Baird Bankrolls Financial Services Training for ANSEP Students
At its 29th annual Celebration in February, ANSEP received a $100,000 award from Baird to support its business career training.
Baird | ANSEP
A partnership with wealth management firm Baird creates a pathway into financial services careers for students at UAA’s Alaska Native Science and Engineering Program (ANSEP). Through its Baird Foundation, the firm awarded $100,000 to grow ANSEP’s programming.
The Science and Engineering of Finance
Baird’s long-standing support of the Native American Financial Officer Association and the presence of its Private Wealth Management business in Anchorage led to this connection with ANSEP.
“Through a partnership with ANSEP and UAA and our scholarship and internship program, we believe that we can have an impact on increasing the number of Native Students within the business school,” says Mike Schroeder, chairman of Private Wealth Management. “We hope this shows our commitment to our Alaskan clients that we invest in the community’s talent and look forward to partnering for years to come.”
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December 2024
Baird has awarded two scholarships from this initiative to date: Jordan Fifer, a senior at UAA studying business administration and finance, and Kayla Kashevarof, a junior at UAA studying business administration with a focus on accounting. Kashevarof has worked as an intern at Baird’s Private Wealth Management office in Anchorage, and Fifer will join soon.
“Baird is committed to mentoring and developing students of diverse backgrounds, and we deeply believe in the mission of the Alaska Native Science and Engineering Program at UAA,” says Gordon Pan, president of Baird Capital. “ANSEP has a proven track record and is a highly regarded organization within the Alaskan community. Being a partner and supporting the expansion of the curriculum will improve awareness and access to careers in business at an early age.”
Beginning in kindergarten, ANSEP’s sequential model continues through high school and into undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral programs. ANSEP strives to effect systemic change in the hiring patterns of Alaska Natives in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and business career fields by placing its students on a path to leadership.
“It is because of strategic partners like Baird that we can continue to expand and bring new opportunities like ANSEP Business to Alaska’s students,” says ANSEP Interim Executive Director Matt Calhoun. “An alumnus of ANSEP myself, I know firsthand the impact this program can have not only for an individual but for the entire community, the entire state. The end goal is to have a greater representation of Alaska Natives not just in the business school but eventually as leaders in the finance industry, and this partnership with Baird will help make that possible.”
Baird is the marketing name of Baird Financial Group. Baird has approximately 5,100 associates serving the needs of individual, corporate, institutional, and municipal clients and more than $405 billion in client assets as of June 30, 2023.
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