education, even in the tech field, and shares insight on how to stay curious and ever-evolving at work!

This week on WIBcast, Phoebe talks to 2022 BC grad, Caroline Costa, about her job as a Digital Product Analyst at Cava. In her role, Caroline is now helping build their website and app as this fast casual start up rapidly grows! With a less linear recruiting path than some other jobs in business, Caroline discusses all the experiences as a student that lead her to her role today. As a freshman, Caroline entered BC as a finance major, but after spontaneously attending an internship fair and accepting a summer position with an emerging Public Benefit Corporation, Caroline realized that crafting brand strategies excited her much more than financial statements. After that summer, where Caroline focused on creating the image for Millie Giving, she began to look more into the marketing track. And in a field where there are not always strict resume drop deadlines or specific technical questions you can expect in an interview, much of Caroline's career exploration took place in the form of getting on the phone with people in all different roles and asking the under-rated question, "can you walk me through a day in your life?" After her junior year, she worked for a marketing agency, which creates marketing material for all sorts of clients from makeup brands to tech firms. There, Caroline got exposure into search engine optimization, A/B testing, and the different strategies to make sure the campaigns she worked on performed well. For example, why not pay for your brand to come up in a Google when someone searches a competitor? Caroline gives great insight on how to learn beyond what students are told in classes, and highlights key considerations for any marketer that she has learned along the way. Are you building a product that everyone can enjoy? Who might be left out in your branding strategy and how can marketers incorporate those people into their design? We discuss the differences between working for a brand vs working for an agency, and why she ultimately chose Cava. In this episode, we hope to clear up some of the confusion marketing majors may feel in their career search and emphasize the persistence and curiosity that lead Caroline to Cava!

This week on WIBcast, Molly Mahon joins me to talk about our summers as interns in New York City for part 2 of the WIBcast is Back series. Molly is a senior at Boston College and on the Women in Business Board, but calls Chicago home. We talk about why we wanted to intern in New York and how to navigate finding roommates / living with new people. Molly took on a "just do it attitude" that extended into all parts of her city summer. The majority of the episode echos this theme as we share tips from our time as interns that focus on networking, professionalism, learning, and receiving feedback. All of those skills are things that we have had some experience with as students, but found new insight on in a work environment. We reflect on all that we learned about ourselves from communication styles to finding balance and how we have brought that back to campus as seniors. And any discussion about New York would not be complete without some dialogue on all there is to do! We talk about what we did on the weekends, from meeting up with friends to exploring new neighborhoods. When there is always something going on, the toughest decision you have to make is whether you will get to your destination by subway, Blue Bike, or on foot. We also talk about our thoughts on safety and making such a big city feel like home. Molly and I are happy to be resources for anyone considering an internship in New York. Questions are always welcome through @WIBCast on Instagram.

Welcome back to WIBcast! I know it has been a while since I last recorded, but that time did not go wasted. In January of 2022, I left to study abroad in Barcelona for the spring semester and then I moved to New York City for a summer internship. I put WIBcast on hold to be completely focused on those experiences. And that said, before more interviews with women in the business world, I am taking the first two episodes of WIBcast Season 4 to share some stories of my own. Today, I have Jordan Klumb on with me to talk about all the details of a semester abroad. Jordan is a senior at Boston College and the Co-President of Boston College's Women in Business Organization this year. She studied in Dublin, Ireland, and while I was in Barcelona we crossed paths many times while traveling. I want to preface this entire episode with gratitude that I was able to study abroad. This was such a unique experience that has undoubtedly enhanced the way I appreciate new cultures and think about my life now that I have returned. In those 5 months, I was able to visit eight countries and countless different cities and towns. Jordan and I talk about where we traveled and why we studied where we did. But beyond logistics, the majority of our conversation is focused on the life skills that you have to adopt to have a successful experience. We get into culture shock, the differences and similarities between European and American cities, and reflect on what it was like to travel so independently as young women. We share stories about spontaneous friendships with locals, planning trips, and creating irreplaceable relationships with the people you live with. I hope this can be a look into what I have been up to since I last recorded, and be sure to be on the lookout for pt.2 of the WIBcast is back series next week where I talk about my summer in New York City. Feel free to reach out to either of us to share your own experience or ask more questions about study abroad through @WIBCast on Instagram. WIBcast is back! - Phoebe

Kristina Bittorf is a Senior Manager at Sprout Social and in this episode, she brings a breath of fresh air to the possibilities of a career in finance. In her role, any considerations on how to fund projects, allocate cash or maximize revenue run through Kristina. Kristina evaluates investments and returns at a deep level, but she emphasizes that on top of her analytical knowledge, it's her creative side that makes her good at what she does. We talk about the ‘rut' finance students sometimes feel when considering traditional banking and consulting. Kristina started her career at Deloitte and explains that starting at a large established firm with a lot of guidance was very helpful in her early professional life. Her transition to a broader and more encompassing position, as she holds now, is the result of many years of analyzing how to think about financing decisions creatively. Kristina explains that as she has gained confidence in her work, she has become excited by difficult problems versus feeling overwhelmed or paralyzed. She has a broader interest in technology, and we talk about the nuances of working at a tech company compared to a traditional bank or consulting firm. Kristina radiates confidence you can hear in her voice, and she talks about how her experience as an international student was foundational to her education and personal growth. She says it was overwhelming at times but taught her to be resilient and channel her stress into action. Later in the episode, we talk about her experience on an Arrupe service-immersion trip at Boston College and the transformative impact it had on her life since then.

This week on WIBcast, Phoebe speaks with Mary Cobble in an episode that is perfect for anyone interested in banking, impact investing, and what to expect the first few years on the job. Mary graduated from Boston College in 2019 and started her career in investment banking after two summer internships in IB. Meanwhile, her interest in ESG investing developed as the industry gained legitimacy and visibility over the past decade. After a year in investment banking, she took a job with Domini Impact Investments as a Financial Analyst, where she works now. In this episode, we answer the question, what does it actually mean to be an analyst. Mary emphasizes that supporting her team across tasks has remained a constant, but how that directly materializes has changed. She is now at a smaller firm and is the youngest on her team vs. in a large environment surrounded by other young analysts. Another distinction from her switch from IB to Domini is that Mary is now in a market-facing role. We talk about what that means and the learning curve of her new role. What motivated Mary's move to Domini over anything else, was Domini's unique investment strategy in regards to ESG initiatives. As an impact investment firm, Domini takes both an inclusive and exclusive approach to investing. This means that they invest in businesses that support human dignity and ecological sustainability, and they will not invest in firms that violate those standards. Mary reflects on how she is motivated by the stake and intention of her work and shares her thoughts on where the ESG space is going next. 

This week on WIBcast Phoebe talks with Marne Sullivan and Paige Carter about their experience working at Voice in Sport. Voice in Sport is an online resource platform for female athletes created by female athletes. Its mission is to connect athletes with professional athletes as mentors and bring visibility to issues women in the athletic community face. Marne and Paige embody all that Voice in Sport stands for through their professional and athletic careers. Now the Head of Content at Voice in Sport, Paige graduated from UCLA and is now getting her MBA at Boston College while finishing her NCAA eligibility on the women's cross country and track team. This BC connection is how Marne found out about the Voice in Sports internship program. She is now on the marketing team with other student-athletes from all across the country. We talk in-depth about the value that supporting women's athletics brings to the business world. Both Paige and Marne have found community and confidence through sports that translates into all aspects of their lives. They are not alone in this. A global EY and ESPNW survey found that 94 percent of the women in C-suite positions played sports, and 52 percent played sports in college. We talk about how media representation fuels results, balancing an internship while in school, and how Voice in Sport is creating an accessible and credible platform to do all of the above. Paige and Marne agree that one of the most inspiring parts of working with Voice in Sport is the ability to meet and connect with so many other women. In tandem with that, the group of interns creating the content at Voice in Sport is the same demographic that Voice in Sport aims to serve. This is an episode for the athlete, the marketing mind, and the ambitious. Don't miss out on what they have to say!

Get used to seeing the name Barbara Euripides! As a first-year Sales at Trading Analyst at Citibank and the published author of Brains, Beauty, Boss: The Ultimate Guide for Women in the Workplace, Barbara has already established herself as one to accomplish her own goals and her ability to uplift other women along the way. While a senior at Duke University, Barabara received a LinkedIn message from Professor Eric Koetser. His goal is to publish 10,000 in 10 years and he asked if she would be interested in writing a book. With little experience as a writer, and little belief that she was a good writer, she accepted the challenge, and after a year of interviewing women from the Forbes 30 Under 30 list, Barbara published her first book. We talk about her creative journey, how writing complimented her finance curriculum, and the lessons learned from both. Anecdotes from Brains, Beauty, Boss celebrate unconventionality, risk-taking, and passion. My favorite moment of the episode is when we discuss our thoughts on validating passions. Whether you want to film videos for Buzzfeed, work in an Investment Bank, or democratize water access with mechanical engineering, the way we come to love what we do is just as much random as it is methodical. Brains, Beauty, Boss is a celebration of women succeeding across industries and I hope you leave this episode inspired to dive into what you love!

In this episode of WIBcast, I am breaking down the buildup of crypto assets with Boston College Professor Anna Karpovsky. In between teaching courses about financial technology and data analytics, Professor Karpovsky has been following and studying the rise of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum. We talk about the flaws in traditional banking that inspired the shift towards decentralized finance, and Professor Karpovsky explains where the value of something like Bitcoin is derived from. She explains that the goal of decentralization is to eliminate borrowing and lending fees and democratize how we exchange money in a global economy.  There is a unique cultural angle involved in crypto assets too. Professor Karpovsky brings up the movement away from sentimental banking. Younger generations seem less and less nostalgic when looking back on their first credit card, and while this aspect of culture will be helpful for large-scale adoption, we also talk about what is causing hesitation. Volatility is a major consideration and without a tangible coin to give or receive, there are concerns that Bitcoin may be subject to gamification by inexperienced investors. We end with an in-depth yet digestible discussion about what is driving price, the safety of the blockchain ledger. The goal of this episode is to close the information gap between who is talking about crypto in media at large and who is learning how to leverage the advantages.  This is certainly an episode I walked away from with a lot of new knowledge. Thank you to Professor Anna Karpovsky for taking the time to speak with WIBcast!

Welcome to a very special episode of WIBcast! In the first episode of season 3, I mentioned that I would be starting a new branch of WIBcast episodes with current college students on the topics that you need to know now, and I am so excited to introduce that to you now with a discussion on Hirevue. To kick things off, I invited Julia Fairbank to speak with me. Julia is a junior at Middlebury College and an incoming Investment Banking intern. In this episode, we break down the details of the elusive Hirevue. Hirevue is a video interviewing platform that gets everyone's nerves racing because unlike a Skype or Zoom interview, there is no one on the other side of the screen. The software feeds you questions, and then the camera turns on and puts interviewees in lime light. Julia and I have both completed a few ourselves (in a way, it is how we met), and the goal of this episode is to take away some of the confusion and help you become confident when it's your turn! We talk about what Hirevue is, who uses it and why more and more firms are choosing to do so. A lot of our conversation comes down to the fact that practice is key! Talking about yourself is hard and seeing a clock ticking down while you try to get big ideas about yourself across to a person you cannot even see does not make it any easier. Julia and I want to help you feel prepared by talking about how we prepared! We end with tips on troubleshooting and how to make the best of each Hirevue experience. I hope everyone enjoys this episode and if you have any topics you want covered in a future

Ameera Hammouda is an entrepreneur and fashion designer with modesty and sustainability at the center of her designs. Her brand, Ameera, is a luxury brand with a modest dresser in mind. Growing up as an Egyptian American-Muslim, Ameera has always valued modest dress, but the market never seemed to deliver for women of her faith. Where modest options were fashionable, they were not always priced quite right, and where they were reasonable, they were rarely manufactured in an eco-conscious manner. Ameera kills these three birds with one stone and adds finesse, empathy, and innovation to the mix. This is an episode for the marketer in the room! Ameera talks about the challenge of positioning her business, and I can relate to the nuance of speaking about a brand. We talk about Ameera's inspiration to start her brand (and why she named it after herself) and then get into her primary focuses for growth. We reflect on how small changes in tone and word choice can shift image and how she pairs her experience as a freelance writer with other marketing roles, such as defining her audience and crafting her visual appearance. We talk about the friction between a fashion culture that seems to be trending away from modesty and how Ameera brings modest dress beyond the Muslim community. A second pillar of the current fashion environment that Ameera is pushing against is the environmental waste of fast fashion practices. Ameera holds sustainability as a critical focus of her brand. We talk about how she sources her materials, the difference between organic and non-organic cotton, and how brands can offer a range of products to meet a spectrum of customer needs along the sustainability spectrum. Instagram: @ameerahammouda_ Website: https://ameerahammouda.com

Welcome to WIBcast Season 3! This summer, I took the time to think about where I wanted to bring this platform, why I started it, and how to make it better. This season I am introducing a new form of episode focused more narrowly on what it's like to be a college student recruiting for internships and jobs right now. Look out for episodes on Hirevue, networking, how to talk about yourself, technical interviews, and smilier relevant topics. These are things I know myself and so many others look for help with, and I'm excited to bring on other college-age women to make this process fun and relatable. Where does today's episode tie into all of this? The first step to being a star for others is understanding how amazing you are yourself! Confidence and self-belief are two areas of mental health that can never be overstated. In this episode, I am diving into all the details of realizing your worth with Christine Kim & Caitlin Hearty. Christine and Caitlin are the Co-Presidents of the Boston College Women in Business organization for the 2021-2022 school year; we talk about affirmations, the social structures that influence how we view ourselves, and what this all means for women in specific. Especially for those entering historically male-dominated fields, imposter syndrome is a common challenge for young talent, and we talk about our own experiences with imposter syndrome and strategies to deal with it. I genuinely believe that true confidence is realized when you are not aimlessly competing with peers. I get into my thoughts on why women must find the confidence to uplift each other in the business environment instead of viewing each other as competition.

Miranda McLeer is a tax associate at KPMG out of the Boston office. Miranda gives a very realistic look into the entire accounting recruiting process and her first year on-the-job experience . Her sophomore year, she applied to multiple externships, which are held by public accounting firms and can lead to return internship offers after junior summer. She was specially chosen by KPMG to attend one of these programs in Amsterdam. In the KPMG Global Advantage program, she learned about the firm, met other students, and we talk about how one of her biggest takeaways was learning about types of communication across cultures. We get into Miranda's specific role now on the Accounting Methods and Credit Services team and how she helps clients in the biotech space maximize their research and development efforts. She says her role is much more than crunching numbers. She has to take a really holistic and analytical approach to help clients. Her interviewer from sophomore year, who also recommended her for the Global Advantage Program, is the head of her team now. He saw early on, her potential, and Miranda has found friends and mentors of all ages at work even in a work from home environment. We then get into tackling the CPA exam, and her experience abroad in Parma Italy. Miranda was also my Teaching Assistant freshman year, and speaking with her again over a year later was the greatest pleasure puts things into perspective of how much we have both learned in a year.

This week on WIBcast, Cassandra Morales gets technical on her experience in Corporate Banking at PNC. We address that Corporate Banking seems not as commonly known as others division like Investment Banking or Sales and Trading, but Cassandra explains the broad skill set the she has gained since graduating from BC. She became interested in Corporate Banking when a mentor suggested that it was a great place to start her career because of its broad reach across industries and banking products. Where others have referred to the Corporate Banking (CB) division as the backbone to a bank, Cassandra explains that she has to communicate with and understand every line of business to be susscussful. She also breaks down the fine details of credit products, syndicated loans, and client relationship management. She is the personification of making the most of every opportunity in your career and beyond. She also speaks a lot to the importance of developing her personal self outside of work. She grew up in Bolivia, had an internship in Hong Kong and we talk about the spectrum of cultural differences she experienced in every corner of the globe. We end with a conversation about the impact of her experience in the Big Sister program at BC and she gives final advice to never stop learning.

In this episode Hanna Hunstad speaks on what it means to integrate passion and career. She was a competitive swimmer growing up, the captain of the swim team at Boston College for the 2016-2017 school year, and now a triathlete. She started at TJX in 2017 as as an Allocation Analyst, but could not keep herself away from fitness post grad. She became a certified fitness instructor and taught spin classes and water aerobics early in the morning before going to her full time job simply because she loved to do it! She talks about how career fit is about finding what makes you want to wake up at 5 a.m and go to bed at 2 a.m for, and she soon realized, that a nine-to-five job classic job was not making her as fulfilled as she knew she could be. At 25, she stepped away from TJX to start GRIT, a skincare business tailored to ingrown pubic hair. After realizing that other female athletes and women in general struggled with a similar discomfort and insecurity as she did, Hanna began to roll out GRIT full time. We talk about the skill set being an athlete brought to her professional life, what it was like to be her own boss, but also the not so sexy side of being an entrepreneur. Hanna worked with product and business developers to scale her business, but ultimately made the decision to step away. Hanna is honest about the stigma she faced from stepping away from her position at TJX to pursue GRIT, but does not regret any of the experience she gained. She is now the Brand Strategy and Growth Manager of 80/20 Endurance, which is a training plan program for runners and triathletes founded by acclaimed coaches Matt Fitzgerald and David Warden. Hanna also shares some really interesting insights on what it is like to be in the business side of athletics.

Christine LaFrance is the head of Client Success at M1Finance and has a track record in finance that you do not want to miss. She started her professional journey with an internships at Barclays after her sophomore and junior years of college. After graduating, she accepted a full time offer with Fidelity. At Fidelity, Christine started in a rotational program, meaning even though she was employed full time, she changed which desks (teams/products) she worked on. But, when working on the fixed income desk, she found a manger who became a mentor figure, and she stayed on that desk until deciding to get her MBA at Northwestern. We talk about her decision to go to Chicago and attend the Kellog School of Management despite not having a network in Chicago (spoiler alert: she is working in Chicago now, so it was a risk that payed off)! She was involved in a lot of investment and professional extracurriculars while enrolled as a full time student. After finishing, she accepted a role within the private bank at JP Morgan. We talk about the differences between her early on experience on trading floor and her later career in wealth management, where she sees the future of both industries, and how her experience has all compounded to make her so successful with M1 now. From understanding investments to building long term relationships, Christine now leads a team of over 40. M1Finance is the "finance super app"! Targeted at long term investors, M1 currently has over 500,000 open accounts and was awarded "best for sophisticated investors" by Investopedia in 2020. We talk about the value driven mission of M1 to make financial outcomes more accessible and the rapid growth she is managing. This episode is for anyone with any interest in finance as Christine has done it all.

Katie Lindahl is the 2016 BC gad who has been on a college campus since - you read that correctly! Katie is now Assistant Director for College Events at University of Chicago and before that she held a co-op at MIT for her graduate program at Northeastern. We talk about the energy of campus that fuels Katie and the her experiences as a sociology major and gender studies minor that have made her such a great fit in a position. Her role now is very dependent on her ability analyze social and situational trends for on insight on how to best serve underrepresented groups. We also talk about the cultural differences between students at the different schools where she has worked. We touch on some really unique angles of what it looks like to be a woman studying women in college such as group think - how a lack of gender diversity can be externalized in the classroom - and the friction between a face mask mandate and the headscarf ban in France. Katie first worked in the non profit sector before returning to higher ed and we talk about the multifaceted nature of that position. Now at UChicago, Katie is innovating to bring value to students in Covid times. One of the most interesting digital transformations to me is how her team brought family weekend to a somewhat sims platform to bring people back to campus in some capacity. I was so excited to speak to someone in higher ed during a highly disrupted year and what she has to share raises some really interesting perspectives on the everyday realities of students right now. Make sure to follow @Wibcast on Instagram

Brigid Rooney connects environmentalism to a SWOT analysis, Larry Fink, and all sorts of other business related topics in this episode of WIBcast. As a sustainability analyst at CodeGreen, Brigid's job is to make strategy and implementation plans for commercial real estate clients looking to make their buildings more environmentally friendly. We talk a lot about the upswing in motivation for corporate partners to invest in the environment, and the importance of communication to motivate further action. Something really interesting to me on that topic is how effective the rankings system acts as an incentive. On top of her full time job at CodeGreen, Brigid is currently enrolled in Columbia University's Sustainability Masters program. In this program, she breaks down the intense business focused training she is getting to fuel her future impact. Brigid talks about one of her previous classes where she worked with a hyper local produce delivery company and helped them reduce their environmental impact directly. In her eventual capstone project, she will employ her skills and act as a pro bono consultant for a client who other wise would not be able to afford services like those at CodeGreen. The social justice and humanitarian view of environmentalism is just as important to Brigid as her role at work. Brigid put beautifully into words the purpose of what she does. As a member of the first graduating class in Boston College's environmental studies program, she explains her love for Earth science itself and how that plays into her personal motivation for her career. We also talk about how capitalism paired with strong governmental innovation can help to create positive change. In a truly inspiring episode, Brigid opened my eyes to how people who don't understand the carbon cycle can leverage business school skills to address the climate crisis. Make sure to follow WIBcast on Instagram @wibcast!

In the Season 2 open of WIBcast, I talk to Nicaela Chinnaswamy about her path to Deputy Director for the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses campaign. With education and capital provided by the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses team, entrepreneurs are supported to create jobs and economic opportunity. With this support, 67% of businesses in the program see revenue growth after 6 months of completion. During undergrad, Nicaela studied biology and had an early focus in STEM. Dedicated to community service she was involved in BC's Paper to Plastics program. The program brings in young women and immerses them in a lab setting where they quite literally break paper down and turn it into plastic. In that experience, Nicalea found she enjoyed the mentorship aspect and creative side of the project in her volunteer work and then saw that trend extend into her general experiences in a lab setting. She's fast past and quick thinking and everyone around her noticed that - she was asked to become an operations coordinator for a non profit and then asked to be become a senate race campaign manager 2 years after graduation. Now, with another nonprofit - Initiative for a Competitive Inner City - Nicalea helps small business owners grow through education, access to capital and service support. In her role, Nicaela approves which companies get to participate in the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Business Campaign and forms relationships with entrepreneurs. We talk about the freedom and stress of her non traditional career path - personality tests - what it means and doesn't mean to be the loudest voice in the room - and how she learned to advise small businesses to grow while on the job. Make sure to follow WIBcast on Instagram @wibcast!

On the Season 1 finale of WIBcast - Diana Angelini solidifies what being a WIB is all about. Diana works on Wealth Technology Adoption at BlackRock and she explains what fintech is and why she loves it. She remembers her Computers and Management class at BC and talks about feeling so excited about integrating technology and business. Diana had a larger than life experience outside of her schoolwork. She was a retreat leader for Karios, played waterpolo, and studied abroad the fall of her senior year in Italy. She addresses the concern of getting internship opportunities for the summer after junior year abroad, but Diana was able to secure several offers. She talks about friction to chose between an internship at JP Morgan and Saks Fifth Avenue. She eventually accepted the offer at JPM, but talks about how she felt internal pressure to do so because of JPM's reputation, when she was more passionate about fashion. We talk about the pressure to work for prestigious companies as a whole. We recognize that students want to make expensive education's worth the investment and that there is also a group mentality mindset to take the prestigious route. All that said, Diana's JP Morgan internship was an incredibly positive experience. She talks about how, for the first time, she saw the manifestation of the corporate woman she wanted to become. Eager to follow in the footsteps of the senior women of JPM, Diana launched the JP Morgan Women's Networking Luncheon as an intern. The event still exists today. Her passion for fostering female empowerment and mentorship has stuck with her. Now at BlackRock, she contributes to BlackRock's Women's Initiative Network. Diana brings an unmatched energy and femininity to WIBcast. We also talk about finding a distinction between your career and your personal life. You will understand the aggressive networking it takes to get a top position at a young and you will laugh at the story of how she met the head of fashion of L magazine. This is the final episode of WIBcast Season 1. It has been such a pleasure to speak with all of these women and I am excited to bring more stories in Season 2. Make sure to follow WIBcast on Instagram @wibcast!

Abby Kramer joins WIBcast this week! Abby is an account strategist at Group SJR, a marketing consultancy based in New York, but her path to her position today was not as linear as other women I've spoken to. After a brief moment on the pre-med track, Abby realized she would be better off studying what she loved: political science and English. Her interest in politics is long-lasting. Abby remembers becoming interested in politics during the Obama administration, and she talks about her internships with a congresswoman and senator. In those internships, Abby had raw experiences with constituents, and we talk about the impact of local government. With a career in politics eventually in mind, after graduating, Abby began a paralegal program. She realized, though, that such scrutinous work did not allow her creative side to flourish, leading Abby to Group SJR. We talk about the diverse set of minds she works with and how working with people of all different backgrounds brings fresh thought and creative thinking to Group SJR. Group SJR has a really unique philosophy on the value of time. Abby discusses how, when she is creating solutions for her clients, which will later reach the client's customers, valuing the customer's time is crucial. We also talk about the role of storytelling in great marketing campaigns. Abby can focus in on a client's unique story and bring it to life. At the end of the episode, we circle back to marketing campaigns that moved us and a reflection on company culture.

On this exciting episode of WIBcast, Phoebe has a discussion with Jacqui Canney about the power of putting people first in a corporate setting. Jacqui is the current Global Chief People Officer for WPP, which is the largest advertising agency in the world. WPP can be traced to 1 in 3 impressions made by advertising agencies and has a presence in over 100 countries.  Jacqui talks about what it means to her to be representative and inclusive in advertising. Before WPP, she held the same position at Walmart. As Chief People Officer, Jacqui was head of all aspects of people strategy. At Walmart Jacqui led initiatives to invest over $3 billion into associates, which allowed many Walmart employees to buy their first home or send their children to college. We talk about Jacqui's shift from accounting roles to human resources and the positive impact she has imparted on thousands of people throughout her career. Her experience and story of her time at Walmart will make you think of big brand names in a new light. She talks about her fierce passion for diversity and inclusivity in the workplace, and she gives a look into how management recognizes prospective leaders (hint: it's both a science and an art). On D&I, Jacqui reflects on a business trip that made her realize how much she didn't know and how much work was left to be done in the D&I space. She says that the best work comes from the most diverse teams! We finish up with a conversation about where the advertising industry may be headed! This is NOT an episode to miss! Be sure Follow WIBcast on Instagram: @Wibcast

In this episode, I'm talking to Lisa Quinn. After graduating from BC, a mentor figure in Lisa's life recommended she try a security career, which led Lisa to 25 years of service in the United States Secret Service. We talk about life in the Secret Service, Lisa's involvement with the startup of the counter-surveillance program under President Clinton, and her philosophy to always say yes. Now, she serves as the SVP of Global Security Operations for Fidelity investments. Her investigative work spanned from smaller fraud investigations to larger cyber-security projects. The day-to-day aspect of her position in the Secret Service is not defined by just standing post. Lisa reflects on her career's social and collaborative nature. We talk about the relationships she made and how she stayed connected to friends and family despite constantly traveling. She eventually was moved to DC for her permanent protection time on the President's detail during the Clinton administration. She led the New England cybercrime task force and was a member of Massachusetts's major city chiefs association. Throughout all her positions, Lisa credits a lot of success in saying YES in the face of a new challenge. She trusted that some things in her career that didn't seem favorable at the time would pay off later in her career, and they did. Lisa said yes to firearms training that qualified her for positions much later in her career. She said yes to moving across the country after her daughter's birth, which led to her role in starting the counter-surveillance program under President Clinton. It's this curiosity and willingness that she encourages everyone to take adopt in their career.  Now at Fidelity, Lisa is a part of the Women's Employee Resource. We talk about the importance of having mentors and representation for women going into male-dominated fields like security. Be prepared to hear about a new industry - This conversation is unlike any episode so far!

In this episode Sarah Greisdorf lets us in on how she started a fashion company as a computer science major, how she pursues power through pockets, and why a lot of people ask her if she sleeps (I couldn't help but ask but ask myself). Sarah became invested in the lack of pocket's in women's clothing in high school and took action on it once reaching Boston University. After a year of developing this platform through a newsletter and affiliate programs, she took the leap to manufacture and design her own workwear. Her company, Holdette, is now offering pre-sale of their first design, the Leslie Suit. Holdette brings practical pockets to women's workwear while upholding a slim and natural fit. Her brand expands beyond retail as well. Sarah started the Backpocket community to connect women during Covid-19 and Sarah brings what she has learned from her (NUMEROUS) mentors to the members of Backpocket. We talk about her how her experiences at all-girls schools growing up helped to foster her confidence, the structure of working for yourself at 21, the power of connecting people, and making pasta. Sarah brings us through a detailed process of the garmant design process and gives plenty of credit to the programs and people that have made her success possible. Connect with Sarah and Holdette! Holdette's website: https://holdette.com Backpocket Link: https://holdette.com/membership Slack Group Link: https://app.slack.com/client/T011P2UPYSH/C0129JVG3DX?cdn_fallback=1 Holdette's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/holdette/

This episode Sierra Tonnesen will make you realize that you CAN do it all. While at BC, she devoted herself to her schoolwork, invested hours each week into WIB as co-president in 2019, and she ran on the women's varsity track team. But, when Sierra talks about balancing her multi-faceted day in the life, she breaks down how it really is all so manageable. We talk about how Sierra's confidence in herself allowed her to do everything she needed to without getting overwhelmed. The more experiences she had where she succeeded, the more she was able to take on the next challenge in a self-assured way. This mindset is with her now as a Financial Planning Analyst at Morgan Stanley. We get into all the details of what that position is and what her recruiting process was like for her internships at UBS and Morgan Stanley. Expect to hear Sierra's thoughts on being collaborative in the workplace vs competitive, but also on how managers notice who is bringing value to a team. Sierra has a mentor who has helped her advance in her position, and Sierra also took on her own role helping younger analysts very early on in her career. Later, we discuss how to address feelings of judgement and Sierra gives insight on how always having your larger goals in mind can help you keep you grounded in moments of doubt.

This episode of WIBcast features Sophia Millares. Sophia is working as a Sales and Trading Analyst and actually credits her current position through WIB connections, but her success is also attributed to her long term dedication to herself. We talk about Sophia's personal journey with fitness and how it has changed depending on the different stages of her life. Her love for barre in high school lead her to eventually be an instructor while at BC. She also has tons of different workout spots in Boston gives recommendations on how to get the best deals. Sophia puts into words perfectly her experience with some of the social stresses of getting to the gym every day of the week and speaks on how she recognized these pressures in herself and was able to address them. When she was Women in Business President in 2019, she lead an event to help girls “take off their masks.” On campus, Sophia also was a campus representative for Spoon University and lets us in on how she grew her team to grow the organization. We talk about her position now, and how she has grown with her company for several years through different internships. At the end of the episode, Sophia gives awesome BC class suggestions to explore your own relationship with health and wellness.

I'm talking with Angela Jin about the 1950 Collective: a One Direction merchandise and social activism company she cofounded out of her co-ro double. We discuss how a photoshop job done right resulted in over $300k in revenue while she navigated her school work. At BC, Angela was president of the CSOM honors program her senior year, but she attributes a lot of her success in the entertainment industry now, to the fact that she nearly failed Basic Finance sophomore year (the story makes perfect sense). We talk about her realization that she needed to get over internal pressure to be a Finance major and how her decision to study Marketing with a Gender Studies minor was one of her best moves as a student. Ending with a full circle story regarding mental health, Angela is going to empower you (as she did me!) on how anyone, (with grit, persistence, and google) can dominate as a young entrepreneur.

Welcome to WIBcast!