Vanguard’s crew are continuously seeking opportunities to engage and interact with emerging talent across the country, even throughout the pandemic. In March of this year, crew from diverse education and career backgrounds attended the virtual Philadelphia Futures Career Day. The event offered high school students a comfortable setting to meet with Vanguard crew in STEM roles and Personal Advisor Services® to discuss their career aspirations, while learning more about career opportunities at Vanguard.

The students brought forth questions around personal development, market volatility, and even had the chance to participate in an interactive stock market activity led by a Vanguard financial advisor. Vanguard crew in attendance enjoyed networking with young students and helping them identify their interest in the financial and STEM fields as they begin their college journey.

Below are remarks from two of the Vanguard panelists who had an impactful experience with the Philadelphia Futures students. George W. was a Mass Affluent Advisor at the time of the event; he recently transitioned to a Sales Support Specialist position in the Institutional side of Vanguard’s business.

Vanaja C. is a Technical Scrum Master in Information Technology.

How did you leverage your diverse Vanguard experience to help the students?

Throughout my time in Vanguard’s Retail Investor Group and Personal Advisor Services, I’ve interacted with people from all walks of life. I leveraged my experiences to give real world examples that show no matter what you choose to do, investing will always be important. – George W.

At Vanguard, I’ve been given opportunities to grow in my career with the support and guidance from my fellow peers and leaders. I demonstrated this with the students by letting them know that we, as a company, always provide training, coaching, and mentoring so that crew can explore areas of interest to them. – Vanaja C.

Why was the Philadelphia Futures event important to you?

The event was important to me because I love getting the chance to expose anyone to the world of investing. Whether working in the industry or just investing, exposure is key. The earlier we learn about these possibilities, the better! – George W.

Futures Career Day aligned to my interest in community outreach as a means to introduce and inspire kids to follow STEM pathways. I am an active member of IT Women’s Initiative in Leadership Success (IT WILS), working with a group of similar minded peers who create STEM related activities that are performed with kids in middle and high schools. The team also works with Vanguard’s University Relations team to connect with college students and share their experiences of working in the STEM field. – Vanaja C.

Can you illustrate how you ensured the virtual session was engaging for all in attendance?

I made the session engaging for the audience by hosting a simulation with the students. We pretended everyone just got their stimulus & invested it, then simulated the performance of the stock. The goal was to show the benefit of keeping a long-term perspective, so they had the option to hold or sell at any time. The students really seemed to enjoy it! – George W.

Sharing my heritage and career journey to open up the conversation. My peers and I were candid about our experiences and background. This provided an engaging environment for the students to openly share their experiences and ask related questions. – Vanaja C.

What was your favorite part of the event?

My favorite part was the Q and A. I was amazed to hear some of the students’ questions and plans! – George W.

The engagement of the students through the finance activity led by George and experiencing first-hand the financial aptitude of the students was my favorite part. – Vanaja C.