Alumnae in Finance

Magnificat graduates have long found successful careers in the financial sector, building on fundamentals learned during their high school years. In this issue, we profile just a few making an impact in the world of finance and supporting today's Blue Streaks in one day joining their ranks!

Alison Sammon '00

Alison Sammon '00 speaking to Magnificat students on campus about the KeyBank Immersion Program, in which 11 students enrolled for this summer.

The world of finance and banking is still a male-dominated industry, and Alison Sammon ’00 is looking to change that. Alison is currently the managing director of syndicating and leveraged finance for KeyBanc Capital Markets and the creator of the company’s “Women in Finance” summer program for high school students. Many Magnificat students have participated in the program, and some have gone on to be hired by KeyBank.

Alison started at KeyBank in 2005 after graduating from Miami University, where she majored in finance and minored in Spanish. While at Key, she also received her M.B.A. from Cleveland State University. She has held many different positions within asset-based lending, commercial lending, and capital markets that have taken her to New York City and back.

“As a student, I didn’t have an appreciation for all the avenues of finance and accounting,” she said. “Working in different positions and departments inspired me to start the summer program to help girls explore the world of finance.”

After hosting four Magnificat Genesis students out of her cubicle, Alison knew she needed to build up a program that allowed for more female students to have access to the various departments. In 2013, the Women in Finance Summer program was officially launched and has grown ever since. She also helps host a Women in Finance conference for sophomores in college, where she brings students together with different department heads for the students to learn from and network with.

“My job is really technical, and having conviction gets you a long way,” she said. “Magnificat gave me the confidence and conviction to succeed in my career. My time at Magnificat also taught me to be detail-oriented. I once failed my American Lit final because I put my answers on the wrong lines of a scantron test. I have always double-checked my work since.”

Alison encourages those in the summer program, and all students, to learn as much as they can about what they think they want to do in the future. She says, “Explore all avenues to find your passion.”

Alison has a 10-year-old daughter, whose Girl Scout troop she leads. She enjoys traveling and spending time with her daughter and large extended family.

Jastany Santiago '17

Jastany Santiago ’17 (pictured opposite page on right) is a recruiter for Keybanc Capital Markets and is also involved with the company's Women in Finance Summer Program. With the involvement of Human Resources and Jastany, the program has added a professional development aspect, helping students build resumes and LinkedIn profiles.

After graduating from Magnificat, Jastany attended Miami University and majored in human capital management and leadership with a minor in Spanish. In college she was a member of Greek life, met some of her best friends, and traveled every opportunity that she could.

Jastany is now back in Cleveland and loving her new career. In her spare time, she still enjoys traveling and continues to explore the city and new restaurants.

Alexandra Macuga Vidmar '02

When Alexandra (Alex) Vidmar ’02 was 3 years old, her parents signed her up for gymnastics. With Alex being a strong-willed and thrill-seeking toddler, they determined that “learning how to fall” was, for her, a necessary life skill at that age. She loved the nature of gymnastics. It was difficult and thrilling, and it required her to cultivate personal responsibility, self-reliance, accuracy, precision, and a desire for demanding work—all things she ended up loving about working in the world of capital markets.

After graduating from Magnificat, Alex attended John Carroll University to study at the Boler School of Business. Investment banking appealed to her in college, in part because of how relatively few women there were.

“Magnificat imposed no limits on what I could learn; it was implicit that I just learn everything I could,” she said. “We are called to ‘glorify the Lord by our lives,’ and one way this can be done as you leave Magnificat is by doing your very best work at the most challenging opportunities you know of. Over time, occupations and vocations change, bifurcate, and blend together, but the foundational behaviors needed for success in any career or vocation will always be the same: a desire to do your very best at the hardest challenge you can find.”

The fall of her senior year, Alex received a full-time offer to participate in the GE Capital analyst program in Chicago. After graduating with a B.S./B.A. in finance, she moved to Chicago and spent three years at GE Capital.

A desire to return home brought her back to Cleveland, where she spent eight years at KeyBanc Capital Market, first in Syndicated & Leveraged Finance then in Loan Sales. During her time at KeyBanc, she also helped Alison Sammon ‘00 with the Women in Finance Summer Program. Most recently, Alex worked at Huntington Capital Markets.

Alex, her husband, and their three children now live in Strongsville. She enjoys spending time with her family, involvement in St. Joseph Church, and serving moms and babies of Zelie's Home.

Ann Huesken '16

A love of numbers drew Ann Huesken ’16 to a career in finance. “I like that investment banks and private equity firms give you responsibility early in your career,” she said. “You need to take initiative and prove yourself right away, and I think my time at Magnificat was fundamental in giving me the confidence to do that. The all-girls’ environment allows you to speak up and gives you the confidence to state your opinions. It taught me that women can do anything men can do.”

Ann’s path to Stonepeak, a private equity firm, began with her Genesis program at KeyBanc Capital Markets.

“Alison [Sammon ’00], is one of the reasons I became interested in investment banking,” she said. “It was wonderful to see all the different avenues of finance at a young age.”

After graduating from Vanderbilt University in 2020 with a double major in economics and Spanish, Ann worked as an investment banking analyst for Barclays. As part

of the Natural Resources group, she worked with companies including Chevron and Marathon. Last August, she moved to Stonepeak, an investment firm specializing in infrastructure. She is enjoying the change from advisor to investor.

“My job requires a lot of critical thinking and analysis,” she said. “Even as an associate, I am expected to have an opinion on every potential investment we look at.”

She would love to see more women go into STEM fields, especially finance. She credits her wonderful Magnificat teachers, specifically Peg Szczesniak, Carol Fedor, and Carolyn Wanzor, for instilling in her a love of math and science. They pushed her towards a career, and finance was the perfect fit within STEM.

Ann is enjoying living in New York City, where she has wanted to live since she first visited after 4th Grade. She likes exploring the city with friends and trying new restaurants (some of her best friends from Magnificat visited in April). She is also a mentor to a ninth grader at an all-girls’ Catholic high school in the Bronx.

Carrie Kirk Schroen '94

Carrie Kirk Schroen '94 at Nasdaq to ring the bell in celebration of her work at BlackRock serving female customers.

Passion, enthusiasm, and hard work have defined most everything Carrie Kirk Schroen ’94 has worked to achieve in high school, college, family, and career.

“Much of my success is rooted in the opportunities I took advantage of at Magnificat to learn and grow,” Carrie said. “It’s a very special place, founded by the thoughtful, smart, and inspiring Sisters of the Humility of Mary.”

She credits great teachers, inspiring and highachieving classmates, and participation on the swim team for teaching her how to be a team player and how to excel while wanting the best for others. Magnificat teachers “challenged us to think broadly about the world and our opportunities,” she said. Her passion for swimming helped the Magnificat team win State Titles in the 200-yard and 400-yard team relays and earned her a scholarship to Boston College, where she studied business management.

During a college internship, Carrie quickly learned the investment banking world was dominated by men. She enjoyed the internship and the work, but all but one of the 128 successful financial advisors in the office were men—a daunting statistic. So as a senior in college, she accepted a position in retail management, but it was not long before she pivoted and turned her attention back to the world of finance and investments. She has not looked back. Carrie went on to earn an M.B.A., and she was recently promoted to the role of National Sales Manager for Blackrock. Her enthusiasm for financial services makes the hard work a great experience she describes as “much more fun than she can describe in short form.”

Carrie also is passionate about women and investing— both as a career and as an essential means for gaining financial security. She led a team at Blackrock to develop new investment products tailored specifically for women, and in July 2022, Carrie and a Blackrock colleague rang the bell at the Nasdaq in celebration of this achievement. According to Carrie, “Research tells us that 90 percent of women will one day be solely responsible for their household financial decisions. We need more women in finance helping to guide others seeking better financial futures for themselves and their families.” This enthusiastic pursuit of great investment strategies for women led to a nomination for the Asset Management Woman of the Year Award in 2023, a proud moment for Carrie.

Career success aside, Carrie is most passionate about her family and most proud of being a mom and step-mom to two beautiful and strong girls. Her stepdaughter, Sydney Schroen Williams ’14, started her own line of women’s clothing: Swayed Stature. Carrie, her husband, and youngest daughter, Charlotte, now live in North Carolina.

NOMINATE AN ALUMNA

Do you have a suggestion of an alumna to feature in an upcoming issue of Magnificat Magazine or on our social media? Great! Please contact Director of Alumnae Relations Caitlin MacBride Berg '10 at cberg@maghs.org.