October, 2024
from the Record, Spring 2024
by Alexandra Evans
The ROI of H-SC: Alumni in Finance
Although Hampden-Sydney currently offers no formal finance minor or stand-alone business degree, the College has produced a cadre of leaders who are influencing the financial industry across the globe.
How do we do it? By providing a best-in-class liberal arts curriculum and bolstering that curriculum with unique co-curricular and post-graduation opportunities to equip students with both the hard and soft skills critical for a successful career in finance.
“A broad liberal arts education and the thought process that comes with that pays off significantly long term,” confirms Dee O’Dell ’87. As executive vice president and head of business banking sales at U.S. Bank, O’Dell leads the sales and relationship management organization for business clients with $2.5 million to $25 million in annual revenue. O’Dell’s mission is to first understand what his clients do and what their vision is for where they want to go, and to then bring his clients advice, products, and services that will help them achieve those goals most efficiently. To do this, he says he must always begin by asking the right questions, a skill he first learned and honed as an economics and business major at Hampden-Sydney.
“The learning environment at Hampden-Sydney set in motion a life of learning and curiosity,” O’Dell says. “I really benefited from the dedication of professors who pushed me to expand my horizons and see the world in a broader perspective. And through that process, I learned how to ask great questions and to really seek a higher level of understanding.”
An awareness of the power of financial systems to alleviate or exacerbate common social ailments is yet another benefit of a liberal arts education. In the hands of ethical, socially minded professionals, the financial industry has immense power to transform lives for the better. And whose hands are more ethical or socially minded than those of a good man and a good citizen with a strong foundation of a liberal arts education?
With a broad vision of the interconnectedness of social and political systems, liberal arts trained financiers have a heightened awareness of the ethical implications of financial policy and practice.
“There’s something about leadership and the leadership opportunities available at Hampden-Sydney that really teach young men how to be of service to others and to lead with humility,” O’Dell says. O’Dell puts his money where his mouth is so to speak. Based in Charlotte, North Carolina, O’Dell has been active in local philanthropy since he arrived in the Queen City with Wachovia—now Wells Fargo—two decades ago.
From 2014 to 2017, O’Dell co-chaired the Opportunity Task Force, which examined how to improve economic mobility, and in 2023, he served as board chairman for the United Way of Greater Charlotte. “Part of being a good man and a good citizen,” O’Dell continues, “is recognizing that we have an opportunity and an obligation to be engaged in the communities in which we live, work, and play and to make those communities better so that everyone can thrive.”
A liberal arts background can help students hone their critical thinking and written and interpersonal communication skills. A liberal arts background at a college with a renowned rhetoric program? Now we’re talking.
“The Rhetoric Program taught me how to organize my thoughts and communicate effectively,” O’Dell remarks. He notes that when he was interviewing Sekou Kaalund ’97 for a position at U.S. Bank, they got about two minutes into the conversation before congratulating each other on surviving the Rhetoric Proficiency Exam—the significance of which only Hampden-Sydney men truly understand.
“You don’t have to have a business degree or a finance degree or an economics degree in order to be successful in banking,” O’Dell says. “You do have to demonstrate skills.”
The well-roundedness imbued by a liberal arts education is precisely what opens up limitless career options in the financial field. The financial landscape is dynamic, and graduates bring flexibility and adaptability to finance roles, helping them navigate changing market conditions and evolving industry trends.
With a liberal arts foundation, finance professionals are well-positioned to survive dynamic market conditions and flourish into the future.
"Number one, use your network to talk to lots of people who are in banking already today. Number two, whatever you do, wherever you start, do your absolute best and go beyond the job that you’re assigned to find ways to help other people and help the organization beyond your primary job. Number three, be curious and commit to a lifelong pursuit of learning."
Professional advice from Dee O’Dell ’87