Our Alumni feature post this week highlights a 2019 graduate, Harrison Baty. Harrison grew up in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and came to DePaul first as a biology major. After going into sophomore year, Harrison realized that biology was not for him, and changed his major to finance instead. His decision to major in finance was based on the realization that he would have more one-on-one relationships with the clients. Harrison says that he wished he would have started from freshman year as a finance major and had joined clubs sooner. He explained how the clubs at DePaul do a good job connecting finance majors with each other and helping students learn more about the industry. A favorite memory while at DePaul for Harrison when two friends from out of state came and visited him and were amazed at all the resources DePaul had at the downtown campus and just how great of a program the finance department has. Harrison had started at CIBC as an intern in college and now works for them full-time.
Harrison worked for the Financial Institutions group during his time at CIBC. The type of clients that Harrison worked with included any entity that was involved with trading, with mainly hedge funds. The onboarding and due diligence process was what Harrison did the majority of the time along with supporting Relationship Managers. Just recently, Harrison has been pursuing his broker’s license and has started a career at Coordinate Properties, a real estate brokerage.
Harrison explains that so far, life outside of college has been a unique experience. It seemed as if right when he was starting to hit a stride with his job, COVID-19 struck. Ever since then, there does not seem to be a division anymore between his personal and work life. HoweverHarrison is able to manage his time efficiently and takes personal time to destress when he is not busy. He explains that the best way to get through this pandemic is to be honest with yourself on how you are doing and feeling about your time management and mentality. As for his advice to the students, Harrison suggests to get experience outside of what is required of you and to meet as many people as possible.
We wish you the best of luck, Harrison!
By Mackenzie Larsen