Four years ago, Alexis Tinsley was walking across the stage at Park High to receive her diploma. This spring she graduates with a finance and accounting major. She is now 22 years old, fresh out of college and ready to begin her next adventure.

In high school she participated in Business Professionals of America and believes that it pushed her to understand financial concepts and gave me the confidence to go into a finance career. BPA Advisor Reid Lende said that “she practiced for the accounting test more than any other student I have ever had.”

Starting in July she will work for JP Chase Morgan where she will underwrite loans for “ultra-high net worth individuals,’ she explained in an email.  Not very many people can qualify for this job, but an internship in Ohio gave her a competitive edge. She was there for nine weeks working with a commercial real estate department. Under the internship she did everything she will do with the JP Morgan job the only difference being that she will be working full time.

As a requirement for one of her finance classes she went to New York City to meet with many executives for companies such as JP Morgan Company, Black Stone, and New York Stock Exchange. She applied to the JP Morgan Chase job as an assignment for her class, and she ended up getting it.

Business teacher Reid Lende was one of the biggest inspirations to Tinsley.  “He helped me out a lot with finance and accounting back in high school,” she said. “He was the one that pushed me to major in finance.” She took his advice and will be graduating with a double major in finance and accounting. 

 “She did an independent study with me for both accounting and finance and that’s when she realized that she liked numbers and business,” said Lende.

Tinsley said she struggles with finding time for herself because she is so driven to do well at her job. Being able to see how far she has come and how much she has succeeded in the past year has finally paid off. 

The best advice that she can give the graduating seniors is that you don’t have to know what you want to do. Doing what is easy won’t get you far in life so if you push yourself and “try to make hard decisions” they will pay off, she advised.