Drawn to business classes in high school, Lauren Woodside entered WMU Haworth as an undecided business major. “I had an open mind about the different majors in business. I pursued externships and attended events within the business college, and talked to others about their programs and jobs after graduation.”
With strong math skills and the desire to develop her talents with numbers and analysis, Woodside determined that finance would be a great fit for her. Her process of selecting a major was collaborative, as she surveyed her fellow students and several faculty members on the merits of each major.
“I was driven to embrace finance due to its challenging content. I realized that classes where I had the biggest learning curves were the ones I benefited from the most. That realization was an epiphany. There is a journey from not knowing a topic to mastering it, which can feel frustrating, but when you shift your mindset from seeing that frustration as a negative to seeing it as a signal of growth, it makes learning more comfortable. I kept that realization in the forefront of my mind as I began hard courses to help me persevere with confidence.”
Also helping her gain confidence and professionalism was Woodside’s second major in leadership and business strategy, which she decided to pursue after hearing another student speak about it. As part of the major, she had the chance to manage her own team for a consulting project with a local client. Woodside watched her team members flawlessly execute their final presentation with pride. “In that moment, it struck me that while it’s wonderful to be in the spotlight and receive praise, I found more value from leading others to succeed.”
Bringing high-value solutions to others excites Woodside, and she has had the chance to practice her problem solving during two internships.
Interning at Sleeping Giant Capital, a private investment firm focused on West Michigan companies with $1.5 million to 4 million in cash flow, Woodside became fluent in finance. “My team members at Sleeping Giant Capital were invested in my growth. I worked on projects like essential research for the deal process and competitive analyses to help identify opportunities for potential acquisitions. I learned to interpret what was happening internally based on a company’s numbers. I was able to grasp how firing, hiring or large capital equipment purchases were reflected on financial statements. Seeing the story behind the numbers helped me better understand concepts from my courses.”
Next up was an internship at JP Morgan Chase where she flexed her finance and networking skills, eventually gaining a full-time offer after graduation in the firm’s Corporate Analyst Development Program—a two-year rotational program centered on project management, process improvement and data analytics.
In her college career, collaborating and connecting with others has come naturally to Woodside, from first selecting her major to now mentoring business students. She has served as vice president of recruitment and vice president of membership for the Women’s Business Network, helping double the organization’s membership, creating marquee events and formalizing mentorship practices. She has studied abroad in Thailand, exploring business and culture. And she has organized collaborative experiences in both of her internships including a women’s mud run to fundraise for breast cancer research and helping facilitate the Columbus African Festival.
Woodside listened to her internal voice, which told her to learn from others, challenge herself and build her capacity as a leader. She listened for a signal of growth.