Success story: Matt Van Orden on track at Wells Fargo

Success Stories | Nov 15, 2011 | Nicole Gesualdo

Matt Van Orden (GSB ’12) has received a part-time job with Wells Fargo Insurance Services for this school year, after holding an internship there in summer 2011. He  is laying the groundwork for what he hopes will be a full-time position with the firm after graduation.

Matt works at Wells Fargo’s Madison Avenue office while pursuing his major in business administration with a concentration in finance. He is an insurance sales associate and works three days a week. Once Matt becomes licensed, he will sell property, casualty and benefits insurance to major companies around the country.

“The thing that I find most interesting about the insurance field is that insurance is something everyone needs to live their lives,” Matt said. He pointed out the need to protect small business owners, for example, from an unexpected event or natural catastrophe that might affect their livelihood.

It is clear that Matt’s Fordham business education — and its focus on doing good for others — informs his work. Insurance, he said, “is a purely relationship-driven business. And the key to being in a relationship is having morals: being nice to people, but most of all, being trustworthy. People need to trust you and like you before they buy anything from you.” He named his Business Ethics course and the personal leadership class taught by Dean Nancy McCarthy as crucial in driving home those lessons.

Best wishes to Matt as he continues his job at Wells Fargo, and we hope the full-time position he hopes for comes his way in the very near future.