Women in Business hosted Seema Sheth, senior vice president and regional executive of the Louisville Branch of the Federal Reserve Banks of St. Louis, on Wednesday, Feb. 7.

The program offered a “meet and greet” opportunity where students could speak with Sheth about whatever they wanted before her presentation on her career path in finance and economics.

Sheth started her undergraduate career as a theatre major and argued that beginning this way allowed her to have presentation and teamwork skills.

“I learned in college not only how to become self-reliant, but how to manage my time well and those are all really important things in business,” Sheth said. 

Sheth enjoys having conversations with people, pushes to have a mission in her work and encourages others to do the same. 

“The work that I get to do with the [Federal Reserve] is about highlighting local stories on a national level, and I think Kentucky has really great stories to tell that sometimes don’t get told,” Sheth said.

After the meet and greet students were moved to a presentation room where Sheth discussed her career path.

After Sheth graduated college she managed a coffee shop, modeled and even worked as a contractor for Lowe’s. 

Sheth’s message to students was to convey that not all career paths are linear and that it’s important to realize that preconceived notions do not limit the career path that you would like to follow. 

Helly Patel, co-president of Women in Business, is set to graduate in May with a business finance degree. 

Patel said she enjoyed Sheth’s talk and added that hearing Sheth speak is always a breath of fresh air.

“I hope people can see that it’s not [about] a traditional pathway as long as you’re determined to get there and [you’re] open to the journey you can succeed,” Patel said.

Much of Sheth’s advice to students was to join boards, create networks and figure out what tools are in their toolbox. 

Randy Dunham, senior business finance major, had participated in one of Sheth’s talks prior to Feb. 7 and appreciated her personality and professionalism.

“I [learned] how everything is not linear as far as her career and how she got there and how a lot of things require relationships,” Dunham said.

News Reporter Kaylee Hawkins can be reached at [email protected].