Success Story: Clarissa Cartledge ’18 earns Barclays investment banking role

Success Stories | Dec 06, 2017 | admin

When you think of an investment banker’s daily ensemble, you probably think of a business suit.

For one Gabelli School senior, you can add a track suit and a volleyball uniform to that list.

Clarissa Cartledge, BS ’18, a Division I athlete in volleyball and track and field, recently accepted a full-time offer as an investment banking analyst at Barclays.

“The day I got my offer, I had practice that afternoon,” she recalls.

Balancing training and studying is crucial for any student athlete, but “a key thing for me is time management,” Cartledge shares. “I really like structure.”

For much of her time at Fordham, that meant early-morning track practices followed by class and then volleyball practice.

In between, she had to figure out what she wanted to do after graduating.

While Cartledge was always interested in business, she didn’t know what her major would be. Once she took her first financial-management class, she decided to pursue finance, thinking, “I want to see everything that’s out there.”

She started by joining the Alternative Investments Club and attending speaking events to learn more about the industry. At a sophomore-year banking event, she realized Barclays might be a good fit. A year later, after more exploring and a semester in London, she spent the summer as an intern at the company while keeping up with her athletic training.

“It’s a lot of work and a huge commitment, but it definitely pays off,” says Cartledge. It helps that some of the skills practiced on the field translate to the work environment, including understanding how to work with others, showing up early, and having a competitive mindset in the sense of “trying to perform at a high level and differentiate yourself.”

Cartledge also recommends keeping an open mind and listening to others’ advice.

“This summer, there were a lot of times I would think back to something my parents taught me years ago,” she says, especially about the value of commitment, hard work, and perseverance.

Even with a full-time job lined up, Cartledge is committed to staying involved at Fordham. She is managing director and portfolio manager of the Gabelli School’s Student Managed Investment Fund as well as vice president of the Student Athlete Advisory Committee.

Once she returns to Barclays after graduation, she plans to “keep working hard and hopefully keep doing cool things there.”

And keep listening to people’s advice.