From Skeptic to Scholar: My Unlikely Journey to a Career in Finance

Growing up in Trenton, New Jersey, attending college wasn’t something I had given much thought to. My mother had attended a year of community college before deciding to leave school to raise me and my twin brother, Richard, when she was just 20 years old. I struggled to see the value of an expensive 4-year degree with no guarantee of a job to help pay back the initial debt. It wasn’t until a college recruiter visited my high school and introduced me to the idea of attending a Historically Black College in North Carolina that my interest began to pique.

Seeing my growing enthusiasm, my mom took the initiative to help me apply for scholarships and used her days off to drive me to college campus tours in the area. Before long, I accepted an offer to attend Livingstone College in Salisbury, NC.

The transformation I underwent during my four years at Livingstone was remarkable. In my sophomore year, I was selected as the school’s first International Intern Scholar, working with Food Lion’s parent company, Delhaize, in Belgium. This experience fueled my passion for business finance and inspired me to help others in my community.

During Spring Break, I shared my experiences with my brother, encouraging him to pursue his own dreams. He later admitted that our conversations inspired him to enroll at Livingstone and graduate with a degree in Education. Not long after, our youngest brother, Jordan, moved to North Carolina to attend a rival school in Charlotte. We had become the three who defied the odds.

Pursuing a career in finance felt like a natural choice. It was a field that had a significant impact on our lives, yet was rarely discussed in my family. I had always assumed we were middle class, as we rarely wanted for anything, and our family supported each other through hard times. Learning about generational wealth and the disproportionate gaps it creates within the African American community strengthened my resolve to enter the finance industry and share my knowledge with my family.

A close family friend overheard my ambitions and encouraged me to consider working for Vanguard. She had been with the company for 13 years and was eager to help recruit strong Black candidates into the field. After some research, Vanguard’s emphasis on helping the average investor and making investing accessible to everyone made it an easy choice.

I started as a Core Client Relationship Associate, spending long days helping people make sense of their investments and guiding them towards their financial goals. I was fortunate to have great leaders, predominantly Black women, who emphasized the importance of doing good work and building strong networks. Knowing that my conversations were likely helping someone like my mom send their kids to college made the work rewarding.

Fast forward 14 years, and I’m still proud to be part of the Vanguard crew, helping people break their own cycles and beat their personal odds towards investment success.

-Chad L.