Jon Ludwig

Jon Ludwig graduated from Virginia Tech in May 2018 with a Bachelor of Science in Finance. He followed in his older brothers’ footsteps and found the certified financial planning program and immediately enrolled in the Financial Planning Association (FPA). Since then leadership came quite naturally for Jon. He was a former president of the Pamplin Leadership Development Team and went on to serve as a representative for FPA on Pamplin’s Dean’s Student Advisory Council. Outside of Pamplin, Jon loved being involved and tried to be part of as many groups/organizations as possible. He was the treasurer of Delta Sigma Phi and an active participant in Greeks giving back. In 2018 he attended the VT University Student Leadership Award Ceremony where he won Virginia Tech’s outstanding undergraduate student leader of the year award.

When asked about how he views leadership and what it means to him, passion was his immediate response. “This is the most important quality a leader should have. Without passion, why even do it? Why motivate others when you don’t even have the motivation yourself? Other important qualities include determination, enthusiasm, optimism, creativity, flexibility/adaptability, welcoming attitude, confidence, and the ability to challenge ideas/people.” Jon also brought up challenges he faced as a leader. “The biggest challenge is having people say “no”. As a leader, you sometimes get this amazing adrenaline feeling that gets you excited/motivated to accomplish objective, goal, etc. The worst feeling in the world is when something becomes a roadblock and there’s nothing you can do about it because it’s not physically possible to fix/change (i.e., funding, people, or laws inhibiting you from completing your goal).”

Jon joined the BLC’s Pamplin Leadership Development team his freshman year as part of the materials committee. “I didn’t know what the BLC or the Pamplin Leadership Development Team were, until I heard some great things about their leadership conference my freshman year. I immediately started getting fomo (fear of missing out) by not attending my very first “leadership conference” opportunity. Luckily, one of my favorite management teachers, Professor Skripak, pointed me in the right direction to apply for the team. I did some research online and was immediately sold by their mission statement. I was eager to work with other passionate business students to help make Pamplin a top-tier business program,” says Jon.

Currently Jon works as a financial planning firm known as FJY Financial. He initially met his employer through FPA which gave him exposure to various conferences and career fairs. They were easily impressed by his enthusiasm, positive energy, and professional resume. They enjoyed having him so much during the summer he was offered a full time position a few months later.

Jon has always loved numbers and talking to people. At FJY he has the opportunity to be social by participating in client meetings and interacting with various teams of advisors as well as his analytical skills where he manages investment portfolios and conducts time value of money analysis. According to John Financial Planning is one of the best ways to make an impact in the business world. “Everyone needs a financial advisor. We are on the front lines between investors (our clients) and economic chaos. We help them become financially stable during economic crisis by building diversified portfolios, but also help them emotionally by listening to their worries and communicating rational thinking,” stated Jon.

Article written by Hamim Bashar, Pamplin Leadership Development Team member