Wendy Davidson Freihammer & #8217;94, Financial Advisor: American Express Financial Advisors, Cambridge, MA
1. Briefly, what is it that you do?
I am a financial advisor with American Express. In fact, I am
an independent contractor which means that I own my practice
and as my practice grows, so does my equity in my business.
I get to wear many hats in my day to day activities. My job
is to build a successful financial planning practice which involves
learning how to do financial planning, marketing my services
in order to gain clients, and servicing my existing clients,
all the while learning how to run a business. Even though I
work for such a large company, it feels as if I run my own small
business. That's a rare opportunity in this world! It is a gift
to have such autonomy in the working world but still have the
support and resources of a Fortune 50 company.
2. How did you get your current job?
I found the position amongst the turmoil of a career change.
I had no idea what I wanted to do professionally and was hoping
to find the answers at a career fair in Boston. I was intrigued
by the job description and the recruiter captivated my attention
when she told me that American Express can train the content
of the career, they are looking for the right kind of person.
I then went to the career orientation meeting at American Express
and quickly found myself making my way through the interview
process. The rest is history.
3. What, if any, obstacles did you face
trying to get your first job in this field?
I did, though, face many obstacles in the career. To start with,
I was an English and Sociology double major at St. Lawrence.
I managed to go through all four years of college never taking
a math or economics course -- both of which would have been
very handy considering my profession!
4. What advice would you give to students
interested in working in your field?
In terms of advice I would give to anyone considering my profession,
here it goes: be willing to work very hard and put in many hours
to build your business and help as many people as possible,
never forget this is a service business, a perfect fit is someone
with the mind of a capitalist and the heart of a social worker,
and this is a people business and the more well rounded you
are as a person, the better. I feel the St. Lawrence liberal
arts type of an education is ideal for this profession. In addition,
the most important skills to have are good people skills and
a strong work ethic.
5. What are some of the activities you
were involved in while at SLU?
While at SLU, I was a double major in sociology and English
writing. I was a Chi Omega and an admissions ambassador. Peter
Bailey, Ron Ortiz Flores, and Stu Hills were my favorite professors
and had a profound impact on the person I am today.
6. Are you willing to talk with students
interested in a career in your field? If so, how may they best
contact you?
I am willing to talk to students and the best way to contact
me is through email at wendy.d.freihammer@aexp.com or phone
at (617) 492-2626. I participate in Shadow a Saint and have
had student interns from SLU during the summer. I hosted a Round
Table Finance Panel at AMEX for SLU students in 2001. The SLU
alumni network is very strong and many of us love to help SLU
students. Take advantage of that as a student but also know
that if you need to make a job change later on, the SLU network
of alumni as well as Career Services and Leadership Education
are there for you, even after you have left SLU. I found both
very helpful when I changed careers.
Additional Alumni Profiles:
John Marino, '83 : Vice President for Marketing, Actelion Pharmaceuticals, South San Francisco, CA
Dawn Montanye, '89 : Manager of Conservation Economics, World Wildlife Fund Northern Great Plains Program, Bozeman, Montana
Amanda Valenta '04 : Senior Audit Associate, McGladrey & Pullen, LLP
Moira Collins '84 : Senior Vice President, Product Development, Gartner, Inc.
Bruce E. Seely '75: Professor History and Department Chair, Department of Social Sciences, Michigan Technological University
Mark Tavern '94: Director, A&R Administration at the
RCA Music Group, a unit of SONY BMG Music Entertainment and home of the J, Arista and RCA record labels.
Anthony (Tony) Ross '75, M'78: Vice President for Student
Affairs California State University, Los Angeles
George Ashline '89: Associate Professor of Mathematics, Saint Michael's College, Colchester, VT
Alissa Bibb '03, Program Officer: American Councils for International Education
Rick Persons, '83, Senior Television Producer, PGA TOUR Productions
Ronald T. Burkman, M.D., '65 Chair, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology
Ken
Dowling ‘84, Executive Vice President, Grey Worldwide
Advertising
David Dusek ’93, Senior Managing Editor
of golfonline.com
Noelle Laing ‘03, Senior Consulting Associate
at Cambridge Associates
Dan Lee 05', Investment Banking Analyst, Cochran,
Caronia & Co.
Armand A. Rapetti ’73, President, CEO:
JBS & Associates, Lakeland, FL
Ken Polk & '91, Major Accounts District
Manager: Automatic Data Processing, Williamsville, NY
Wendy Davidson Freihammer & #8217;94,
Financial Advisor: American Express Financial Advisors, Cambridge, MA
Mayela C. (Calabria) Harris '87, Family
Therapist (Social Worker): Hospice of Wake County, Raleigh, NC
Peter J. Dalton '94, Affiliate Support
Manager: Habitat for Humanity International
