Graduation Spotlight: Julia Hender (BSM ’24)

Name: Julia Hender

Describe yourself in 15 words or less: I’m a Chicago Suburb native pursuing a degree in finance and friendships at Tulane University.

Fun fact: I have an 11-month-old bernadoodle!

Hometown: Lake Forest, IL

Major: Finance and Management

Favorite Business Course: Business Capstone

Extracurricular Activities, Community Work and Leadership Roles During College:

• VP of Finance/Treasurer for 2 years for my sorority Kappa Kappa Gamma Beta Omicron
  – Student Fellow at the Tulane Center of Entrepreneurship
  – Tier 1 Service Learning: tutoring at Benjamin Franklin Elementary
  – Tier 2 Service Learning: I worked to create a strategic initiative to improve productivity and increase volunteers at The Green Project New Orleans

Internships:

• Summer 2022: interned at Compass Financial Partners a boutique wealth management firm with over 800 clients and $700 million in assets under management as a financial analyst.
• Fall 2022: interned remotely for Gucci where I shadowed and learned from the vice president of each department about luxury fashion and created an innovative idea on customer acquisition to present to Gucci Americas C-Suite and Vice President alongside other interns.
• Summer 2023: interned at JP Morgan Chase on the syndicated finance desk where I assisted in structuring pro-rata debt syndicated deals.
• October 2021-Present: I work as a student fellow at the Lepage Center of
  Entrepreneurship where I provide resources and context to serve student entrepreneurs at Tulane to grow their start-ups. Additionally, I assist the full-time Lepage Center staff in community outreach, research, and more!

Post-Graduation Plans: I will return to JP Morgan Chase and continue
working as an analyst with the syndicated finance group in Chicago.

Favorite business professor:

Over my time at Tulane I’ve had a ton of incredible professors, so it’s hard to choose just one! With that being said, I learned a ton from Professor Heitz when taking Fixed Income Securities last Fall. Professor Heitz taught the class in a way
that made every topic our class learned super interesting yet easy to understand. It was also super inspiring to have a female finance professor since its such a male dominated industry.

What is the biggest lesson you gained from studying business?

Over my time studying business at Tulane I’ve learned a ton from the faculty at this University about the importance of hard work. I’m a firm believer that in life you get out what you put in and when it comes to both learning and your relationships its important to always work hard and give 100% of yourself.

What advice would you give to a student looking to major in a business-related field? 

I would encourage anybody looking to major in a business-related field to stay curious and ask questions. Talk to others who are currently business majors and learn why they’re studying that particular field. Building a strong network and being excited to learn from others is the foundation of being successful. 

What has surprised you most about majoring in business? 

The one thing that has surprised me most about majoring in business is how applicable everything we learn in the classroom is to the real-world. Majoring in finance and management has helped me gain incredibly strong problem-solving and communication skills that I know will help me be successful in the future. 

Looking back over your experience, what is the one thing you’d do differently in business school and why?

Looking back at my Tulane experience, I think you can never be too involved! I encourage every freshman I meet to join as many clubs as they can. The more people you meet and the more groups you involve yourself in the more you’ll learn and the better your college experience will be.

Which academic, extracurricular or personal achievement are you most proud of?

I’m super proud to have had the opportunity to work as a Lepage Fellow since my sophomore year at Tulane. The people I’ve met working at the Lepage Center have shaped me into who I am today and challenge me to be the best version of myself. Timekia Mallery and Rob Lalka have been so inspiring and such great mentors to me, and I feel super lucky to have had such a strong sense of community at the Center of Entrepreneurship the last 3 years. I’m always inspired by my peers at Tulane who have entrepreneurial start-ups and are so dedicated and creative. Additionally, I’ve really enjoyed working on a variety of projects that support growth for underserved communities in New Orleans through the Lepage Center. I drafted and developed the Private Placement Memorandum for Tulane’s first Venture Fund which will help support and empower underserved entrepreneurs to ensure the widest participation in economic development in the state of Louisiana.

Which classmate do you most admire?

I really admire my classmate Sam Randman. Sam and I have taken most of our courses together over the years at Tulane. I met Sam the very first week of school my freshman year and since then he’s been a lifelong friend. I always rely on him to help me when I’m struggling, and he has been quintessential in helping me become both the person and student I am. He has always been incredibly considerate in helping me grasp concepts that confuse me and has been such an incredible resource that I’m very thankful for. 

Who would you most want to thank for your success?

I want to thank my Dad for my successes in life and at Tulane. My dad is an inspiration to me and is such an incredible father and husband. He supports all of my dreams and aspirations and has taught me what hard work looks like. I’ve watched him grow his business from the ground up over the years, yet I’ve never met a person who balances hard work and family so well. My dad is the happiest person I know and always has a smile on his face. I strive to be just like him when I grow up and continue to work hard to achieve my wildest dreams while always putting the important people in my life first.

What are the top two items on your professional bucket list? 

• In the short-run I plan to work hard as an analyst at JP Morgan. I hope to be respected and valued by all members of my team in hopes of someday being promoted to an associate, vice president, and then managing director.
• I hope to eventually be able to combine my two passions: debt financing and fashion. My dream job would be to work as a General Partner at a Venture Capital firm that invests in beauty, fashion, or female founders.