Providing Students with Opportunities to Help Manage $50,000 of Titan Endowment

Westminster College School of Business Provides Students with Real-World Opportunities, Helping Manage $50,000 of Titan Endowment

This year, Westminster College’s School of Business provided students with the opportunity to manage $50,000 of the schools’ endowment, offering hands on exploration of their budding profession.

The weekly meetings were advised by Dr. Gail Miller, professor of business Emeritus, and Dr. Dan Fischmar, professor of financial economics.

“A typical meeting has a lot of dialog, and as the weeks went on, it was nice to see students become more confident in speaking about something they may be unsure about,” said Miller.

“This experience really gave me a taste of what that kind of work I’m interested in pursuing,” said Jeremiah Shepherd, senior economics major and committee member. “The real-world analysis of stocks, and collaborative discussion that ensued has given me a glimpse of what the future might hold, and reassured me of my career choice.”

The group uses Valuline, an online investment research database for stocks, mutual funds, and more, working closely with Westminster College’s business office to make trades.

“After graduation, my intention is to enter the wealth advising and financial planning sector,” said Sean Gibbon, senior accounting and business administration major, formerly a pre-medical student, but changed paths after taking an accounting class with Jesse Ligo, professor of accounting and chair of the School of Business.

“In helping manage the Titan Endowment, I can see the direct connection between our goals, risk tolerance, diversification, and evaluating the alternatives to our final decisions,” said Gibbon.

As an idea brought to the Investment Committee by Robert Jazwinski, president of JFS Wealth Advisors and member of the Board of Trustees, the group of six students were given the opportunity to actively manage the $50,000 established for the Titan Investment Group.

For more information about the committee, contact Miller at millergl@westminster.edu or (724) 946-7168.

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