How a Passion for Service Created Lasting Friendships.
By: Chelsey S., Sr Manager, Communications
Kari arrived early at the Schwab Lone Tree office, located just outside of Denver, for her team’s monthly coffee chat —an opportunity to connect with colleagues over caffeine and pastries. She sat at the end of the table and joined a group mid-conversation. They were telling the story about how they discovered they were all from the same southern California town.
“I was a bit confused,” says Kari. “I said, ‘Wait, how did you all know I was from Mission Viejo?’”
The storytellers stopped and looked and her and said, “No way! You too?”
They had no idea that Kari was also from the same town, making the team total of Mission Viejans four, and making their coincidence event stranger.
Schwab employees Kari D., Kristin B., Jared W., and Erin A. all grew up in Mission Viejo, a town of 90,000 known for Spanish-style architecture and tree-lined streets, and yet they never crossed paths. They only discovered their shared hometown after they all made their way to Denver and to the Schwab Wealth & Advice Solutions enterprise.
Is it a coincidence? Definitely. But it’s not so strange when you look at how they landed here. Each of them shared a desire for a purpose-driven career—something they each found at Schwab.
Many different paths one destination
Kari D., Managing Director, Schwab employee of 13 years
After graduate school Kari was working in consulting, but she wasn’t feeling connected to the brands she was working on. Her parents were longtime Schwab clients, and her dad helped her open her first brokerage account with Schwab as an adolescent, so when she saw a job at Schwab through her alumni network, she went for it.
“Working in a strategy role for a company that I had a personal connection with felt like coming full circle,” says Kari.
Kari originally started at Schwab’s San Francisco campus, but as Schwab expanded its geographic footprint, she grew her career with the company by moving to Denver, a city that she describes as a great place for growing her community and raising her three small children.
Erin A., Director, Schwab employee of 10 years
You know something isn’t working when you feel like you need a career change at 25. But Erin wasn’t clicking with the privately owned medical device company she was working for, and living in Mission Viejo was becoming unaffordable. So she applied to be a Schwab Client Service and Support professional as an opportunity to start a new career in Denver, and she packed her bags when she was offered the job.
Erin started on the phones and got her brokerage licenses. She’s since had the opportunity to work her way up and try several things at Schwab, including working on Schwab Intelligent Portfolios® in multiple roles for eight years. Currently Erin’s supporting the representative experience, which feels like she’s returning to her Schwab roots.
“I get to leverage my past client-facing experience to help the people who are currently in those roles,” she says.
Jared W., Senior Manager, Schwab employee of 2 years
Jared spent his early career supporting political campaigns all over the country. He and his wife eventually decided to settle in Denver because they viewed it as “literally and culturally in the middle.” He joined an early childhood nonprofit where he was in charge of fundraising and expense management.
While there, he saw how the ability to control your assets and grow your wealth creates opportunity, and he wanted to be part of making that more accessible.
“I was compelled by Schwab’s stance of democratizing investing, and I wanted in,” says Jared. So he targeted the company and found a role in Wealth & Advice Solutions that matched his experience.
Kristin B., Director, Schwab employee of 15 years
Kristin was originally working at another financial services firm selling stocks and bonds. But when the Dow dropped, and her job became almost impossible, she quit without any job opportunities lined up. Kristin’s college roommate had interned at Schwab and liked it, so she decided to check it out.
“I came here thinking I would wait two years for the market to recover and then leave,” says Kristin. “Well, it’s been 15 years and I’m still here because I’ve found it’s a place I’ve been able to grow my career.”
In fact, Kristin has had six new job opportunities within Schwab over the last fifteen years due her commitment to digging in and learning different parts of the company’s business.
Merging paths
It was Kristin and Erin who first identified they were both from Mission Viejo.
“We were just talking one day, and Erin made a comment about southern California, and she said Mission Viejo and I said ‘No! That's where I grew up!’” says Kristin. “And she said, ‘That’s where I grew up—by the lake.’ And I said ‘Yes, right by the lake.’ We were literally neighbors. What a small world.”
Then Kristin had an open position she was hiring for. Jared was perfect for the job, and it was almost too funny that he was from Mission Viejo. She had to tell Erin.
And then of course, it all came together when they found out at the monthly coffee that Kari was also from Mission Viejo. They’ve since shared addresses, talked about their competing high schools (they all went to different ones), and discussed which dentists they went to as kids. It’s funny, and while it may seem random, they have more in common than just their hometown. They care about the work they do and who they do it for. So maybe it’s not as big of a coincidence as it seems. Schwab has a way of bringing passionate people together.
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