Beyond the Classroom: How Two Purdue Students Are Charting Their Path in Finance Through a National Fellowship

Written by: Abby Lillpop, alillpop@purdue.edu

West Lafayette, Ind. – For many college students, the path to a profession begins in a classroom. For Lindsay Goad and Zachary Niese, however, the journey is taking shape far beyond it. As newly selected FinServ Foundation Fellows, the two students in Purdue University White Lodging-J.W. Marriott, Jr. School of Hospitality and Tourism Management’s Financial Counseling and Planning (FCPL) major are gaining access to a national network of mentors, coaches, and industry leaders designed to help them build meaningful careers in financial planning and wealth management.

Their selection places them among a highly competitive cohort of aspiring financial professionals from across the country. More importantly, it offers a glimpse into a growing movement within the financial services industry: investing earlier and more intentionally in the next generation of talent.

At the heart of that effort is the FinServ Foundation Fellowship, a two-year program built around three pillars: mentorship, coaching, and community. Fellows are paired with industry professionals, participate in monthly development sessions, attend conferences, and gain access to a nationwide network of peers and practitioners, all at no cost to students. As the profession faces ongoing challenges related to workforce development, retention, and access, programs like this are creating pathways that help students build confidence, industry knowledge, and professional identity before graduation.

For Goad and Niese, the fellowship arrives at a pivotal point in their academic journeys.

Finding Purpose Through People

Neither student entered Purdue with financial planning as an obvious destination.

Lindsay Goad, a junior double majoring in financial counseling and planning and selling and sales management, was recently named a FinServ Foundation Fellow.

Goad, a junior double majoring in financial counseling and planning and selling and sales management from Valparaiso, Indiana, began her college career in Exploratory Studies, uncertain of which path she wanted to pursue. She knew only that she wanted a career centered on helping others, focused on relationship-building.

That direction became clearer after a job-shadowing experience with a financial advisory firm near her hometown.

“I always just thought of finance as not very interpersonal,” Goad said. But watching an advisor create a welcoming environment for clients changed her perspective. One detail stood out in particular: the office kitchen, where conversations often began over food. “People love to eat. They love to sit down. When they have a nice meal, they feel really relaxed, less stressed, less pressure.”

The experience revealed what financial planning could be at its best: not simply managing numbers, but building trust and helping people navigate some of life’s most important decisions.

Professional experiences reinforced that desire. During a seven-week internship with Platinum Financial Group in 2026, Goad gained hands-on experience in the financial services industry, assisting with the firm’s broker-dealer transition to LPL Financial. She supported compliance efforts, helped communicate changes to clients from a variety of backgrounds, and assisted with a client appreciation event attended by more than 100 people. Through those experiences, Goad saw firsthand the communication, organization, and relationship-building that underpin successful financial planning, further strengthening her interest in helping clients navigate important financial decisions.

Zachary Niese, junior double majoring in financial counseling and planning and finance, was recently named a FinServ Foundation Fellow.

For Niese, a junior double majoring in finance and financial counseling and planning from Greensburg, Indiana, the path was equally unexpected. He arrived at Purdue as a psychology student, drawn to understanding people but unsure how he wanted to apply that interest professionally. After exploring research and organizational psychology, he discovered financial planning and quickly recognized its unique combination of personal connection and problem-solving. 

That realization became tangible during an internship with Edward Jones.

“You get to sit down with people that have been clients for 10, 20, 30 years,” Niese said. “It’s not just a client. You have a relationship with the person. They come to you, they talk about their family and their kids and where they’re going on vacation.”

For Niese, who describes himself as someone energized by relationships and conversations, financial planning offered exactly what he had been seeking: a career built around helping people.

More Than a Fellowship

Both students learned about the FinServ Foundation Fellowship through Purdue faculty and program communications, but the significance of their selections did not fully register until afterward.

For Niese, the reality hit when he reviewed the national roster of fellows and realized only two Purdue students had been selected.

“It was kind of a relief that all the hard work is actually paying off,” he said. “Being one of the few people across the country accepted, it’s like, okay, you’re doing the right thing.”

Goad was equally excited, particularly because of the opportunities the fellowship provides to connect with experienced professionals across the industry.

“The connections are really a leaping point,” she said. “There were so many advisors from different backgrounds, and they’re all very passionate about helping you.”

Those connections are precisely what the fellowship is designed to foster.

Students receive individualized mentorship, participate in professional coaching sessions focused on topics ranging from leadership strengths to professional branding, and join a collaborative community that shares resources, job opportunities, scholarship information, and career advice.

For Goad, whose biggest question entering the profession was how to find a mentor, that built-in support network addresses a challenge many students face.

“They’re really trying to close that gap,” she said. “If you have questions, they will respond back and help you. There’s always someone willing to connect you with the right person.”

Mentorship resonates just as strongly with Niese.

“My entire life has been surrounded by mentoring others or being mentored myself,” he said. After serving as a mentor to younger students, he now looks forward to learning from established professionals through the fellowship. “The mentorship pillar is what resonates the most with me”

Learning Beyond the Classroom

The fellowship aligns naturally with one of the defining characteristics of Purdue’s FCPL program: learning that extends beyond lectures and textbooks.

For both students, internships, job-shadowing experiences, student organizations, and industry engagement have been just as impactful as traditional coursework.

Niese describes those experiences as the bridge between theory and reality.

“When you’re in a classroom, you get slideshows,” he said. “But when you’re in person, you get to sit down with people, talk to them, see their paperwork, see how decisions get implemented. You’re actually seeing where your slides in the classroom are trying to take you in the real world.”

Goad sees similar value in learning directly from practitioners.

“Talking to someone actively working in that field is very helpful,” she said. “Every client is going to be different. Focusing on communication outside of the classroom is incredibly important.”

Those lessons reinforce a reality that both students have come to appreciate: success in financial planning depends as much on communication and empathy as technical expertise.

While financial planning is often perceived as a numbers-driven profession, both Goad and Niese believe its foundations are deeply human.

Every financial decision is ultimately tied to personal goals, family priorities, fears, aspirations, and values. The role of an advisor is not only to understand the numbers but also to understand the person behind them.

Building the Future of the Profession

As the financial services industry works to attract and retain the next generation of professionals, fellowship programs like FinServ offer more than résumé credentials. They provide students with access, guidance, and opportunities that can shape the trajectory of an entire career.

For Purdue, Goad and Niese’s selection reflects the strength of a program that prepares students not only with technical knowledge but also with the interpersonal skills needed to serve others effectively.

And while both students are still early in their journeys, their goals already reflect the profession’s broader purpose.

Goad hopes to help people feel comfortable seeking financial guidance and to remove the fear and uncertainty that often surround financial conversations.

Niese hopes students considering careers in financial planning will embrace opportunities and take initiative.

“You need to put yourself out there,” he said. “At the end of the day, it’s all about initiative.”

For these two Purdue students, that initiative has already opened an important door. Through mentorship, coaching, and community, the FinServ Foundation Fellowship is helping them chart their path forward and demonstrating how meaningful support can transform ambition into professional impact long before a diploma is handed across the stage.