The last few months have been memorable ones for many reasons, including the celebration of a few educational achievements!
First, we have the first a major milestone into adulthood, high school graduation! Along with it comes the swell of excitement that surrounds the end of your senior year. Proms, concerts, and college tours. This year, my youngest son, Owen, crossed the stage to receive his diploma. He narrowed down his options, toured campuses, and will now start carving his own path at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. An aspiring musician, he will study jazz commercial music playing his alto saxophone, while learning to live independently of Mom and Dad.
Second, my middle son, Dillon, will be heading back to Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles for his senior year. His major is screenwriting and hopes to be a novelist and/or screenwriter in the near future.
Third, my oldest son, Justin, already graduated from college with Bachelor and Master’s degrees in Global Management from the Thunderbird School of Global Management at ASU. He is off making his way in the world as he tries to navigate living and working on his own in Jersey City, NJ.
The next educational achievement is the kind specific to your profession. I recently introduced you to my newest team member, Dawson Gonwick. Please join me in congratulating him on getting one step closer to becoming a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNING™ professional! He successfully passed the exam and is in the process of finishing the required experience to get certified. The CFP® designation is the gold standard for our industry and embodies Dawson’s commitment to the financial planning profession. Learn more about the CFP® designation here.
Now for a bit of news about my lifelong learning journey. An unseen benefit of the COVID-19 shutdown was that it created a space for me to pursue an educational goal centered around my passion for the future of financial planning. I am proud to share that I recently graduated with a Masters in Political Economy of Money and Development from Franklin University Switzerland! My thesis focused on Environmental Social Governance (ESG) investing, an area of finance that I believe is going to continue to profoundly shape the industry. Read more about my thoughts on ESG here.
No matter what age and stage you are in, I challenge you to seek out opportunities to learn! Be curious about the world around you and your life will be richer as a result. What’s next in your lifelong learning journey?