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Alumna to Address Seniors on Managing Wealth as part of “007 Live and Let’s Give” Campaign!
By Erin Rogers `08, Student Relations Committee
CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Whether as a freshman saving for gas money, or a senior saving for an apartment, financial considerations can often play a part in the choices we make.

We often try to avoid facing questions about finance, as though they were carriers of a horrific and contagious disease. The answer is: start early and inform yourself! Be proactive, be prepared, and take advantage of tremendous opportunities to learn very useful information.

On Monday, February 26th, Gertrude Gail Collins `84 “Gigi,” a financial adviser with vast experience in the field of wealth management, will be coming to Sweet Briar to offer a workshop for seniors as part of the Senior Class Campaign, “007 Live and Let’s Give.”

In this workshop, titled “How to Spend, Save, Invest and Share Your First Pay Check,” Gigi will present numerous tips for the future and even information on how to manage and save personal wealth now.

Gigi, a Region Chair on the Sweet Briar Alumnae Association Board, recounted how the inspiration for this event arose at a recent Board meeting.

“We were talking about the Sweet Briar Promise,” she recalled, and how it is “very important for [alumnae] to give back to the College.” She thought that one of the ways she could most directly assist students might be to talk to seniors on how they can budget and save.

Gigi hopes that through her workshop she can assist in her own way as well. She graduated from Sweet Briar with a double major in mathematics and economics, as well as with a Business Management Certificate. She was a member of the Judiciary Committee, as well as the President of the Academic Affairs Committee during her senior year. According to Gigi, these leadership roles were important in developing vital skills for her future professional life.

She appreciates how Sweet Briar prepared her for her future. One essential opportunity was her undergraduate internship in New York City at Bankers Trust Company. Not only did it afford her valuable work experience, but it also added to her resume, which became useful when she was applying to graduate school and looking for early employment.

“Everywhere I went in New York they wanted M.B.A.’s, but for grad school they wanted three years of experience. I remember thinking, thank goodness for the internships.” Beyond internships, there were other things to be grateful for as well. “Sweet Briar gave me confidence to enter the male environment,” she said, which dominated the business world. “I knew what I was talking about.”

Later in life her family obligations required that she adjust her working hours in order to continue being a businesswoman. This is how she segued into a more flexible form of ‘wealth management’—the term that is now used to more comprehensively and accurately refer to what was once known as “financial planning.”

More recently, she has been developing some of her personal interests by focusing on educating young adults and children on the wise use of money. She began by creating a structured allowance program for her two children, and then began branching out.

An early hope was to introduce personal finance into the school systems, but when faced with countless obstacles, she found a better way to reach kids: by teaching their parents.

An additional goal in her workshop is to demonstrate what is available to students and young individuals immediately and how it can be used for the future. Further, she points out, “It’s not so much how much money you have; it is what you are spending.”

Gigi also explains that contrary to common belief, the person who makes the greatest amount of money during a given period does not always end up in the best position. It is the person starting early who will always end up ahead.

In her presentation on the 26th, some of the key subjects Gigi will discuss, aside from how to divvy up the first paycheck, will be the procedures of investing and signing up for benefits and learning your role as an alumna.

Don't miss this unparalleled chance to learn from a graduate who is so willing and excited to share her knowledge. Seniors: save the date!