Lakers keep Mercy values at heart in fnance careers By Kristian Biega
During the last several years, the economics and fnance industries have become some of the fastest growing and most infuential industries in the world. The efects of COVID-19 have pushed analysts and advisors in every industry to quickly adapt to an even more interconnected and technology-forward world. Despite the pressures of the rapidly growing industries, four recent Mercyhurst graduates are paving the way for a new generation of fnancial analysts whose primary concern is the people they serve. Mercyhurst Finance Program Director and faculty moderator of the Laker Asset Management (LAM) Club Mark Simpson hopes that his students know that the value of working in fnance goes beyond the bottom line.
“The main result of a Mercy education is that we teach students how to see the whole picture. We stress that the goal of business isn’t just to minimize costs and maximize profts; the goal is to fgure out what people need and how we can help them,” Simpson said. “No matter what position they hold, they need to look out for their employees and fellow coworkers. In fnance, they should be asking ‘How can I help someone else?’ rather than ‘How can I help myself?’” For 2021 graduates Marina Boyle, Drew Hoover, Peyton Manko, and Amanda Costello, being a successful fnancial analyst not only requires a strong educational foundation, but also a foundation of heart, empathy, and Mercy. The importance of her job spans beyond KeyBank’s bottom line or government regulations; for Boyle, her role is about stopping fnancial corruption and protecting those who cannot protect themselves. “I was given all of the hard skills to do the job well, but the soft skills and values I learned at Mercyhurst have prepared me for the importance of this job. It is more than just stopping fnancial crime, it is thinking of the people who need protection from it,” Boyle said. “As a fnancial analyst, how well we do this job is directly correlated with the well-being of others.” Boyle accepted her job at KeyBank in March 2021 and began working after graduation in May. She is working remotely for KeyBank headquarters in Cleveland, Ohio. Drew Hoover ‘21 Finance and Business Economics
Marina Boyle ‘21 Business and Competitive Intelligence/ International Hospitality and Tourism/ Pre-Law Minor In her position as a fnancial crimes at KeyBank, Marina Boyle ‘21 is putting her experience with Mercyhurst’s Anti-Money Laundering Club and academic courses to good use. “My role as a fnancial crimes investigator is basically to prevent people from getting investigator
rich from the proceeds of crime or to beneft from things that harm other people,” Boyle said. “I have a lot of responsibility to look out for the well- being of others. Mercyhurst prepared me well for that.” Boyle works on an enhanced due diligence team that monitors the most high-risk customers of the bank. These customers can include those who are at a high risk for money laundering or other fraudulent activity. Through periodic reviews of high-risk clients, the team seeks to preemptively stop crimes before they happen, rather than react to fraudulent activity. Before being trained on the job, Boyle had extensive experience in the feld of anti-money laundering through her classes and club activities at Mercyhurst. “My experiences with the Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Club and AML classes are what got me this job. I found that so many key concepts were applicable and valuable for my current position,” Boyle said. Boyle remembers writing a research paper about transaction monitoring within the restaurant industry and learning about what makes a person high risk for a bank. Now she is applying those same principles to her job at KeyBank.
In moving from intern to full-time employee, Drew Hoover ‘21 always keeps community service at the forefront of his position as a junior fnancial analyst. “My role is very involved with reaching out to the community in diferent ways. As a mortgage lender, Union Home Mortgage focuses more on families
rather than commercial real estate. Our company wants to give families opportunities to become homeowners under any circumstance,” Hoover said. As an intern with Union Home, Hoover assisted other analysts with reports, but now he works as a junior fnancial analyst specializing in business retention. He also helps to oversee other branches to ensure productivity and proftability. Hoover credits courses such as Financial Institutions and Markets and International Finance as helpful to his success at Union Home.
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