Building a Laurentian ‘Dream Team’ in Boston
In the fall of her senior year, Eleanor Napoli '20 saw a LinkedIn post in the St. Lawrence University group advertising an open position in the Northwestern Mutual Boston Downtown office. Knowing how helpful St. Lawrence alumni are, she felt comfortable connecting directly with Madison Wilcox '14, who authored the post, to learn about how she navigated life after graduation.
"We got along great," Napoli said. "She told me about her team and what her goals were. I didn't really think too much of it other than it was a great conversation."
Napoli, who had studied abroad in Kenya a year earlier, wasn't really thinking about a career in finance. She applied for and was granted the University’s Public Health Internship Fellowship to work for Soft Power Health, a non-profit organization focused on providing primary healthcare, health education and health-promoting activities for people in need in Uganda. But the COVID-19 pandemic forced her to come up with a new plan.
Not long after Napoli went home to finish the remainder of her senior year remotely, Wilcox reached out.
"She said she remembered our conversation and was wondering if I wanted to look into a role at Northwestern Mutual," Napoli said.
"[St. Lawrence graduates] work together really well, and it's probably because they did a lot of things on campus. They did things outside of the classroom that encouraged them to be amazing team players." -Madison Wilcox '14
A member of the women's rowing team at St. Lawrence, Napoli had all of the qualities that Wilcox looks for when building her own team.
"If I can find someone who is willing to work hard and be nice, that's really all I need and I can teach them the rest," said Wilcox, who has four St. Lawrence graduates on her team and has helped recruit 15 Laurentians, including one parent, for positions at Northwestern Mutual Boston Downtown. "All the St. Lawrence graduates that we've hired have those two qualities."
The St. Lawrence alumni on Wilcox’s team came to Northwestern Mutual from a wide range of majors including business in the liberal arts, environmental studies, economics, history, math, and global studies. Several, like Napoli, who majored in English and performance and communication arts, weren't even considering a career in finance before talking to Wilcox.
"Some of the most important skills (needed for this job) are being comfortable doing something completely new and not being afraid to ask questions," said Napoli. "St. Lawrence students graduate ready to hustle because we do so many things on campus. We're on a sports team or in Greek life or the president of a club or part of committees on campus. I've yet to come across a person who was just a student at St. Lawrence."
"They are all great team players," said Wilcox, who is now the associate regional director of Northwestern Mutual Boston Downtown. "They work together really well, and it's probably because they did a lot of things on campus. They did things outside of the classroom that encouraged them to be amazing team players."
When she has an opening that she's looking to fill, Wilcox turns to St. Lawrence and advertises positions on Handshake, but she also isn't afraid to lean on her personal St. Lawrence connections on and off campus to recruit applicants.
"I'll ask my favorite professors who their hardest working student is," Wilcox said. "Or I'll ask our current team members if they know people who were a year behind them at St. Lawrence and I'll message them on LinkedIn."
Word of the acumen of the St. Lawrence-centric team that Wilcox has built has spread within the Boston office. When financial advisors who work with Wilcox are looking to hire new employees for their teams, almost invariably, they will ask, "Do you have any St. Lawrence people you can send my way?"
"I look for someone who is coachable with a strong work ethic who is constantly learning. [The St. Lawrence hires] continue to check all those boxes." -Aaron Miller
"I look for someone who is coachable with a strong work ethic who is constantly learning," said Aaron Miller, managing partner at Northwestern Mutual Boston Downtown. "[The St. Lawrence hires] continue to check all those boxes.
"We've found a really great talent pipeline to a particular type of work," Miller added. "We're starting to think (how St. Lawrence graduates can fit into) other areas inside our firm."
The arrangement is working out great both for Northwestern Mutual and the Laurentians who work there.
"When I first got this job, my friends and teammates said 'I never saw you in the finance world,'" Napoli said. "And you know what? I didn't either. But I saw myself on the type of team that I'm on now. Working at Northwestern Mutual with a team of St. Lawrence people is like a dream team; it's the best group project I've ever had."
