Pamplin student receives national recognition as she prepares for a future in financial planning

For Genna Coan, the preparation to become a financial planner never stops. It doesn’t stop when the semester ends. It doesn’t even stop to ring the closing bell for the Nasdaq Stock Market.

Coan was one of 12 students nationwide to be awarded the $5,000 2019 TD Ameritrade Institutional RIA NextGen Scholarship. The scholarship, which was open to all first-, second-, or third-year students pursuing a degree in finance or financial planning, required applicants to submit an essay as to why they would like to work in financial planning along wRith a letter of reference from a personal or academic contact. To celebrate the achievement, the scholarship recipients were hosted by TD Ameritrade Institutional on a visit to New York City and the Nasdaq MarketSite in Times Square, where the students helped ring the stock exchange’s closing bell on July 23, 2019.

“I was honored to receive this scholarship,” said Coan. “Unfortunately, I was not able to attend the closing bell ceremony in New York, as I was interning in Rockville, Maryland, at the time.”

She added, “From what I understand, they put together an incredible ceremony to celebrate the recipients. TD Ameritrade's Generation Next program is very active in supporting up-and-coming financial advisors.”

According to Kate Healy, managing director of Generation Next, since 2013, TD Ameritrade Institutional has awarded 82 scholarships totaling nearly $410,000, as well as $500,000 in grants to universities. TD Ameritrade Institutional serves as the independent investment advisor-focused subsidiary of the brokerage firm TD Ameritrade, and their Generation Next program is part of a 10-year, $5 million commitment to help attract a new generation of registered investment advisors (RIAs) by raising awareness of the career opportunities within the financial services industry, as well as helping promising future advisors fund their studies.

“These students embody the future of financial planning,” said Healy. “Through their studies, they have shown dedication to the profession. Our industry is facing a significant talent shortage. Through this program, we aim to help not only the students but also the colleges and universities that are preparing and training the young men and women who lead our industry into the future.”

A finance and accounting dual-major from Chantilly, Virginia, Coan certainly represents the future of financial planning as described by Healy. One of two Pamplin College of Business students invited to attend the 2019 TD Ameritrade National LINC conference in San Diego, Calif., this past February, Coan is assured as to where her future will lead her.

“When I graduate in May 2020,” she said, “I intend on entering the financial planning industry and begin working my way to become a lead financial advisor. After completing my internship this summer, that goal was solidified even more. I was able to observe the industry first-hand and I'm confident that this is the industry I want to make my career in.”

Coan acknowledges that she would not have been afforded such opportunities without the work and support from those within the Pamplin College of Business.

“I am especially thankful to the financial planning program at Virginia Tech and to Ruth Lytton, professor financial planning, for keeping myself and other students apprised of such opportunities,” she said. “It was through the financial planning program that I was able to attend the LINC conference in February which is how I first learned about the RIA NextGen Scholarship.”

Coan continued, “This scholarship is a manifestation of my hard work and it truly means so much to me that an institution like TD Ameritrade would put their resources toward furthering my education. It is not only financial support, but also an investment in my growth that will offer great returns as I finish my senior year and enter an industry which I am passionate about.”

Written by Jeremy Norman