FMA Magazine 2021 - 2023

Leadership Program
PARTICIPATIONS
FMA strives to identify diverse and under-represented
students and prepare them for application to national
financial leadership programs. In 2022 alone, FMA
students placed in over 20 such programs. The
mentorship and early identification that FMA provides
rendered student acceptances into elite programs,
including those of Citibank, Goldman Sachs, Seizing
Every Opportunity, Searchlight Capital, Girls Who
Invest, and Evercore, – to name a few.
According to alumnus AJ Stanley, “Diversity programs
allow women and minority students who attend ‘nontarget’
schools (which include both predominately white
institutions such as Auburn University, and Historically
Black Colleges and Universities) to create inroads
with a firm, catalyzing the formation of a professional
network and unlocking access to the highly competitive
recruiting process.”
Financial institutions have a duty to maintain teams
of investors that best reflect the diverse backgrounds
of the clients they serve, and in turn, studies show
diverse teams yield higher returns and have better team
dynamics.
Grace Ann Tankersley, who has attended several
leadership conferences, shares, “Through FMA, I’ve had
the opportunity to identify and be involved in several
leadership programs, including Girls Who Invest.
These programs help students explore their desired
career paths and assist with the corresponding required
training early in the recruitment process. It’s inspiring
to be surrounded by diverse leaders and to learn from
successful executives in the field who have had to
overcome their own personal challenges.”
FMA believes in this cause and pushes women and
minorities to lean in – to engage early, and allow their
voices to be heard.
FMA 2021-2023 MAGAZINE 37