C AT C H I N G
UP
WITH
Erin "Quinn" Trudel ’19
B Y A LY S S A B O U R G OY N E
Master of Business Administration
student Erin “Quinn” Trudel grew up
in the Boulder bedroom community
of Broomfield, Colo. with her sisters
and parents, Teri and Greg. Growing
up, Trudel was steeped in business
sense and a strong work ethic by
way of her father, who now serves as
president and CEO for the medical
device company, Encision.
Throughout high school, Trudel
excelled as a student-athlete on the
varsity lacrosse team. She was a
four-year starter on defense at Legacy
High School and three-time First
Team All-State honoree in 2013, 2014
and 2015. When Trudel was offered a
position on Jacksonville University’s
nationally ranked women’s lacrosse
team, she did not hesitate to accept.
“There is a special community at JU
to where I can walk around campus,
see at least one person [I] know,”
Quinn said. “I didn’t want to go to
a university and feel as if I was just
a number. The small class sizes and
interactive professor[s] make it feel
like a community.”
Trudel selected finance as her degree
of undergraduate study with an
additional concentration in marketing
for good measure and went on to
play lacrosse for the 2016, 2017 and
2018 seasons. It is easy to tell in the
way that Trudel’s face lights up when
asked about her time spent playing
lacrosse that the sport and its inherent
camaraderie have played an influential
and inspirational role in her life.
During the 2018 season, she suffered
a shoulder injury while playing.
Quinn Trudel ’19 (pictured center)
with the 2019 CFA Challenge Team
after winning the Florida CFA
Institute Research Challenge.
Trudel returned home to Colorado
where she underwent surgery
and rehab for her shoulder. Trudel
returned to JU, but her shoulder
was still not in playing condition.
Fortunately, she was offered a lacrosse
student coaching position - a role in
which she proudly served until her
graduation in the spring of 2019.
As Trudel's undergraduate academic
journey progressed, she joined
JU’s Dolphin Student Investment
Fund (DSIF). “The Fund is
designed to provide students with
valuable experience in investment
portfolio management. Students
actively manage the fund under
the supervision of the Advisory
Board, which consists of JU faculty
members, investment and finance
professionals, and alumni.
"Students act as the analysts, research
fellows, or portfolio managers,
designing long-term investment
strategies, conducting in-depth
security analysis, and presenting
security research reports. They also
develop economic and industry
outlooks, make investment decisions,
monitor and evaluate portfolio
performance, and more.”
The team was coached under the
leadership of JU finance professor
Abdel Missa, a connection that
would later present exciting career
opportunities for Trudel. “My
interests in investment banking grew
from taking the Dolphin Student
Investment Fund and learning about
the stock market. I see this project
as the starting point of my career. I
knew that I was interested in finance
but wasn’t quite sure how it would
relate to a career.”
Trudel and her team went on to
compete at the annual Chartered
Financial Analyst (CFA) Institute
Research Challenge, a global
competition that provides college
students with hands-on mentoring
and intensive training in financial
analysis and professional ethics.
In the spring of 2019, Trudel’s team
successfully competed against other
Florida teams and was named state
champions, securing JU’s position at
the regional competition in New York.
While the team fell short of reaching
the international finals, they received
high marks for their oral presentation.
And for Trudel, the experience gave
life to her dream of breaking into the
New York finance industry.
The spring of 2020 will bring
graduation for Quinn from JU’s
Masters of Business Administration
program. In the fall of 2019, she
began her career as the head of sales
and marketing for the start-up hedge
fund Market Cipher Partners, under
the leadership of her DSIF coach,
Abdel Missa. “It is a good opportunity
for me to get my foot in the door and
learn,” Trudel said.
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