The value of becoming part of a fraternity is immeasurable in many ways, but especially through the skills a Brother is able to take forward with him into his professional life.
Jon Harold (Cal Poly SLO, ’15) learned from the beginning of his Lambda Chi journey that this experience would set him up for success throughout the rest of his life.
During his senior year, Harold was trusted with the incredibly important role of High Tau. As a finance major, Harold dove into his responsibility with vigor and applied knowledge gained from other experiences to better his chapter. Harold also learned how to have tough conversations with his Brothers concerning the budget and keeping them on track.
“It’s really like running a business…being the treasurer, you’re on the executive committee, you get to see the innerworkings, work with the president, so a lot of responsibilities translated later on to my work life,” said Harold. “It was such an invaluable experience that you wouldn’t otherwise get within college.”
Following graduation, it was time for Harold to put his skills to the test. He realized earlier in his college career that corporate finance was not the path for him, so he set off into the world of consulting.
Harold was able to gain a better understanding of many different financial areas through his job at Protiviti, but he also saw areas that could use improvement, such as the out-of-date technology that was being used on a daily basis.
To help propel Protiviti forward, Harold was asked to serve on the fintech (merging of financial and technological advances) committee. He was immediately intrigued by the doors a fintech company could open for his career.
So, when SoFi had an opening for a business development role, Harold jumped at the opportunity. Now as a seasoned member of the team, Harold looks forward to helping others improve their financial well-being.
“Being part of a company that helps accelerate the path to their financial goals – whether that’s by refinancing student loans, buying their first home, or saving money – is a pretty rewarding experience,” said Harold.
Harold shared the following money management tips for young adults in every stage of their financial journey, including Brothers:
- Don’t spend more than you make (this can be applied at a personal or chapter level)
- Understand good debt vs. bad debt and how interest rates work
- Separate your wants from your needs
- Start investing as early as possible to watch your money grow
- Don’t be afraid to take well-researched and educated risks when you’re young and don’t have as many financial obligations as you might have later in life (e.g. children, mortgage, etc.)
Equipped with this knowledge, Harold is confident that Brothers will be able to take charge of their finances from a younger age.
“Your future self will thank you,” said Harold. “If I hadn’t started investing at 22…I would’ve missed out on six years of key learnings, lessons and overall growth that I wouldn’t be able to get back.”
With the new partnership forming between SoFi and Lambda Chi, Brothers will have exclusive access to SoFi’s financial wellness dashboard which includes exclusive offers for products, money tracking tools, and educational resources to help Brothers with their finances. To access the dashboard, members must go to SoFi.com/LCA and enter chops as the code.
Over the course of his journey, Harold has learned valuable lessons from his days as High Tau to his work with SoFi and is excited to continue to share that wisdom with Brothers to help set them up on the path for success.
