Exploring Global Perspectives

Maryland Made’s Gossett Fellows learned about global perspectives and career development with JPMorgan Chase professionals during a Zoom meeting on Feb. 11. 

The Gossett Fellows program aims to educate rising junior and senior student-athletes and help them develop their respective postgraduate careers. It provides student-athletes with career information and project management skills, helping them develop professional skills beyond athletics. These student-athletes meet monthly to focus on a different career development topic, with this session’s theme being global perspectives and culture.

The event opened with a game of Kahoot! designed to educate student-athletes about differences in business customs worldwide. The questions covered dress code, eye contact, hand gestures, respect and punctuality.

Four JPMorgan Chase professionals were introduced after the Kahoot and a brief discussion on global business practices.

The student-athletes were divided into groups and sent into break-out rooms with each professional. The break-out rooms allowed the students to ask questions in a smaller, more personal setting.

Joel Gamble, Vice President and Community Manager of the Maryland Region at JPMorgan Chase, highlighted the importance of financial and career readiness. As a former student-athlete, Gamble believes that student-athletes should learn from professionals who once stood in their shoes.

“Being able to share our financial journey and being able to impart that type of knowledge and education as well is just impactful,” Gamble said. “We want to make sure that we equip the students on various campuses with the knowledge and resources so that they can be successful in their career journeys.”

During each breakout room rotation, the JPMorgan Chase representatives advised the student-athletes on internships, leadership, flexibility and the importance of seeking out opportunities.

Jacob Aladejobi, Vice President of Technology Operations at JP Morgan Chase, spent most of his time in the break-out room emphasizing the importance of relationship management for student-athletes.

“Build relationships and sustain them,” Aladejobi said. “Don't be afraid of reaching out to people. Always remember that everybody's human.”

Many student-athlete questions focused on internships and making the right career choices during college. Several of them expressed concern about the challenges of changing career paths in the future.

Maritza Gonzalez, Vice President and Community Manager of the D.C. Region at JPMorgan Chase, discussed the topic of career transitions. As an alumna of the UMD College of Education, she has transitioned into the business sector.

“There's a lot of excitement but also questions,” Gonzalez said. “Will I have to stick around with my major? I think even just hearing some of the questions reminded me of how much you evolve.”

Rhys Allen, a junior economics major on the men’s track and field team, said the networking event was an excellent opportunity to explore career paths and have valuable discussions with professionals in his field of interest.

“I want to go into finance anyway, so it’s kind of perfect to have JPMorgan Chase helping everyone out,” Allen said. “Having people give advice on how to do interviews, what to say and the do's and don'ts in the industry that I want to do is perfect.”

Although not every student-athlete planned to pursue a career in finance, they still got a lot out of the session.

Leah Horwitz, a junior marketing major on the field hockey team, enjoyed speaking with the professionals in a more personal setting.

“I thought it was super beneficial, and I loved how we pivoted and got to do more of a networking side,” Horwitz said. “I think we as student-athletes learn best when we can have little conversations with people as opposed to getting lectured by them.”

Horwitz said that because most student-athletes have been on a team their whole lives, they are very social and would learn more from a two-way conversation than a one-way presentation. 

Time commitment is a significant barrier between athletes and networking opportunities, so Gossett Fellows events like this can allow student-athletes to network with professionals and work on their career development.

“It's hard for us to take advantage of all the things that Maryland has to offer with career fairs and career exposure stuff like that because obviously, we're all in practice and maybe have games when that's going on,” Horwitz said. “We’re a step behind normal students, so this is just really beneficial.”

Collaborations with workforce professionals allow Gossett Fellows to learn about aspects of the career industry that they would likely not learn in class. These sessions are incredibly valuable to student-athletes who work hard to be prepared on the field and have opportunities to be just as prepared when they enter the workforce.