Yearning for Change in the Corporate Workplace by Anna

Yearning for Change in the Corporate Workplace by Anna - June 2020 Scholarship Essay

As a rising senior at Rutgers University-New Brunswick, I've had the opportunity to become submersed in various cultures. Living off-campus in downtown New Brunswick, whose poverty rate is nearly 40%, I've seen a community which starkly contrasts the one I'd grown up in. Run-down or entirely abandoned storefronts, small children walking home unattended throughout the streets, and the frequent sounds of sirens and gunshots peppering the otherwise quiet town. I often wonder, why is nothing being done to help these families when an able student body of nearly 70,000 is standing idly by? This community reminds me of my workplace environment, Prudential Financial, in the heart of Newark. Once we resume in-person work and instruction, I hope to find a group of likemindedIn order to combat this. I would create a volunteer-based after school program made up of students. In this program, we would walk children home from school, help them with their homework, and assist them in any other tasks they might be faced with.
When I was seven, my parents went through a bitter divorce. Though they were only married for two years, the spiteful and often violent custody battle felt like it dragged on for the majority of my childhood. I grew up in a one bedroom apartment with my single, working mother and little sister. Instead of enjoying time with my friends, I was tasked with working nearly 40 hours/week, taking care of my sister, and putting food on the table by the time my mother got home, usually after dark. Because of this, I focused less on my school work than I should have. I barely squeezed into the incoming class of 2021 at Rutgers, and I knew I had been given an enormous opportunity. I was already in massive amounts of student debt and I knew the mass would only grow. I decided to study finance, because I wanted to master what had controlled my mother and I for as long as I can remember, money. Quickly, I learned that my inclination for my finance courses wouldn't satisfy my yearning for something more. I immediately added another concentration of women's and gender studies to my curriculum. I learned about racism, gender spectrums, income inequality, and the disparity of women and POC in corporate settings. Immediately, I knew what I was meant to do. I desire to gain standing at a reputable financial company and use my voice to advocate for increased workplace diversity and opportunity. During my time at Prudential, I’ve had the advantage of learning about the diverse business resource groups that will help me to achieve this goal.
Once I graduate in the spring of 2021, I will continue my work at Prudential Financial in fixed income investments. While doing so, I will be pursuing my MBA in Finance and Not-for-Profit business. Through these studies, I hope to expand my knowledge of the financial services industry while learning how I can advocate for marginalized groups through non-profit organizations.