One Conversation in the Library Changes Students Career Path

Alondra Gonzalez received her bachelor’s degree in financial planning from the University of Georgia (UGA) in May. Originally a math major who wanted to teach, her entire career path changed one day after overhearing two students talking while she was studying in the library.

“I feel like I'm a pretty reserved person, so it's not super normal for me to just go up to someone and ask them what they're doing, but something in me just really pushed me to do that,” she says. After Googling one of their textbooks and approaching the girls, Gonzalez learned they were studying for their capstone project in financial planning.

“That was where I found out about the major and realized it aligned really well with everything that I wanted to do. I would still be able to help others and teach, but personal finance instead of calculus,” she says. Gonzalez fully committed to the financial planning major in the second semester of her sophomore year, enrolling in the CFP Board Registered Program in the UGA College of Family and Consumer Sciences. In the program, Gonzalez gained hands-on experience working as a VITA volunteer in both her junior and senior years as part of a required tax preparation class. In her junior year, she was a tax preparer, but the second time she volunteered, she was a manager performing quality reviews of returns.

The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) experience was fun and worthwhile, according to Gonzalez. “It just helps to interact with so many clients throughout the semester. It's really valuable,” she says. She also volunteered for UGA’s Love and Money Center (formerly ASPIRE Clinic), which facilitates innovative clinical training, client services and outreach programs that enhance the relational and financial health of individuals, couples and families.

“You're focused on maybe one or two clients throughout the semester and really going through the financial planning process, getting to understand them, getting to know their goals and then helping them reach [their goals],” Gonzalez explains.

Gonzalez interned with Homrich Berg as a client service associate in 2024. The firm offered her an advisory associate position upon graduation, which she began in August 2025.

“Their approach to financial planning is team based, and they're also a fee-only RIA ... I want to be able to work with clients no strings attached to truly be able to recommend what's best for them,” Gonzalez says.

Gonzalez passed the CFP® exam in July and plans to earn the remainder of her experience hours toward certification while on the job. She has already earned some hours through her volunteer work.

“CFP® certification itself just helps provide you with more credibility. And being a young professional in the industry working with older clients, I think that just helps establish the rapport and trust with clients a bit faster,” she says.

What’s one piece of advice she would give other students? “Just keep an open mind. That was something my mom would tell me, and I think that's why I was so pushed to approach those girls working on their project in the library.”