#PolicyProfile: Kate Furda, Financial Reporting Analyst
“After I graduated with my master’s from @rider_university, I worked as a ghostwriter with an adjunct professor who was writing a book on leadership. That was on the tail end of the financial downturn, and because I was in the unique position of working at Merrill Lynch, I was able to add a lot of my own experience.
We discussed what to do in a leadership position and, more importantly, what not to do. I worked for Merrill Lynch — and then Bank of America, once it took over — from 2007 to 2015, and I held many different roles there, including staffing, HR, and payroll. My last role was a lead management role for a team that supported the 24/7 call centers. It taught me a lot about management, but it was tough because it was a 24/7 job. I worked 60 hours a week and had two kids under the age of 2. Coming over to the academic world was such a breath of fresh air. I started at @EPrinceton as a faculty support system for the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and later moved into a purchasing coordinator role before I came to @PrincetonSPIA in July 2021. I'm so glad I could get my foot in the door because it's opened up so many other doors over the past eight years.
My favorite thing about working in higher ed is knowing that we're all contributing to a mission that's bigger than us.Kate Furda, Financial Reporting Analyst
It's cool to read about where these students go — both grad and undergrad — because everybody is focused and dedicated to service-type roles and industry to improve the world we're living in, in one respect or another. Working in the academic setting, you feel that you are contributing in one way or another to supporting these students to go on and make changes for the world. I truly appreciate the teamwork and collaboration among our team. I've felt like the ideas that I've put forth have been supported. Everybody has a collaborative hand in what we do, and that's been a great aspect of SPIA.”