At the March 10 Beta Alpha Psi meeting, Mize CPAs Inc. in Topeka, Kansas, and Northwestern Mutual in Olathe, Kansas, gave a presentation to numerous business students about their businesses and their respective occupations.

“If you’re looking for an opportunity where you could make an unlimited income, financial services can be a good fit,” said Brock Shaffer, managing director at Northwestern Mutual.

Northwestern Mutual includes a variety of opportunities for finance majors, while Mize hires accounting majors. Nevertheless, there are numerous crossovers, especially for students who are seeking internships while in college. 

“We do have a really large internship program,” said Gaby Miciano, director of campus selection at Northwestern Mutual. “It’s actually been around for quite a while as well, but it’s been a top-ranked internship for about the past 25 years.”

Northwestern Mutual employs students from several universities throughout Kansas. Washburn University happens to be one of their favorite stopping spots to seek out qualified students from the School of Business. 

“Our internship program is really a test driver to our career, obviously, [on] a lot smaller scale and a lot more coaching and development,” Miciano said. 

“It’s very client-facing. So, you’re taking clients through the financial planning process, helping them put together plans, helping them implement plans,” said Jasmine Wehmeyer, financial advisor at Northwestern Mutual. “As a new advisor, a huge piece of our training program is you’re actually paired with different senior advisors and they’re in client meetings with you.”

Several students were eager to ask questions about internship opportunities, networking and to learn more information about the financial planning industry along with Northwestern Mutual.

Edited by Morgan Albrecht and Alijah McCracken.