SoHE student Madeline Roamer, winner of a 2019 TD Ameritrade NextGen Scholarship, shows her Wisconsin “W” on a visit to Nasdaq MarketSite in New York City’s Times Square.
The personal finance major (SoHE ’20) is one of just twelve across the US to win the award.
A few short weeks ago, rising senior Madeline Roamer (“Maddie”) was walking home from her summer internship and checking email on her phone. She stopped in the middle of the sidewalk when she opened the one informing her she had won the TD Ameritrade Institutional NextGen Scholarship.
“I couldn’t believe I had been chosen,” she admits, incredulous at being one of just twelve students nationwide to be awarded the scholarship.
The award would feel much more real soon, though. Last week, Maddie joined her fellow scholarship winners in New York City, where the students met with financial professionals, attended educational panels and networking events, and visited the floor of the Nasdaq MarketSite in Times Square to ring the closing bell for Tuesday, July 23.
“Madeline is a wonderful student with a true heart for service and helping others,” Professor Cliff Robb, who recommended Maddie for the award, said of her. “She stands out as one of the most impressive students I have had the opportunity to teach,” he added, noting her work as an academic mentor and as a peer educator with the Consumer Science department’s Financial Life Skills courses.
TD Ameritrade Institutional initiated its NextGen program seven years ago as part of a concerted effort to support the future of the financial planning industry. The Bureau of Labor Statistics anticipates financial advising will experience 15 percent demand growth from 2016 to 2026, and top programs like UW–Madison’s Personal Finance Bachelor of Science degree are key to answering the talent shortage that industry executives have observed in recent years.
This summer, Maddie is interning with the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) in the wealth management branch of its Madison office. She supports a small team of financial advisors and client associates, where she says she is excited to apply her classroom lessons and try out one of the many career options that a personal finance degree opens up.
“I am truly interested in impact investing, also known as ESG or sustainable investing,” Maddie shared of her career aspirations, describing her path to the Personal Finance major as the result of her competing interests in business, psychology, and environmental studies. “I think young adults in my generation have a unique opportunity to make a difference in the world and feel good about investing when they choose companies and portfolios that align with their values. I would love to one day work with a team that specializes in doing good for people and the world.”