While at CLHS, I ran track and played volleyball. I also dabbled in student government for a year. I loved that CLHS never felt too big or too small. There was a sense of security in the fact that you knew everyone, but you could also explore outside of your close circle and socialize with new groups and students in other grades. I also loved that my education at Concordia set me up to feel prepared going into college.
After Concordia, I attended Indiana University, Bloomington, graduating with a B.S. in Public Affairs. My focus was in management with a minor in human resources. I spent one year at PFW (previously IPFW) in Fort Wayne before transferring down to Bloomington.
I am currently an executive assistant at GTCR Private Equity in Chicago. Prior to this role I was an Executive Assistant at GoldenTree Asset Management in New York City working on the trading floor. As an Executive Assistant my role is to provide high level, one-on-one support to top level executives including Managing Directors, C-Suite Executives, and Global Heads. I handle a diverse range of responsibilities from managing extremely heavy schedules, coordinating and overseeing extensive domestic and international travel, event planning, board meetings, conferences and more.
The nature of the finance business at this scale is very fast-paced and I work and interact with a lot of intelligent and accomplished people, so expectations are high. On a daily basis I need to anticipate needs, prioritize, resolve challenges and last-minute changes - all while keeping my cool and with a high level of discretion.Often times the day does not end when I leave the office. Being an executive assistant can come with a high level of pressure and the workload can be intense, but I've learned that I thrive in this type of environment. I've been blessed to work for great firms and managers where I feel valued, respected, and well taken care of.
After graduating from Indiana University, I knew that I wanted to experience living and working in a large city outside of the Midwest and decided on New York City. Upon moving I accepted an operations role at a fairly small asset management firm. This role sparked an interest in finance. After working in operations for about five years I decided to try my hand at human resources (college minor), after quickly realizing human resources was not for me, I knew I wanted to get back into finance. I was happy enough while working in operations so initially I was focused on getting back into something similar. But after partnering with a job recruiter who started giving me more color on being an executive assistant, I decided to go for it. Once I started at GoldenTree, I was lucky enough to have one of the long time EA's take a liking to me. She had 20+ years of experience and saw potential. She became my mentor which gave me a jump start. When I decided to move to Chicago to be closer to Fort Wayne, I interviewed at GTCR's New York office and started at their Chicago office after I relocated. I am so happy that I did not assume I knew what being an executive assistant entailed and I gave it a shot. It ended up being a great career fit, rewarding, and much more stimulating than I anticipated. I love this career because I am able to use both my real world experiences, people skills, and emotional intelligence as well as being able to critically think, make decisions, and problem solve. Also, the perks and benefits don't hurt!
My favorite bible verse is Hebrews 10:35-36: Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise.
Advice I would pass on to current CLHS students is to push yourself to be courageous enough to step out of your comfort zone. The world is jam packed with interesting people and experiences, many of whom can teach you something, give you a new perspective, and present opportunities. Professionally - you may not know exactly what your career is going to look like or what you want to do, but in my experience, getting your foot in the door is the biggest step. Once you're in - work hard, learn everything you can, make connections, and ask questions!