When Rachelle Morris first entered Brigham Young University, majoring in business wasn’t anywhere on her radar. However, after taking and loving some introductory classes, Morris realized applying to the BYU Marriott School of Business was the path for her. Now, after fifteen years of a career in private banking, Morris looks back in gratitude for her time at BYU Marriott and all the mentors who encouraged her to take the initiative needed to build her career.
A current resident of Salt Lake City, Morris works as a vice president at J.P. Morgan Private Bank, helping to lead its recently opened Salt Lake City office. As part of her work, Morris strives to build personalized, unique experiences with her clients, something she says is one of her favorite parts of her job. “Each individual and every family that my colleagues and I have the opportunity to work with are unique, and they each have their own goals,” Morris says.
Morris explains her primary responsibility is to serve and advise families, individuals, endowments, and foundations across Utah in a variety of ways. “I help with several different projects such as day–to–day banking, lending, credit, mortgages, financial modeling, and wealth management,” she says.
Since each new client presents their own challenges and concerns, Morris searches for new ideas and solutions every day. “There's no simple cookie–cutter approach to what I do,” she says. “Every client is different, so each relationship requires listening and brainstorming with a client, finding out what they want to accomplish, and then collaborating with my colleagues to accomplish their goals. The more we can impact our clients’ financial lives, the more they can impact our community.”
Morris’ understanding of the importance of approaching her career with intention and purpose is something she credits to her mentors, past and present. “I appreciate that my mentors approach life with an attitude that mediocrity is not going to be a part of it. Early in my career, the woman who created my gold standard of professionalism was Dianne Rivera, a fellow BYU Marriott alumna. To this day, she and I still keep in touch,” she says.
According to Morris, building relationships with mentors is an important key to life–long success in a career. “I look back at all of these women who helped me blaze my trail and think how grateful I am that I had the experience of creating professional and personal relationships with women who were themselves trailblazers,” she says.
Morris, who graduated from BYU Marriott’s information systems program in 2007, met several of these trailblazers during her time at BYU Marriott. “Then-professor Bonnie Anderson, professor Tamara Masters, and adjunct professor Melissa Wallentine are women whom I admire greatly,” she says. “Professor Masters was the first person in my life who made the Wall Street Journal approachable and relatable to me. Rachael Crane, who was an MBA student during my undergrad experience, showed me that I could realistically pursue a career in asset and wealth management.”
Now as a mentor herself, Morris pays it forward by encouraging those she works with to become an asset in the workplace and advocate for themselves. “A great way to build rapport and strengthen relationships with people senior to you is to ask them specific questions and find ways to add value to their lives,” she says. “Rather than asking broad questions about how they have built their careers, try to ask about what they’re currently working on and how you can help while also learning from them. If the two of you click, the mentoring relationship will naturally develop from there.”
Since beginning her new career, Morris recognizes the small ways she has already developed personally. She remembers accepting her first internship at a global investment bank on her twenty-first birthday. “I remember that feeling of sitting down on a bench and saying how excited I was for the opportunity—I even remember what sweater I was wearing. Let’s be honest, though, I had no idea what I was getting myself into,” she says. Since that internship, she continues to grow in her career. “This career has been simultaneously challenging and rewarding. There’s no plateauing; there's always room for growth.”
Morris looks back in gratitude for her decision to enter the world of private banking and for the opportunities BYU Marriott provided. “Majoring in business has certainly changed the trajectory of my life,” she says. “I am grateful to BYU Marriott for being a launching pad to my career. The school is a fantastic incubator that prepares students for success in their personal and professional lives.”
_
Writer: Sarah Calvert
