Senior finance major builds connections for future success
Meredith Matz finds value in mentoring, networking and getting involved at KU School of Business
Meredith Matz comes from a large family of Jayhawks. Her older sister, cousins and parents all went to KU. Matz decided between venturing out and trying something new, or continuing the tradition of attending KU. After touring the KU campus, it felt like home to her, and the number of traditions and experiences intrigued her curiosity.
“I am a part of the university’s honors programs, so I thought that was really interesting,” said Matz. “When I learned more about that program, it became much more convincing over time. So, I ended up going to KU, and I have had zero regrets ever since. I love it here so much.”
Matz has always considered herself a math person who enjoys numbers. In high school, she attended a national student leadership program and learned more about what finance is, and the options for career paths. This allowed her to realize she wanted to study finance, but she did not forget about the creative side of her brain. Matz also worked for a local boutique during high school in her hometown of Omaha, Nebraska, that allowed her to have freedom with social media and other creative outlets.
The Jennett Finance Scholars Program is a program of high-achieving students that provides broad overviews of careers in finance and institutions. It helps prepare students for their future in competitive financial careers, resume guidance and allows for interactions with guest speakers. After joining this program, Matz decided on finance as her major and marketing as her minor.
“That had a huge impact on why I ended up wanting to go into finance and allowed me to gain lots of different opportunities,” Matz said.
She enjoys critical thinking and having multiple tasks, and this is a field that allows her those opportunities.
“I really just enjoy the fast pace of everything,” Matz said. “I like to look at lots of companies, lots of different things. I like to problem-solve and it is just a major and an industry group that allows me to do that.”
As a teaching assistant for FIN 310 Finance, Matz holds and teaches her own review sessions for students once a week. She also grades projects, hosts office hours and attends lectures. FIN 310 is a general course for the school, meaning everyone is required to take it, and normally around 400 to 500 students are enrolled. Matz said she doesn’t feel nervous teaching classes of this size.
“In all honesty, teaching is something that I really love to do,” Matz said. “I hope to go into a finance career and learn lots of things and stuff like that, but when I am much older, I think I would love to teach as more of a post-retirement or something in a later career type of setting.”
Matz is involved in her sorority, Chi Omega, and was its social media chair her freshman year. She centered her focus on the Jennett Finance Scholars Program and joined a few other clubs her freshman year, but she believes Finance Scholars is what really propelled her forward.
During the summer after her sophomore year, Matz received an internship as a private equity intern at McCarthy Capital, a private equity firm in Omaha, Nebraska. She conducted market research, helped with projects and created an investment thesis among many other responsibilities. The following summer, Matz interned for Lincoln International, a middle-market investment bank in Chicago where she participated in live deals and market research projects.
“My biggest accomplishment or milestone so far throughout my time at KU would be gaining my internship at Lincoln International,” Matz said. “In that internship, I learned more than I could have ever imagined.”
With thousands of applicants, Matz feels very proud to have received the internship. Working with many different companies and with such intelligent people both on her team and with clients, including CEOs from other large companies, made her grateful to have real-world experiences while still being a student.
“The Finance Scholars Program at KU makes it a point to make networking really significant and to start early on is always a good thing,” Matz said. “I networked with competitive finance companies during my sophomore year, which allowed me to connect with people in different parts of the country. I believe that this was beneficial to helping me receive my internship at Lincoln International.”
When it came to preparation for interview practice and searching for jobs, Matz credits KU’s many programs for allowing her to feel confident. She participated in mock interviews to give herself practice and made phone calls to professionals to figure out how to portray herself.
“Dieter Schrader is the leader of the Jennett Finance Scholars Program, and he has been a complete college mentor to me,” Matz said. “I also think that there are a lot of different opportunities that the KU business school offers in general for people not in programs like that. The Career Services group is really helpful. I’ve done a couple of different mock interviews that they offer.”
Matz stresses the importance of reaching out to people. Finding KU connections, or connections of any kind, can lead to great things, and growing your network is extremely valuable. Finding mentors or professors is a huge advantage because they want to help students succeed.
After graduation, Matz is looking forward to identifying her permanent career goals. She received a full-time placement offer at accounting firm EY’s Chicago offices in the strategy and transactions group after graduation. She has been able to work on both sides of investments, which excites her, and said she feels grateful to be a part of a company that has such a large network.
Matz is excited to grow and discover how she can take the finance and marketing functions that she loves so much and turn that into a career.
“When I move to Chicago and start this new job, I really want to focus on learning as much as I possibly can and soaking up the information from people who have worked in the industry for so long,” Matz said. “I just want to kind of be a sponge.”
By Grace Ludes
