>> So I grew up near Reading Pennsylvania.
I went to PENN State.
I was, I started as a political science major,
and then I picked up economics in my sophomore year.
So I finished with a double major in economics and political science.
I graduated in 2004 with a double major and then came down to the DC area right away,
was recruited to a consulting firm at the time and did oil and gas consulting for a company
in Fairfax Virginia for a few years before making the change
over to Berstein in early 2008.
The current role I'm in now, when I joined Berstein early 2008 I made the switch
because I wanted to get into an industry and a field where I could still problem solve,
still had an analytical component to it, but also had a business development,
relationship building, and where you can build a practice and so I thought wealth management
and [inaudible] in particular was a nice blend of both of those things.
When I started at Berstein in 2008, I started in more of a support role,
and early on after getting to know the firm and getting to know the people here
and observing the job and the role that financial advisors played,
I decided that's where I wanted to go.
So it was just a couple months in where I made the decision, okay what steps do I need to take
to eventually get to that role and sort of put the wheels in motion there so to speak in terms
of building up my skill set, getting the necessary training, certifications,
and ultimately the experience along the way to make the transition
to [inaudible] financial advisor and having my own practice.