Former Hawk Hockey star and current Financial Advisor at UBS Financial Services, Inc. Greg Merrill, Class of 2014, came back to campus to be the sole guest speaker for an event hosted by the Saint Anselm Finance Club recently.  This event was open to any current Saint Anselm student.

Merrill gave a brief speech about the Professional Development Initiative that he helped found recently along with Professor Luke Miller and a few members of the Saint Anselm Board of Trustees.  He also spoke more in depth about his journey as a Hawk, how he ascertained his current position at UBS, and his advice for current students that desire to enter the industry.  The event took place on Wed., Jan. 25, 2017, at 7:30 PM in the Perini Lecture Hall.

Miller gave a speech in honor of a new initiative launched by Saint Anselm named the Professional Development Initiative (PDI).  The PDI is an initiative started by Professor Luke Miller with major assistance from members of the Board of Trustees and also Greg Merrill.  It was created in the 2016 fall semester in order to assist St. Anselm students searching for internships in a finance related field.

The PDI supplements payment for unpaid internships, as well as payments covering excess costs not already covered by the hiring organizations (such as travel, gas, and housing expenses).  Merrill, as well as the leadership of the Finance Club, all expressed their excitement for the growth of the PDI before, during, and after Merrill’s speech.  They encouraged students to continue to apply for the PDI, as they still have openings for approval of payments to current students.

After speaking about the PDI, Merrill went into thorough detail about his experiences after graduating from the College in 2014.  Merrill is currently a Financial Advisor for UBS Financial Services, Inc. in Stamford, CT.  After his graduation in 2014, Merrill accepted a position at UBS and has not left the company since.  He described his struggle applying for jobs before graduation, and his excitement when he was offered a position in a program with UBS.  The program that Merrill entered allowed him to become a Certified Financial Planner (CFP) at UBS and he has since become a Financial Advisor at UBS.

Following his speech, Merrill stayed for an extended question and answer period for the audience in attendance.  He answered questions such as, which, if either, does he think is better to get / become: an MBA or a CFP.  His response to this question was that it depends on each person and what program(s) are available to you after graduation.

A major theme of Merrill’s speech and his answers was that each person and each opportunity is different, but that we should all be flexible and open to many different job prospects when graduation comes.  He stressed that shutting out potential jobs without proper research into the position can be hurtful in the long run.  He also stressed that networking is as important as all other factors when it comes to the job hunt.

The Finance Club stated it was very happy with the many questions asked of Merrill after his speech ended.  The main goal of this event was to explain more about the PDI, to continue to grow the interest in the Finance Club, and to get the networking started for Club members.  The club stated they felt as though they completed all three goals with this event and therefore were very proud of its success.  The club stated that they intend to host more speakers in the future, although those speakers have yet to be formally announced.