Letter from National On April 12th, we welcomed 20 members from ten of our four-teen current chapters of Smart Woman Securities to Omaha, Nebraska, for the sixth annual SWS trip to visit Warren Buffett. All the students were ex-cited to hear Mr. Buffett’s insights on business, investing, careers, and life in general. Mr. Buffett participated in a two-hour Q&A session and an ex-clusive dinner with SWS members during which he graciously answered questions and shared both meaningful and funny anecdotes over steaks.

In addition to spending time with Mr. Buffett, SWS members vis-ited Nebraska Furniture Mart, Streck Laboratories, TD Ameritrade, and Union Pacific, where students heard from a variety of business profession-als. SWS members also interacted with local business leaders at the Busi-ness Executives Dinner, which was a great opportunity for students to engage with these learned professionals on a one-on-one basis. The trip con-cluded with an SWS Interactive Event during which members were able to bond further and share with their peers some of the best practices from their chapters. The trip gave SWS members a well-rounded sense of dif-ferent experiences and perspectives in the business and investing worlds.

We would like to extend our sincerest gratitude to Mr. Buffett for his willingness to host SWS members for our sixth visit. It is a tremendous honor to continue to be invited back. We would also like to thank Carrie Kizer from Mr. Buffett’s office for her help in coordinating the trip. Additionally, we would like to thank our various speakers and dinner guests for sharing their experiences with our group. Lastly, we wish to thank the SWS Trip Directors—Pichaya (Mint) Damrongpiwat, Yale; Trang Nguyen, Yale; and Bisera Todorovic, Fordham—who committed their time, energy, and ideas to ensure that this trip was success-ful. Please read on to learn more about some of the events from this year’s trip.

Sincerely,

Apoorva ShenoyExecutive Director, Smart Woman Securities National

 

IN THIS ISSUE

THURSDAY, APRIL 12th Union Pacific 2 Streck Laboratories 2 Business Executives Dinner 3 FRIDAY, APRIL 13th Nebraska Furniture Mart 4 Warren Buffett Q&A 4-5 Lunch with Warren Buffett 5-6 TD Ameritrade 6 SWS Exclusive Dinner 7-8

SATURDAY, APRIL 14th SWS Interactive Event 9 Trip Impressions 10 Acknowledgements 11

OMAHA, NEBRASKA April 2012

Smart Woman Securities Presents

The Sixth Annual Warren Buffett Trip

Union Pacific (UP) was the first com-pany visit for Smart Woman Securities. Charles Eisele, Senior Vice President of Strategic Planning and Administra-tion, and five female executives greeted our group. Diane Duren, Mary Jones, Lynn Kelley, Donna Kush, and Gayla Thal described their paths to UP and what life is like working for the com-pany. “Each executive conveyed such enthusiasm for her work that I could have easily been convinced to work for any one of them. I loved the stories that showed daring initiative and served as a testament to the collaborative struc-ture of the company. It was easy to see why they have all stayed with Union Pacific for so long and how their exper-tise and openness to innovation bodes well for the future of the company,” said Min Hwang, a sophomore at Harvard.

SWS members were particularly im-pressed with the set up at the Harriman Dispatch Center and by the strength and resistance of the building. The weather in Nebraska can really do some harm, so the company has taken serious precautions to protect the dispatch center and designed the building and its power sources in a way that wouldn’t allow any natural di-sasters to keep UP from controlling their trains, which is done from within the building. Laura Lu, a sophomore at MIT, commented, “It was fascinating to learn how an “old technology,” like railroads, still has major significance in the econ-omy as well as potential for growth as a savvy investment.” Upon entering, many members commented on how similar the dispatch center looked to a trading floor with computers and television screens ev-erywhere monitoring the trains, weather

and any potential external factors that could affect productivity on the rails. Grace Bang, a sophomore at Yale, commented on our fascinating visit, “I thought the visit was a great way to get exposure to a company that has such a powerful impact on our country. Furthermore, the visit al-lowed for me to interact with power-ful women in this industry, who have come from all different backgrounds.”

On Thursday, SWS had the opportunity to visit Streck, a 40-year-old biotechnology company that manufactures and sells hematology controls for clinical laboratories. Constance Ryan, President of Streck, kindly gave us a presentation on the company, its history, achievements, and plans for the fu-ture, in addition to sharing personal insights on career devel-opment. Ms. Ryan’s father, Dr. Wayne Ryan, a chemist with a true passion for scientific innovation using simple, house-hold materials, founded the company in order to address a niche market of hematology platelet controls. The company is the only one of its kind, and has lasting partnerships with world-class producers of diagnostic solutions and medical

devices such as Siemens, Abbott Laboratories and Sysmex. During her presentation, Ms. Ryan emphasized the impor-tance of responsibility and accountability, which give Strecka competitive advantage when collaborating with its part-ners. She also emphasized the importance of family in be-coming a successful businesswoman, and referenced her close relationship with her father, with whom she still runs the company to this day. Even the company’s name, Streck, was formed by mixing the initials of Ms. Ryan’s mother and siblings. Finally, Ms. Ryan encouraged the group to keep a healthy work-life balance and a solid core of values such as integrity and commitment to quality in every aspect of life. Afterwards, the SWS members split into two groups and took a tour of the company, which included the research lab-oratories, corporate offices, and packing and distribution fa-cilities. We were shown the innovative instrument that counts cells, as well as the platelet control vials for which Streck holds a patent. It was a great opportunity for members with a biol-ogy/pre-med background to see how finance and science in-tersect. Laura Lu, a sophomore studying Biology at MIT, noted, “It’s impressive to see how an entire company evolved from an idea developed in the basement of a flower shop.”

Streck Laboratories Alexandra Cocleaza, Yale 2012

THURSDAY, APRIL 12, 2012Union Pacific Rachelle Morris, Dartmouth 2012

2

Take the job that makes you feel uncomfortable. It will be

the only way you grow.

“”

“”

– Charles Eisele, Senior VP, Union Pacific

THURSDAY, APRIL 12, 2012

At the end of the first day of company visits, members of Smart Woman Securities had the opportunity to inter-act with local entrepreneurs and business executives from various industries over the course of a reception and dinner. I spent the majority of my time speaking with Constance Ryan, the President of Streck Labs, during both the reception and dinner. Under Ms. Ryan’s leadership, Streck has experienced constantly increasing revenue through both organic and inor-ganic growth since 1992. It was very interesting to learn about Streck’s unique customer value proposition, and more impor-tantly, I was fascinated by Ms. Ryan’s combination of industry expertise, understanding of finance and superb leadership skills. In addition, I was impressed with Ms. Ryan’s humble demean-or and how excited she was to get to know us and share her in-teresting stories about both her personal and professional life. David Brown, the President and CEO of the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce, was the other business ex-ecutive at my table. With the mission of increasing business,

investment and employment opportunities in Omaha, the Chamber has initiated numerous programs to provide busi-ness education and financing resources to local firms. Oma-ha has an incredibly entrepreneur-friendly culture and local business executives work closely on city-wide projects with the Chamber. We discussed developing public transporta-tion for lower income citizens to provide convenient com-mute options that would broaden their employment op-tions; this was a perfect example of how local businesses can work with the Chamber to make Omaha an even better city.

Our goal is to solve the problem

other people couldn’t solve. – Constance Ryan, President, Streck Laboratories

SWS was welcomed to Omaha by local business executives at Stokes Grill & Bar. The evening began with an hors d’oeuvres reception, during which SWS members mingled with the executives. Following the reception, SWS members were seated in small groups to have dinner and speak with the executives in a more intimate setting. One table included Charles Eisele, Senior Vice President of Strategic Planning & Administration at Union Pacific, and Dean Hollis, Senior Advi-sor at Oaktree Capital, accompanied by five SWS members. Both Mr. Eisele and Mr. Hollis emphasized the importance of not being myopic about one’s career; they suggested that students gain broad

work experience. Mr. Eisele compared career development to a spiral staircase which does not take a person straight up or straight down; the staircase twists and turns, similar to the journey of life. When asked about the process of find-ing the “right” company to work for, the executives assured the SWS members that they would find a company that fits their personal values and aspirations. Farzana Ali, a freshman from Fordham University, offered a clever motto related to this company search process, “Find it or found it!” In other words, if you can’t find a company that fits your ide-als, then found the company yourself.

SWS members thoroughly enjoyed conversing with the executives over a de-lightful meal and were honored to have the opportunity to learn from such ac-complished individuals. Rena Wang, a sophomore from Harvard University, reflected upon her evening with the ex-ecutives, “Dinner with Mr. Hollis, Mr. Eisele, and the amazing group of SWS women at our table was definitely one of the highlights of the entire trip for me. Mr. Hollis and Mr. Eisele both emphasized the importance of devel-oping a broad array of exposure to the different parts of a company, which I found to be very valuable advice.”

Business Executives Dinner Claire Smith, Fordham 2012

Business Executives Dinner Chuhan Wang, University of Virginia 2013

3

Early Friday morning, the women of Smart Woman Securi-ties were ready for their day with Warren Buffett. We arrived at the Berkshire Hathaway headquarters and entered a room with over 150 people who were present for the Q&A session. The room filled with students, all prepared with questions for Mr. Buffett. He sat at the front of the room with a warm smile. “It is evident that he enjoys doing this,” said Rachelle Morris, a senior from Dartmouth College. From questions on the key to successful investing practices, his past experiences, his opin-ions on women and their success and his advice on parenting, his answers were always thorough and insightful. Mr. Buffett shared important insights on key things he looks for in pos-sible investments––look for those with a durable competitive advantage that will have an edge five to ten years from now. He compared that to students who decide to invest in them-selves by for example, attending a great business school. He explained that companies must also have an honest and ca-pable management in place and that the structure needs to be simple and easy to understand. And of course, the price must be right as he spends hours each day looking to find undervalued stocks and investment opportunities. How does he find such gems? Beyond the opportunities he has been ap-

proached with, Mr. Buffett has been known to go scouring through the entire 10,000+ page Moody’s Manual until he has found the perfect company in the last few pages of the book. “There is one thing he said that really stuck with me” said Laura Lu, a sophomore from MIT, “You don’t have to be smart about everything, just be smart about what you do.”

Q&A with Warren Buffett Grace Bang, Yale 2014

FRIDAY, APRIL 13, 2012

My trip to Omaha was one of the most unique and memorable experiences I have ever had. April 13th was an especially interesting day as we visit-ed Nebraska Furniture Mart. Nebraska Furniture Mart is a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway and during our visit we met with the company’s Ex-ecutive Vice President, Robert Batt, who led us on a tour of the store. It was very exciting to see all the different furniture designs in the store and to have the opportunity to hear Mr. Batt speak about his history with Nebraska Furniture Mart. In fact, his grandmother, Mrs. B, founded the store during the Great Depression. The family was struggling for money and Mrs. B knew she had to do something to sustain her family, which included five children. I was impressed by her courage and determination to start up her own business at a time when businesses were primar-ily run by men, not to mention during one of the worst economic periods in history. This truly exemplified how passion can help trump obsta-cles on the path to making your dream a reality. Mr. Batt’s comments on Berkshire Hatha-way were equally interesting. He touched on

Warren Buffett’s great attention to detail and ability to readily recognize any mistakes, re-gardless of how minor or insignificant they may be, and how he addresses all issues on the spot, always looking to protect the repu-tation of the company. It is evident that these are the values and business practices that have played a significant role in establishing the un-rivaled reputation held today by both Berk-shire Hathaway and Nebraska Furniture Mart.

Nebraska Furniture Mart Bisera Todorovic, Fordham 2013

If you don’t take care of the customers, others will.

– Bob Batt,Executive VP,

Nebraska Furniture Mart

“

”

4

Q&A with Warren Buffett Min Hwang, Harvard 2013 A nervous hush descended upon the Cloud Room at Berk-shire Hathaway that had moments earlier been buzzing with conversation. Suddenly, the audience of SWS delegates and MBAs alike erupted into star-struck cheers and enthusiastic ap-plause as Warren Buffett made his way into the room. He made no self-introduction, only joking, “We make a profit on one out of every eleven [Coca-Cola products]. I don’t care if you don’t drink it, just open them up and pour them on your neighbor,” before diving into an enlightening and humorous Q&A session.

“It was our first interaction with Mr. Buffett,” ex-plained Amanda Black, a sophomore at Harvard. “We all listened intensely to every word he said.” Ques-tions ranged from investment advice, countering corruption, and the future of energy in America to the economic outlook, his learning experiences, and his parenting principles. He answered each question with no hesitation, clearly and com-prehensively, and interspersed his advice with personal an-ecdotes, vivid analogies, witty jokes, and memorable quotes. Perhaps the most intimate moment of the Q&A session occurred after Grace Bang, a sophomore from Yale, asked Mr. Buffett about his experiences with parenting. Not wast-ing a breath, Mr. Buffett replied, “Unconditional love.” You do not want to live through your children, he explained. He talked about his father, who had strong convictions of his own but gave the young Mr. Buffett independence and trust to pursue his interests and learn from his mistakes. “It would be a shame for [my father] to have limited my con-ception of myself by delivering it to me,” he explained. “Mr. Buffett’s charisma and honesty made the en-tire room feel almost like they were in his living room, just having a fascinating conversation,” said Harvard sopho-more Rena Wang. Black added, “It was a privilege to ask him a range of questions and I really enjoyed the event.”

FRIDAY, APRIL 13, 2012 5

Friday, April 13th had finally arrived. It was the day that we would be visit-ing Warren Buffett and everyone was extremely excited. As we finished exten-sively quizzing the ‘Oracle of Omaha’ on his investing strategies in the Q&A session, it was time to have lunch with him at one of his favorite restaurants. Many would have expected this to be an extravagant restaurant, but as we learned in our preparation for the trip, the phi-lanthropist really does lead an ordinary lifestyle, enjoying his Cherry Coca-Cola and classic food establishments. We arrived at Piccolo Pete’s Steak-house along with the many other stu-dents who had eagerly traveled to Omaha to visit Mr. Buffett. After find-ing our seats, Mr. Buffett addressed us all and introduced Jimmy Buffett, who promptly began to sing to us.

Lunch at Piccolo Pete’s Amanda Black, Harvard 2014“His surprise serenade made an already lively lunch even more exciting and memorable,” said Rena Wang, a sophomore at Harvard University. The rest of the lunch revolved around discussions of Mr. Warren Buf-fett’s down-to-earth personality given his outstanding accomplishments. Min Hwang, also a sophomore at Harvard, described the restaurant as abuzz by Mr. Warren Buffett’s presence but that he blended in so well. “Everything, from the all-American cuisine to Mr. Buffett’s jolly demeanor despite being situated in the middle of a cramped table, spoke to the essence of Omaha and how it has shaped his warm and inviting persona.”

On Friday, we had a chance to hear from Katrina Becker, Head of Com-munications, Public Affairs and Cor-porate Events at TD Ameritrade. The discussion centered on women in the field of finance and the corporate cul-ture at TD Ameritrade. “We are not competitive internally, but externally. The reason I come to work every day is that I can see we helped people at the end of the day,” Ms. Becker shared. She further explained to us that TD Ameritrade helps real people save and invest in their future, and noted that it was the first to establish online trading. Prior to joining the company, Ms. Becker led trade support operations, including client services, for Trade Group Inc., a multi-commodity trad-ing division of ConAgra Foods. Her role involved hedging financial risk for the company. Ms. Becker encouraged us to think about a career in trading, which is still male-dominated, but has become much more accepting of

females over the years. She was opti-mistic about our potential as driven, young women and advised, “You don’t know who you are yet, but you know who you are today. Don’t feel discouraged; those obstacles today will be gifts tomorrow.” Senior Ju-liet Zawedde from Boston College reflected, “Ms. Becker exemplifies the diligence, dedication, and confi-dence it takes to work and persevere in a very male-dominated industry.”

Following the Question and Answer Session at Berkshire Hathaway, all of the students migrated to Piccolo Pete’s, a steakhouse located in Omaha. Upon arrival the attendees were greeted with a surprise appearance by Jimmy Buf-fett, a singer-songwriter with no relation to Warren Buffett who was in Omaha for a concert on his national tour. Mr. Jimmy Buffett planted himself near Mr. Warren Buffett and serenaded over 160 students with his upbeat tropical tunes. Smart Woman Securities particularly en-joyed his rendition of “Smart Woman” because although it is actually one of his songs, all of the SWS members pre-tended that it was a brand new song, created on the spot just for the women of our organization. Shuxin Zhan, a freshman at Princeton University, em-phasized that “the singing was definitely the highlight of the meal and I think we

can see a lot about [Mr. Warren] Buffett’s character from where he loves to eat.” Although there was minimal in-teraction with Mr. Warren Buffett during lunch, everyone was still ex-cited to be in his presence and thank-ful that Smart Woman Securities was able to be a part of the day’s events.

The luncheon was an excellent opportu-nity to mingle with other SWS members on the trip as well as some of the other student groups also visiting Mr. War

ren Buffett, such as MIT Sloan business school students and students from Peru (who came with shirts saying “Warren Live in Omaha” that they so nicely gave to all the different groups). After feast-ing on steaks, chicken parmesan, veg-gie burgers and root beer floats, all the groups lined up to take pictures with Warren Buffett. Rena Wang, a sopho-more from Harvard University, com-mented that “it was a great, casual op-portunity to get to know Mr. Buffett’s community and meet other interest-ing students from all over the world.”

FRIDAY, APRIL 13, 2012

TD Ameritrade Lindsay Lu, Columbia 2013

The reason I come to work every day, is that I can see we helped people at the end of the day. – Katrina Becker, Head of Communications, TD

Lunch at Piccolo Pete’s Hannah Rajeshwar, Princeton 2014

”

“

6

After attending the lively morning Q&A session and after-noon lunch at Piccolo Pete’s with Warren Buffett, our group had the incredible honor of spending nearly three hours with Mr. Buffett at a private dinner later that evening. Hosted at one of his favorite hometown staples, Gorat’s Steakhouse, Mr. Buf-fett rotated between three tables of about six to eight girls each. Of the spectrum of topics that were covered during the evening, perhaps the most surprising—and fun—was Mr. Buffett’s casual mention of his recent return from the set of the hit TV show, “Glee.” As Min Hwang, a junior at Har-vard, recounts, “Mr. Buffett was saying that he had been in LA a couple of weeks prior [to the dinner] to film a skit on Glee’s set to be shown at Berkshire Hathaway’s Annu-al Shareholder’s Meeting. He played the ukulele and sang with Sue Sylvester! Apparently, he puts together a skit with a popular television show each year for the shareholder’s meeting. He is not only incredibly inspiring and intelli-gent but he also knows how to entertain. I was blown away.” Mr. Buffett was very gracious and honest with the variety of questions that were asked. When I posed the question, “Every-one looks up to you, but who do you look up to?” he said he has only ever had 12 heroes in his life. “Be very careful about who you

choose to be your heroes,” Mr. Buffett encouraged us to remember. The opportunity to have a personal conversation with Mr. Buffett was something that attending SWS members said they will never forget. As Hannah Rajeshwar, a sophomore at Princ-eton, recalls, “It was an amazing experience to get to connect with Mr. Buffett on a one-on-one level. Everyone greatly en-joyed the Q&A and lunch, but the personal interaction with him during dinner is what made the trip most memorable.”

FRIDAY, APRIL 13, 2012

SWS Exclusive Dinner with Warren Buffett Rena Wang, Harvard 2014

Success is getting what you want.

Happiness is wanting what you get.

Stay away from borrowed money.

– Warren Buffett on the most important thing in life and investing, respectively

7

“

“”

”

SWS Exclusive Dinner with Warren Buffett Britt Duffy, MIT 2013

FRIDAY, APRIL 13, 2012

On Friday, April 13th, 2012, Smart Woman Securities had the pleasure of dining with famed value investor Warren E. Buffett. Mr. Buffett shared life experi-ences and investing advice with the wom-en of SWS as the group shared a meal at Gorat’s Steakhouse in Omaha, Nebraska. Mr. Buffett took a personal inter-est in the career goals and ambitions of each member of SWS, often shar-ing a personal anecdote related to each member’s background. Amanda Black, a sophomore at Harvard originally from Cambridge, England said, “It was awesome to hear about the time that Mr. Buffett met Princess Diana.”

Yet another interesting story that Mr. Buffett shared with the group was about the time when he was ten years old and met Sidney Weinberg at the New York Stock Exchange. Mr. Buffett recalls, “I will never forget when Sidney Weinberg put his arm around me and asked what stocks looked good to me.” It is evident from his stories that a great deal of his adult life has been influenced by the memorable moments of his childhood. The night was filled with profound professional insights, numerous life les-sons, and much laughter. It was cer-tainly amazing to see how Mr. Buffett, despite his tremendous success, has

remained extremely grounded and fo-cused on family values. The SWS Ex-clusive Dinner with Mr. Buffett was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that provided the members of SWS with countless tidbits of wisdom for both the professional and personal spheres of life.

From left to right:Fourth row: Min Hwang (Harvard ’13), Seungmin (Liv) Nam (Brown ’13), Pichaya (Mint) Damrongpiwat (Yale ’13), Alexandra Cocleaza (Yale ’12), Chuhan Wang (UVA ’13), Farzana Ali (Fordham ’15) Third row: SWS Co-Founders Tracy Britt and Teresa Hsiao, SWS Founding Team Member (and Omaha native!) Tiffany Niver, Claire Smith (Fordham ’12), Laura Lu (MIT ’14), Grace Bang (Yale ’14), Juliet Zawedde (BC ’12), Mr. Buffett!, Hannah Rajeshwar (Princeton ’14), Trang Nguyen (Yale ’13), Bisera Todorovic (Fordham ’13), Connie Liu (Yale ’13)Second row: SWS Executive Director Apoorva Shenoy, Amanda Black (Harvard ’14), Rena Wang (Harvard ’14), Rachelle Morris (Dartmouth ’12), Shuxin Zhan (Princeton ’15), Shiyang (Lindsay) Lu (Columbia ’13)And last but not least, Britt Duffy (MIT ’13)

I plan to still be around.

– Warren Buffett on the fate of Berkshire Hathaway in 2050

“ ”

8

SATURDAY, APRIL 14, 2012SWS Interactive Event Connie Liu, Yale 2013 The ladies of SWS gathered on the last day of our stay in Omaha for a series of fun, constructive events. After kick-ing off the day with a game of SWS Bingo and some trivia, Tracy Britt and Teresa Hsiao, co-founders of SWS, shared with us inspirational stories about their unique career paths and how they founded the first SWS chapter, which, to our surprise, was done alongside full-time banking intern-ships. “Tracy and Teresa’s accomplishments are so awe-in-spiring. Hearing from them reinvigorated my work ethic,” said Farzana Ali, a freshman from Fordham University.

Next on the agenda was an industry challenge to get our brains warmed up before transitioning into what would span the bulk of the day: chapter reflections, brainstorming, and the exchang-ing of best practices. Each chapter’s challenges and successes were shared and discussed. The passion that each participant had for the organization shone through as we brainstormed eagerly for solutions to problems at not only our own chapters but also those at other chapters. “Being able to meet leaders from other chapters and learn more about their unique situations and best practices helped our chapter reflect on what we’ve done well and what we can improve,” said Rena Wang, a sophomore from Harvard University. “Learning from some of the newer chap-ters, in particular, will help us refocus on our solid foundation.” When the day had to draw to a close, the ladies gathered around for individual and group photos of their newly made friends, marking the end of a memorable trip but the begin-ning of new ideas, inspired practices, and improved chapters.

SWS Interactive Event Juliet Zawedde, Boston College 2012 There is nothing like finding out which SWS members made an in-vestment in the past 30 days and the number of Coca-Cola products served around the world on the same Satur-day morning,” commented Farzana Ali, a freshman from Fordham Uni-versity. Through ice breakers, trivia games, and a fun financial analysis ex-ercise, we were able to cultivate a cohe-sive environment and group dynamic. The SWS Interactive Event mainly served as an opportunity to exchange ideas and share best practices among the chapters. I thoroughly enjoyed learn-ing about the unique programming and operational methods that other chapters implement. From Dartmouth’s video-taped seminars and Columbia’s com-petitive Research Team presentations to Boston College’s newsletter, it was great to hear the unique ways in which

each chapter has managed to mold the organization to fit their campus. It was comforting to hear how many chapters have encountered similar ob-stacles. This provided a nice platform from which we engaged in a collab-orative effort to find ways in which we could alleviate many of these problems.

One particular topic that was gener-ally highlighted and appeared to be a struggle for all chapters was the Seminar Series to Research Team retention rate. We hope to overcome this obstacle by assessing why students join SWS in the first place and then determining a year-

long plan that best suits these interests. In addition to sharing best practices amongst the individual chapters, stu-dents also brainstormed ideas to improve the national model. The general con-sensus centered around providing more opportunities to collaborate by organiz-ing an annual conference, constructing a newsletter to keep members across all chapters updated, and building a nation-al alumni database. Overall, the Interac-tive Event served as a great outlet to fos-ter ideas and improve the organization that we are all clearly passionate about.

...a great outlet to foster ideas and improve the organization that we are

all clearly passionate about. – Juliet Zawedde BC ’12

“”

9

AFTER THE TRIPReflection: Dinners in Omaha Laura Lu, MIT 2014 After arriving in Omaha, the women of Smart Woman Securities were treated to a once in a lifetime opportunity to socialize and dine with some of Omaha’s most promi-nent business executives. Beyond the networking opportu-nity, we were able to gain invaluable professional and per-sonal insights from successful and accomplished individuals. The friendly setting of the Executives Dinner provided an atmosphere conducive to cheerful and open conversation. I was surprised by the business culture that Omaha ex-ecutives have developed—an unspoken sense of civic leader-ship and social responsibility pervade the minds of the city’s business leaders. In addition to working towards personal and corporate success, local executives truly take on leadership roles in the business sector for the promotion of community projects and social improvement. David Brown, the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Greater Omaha Chamber

of Commerce, explained that “the leaders of Omaha are truly the business executives; we work with a strong sense of moral-ity, and we always look for ways to improve the community.” This ideology of community betterment was further em-phasized and engrained in my mind when we were honored to have dinner with Mr. Buffett. When asked what made Berkshire Hathway so successful, Mr. Buffett quickly re-sponded, “I attribute Berkshire Hathaway’s success to our fair compensation system: business executives and I do well when shareholders do well!” He continued to describe how his investment strategy was based upon a strong moral com-pass in which self-interest is not a factor in business decisions. A company will do well if they strive to improve with their shareholders in mind. This mindset of community improve-ment and selfless investment is a unique characteristic of Omaha’s business leaders, and is the city’s secret to success.

Trip Impressions Liv Nam, Brown 2013 Ever since I read about Warren Buffett in a copy of Forbes magazine when I was in the eighth grade, he has become one of the pub-lic figures whom I continu-ously follow with respect and admiration. For that rea-son, when I found out that I would be joining Smart Woman Securities on this year’s trip to Omaha, I was beyond excited. I was both curious and thrilled to meet and converse with Mr. Buf-fett in person. Overall, the trip surpassed my expecta-tions and I am grateful for this life-changing experience. During both the Q&A session and dinner, Mr. Buf-fett was full of energy and unceasing warmth. He an-swered every question with his insightful life stories on investing, friendship, marriage, and happiness. His stories were enlighten-ing and they inspired me to redefine my values with honesty and acceptance.

The trip not only left me with valuable life lessons from our conversations with Mr. Buffett and other local busi-ness leaders, but it also gave me an incredible opportunity to build relationships with some amazing young women from different chapters of Smart Woman Securities.

Hearing what each chap-ter has done to further the SWS mission of endowing women with the proper skills and training to successfully invest on their own, I left the trip inspired and eager to implement these new ideas of how to to further the SWS mission on Brown’s campus.

Shuxin Zhan, Princeton 2015 From the company visits to eating dinner with War-ren Buffett, this trip was a memorable and life-changing event for me. This was my first visit to the Midwest, so I did not know what to ex-pect of Omaha. Arriving on the morning of April 12th, I found myself in a friendly and

idyllic city, surrounded by 19 other members from across 10 different SWS chapters. For the next three days, we visited companies in a variety of industries, received insight-ful advice from business ex-ecutives over dinner, and had the opportunity to speak with Mr. Buffett and ask him ques-tions about anything ranging from his business techniques to his philosophies on life.

The highlight of the trip for me was dinner with Mr. Buffett. For each question we asked, he responded with great detail and depth. My favorite moments were the funny or remarkable stories he told to elucidate his advice for us. His jolly disposition and opti-mism for the future was infec-tious. After speaking to him, the other girls and I could not help but feel grateful for ev-erything we had and excited for the future yet to come. If I had to summarize this trip in one word, it would be “passion.” Whether it was touring furniture stores or lis-tening to Mr. Buffett’s stories, the reoccurring theme of ev-eryone’s success and happiness was passion. No matter where they came from or what jobs they currently hold, passion was their life’s driving force. After listening to the stories of all the interesting people I was able to interact with on this trip, I am inspired to find my own passions and follow them to wherever they may lead me.

10

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Boston CollegeJuliet Zawedde ’12

Brown Seungmin (Liv) Nam ’13

ColumbiaShiyang (Lindsay) Lu ’13

DartmouthRachelle Morris ’12

FordhamFarzana Ali ’15

Claire Smith ’12Bisera Todorovic ’13

HarvardAmanda Black ’12Min Hwang ’13Rena Wang ’14

MITBritt Duffy ’13Laura Lu ’14

PrincetonHannah Rajeshwar ’14

Shuxin Zhan ’15

University of VirginiaChuhan Wang ’13

YaleGrace Bang ’14

Alexandra Cocleaza ’12Pichaya (Mint)

Damrongpiwat ’13Connie Liu ’13

Trang Nguyen’13

TRIP PARTICIPANTS:

Special thanks to Trip Directors Bisera Todorovic (Fordham ’13), Trang Nguyen (Yale ’13) and Pichaya (Mint) Damrongpiwat (Yale ’13) and Tracy Britt, Teresa Hsiao,

Tiffany Niver and Apoorva Shenoy from National for making this trip possible!

11