Senior propels future plans through Jennett Finance Scholars Program
Finance major Turner Seals credits success at School of Business to program
When Turner Seals was looking for colleges, he received offers from several highly respected schools, including UCLA. But ultimately, Seals decided to stay close to his hometown of Topeka, Kansas, and attend KU, something he believes has been the best decision of his life.
Originally enrolled as a mechanical engineering major, Seals quickly recognized his passions aligned with business, which transitioned him to economics. But he found economics also wasn’t a perfect fit. This led him to explore the business school, eventually discovering his true calling in finance.
With his major decided, Seals settled into life at KU. He joined the Jennett Finance Scholars Program at the KU School of Business, a three-semester program for finance majors, which aims to prepare students for careers in finance, such as investment banking or corporate finance. Simultaneously, he got involved with KU’s Student Senate and greek life.
Seals believes finance is deeply engraved in society and plays a crucial role in how decisions are made. This, along with his enthusiasm for making society better, are why he feels inspired to pursue finance. Seals connected with his brothers, both of whom are KU alumni, to find people within industries so that he could explore potential careers.
“My two older brothers both knew people with jobs in different fields,” Seals said. “My oldest brother connected me with people he knew in several financial areas like investment banking, private banking and commodity trading. It was helpful to hear about these experiences and figure out what role would fit me the best. But it was all trial-and-error and talking to people. I think a big thing that I did that I am happy I did was talk to actual people in different jobs when I was early on in college.”
Seals also wanted to try to make a difference while learning new skills and meeting new people at KU. During his junior year, Seals became treasurer of Student Senate. From there, he eventually became KU’s student body president.
In this role, Seals meets with higher administration to share student perspectives and keep funding organized. Seals also oversees multiple projects around campus that aim to improve the university. He knew he wanted to become student body president so that he could pursue projects he was interested in. He also knew the experience would help him grow.
“Once you start caring about something, you want to keep being involved and keep making it better. At least for me,” Seals said. “These positions taught me how to deal with people’s emotions and how to effectively communicate.”
Serving as student body president takes up most of Seals’ time but does not stop him from other involvement. He has been a part of his fraternity, Beta Theta Pi, since freshman year. Greek life is a key reason he came to KU, knowing early on he wanted active involvement with a group that could help him grow personally and professionally.
Beyond KU, Seals completed an internship as an investment banking summer analyst with Lincoln International, a global investment bank located in Chicago. This gave him valuable experience working in a professional setting and building relationships he believes will last a long way into the future. His tasks included creating materials for new business proposals, management presentations and any other responsibilities that may have popped up in the deal process.
“I feel like I contributed and had a meaningful part in the work I was doing,” Seals said. “At Lincoln, they really immerse you in these deals and give you actual responsibility, which obviously is difficult at the start, but it was a really great experience. As an intern, you are splitting tasks with the analysts on the deal, with the final products being seen by the managing directors and the clients as well.”
Seals received a full-time offer after completing his internship, and he plans to move to New York City to continue his work after graduation. He’s excited to live with his good friend and fellow finance scholar Luke Stanford. He is excited to live in New York City.
“Everybody says there is always something to do,” Seals said. “There are also so many cool opportunities. Job opportunities but also just life opportunities in general.”
Seals is a big believer that if someone asks for help, they will find it. He noted that at KU there are many opportunities to pursue and multitudes of people, including faculty and staff, who will help students reach their goals.
He credits being a Jennett Finance Scholar for helping him cement his post-graduation plans through interview prepping and assistance in efficiently navigating the job search process. Dieter Schrader, the director of the Jennett Finance Scholars Program, has been one of Seals’ biggest mentors.
“There’s a lot of professors that really care and want to help you. Dieter has been a great mentor to me. He cares about my success and about me as a person. Dieter has helped me find opportunities and individuals to connect with that have advanced my professional career up to this point. He’s just overall a good person and someone I could call a friend,” Seals said.
For students who are beginning their steps of looking for internships, Seals encourages talking to people in their career of interest. He said reaching out through LinkedIn or email are great ways to network with potential employers.
“If you do not have actual relationships at the company, you’re most likely not going to succeed in that job search,” Seals said. “It’s really important to network.”
In his time at KU, he feels he has grown significantly as a person outside of academics through his extracurricular activities and surrounding himself with friends. Like many graduating seniors, Seals is still figuring out exactly where he would like to be five to 10 years in the future. He hopes to succeed at Lincoln or at a different company outside of finance. He enjoys startups, specifically the scrappiness of them, something he experienced in Student Senate.
“Student Senate has been very scrappy this year. Just trying to build these different initiatives or products I think is a really cool thing,” Seals said.
Seals feels like there are limitless professional opportunities for himself after graduation due to his KU education. When asked for non-professional advice, Seals strongly believes that having the experience of being around friends and making personal mistakes is crucial to receiving the full college experience.
Learn more about the Jennett Finance Scholars Program at business.ku.edu/jennett-finance-scholars.
By Grace Ludes
