Majoring in economics and serving as a department tutor during her time at the University of Vermont, Heather found herself an active member of the department. She was also a member of the crew team, and still coordinates the alumni boat. 

After graduating in 2007, Heather entered the finance world with Bank of America as an analyst. She recalls how a regular day in this role would include “CEOs and CFOs of large investment companies coming in and learning about which investments they were optimistic about.” Heather added that “this was an awesome experience, interacting with these high-profile individuals as a 22-year-old, right out of college.” Heather eventually moved on from Bank of America to a position in commercial lending to non-profits and small businesses, before deciding she wanted a change of scenery and moving to San Francisco, California. 

With her work in California, Heather landed into a thriving culture, where she found all the negative stereotypes surrounding working in the banking world untrue. She also expanded her work with non-profit lending even further, “I would help along the entire process, from when someone came asking for a loan, to when the loan would close, running all of the risk analysis along the way.” She continued, “I was the first point of contact for all of these clients, so if they needed anything they came to me, forming some really wonderful relationships that I still maintain.” Eventually, Heather decided to move back to the East Coast, and First Republic Bank was bought by JP Morgan. Currently, Heather continues her work with non-profit lending with M&T Bank.  

Heather has felt throughout her career that her Economics degree from UVM has been an asset to her, stating “It definitely helped me getting my first job, and I’ve worked with a lot of people who were economics majors since then.” She added, “I think it helps develop critical thinking, and understanding of the economy in general.” 

To current students, Heather’s advice is to “Try different things, and ultimately, find something you are passionate about. One thing that I love about economics, which I learned from the book ‘Freakonomics’ is that you can apply economics to all sorts of things.”