O ne of twelve winners nationwide, senior finance and economics double-major Lauren Moskowitz has received Charles Schwab’s Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) Talent Advantage (RIATA) Student Scholarship.
 
In its second year, the scholarship provides student winners $10,000 for the 2022-2023 academic year and matches them with a senior advisor for mentoring. The scholarship is supposed to decrease financial barriers for students, advocate diversity and widen the talent pool within the RIA industry. Moskowitz’s mentor will be someone who started their own firm on Wall Street.
 
According to Charles Schwab, 586 students across 54 national universities applied this year. The students chosen for the scholarship are vetted by RIA firm leaders serving on Schwab Advisor Services’ Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) Advocacy Board.

“I applied not thinking I would get it at all, because it’s 12 people from the entire nation for a massive company,” Moskowitz said. “It was more disbelief rather than excitement for me. I go to a small school. We didn’t have a finance major at the time and I just got a scholarship and mentorship program with a dream company.”

She’ll use the scholarship to take the financial burden of expenses off her parents, and complete an independent study with Dr. Isarin Durongkadej, associate professor of finance. She’ll also use it to complete a certificate in Certified Financial Planning. The courses she’s taking will cover topics from estate planning, investments and taxes to basic economic and real-world information.

Upon graduating, Moskowitz has accepted a job offer with Goldman Sachs, which she’ll work for in Atlanta, Georgia. One day, she said, she hopes to make it to New York City, New York.
 
But Moskowitz couldn’t tell you why she was chosen for the scholarship; her work speaks louder than words.

A part of Georgia College & State University’s (GCSU) delegation at the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Institute Research Challenge, Moskowitz helped her team advance to the second round of sub-regional competition in the global contest.

They competed against contestants from 25 universities across Georgia, Alabama and South Carolina including Auburn, Clemson and Mercer Universities.

“I’m very proud of her in many ways. She is a real leader,” said Isarin Durongkadej, assistant professor of finance and a mentor to Moskowitz. “Leadership is a skill that could be hard to build because it requires sacrifice and sympathy. She works hard and understands people around her and she is always full of energy to learn or try something new.”

She also helped jumpstart the finance major at Georgia College, serves as the President of the Finance Club and interned with Goldman Sachs over the summer.

While there, she met interns from across the nation, and partnered with a mentor for nine weeks. She interned in executive financial management and had the opportunity to work with CEOs and CFOs of large companies.
 
“After this summer, I know I want to go into financial planning, and I feel like I’m finally getting the foot in the door to places where I want to be,” Moskowitz said. “I love numbers and I love office life. That’s not for some people, but I get excited by challenges, and in this industry each client is a different story and unique challenge. You’re never going to get bored.”

Moskowitz stresses that anyone can attain what she’s worked toward.
 
“I always want to see how far I can push myself, because that’s how you grow as a person,” Moskowitz said. “People will come up to me and ask my advice, and for me that’s cool because I’m just another student here. I’m making an impact on people’s lives that I haven’t even met yet, and helping them get to those steps I’ve taken.”

“For myself and for anyone, I stress to just try,” she said, “even if you don’t think you have a shot at it. Go for it, because you could get it, and it could open a million doors for you.”

Visit the J. Whitney Bunting College of Business and Technology's Finance B.S. page to learn more about the degree program.