About Us
Bridging the Gap, Expanding Opportunities
CMC SWS is built on three things: education, community, and access.
Our chapter exists to build financial literacy and investment knowledge among undergraduate women of all backgrounds — including those who have never opened a brokerage account or read a 10-K. No prior knowledge is assumed, and that is the point.
Through weekly finance and accounting workshops, recruiting preparation, and panels with leaders across the industry, members build both the technical fluency and the intuition the industry actually runs on. Just as importantly, they build it alongside a group of ambitious, curious women who are figuring it out at the same time.
We provide the guidance, the network, and the resources. Our members bring the curiosity and excitement to be a part of the community.
Background & Founding Team
The effort began in Summer 2020, when a group of four Girls Who Invest scholars found that a space for women interested in finance was missing on the CMC campus, and that there was no space where they could comfortably grow while cultivating a community with other like-minded women.
Our founders were particularly interested in furthering the cause of increasing women's representation in finance by creating a space, network, and educational opportunity for undergraduate women.
Thus, they set out to establish a nationally recognized chapter of Smart Woman Securities at
Claremont McKenna College, and in Fall 2021, CMC SWS was founded.
That founding premise still drives the chapter today.
Founders: Raizel Yu ’22, Hannah Zhang ’22, Jessica Zamora ’22, Madeline Standlee ’23
What Membership of SWS Looks Like
1. Finance & Accounting Workshops (Hard Skills)
A structured weekly curriculum covering financial statement analysis, modeling, Excel and PowerPoint.
No prior background assumed.
2. Recruiting & Interview Preparation (Soft Skills)
Resume reviews, mock interviews, and a clear-eyed walk through the timelines and paths including but not limited to investment banking, asset management, wealth management, consulting, and beyond.
3. Panels & Keynotes
Direct access to SWS's alumni network and leaders across the industry, and the chance to ask them the questions that don't get answered in an info session.
4. Community
Club meetings and bonding events that connect you to a network of ambitious, curious women — the people who will trade interview notes with you now and pick up your call in ten years.