1. Tell us about where you grew up and how you found your way to UK and Gatton College.I was born in Louisville but grew up in Owensboro. My father's job had the family transfer to Alabama where I attended high school. Like all true Kentuckians, I started planning my way home the moment we got to Alabama. Upon graduating high school UK was the only school choice for me.
2. How did your time as a Gatton student help shape your professional journey?I knew from a very early age that I wanted a career in the financial markets. During my time at UK I would trade stocks with a small group of my fraternity brothers. We did this to enhance our spring break funds. I fell in love with taking risk and learned I would far rather be on a trading desk than a wealth or portfolio manager.
3. What is the most rewarding part of your current work?After graduating from UK, I eventually moved to New York without having a job lined up. Again, being a true Kentuckian, I did not really want to leave the Commonwealth. However, I knew I wanted to be a trader and Wall St was the place to do it. Similar to many of the athletes that attend school here, the desire is to go pro. At the time, Wall St was flooded with Ivy Leaguers, which meant a kid from UK wasn't going to get "drafted". I therefore had to move there and pound the pavement until I got a job and was able to go "pro". My career had me in NYC about 20yrs and another 10yrs in London England. The whole time though there was always something missing, home. In 2019 I got a call from someone in Gatton philanthropy telling me that Dean Sheather was going to be in NYC and wanted to have dinner with me. I burst with laughter and said, you have the wrong guy. At any rate, I went to the dinner, still not knowing why. Across from myself at the table was the then Finance Chair, Chris Clifford. To this day I will never forget his question, "what was the biggest obstacle you faced on your climb up Wall St?". My response was simple, "Having a degree from UK and no senior alum or mentor to help open doors or advise me. Almost all Ivy grads had a guy/gal they could call for help." Chris' response, "That's why you are here for dinner, we want you to be the guy." That simple exchange altered the course of my life in ways positively unimanageable. Now to answer the actual question, the most rewarding part of my job is the joy of being "the guy". We have seen such a meaningful uptick in high-quality job placements in the Commonwealth, Wall St and beyond. Our students are amazing and such a pleasure to help. They just need a little guidance, and the rest is up to them. They make it so easy, like ducks to water.
4. What is the most challenging part of your current work? We have such talented, hardworking, and driven students. I worked with so many private school educated people throughout my entire career. Most can't hold a candle to our students. In general, ours are just as academically gifted, but they also come with a work ethic and common sense you don't see other places. The hardest part and what saddens me most is to see students that can't afford basic things that either fall outside of their scholarship or the ones putting themselves through school and are struggling to make ends meet. I have had more than a few that can't even afford a financial calculator. It just breaks your heart. I never want to see a kid struggle to succeed due to a lack of financial resources. We have so many first-generation college students and those from financially challenged backgrounds. As alums, we need to do better and step up here.
5. How can fellow Gatton Alumni support and enrich the work of our students and faculty? Give...time, money, both, whatever you can. Our undergraduates need us! Feel free to contact me at lain.garrett@uky.edu. Happy to highlight ways to help.
