College of Business students selected to attend women and finance symposium

Nov. 12, 2018 - DENTON - Getting exposure to an industry often helps students determine if they are on the right track for their future careers. Four students in Texas Woman’s University’s College of Business were selected as part of the first academic cohort to attend a symposium sponsored by Ladenburg Thalmann & Co., a financial advising firm. TWU filled almost half of the 10 spots allotted to students from universities across the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

The symposium, held in early October, included a pre-conference LIFT mentoring event followed by a three-day Ladenburg Thalmann Institute of Women and Finance Symposium (LTIWF) featuring education workshops, networking opportunities and industry speakers.

TWU student participants included Genevieve Lukoff (BBA in Finance ‘18), Catherine Carr (MBA in Business Analytics ‘20) and Kailey Warren (BBA in Management ‘19). The students learned about the LTIWF symposium and were encouraged to apply by their business professors.

“I feel so honored to be a part of the [LIFT] program,” says Lukoff. “I learned so much about financial advisory and met many empowered women in the industry that motivated me to find a place where I fit after graduation.”

Lukoff’s LIFT mentor is Marlean Komar, owner of Komar Financial. Lukoff said, “It was amazing to get to know Marlean not just on a professional level but on a personal level.” Lukoff continues to reach out to Komar for industry questions and career advice.

According to Warren, the presentations covered everything from LinkedIn profiles to personal branding to retirement to the stock market. “I made numerous connections, learned so much and was inspired by all the knowledgeable, successful women I met.”

The 2018 LTIWF symposium was the first to include student invitations as an effort to increase diversity, especially among women in the industry.

“The average percentage of women advisors is 16 percent, and we would love to see that number rise to at least 50 percent,” said Amy Rehn, LIFT program coordinator. “Women are natural communicators and relationship driven, which is 70 percent of what being an advisor entails.”

The TWU students were selected based on their strong GPAs, community involvement and insightful application responses.

Page last updated 12:23 PM, March 14, 2022