Abigail Miller
Regulatory Affairs Analyst,
Citi
What was your introduction to the Finance industry?
My introduction to the finance industry was as a summer analyst at Citi on the CitiLean & Smart Automation Team. In this role, I supported a portfolio of CitiLean projects across the bank using CitiLean methodology, created content for CitiLean training courses, and supported the build-out and customization of the Smart Automation Center Playbook for Robotic Process Automation.
What type of impact are you hoping to make in the ACE community?
I am hoping to enable the ACE community to not only embrace their entrepreneurial spirit through my own endeavors in the health and wellness space but also teach everyone how to make their health a priority in the midst of a seemingly never-ending workload that comes along with a career in Finance, especially for women. I think a lot of us career-driven women in Finance and Technology tend to feel like we can’t have it all - when, in fact, we can. It’s just as important to be your best in your personal life as it is in your career and that includes taking care of yourself.
When and why did women empowerment in finance start to become an important issue for you?
Women empowerment has always been an important issue to me, though it definitely came more to light my freshman year. In my Integrated Business and Engineering Honors Program cohort, there was about 30% female and 70% male and I even remember one of the TAs saying that this was the most girls he had ever seen in an IBE cohort so far. It made me realize how much of an issue this still was and cemented my desire to enable women to feel confident in pursuing a career in Finance and Technology.
This is why I am proud to work for Citi as it still stands as one of the few companies to offer information about its gender pay gap to the public. Acknowledgement is the first step in making strides towards closing it. I am a mentor for Citi’s Early ID Program which focuses on identifying, mentoring, and hiring top diverse talent for Citi’s Summer Analyst Programs.
What inspires you and keeps you motivated?
The chance to be better version of myself than I was yesterday. Each day we are given an opportunity to get better. Whether my “better” is in my job trying to crush a presentation or at the gym trying to crush a new PR - there are so many opportunities to make yourself just that one bit better each day. Additionally, the fact that I am a First-Generation College Student also feeds my fire to keep me going each and every day. I had to fight so hard for my college education and once I was there, the fight got even harder. Though I received financial aid, funding a college education by myself is a daunting task. Throughout my four years at Lehigh, I managed three part-time jobs along with leadership positions/extracurriculars, on top of a honors dual-degree program that had me taking about 18 credits a semester. From this experience, I made it a priority to find ways to give back and help other first-generation college students get through school by focusing on their studies vs. their finances. One way I did this was through volunteering as a peer financial mentor in the Office of Financial Aid so I could show younger students what options they had, how to set a budget, and even how to gain access to free textbooks - a huge deal since they can be huge out of pocket cost.
What are your interests and a fun fact about yourself?
In my spare time, I enjoy taking my morning CrossFit classes with the 6:30AM squad, learning how to make new recipes, and working on my Nutrition Coaching side hustle. A fun fact about me is that I have a twin brother.