A True Leader and Scholar
Asia Carter-Lamb knew she was interested in money management from a young age. After majoring in finance at RWU, she got a job as an Associate Financial Analyst at Akamai Technologies in Cambridge, MA. In the future, Carter-Lamb plans to leverage her skills to help her community in her home city of Baltimore.
In the spring of 2020, Carter-Lamb was recognized for her achievements and involvement on campus with the Lt. Charles A. Henderson Spirit Award, which recognizes seniors who demonstrate the embodiment of a true scholar as they strive for excellence and overcome adversity, and the Dr. Karen R. Haskell Senior Leadership Award, which recognizes senior student leaders for their contributions to the campus community.
We recently talked with Carter-Lamb to learn more about her experiences at RWU and in the field of finance.
What do you do in your role at Akamai Technologies?
I’m part of a three-year program within the financial department at Akamai. Each year I will have a new role.
My current role is within the Finance Center of Excellence, a data governance team that makes sure the other teams of analysts have accurate information. I’m going to be in this role until August of 2021. After that first rotation I will switch to another role, and I will have more say in what that role will be.
What are the benefits of experiencing different roles?
It will give me a lot more exposure to different facets of finance within corporate finance, and specifically within finance at Akamai. I think that will make me more flexible and give me more breadth of knowledge than staying in one role for three years. Getting that exposure is really valuable because I will learn about different parts of the company.
Did you always know you wanted to go into finance?
I knew I had an interest in money management from a young age. I wasn’t really exposed to what that would correlate to for a career. The only thing I was exposed to was accounting, so I came into Roger as an accounting major. I changed my major within the first two or three days because one I learned about finance, I understood that my interests lay more with it than with accounting. Once I changed my major within those first three days, I stuck with it, and I definitely enjoyed it a lot.
What experiences did you have at RWU that helped you get this position?
During my freshman year, a student who was a grade older than me was involved with a program called INROADS, which helps specifically people of color but also low-income students find internships in corporate environments. He brought a representative into the Intercultural Center to tell us about the opportunities that INROADS had. I was very interested and was accepted into the program during my sophomore year. I was able to apply for different roles, and completed my first internship at Lockheed Martin. Without INROADS, I don’t think I would have had that opportunity. Having interned at such a large, well-known company gave me a leg up to get my internship afterwards at Akamai. Akamai then gave me a full-time offer and I accepted.
Were you involved with any groups, clubs, or organizations at RWU?
I was involved with quite a lot on campus. During all my time there I served as a math tutor and in my last year and a half I was a health and wellness educator (HAWE.) I was also on the women’s track team for 2 years and I was a member of the Summer Center for Advanced Financial Education (CAFE) program. I was also a member of Alpha Chi (National Honor Society) and Beta Gamma Sigma (The International Business Honor Society.) I'm also an active member within the Intercultural Leadership Ambassador & Scholarship Program, where I served as a mentor. I definitely made a lot of use of my time.
Being involved on campus gave me the opportunity to meet different types of people and use different types of skills. From interacting with people while tutoring, to public speaking with HAWE, to learning analytical skills within the CAFE, all of my experiences were very useful.
Where do you see your career going in the future?
I plan to stay involved in business, but more in the public sector. I’m originally from Baltimore City, and a big part of what I want to do is to return to the city and use my skills to help make the city a better place.
Down the road I would like to get a joint degree with my MBA and a Master’s in Public Policy, especially after having the economics minor. Those skillsets linked together could really help me make a difference in my community.
What is your advice for students interested in a career in finance?
Take advantage of your network. Talk to professors, other students, people within your family, close friends, any network you have. There are many programs like the one I was involved with for all types of students, and those really help people get a leg up to get that first opportunity they need to go forward. Use your network and use your resources.