Sarah Westwood
Biography
Country
USA
Why Fletcher
I had always planned to attend graduate school, but life got in the way: months after I completed the CFA program I deployed to Iraq, and my husband and I got married and started a family not long after I returned. The pandemic appeared to offer a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to complete a degree online, so I began investigating options. I was looking for a differentiated, small, online-only program at a top school: the Fletcher GBA program met all these criteria.
On flexibility
I work full-time as a Portfolio Manager on two US equity funds and have two teenage children. In addition, my husband started a cider-making business a few years ago, and I help as needed with apple pressing, canning, distribution, and marketing. Before the program started, I was concerned that I might have to cut back on some of the activities that I enjoy, such as travel, skiing, and book club. Two years into the program, I have been very pleasantly surprised by how much flexibility I have had to continue to pursue outside interests. My work is going well, and my kids are thriving in high school – if anything my studies have brought us closer together given that we are facing many of the same time-management issues as we approach our coursework. The cidery business is booming as well, and I enjoy sharing our new varieties with classmates in the area.
On the GBA cohort
While I recognized that my classmates would be significant contributors to my learning, I did not anticipate that I would feel so connected to them when we had never met in person. I had not expected classes to be so small, nor had I realized that the experience would be so personal. I remain very close to classmates that I met in those early weeks, and we check in with each other often when tough decisions or experiences arise in our personal or professional lives. My life is so much richer now that they are part of it, and I cannot imagine what the past two years would have been like without them.
Education before Fletcher
- Bachelor of Arts, English and Art History, Wellesley College
Experience before Fletcher
- Partner/Portfolio Manager, Eastern Shore Capital Management, Marblehead, MA
- Vice President, Thought Leadership, Fidelity Investments, Boston, MA
- Associate Portfolio Manager, Moody Aldrich Partners, Marblehead, MA
- SVP and Analyst, Putnam Investments, Boston, MA
- Captain, Military Intelligence, US Army Reserve, Devens, MA
- Associate, Cobey, Jacobson & Gordon, Boston, MA
- Operations Associate, Saluti Cahn & Co., Boston, MA
- Research Associate, Harvard Business School, Boston, MA