Feb. 12, Elizabethtown College alumna Amita Mehta spoke to Etown students as part of the Executive Lecture Series. This series is sponsored by Mars Wrigley Confectionery and the Etown Department of Business, of which Dr. Krichevskiy, associate professor of economics, is the coordinator.
Mehta’s lecture, titled, “If I Knew Then What I Know Now: Lessons From 25 Years in Financial Services,” explored her life experiences and the advice she would give to college students thinking about and preparing for their future careers.
Mehta grew up as a Ugandan Refugee in Amish Lancaster County. Through hard work, she became successful at her jobs in finance at Fulton Bank, JP Morgan Chase and Prudential. Although she seemed to have it all together, she was hiding who she truly was: a lesbian.
She was scared about how this part of her identity would affect her career, but after trust issues arose among her coworkers, she decided to come out.
“I felt that I couldn’t encourage people to bring their whole selves to work when I wasn’t being truly authentic about who I was,” Mehta said.
She found that she started to thrive, personally and professionally, when she was her true self.
“Being human helps inspire others to be bold,” she said.
Now, she does just that with her own business, Amita Mehta Possible, where she consults with companies and individuals to inspire them towards diversity and authenticity. She believes that her experiences allow her to help others by opening the door for them to be their authentic selves.
After sharing her story, Mehta shared her advice for college students. She spoke on being adaptable and taking calculated risks, using college resources and building a diverse support system and network. Mehta also warned about digital footprints and the staying power of the Internet. As she said in her lecture, “You could spend decades building your reputation and character and lose it all with one silly post.” It’s important for college students and everyone to be conscious of the fact that what you put online and on social media is forever.
While watching the lecture, I connected the most to the advice on adaptability and risk-taking. Many people, including myself, like to play it safe, but Mehta encouraged the viewers to get out of their comfort zones, as it can make you more marketable and open doors to more opportunities.
Mehta hopes the number one thing the viewers of this lecture learned was to “focus on leveraging resources like the career center and internship opportunities early instead of waiting until junior or senior year.”
This helps you “set yourself apart early and often to uniquely position yourself in a crowded and competitive marketplace.”
A lot of her tips are things you can start doing now, regardless of age or status in college. If you put in the work early, it will pay off later.
The speakers of these lectures might be focusing on business and careers, but the Executive Lecture Series is not just for business students. As associate professor of management and Chair of the Department of Business Dr. Ciocirlan said, these lectures “provide students with a glimpse into the executive world…and networking opportunities.” Mehta added to this in her lecture by suggesting people reach out to any speaker of these lectures in their desired career.
Ciocirlan said these lectures are “in line with our motto as a college: Educate for Service.” The lectures can show students how to be successful in different career paths that will ultimately allow them to serve their communities.
With speakers including Etown alumni to other successful executives talking about their career paths, there is truly something for everyone in the Executive Lecture Series.
