Och Initiative Helps Women Find Their Way in Finance

OCH INITIATIVE STUDENT IMPACT Helping Women Find Their Way in Finance

Och Council members (from left) Jade Kim, Paulina Garcia, Alyson Koh, and Isabella Muscarello speak at the Och Trek Recruiting Brunch in August 2021.

The Och Council, now in its second year of existence, is a four-student leadership group that helps shape the direction of the Och Initiative for Women in Finance at the University of Michigan Ross School of Business. The 2021-2022 council members are Michigan Ross BBA students Paulina Garcia, Alyson Koh, Isabella (Bella) Muscarello, and Jade Kim. These students meet monthly to plan events and company visits, and discuss ways to maximize the Och Initiative experience for participants. We hope you enjoy learning about the two new members of the Council, Muscarello and Kim. as the song goes, we get by with a little help from Sometimes, our friends.

For many female students interested in a career in finance at the University of Michigan Ross School of Business, those friends are made in the Och Initiative for Women in Finance. Since being established in 2014, the Och Initiative has provided the friendship, guidance, resources, expertise, and supportive community that is propelling female Ross students into impactful careers in finance.

Today, one in three Michigan Ross students pursuing finance are women, up from one in five in 2014.

For Jade Kim, BBA ’23, Rochester Hills, MI, the interest in finance stems from her father, a first-generation immigrant from South Korea.

“Growing up, he always emphasized the importance and applicability of business — the impact it could create,” Jade said, noting that her interest in finance before Ross was a relatively vague one. Her participation last fall in the New York City Och trek sharpened that interest into the more focused variety. It

also led her to explore other financial epicenters included in the program’s trek offerings.

“I decided to apply for the New York trek to gain familiarity with the field in an environment I felt I would be best supported and understood,” she said.

“These expectations were wholly fulfilled through the duration of the trek, be it with the caliber and excitement of the companies we met or the knowledge that this was both an incredible opportunity and a safe space to learn about the finance industry. I ended up attending all three treks, visiting companies from the east to the west coast, meeting passionate women who spearheaded a career for themselves in a male-dominated industry.”

Jade said the trek experience left an important impression on her: Never be afraid to ask questions.

“There is very little downside to asking a question, especially to a person who has taken time out of their day to pass on their knowledge in an effort to encourage a new and larger generation of women in finance,” she said. “The Och Initiative has helped me develop my confidence in speaking to established professionals and meetings where I may feel like I have little value to add, just with this (relatively) simple insight and having a space where I could actively apply it without hesitance.”

Prior to coming to Ross, Bella Muscarello, BBA ’23, Chicago, IL, knew she wanted to blaze a trail of sorts in a finance career.

“I love pushing myself to try something not many are willing to try,” she said. “As a woman, finance has been dominated by our male counterparts and I am ready for that to begin changing.

I have a passion for numbers and using critical thinking skills to attack problems from a new perspective. When I was younger, the people that truly caught my attention were the few strong, intelligent women holding high positions within the C-Suites of the world’s most successful companies. I knew I wanted to be like them when I grew up and here I am, at the University of Michigan, making that dream my reality and changing what other little girls think is possible.”

The pull of an exciting career in New York City is strong for Bella.

“New York was the first virtual finance trek I went on with Och and I was blown away by the sheer prestige of these companies,” she said. “Since I was about seven years old, I have had a special place in my heart for New York: it was where all of my favorite movies were set, a city of new beginnings, a place where you could become whoever you wanted to. I knew I had to get a glimpse at what the rest of my life could look like as a working analyst in New York City.”

Bella said the Och Initiative helped strengthen her belief that a career in finance was within the realm of possibilities for her.

She wasn’t always so confident. “When I got to Ross, I started to doubt myself. I didn’t feel as smart, equipped, or daring enough to pursue this as a career,” she admitted. “In the middle of losing myself during the pandemic and other difficult times as a firstyear student, I was able to find myself and get back in the saddle because of the Och Initiative. I found the strength I had prior to the setbacks I experienced and decided to execute the goals I had before. Och helped me find my confidence and made me realize I can and will do amazing in my finance career.”

When it comes to finding her way in her young career, Bella admits she’s gotten this far with a little help from Och, and the friends she’s made there.

“My greatest takeaway from the Och Initiative is that I am not alone in this journey. We are all progressing in this field together and knowing you have a team of women supporting you and wanting to see you succeed helps the hard times that much more. Whether that’s Claire (Coursen, Assistant Director of Undergraduate Student Experiences in the Office of Undergraduate Programs) texting you to check up on your exams or finding some of my closest friends, the women you meet on the Och trek become family and will lift you up to the fullest of their abilities.”

For Jade, the Och Initiative had a very real and measurable impact on her career path. She accepted an internship next summer with Cowen Inc., one of the companies the trek participants visited during the New York event. “I made a great connection that visit with one of the analysts who supported me throughout the entire process,” Jade said. Bella is still determining her internship for next summer.

Both Jade and Bella said they greatly appreciate the support Jane and Dan Och have shown to women interested in finance at Michigan Ross.

“I want to express my gratitude for the opportunities and relationships I’ve found and the skills I’ve developed through my experience with the treks,” Jade said. “To Jane and Dan Och, as a woman from a first-generation immigrant family, I could not have been able to explore my passions and manifest them into an actual career had it not been for the Och Initiative. The sheer amount of support, resources, and mentorship I’ve received as a result of this opportunity has been instrumental in not only shaping my immediate career path, but also in shaping ways I can continue to pay it forward in the future.”

Bella concurred, saying, “Jane and Dan, I cannot express to you enough how much this trek has helped me. By having the opportunity to go on the virtual treks, I have been able to regain my confidence in myself and feel strong in knowing that I have an amazing group of women to lean on when I need it most.

The work that you do for us does not go unnoticed. Women from past years who have graduated are a testimony to the amazing work this trek does for us. Being a woman entering into a male-dominated field takes courage, and this trek is giving us everything we need to prepare ourselves to be leaders and create change in an industry that sometimes resists it. This trek is the first step we take into exploring our interests in finance and I would not have become the woman I am today without it. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

The Och Initiative for Women in Finance was made possible by generous support from Jane (BBA, MAcc ’86) and Daniel Och. This initiative fosters and cultivates interest in finance careers among female BBA students. In 2021, the program marked its seventh year at Michigan Ross.