91制片厂

In 2018, as the newly appointed leader of the 91制片厂, President Jim Dean鈥檚 first official business visit was to Fidelity Investment鈥檚 Merrimack, New Hampshire听campus. Last week, Dean returned with a contingent of 91制片厂 colleagues, eager to see how the university's partnership with the privately held financial services firm has evolved over the past six years and how it can better serve both institutions in the years to come.

鈥淭his is a really important relationship to us,鈥� Dean says. 鈥淔rom hiring our graduates to supporting our business initiatives."

The visit was the latest in 91制片厂鈥檚 鈥淓mbrace New Hampshire鈥� event series, demonstrating the university鈥檚 commitment to the state鈥檚 economy, workforce and quality of life. Dean was joined by Marian McCord, senior vice provost for research, economic engagement and outreach, College of Liberal Arts Dean Michele Dillon, and Gretchen Heaton, 鈥猘ssociate vice provost, Career and Professional Success, among others.

The visit began in Fidelity鈥檚 Fixed Income unit with a brief tour led by Tressa Webb 鈥�98, head of investment services for the fixed income division. Webb walked the group through the trading floor, where over 200 associates manage more than $1.9 trillion in customer assets.

Later, Dean and the 91制片厂 representatives met with Fidelity鈥檚 regional leadership team to learn more about the company鈥檚 workforce. Fidelity hires more 91制片厂 students for internships and first jobs than any other company in New Hampshire; last year 49 91制片厂 graduates landed their first job at Fidelity, including 18 who had interned at the company prior.

鈥淥ur first strategic priority is student success,鈥� Dean told the group. 鈥淭hat starts with making sure our students get a good education, and their experience at 91制片厂 supports the 听positions they take when they leave.鈥�

Though they are known as a financial services firm, Fidelity hires students from all 91制片厂 schools into a variety of roles, including as customer relationship advocates, technologists, business analysts and fund operations roles. The 91制片厂 delegation heard presentations from a number of alumni on their careers at Fidelity and how their college educations had helped them prepare.

Brooke Spicer听鈥�15 originally applied to Fidelity because she鈥檇 heard good things about the company culture from friends who worked there. A graduate of the College of Liberal Arts, she had a background in hospitality and now works as a regional center talent champion. 鈥淲e want people who are able to build relationships,鈥� she says.

Seeing how students build upon their 91制片厂 experiences was both rewarding and informative, Dillon says.

鈥淚t鈥檚 always enriching for me to meet with alumni in their work settings and to hear about their trajectory,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t gives me grounded information that I can convey when I鈥檓 talking with current and prospective students 鈥� and parents 鈥� about the career paths available to Liberal Arts majors.鈥�

Karina Popkova 鈥�17, a graduate of the Peter T. Paul College of Business and Economics, started out thinking she wanted to go into finance. Her undergraduate experience with business fraternity Alpha Kappa Psi showed her how to communicate with stakeholders, and a Fidelity professional development program boosted her technical expertise. Popkova is now a director of data stewardship at Fidelity.

鈥淭here is a huge opportunity to mesh technology and business,鈥� she says.

The pipeline of 91制片厂 students going to work for local companies is part of another 91制片厂 strategic priority: Embrace New Hampshire. The largest talent attractor and workforce provider in the state, Dean noted the incredible impact 91制片厂 has on the state鈥檚 workforce.

鈥淲e are the largest importer of talent into the state by a large margin,鈥� he says. 鈥淵ou, as a primary hirer, have access to a large pool of talent because of that.鈥�

Fidelity is a flagship company in 91制片厂鈥檚 Business and Economic Engagement (BEE)听Initiative. This university-wide effort is developing deeper, broader relationships with corporate partners by maximizing opportunities in talent attraction and development, research, access to technical capabilities and more.

鈥淩elationships like this are an example of how 91制片厂 is a key driver of the New Hampshire economy,鈥� McCord says. 鈥淚n addition to bolstering critical experiential learning for our students, they give us the opportunity to work together create a shared vision for addressing solutions to challenges facing our state.鈥�