The Big Question

When Scarlett started her freshman year four years ago, she anticipated a question that might come up in a job or internship interview: What do you do outside of class? She chose to dip her toe into the Spartan Investment Club, and liked hearing about all the career possibilities.

The more she learned about finance, the more she was drawn to it because of the opportunities to use math. “When we moved to the U.S. and I had to learn English, I did not understand the language at first. But I understood math,” she said. “Even then, I understood that numbers are universal.”

Scarlett hoped the Investment Club would help solidify her career path, but she didn’t anticipate the boost it would give her leadership skills. “Immediately that fall, I became an officer. At first, I was afraid to apply because I was just a freshman, but that’s when I learned not to let fear get the best of you,” she says. Scarlett went on to serve as the president of both the Investment Club and the Bryan Student Ambassadors, as well as the founding vice president of the Association of Latino Professionals For America at UNCG.

Andrew joined her at the Bryan School three years later. He followed in her footsteps and joined the Investment Club, where Scarlett helped him overcome his hesitance to take risks. The result: he applied and was accepted to an internship with a commercial real estate firm. “It was such a wonderful opportunity,” he says.