Prior to getting her degree in finance, Jazmyn Ball knew that she had to find a job with not only enough flexibility for school and work, but also to take care of her autistic brother when her parents were busy. As a Central High School alumni, Jazmyn graduated with the desire for business and accounting, without a true plan ahead of her. After attending the invigorating first annual Women in Business conference when she was in high school, she was inspired to be a leader in finance like the encouraging spokeswomen in attendance.
Following in the footsteps of Jazmyn Ball, Soddy Daisy High School had the opportunity to take twenty young women to attend the 2024 Women in Business conference hosted by UTC.
The conference kicked off with a psychological test to determine what type of personalities we all had and which job opportunities would be best suited for them. After the introduction, Katherine Middleton, senior lecturer and professor of economics at UTC, began to discuss the gender wage gap and how it is slowly closing as time passes.
After the introduction, there was a panel session where some of the most influential women in finance and economic positions got to answer some important questions from the head of the panel, Casey Galanti. On this panel were three other well-respected women, along with Jazmyn Ball, the young upstart.
Some of the most important topics discussed were the work-life balance and setting of personal boundaries. Bull explained how she made it through her classes, while working as a manager at Little Caesars and still managed to find time to lead her team on the SMILE fund.
She explained that the SMILE fund is a unique program offered by the UTC Gary W. Rollins College of Business. According to the University of Chattanooga, the mission of the SMILE fund is, “to provide UTC students with a proficient knowledge of portfolio management, investment strategies, and equity valuation techniques while growing the value of the fund.” In this program, Ball and her classmates were able to manage real money and invest in fruitful companies that earned them more money at the end of the semester.
As a college graduate, Ball is just now beginning to experience the world of finance and economics as a future leader amongst men. I had the opportunity to ask her what the biggest challenges for her would be as a female leader.
To this she answered that a leader should not be intimidated by the present circumstances. You lead with your head held high and work for what you get. “You invest in yourself.”
Just as Jazmyn said, the conference closed out with the benefits of investing in the future given by Dr. Christi Wann, another professor at UTC. The twenty young women that were in attendance were able to hear from someone who used to be sitting in their shoes and who was now paving the way to be yet another influential woman in business.
Jazmyn Ball acts as an inspiration to all young women hoping to enter into the world of business and economics.
