Joel Vanner: Welcome to episode four of “Who Are You?”, the Bobcats you know, the stories you don't. My name is Joel Vanner, and I am joined today by Quinn Guth. Quinn, welcome to the show.

Quinn Guth: Thank you. I'm excited to be here. Thanks for having me. 

Joel Vanner: Yeah, absolutely. So, Quinn, let's get started today by having you tell us a little bit about your journey to Quinnipiac. I hear it's quite an interesting one.

Quinn Guth: Yeah, there's a lot to it. The short story is basketball, and it really starts in high school with wanting to play Division I basketball somewhere in this crazy collegiate world, and it starts with Immaculate High School in Danbury, Connecticut, which is right around where I'm from. I spent three years there, just school and basketball, which ultimately led me around my junior year to decide that I wanted to play division one basketball somewhere, and that led to playing with New York Lightning, which is a basketball team out of the Bronx, and their coaches kind of pushed prep school on me, which was kind of a foreign concept at the time for me, but that led me to Kimball Union Academy, where I actually ended up repeating my junior year. So my joke is that high school was the best five years in my life. So I spent two years in New Hampshire kind of through the midst of COVID playing prep school basketball, which, if you're kind of in the basketball industry, know that some of the best names in college basketball come from what they call the Knapsack. So I was fortunate enough to spend two years with a great coach there, just playing and kind of learning the crazy landscape of prep school basketball and ultimately how that kind of leads to collegiate basketball. So with attorney CL in my time there and COVID, which recruiting-wise was rough, but ultimately was able to send kind of my transcripts and my tape out and get a few coaches on the phone and ultimately be offered a walk-on spot here at Quinnipiac. And that leads me here today.

Joel Vanner: That's awesome.

Quinn Guth: Yeah. 

Joel Vanner: Basketball led you here to Quinnipiac. You are the class of 2024, you're getting your MBA this year. You were in the finance program. Tell me a little bit about the academic side of things and what led you to finance.

Quinn Guth: Yeah, basketball led me here, and I think now I just kind of credit basketball as something I do, and then kind of business is something that I'm going to be doing. But finance wise is kind of where my passion was. And I kind of learned that through my time at Quinnipiac. When I came in as a freshman, I came in as an accounting major. Mm hmm, took a few big four right EY and Deloit interviews and felt that accounting maybe wasn't just for my personality. Reallyappreciated those companies for kind of spending some time with me and telling me what they do day to day. But I just after some time, I said, You know what?Basketball or not basketball, but finance may be more of my personality. Accounting may not be. So I ended up switching my major after a conversation with our previous basketball coach, Coach Baker Dunevy who was here my freshman and sophomore year, I walked into his office because he was a former Merrill Lynch guy, so he worked on Wall Street for a bit and just ended up asking him. I said, Hey, what what is finance like? What's that industry like? And he ended up kind of just selling me on Finance without actually having to sell me. He said, It's fast paced. You're constantly dealing with clients. It's almost like being in a locker room day to day, working with people and kind of that atmosphere of, you know, something may happen today that's good or bad. But you kind of wipe the scoreboard at the end of the day, and tomorrow's a new day with new problems. A new potential to either make money, lose money, close deals, open deals. SoI walked away from that conversation being really enthralled with finance to the point that I actually ended up changing my major, just kind of running with all of Quinnipiac's essentials to finance and falling in love with it and hopefully making a career of it here with their help.

Joel Vanner: Yeah, and that led you to the game forum, right, which is the largest student run financial conference, right? I have that right? That is right.

Quinn Guth: That is the tagline, and that is what I'm in charge of this year, the chair of. We're heading into our 14th game. Like you said, it's the largest student run conference. Finance conference game stands for global asset management education, too. So there's kind of a little bit of play on words there. That's in New York City, right? Yeah, correct, right in the heart of Manhattan, right in the heart of finance in the Mecca of New York City. So yeah, heading into the 14th one. We got a really good volunteer group of about 50 students that I've been working with for the past couple of months to kind of start preparing for this conference, which goes down first week in April. So we're excited for that. We have some really great speakers coming in that are really notable in the finance industry and the finance world. So we bring right around thousand to 1,200 students from about over 100 universities. So, yeah, it's definitely growing, and I'mjust lucky to be a part of it this year and have kind of been a part of it for years past.

Joel Vanner: And you're the chair. You're the chair this year. How how do you balance that with your basketball responsibilities? That must be a lot.

Quinn Guth: Yeah, it definitely is. Um, I said, I actually just had a cousin who had his third baby. And so I ended up text them and being, like, congratulations. I said, You must hate sleep. Yeah. And with three little ones running around, and he goes, I'll sleep when I'm dead, kind of. So I've been telling people that a lot recently, 'cause I like that flow. But I said, You just learn how to manage it. I said, I've always been the type of person that likes to put more on their plate, and then just kind of figure out how to do it. And I'd also be naive to say, I I'd also be naive to say that there's not a great group of people around me to make this all work from the volunteer group at Game, to the director of game, doctor Killg to the Dean of the Business School, Dean Raider, to, you know, coaches on the basketball team, just kind of helping me manage everything, to my teammates, even to my family. So I said, I may look like I'm doing a lot, but there's a lot of people behind the scenes that are making sure things get done day to day for me and are also keeping me, you know, in check.

Joel Vanner: Right. It takes a team, right? Teamwork, I think, follows between both of those, the game form and basketball. When you first got started in the game forum, before you became chair, how did you I should say, how did you get started in the game forum and work your way up to be the chair?

Quinn Guth: Yeah, I guess a lot of my story in general, is just sports leading to things in the business world. And honestly, I have to credit one of my former teammates. Name's Brendan Martin. He was a three plus one in his NBA year when I was coming in as a freshman, and he was a finance three plus one guy on the basketball team who was also a part of game at the time. And, you know, him almost taking me under his wing to a point in my freshman year and just telling me about game was something that again, I became enthralled with. I said, That sounds great, like, a great resume builder and also a club that when you think about getting involved, I could get behind, become passionate about. So he knew a few people within game and kind of connected me with them, and then I learned more about the club and then was able to join, actually the next year, join game. And then obviously being in the club and being kind of in the weeds or the day to day of the club and hearing more about it and then actually getting to go to New York City and see gamefum put on, right in the heart of New York, wearing a suit walking around, listening to some of the best minds in game. And in the finance world, just kind of speak about things they were knowledgeable about. I really felt that that was something for me and something I really wanted to sink my teeth into and get more involved in. So yeah.

Joel Vanner: So, you're a division one basketball player, you're chair of the game forum. You must have a lot going on. Tell us what a typical day is like and how you manage all of it.

Quinn Guth: Yeah, day to days are busy, some more than others. I think, kind of in the heat of it now, with basketball going on and March Madness around the corner and also game form kind of picking up here, too, as that kicks off the first week in April, said it's busy. Typical day for me will look like waking up, you know, early, seven, 8:00, studying a little bit for classes or a few exams I have to take for my job coming up here, maybe sending a few emails out, structuring a few things for game, whether that's, you know,N Excel or Word or whatever is going on there. And then usually I'm up and out of the house or practice around 11:00, kind of at the arena around 11 for usually 12:00 start time for practice. Then between practice, lift, maybe film, recovery, whatever that kind of entails, are potentially a game, right, if we're playing. I said, I'll usually get home around five, 6:00. Which usually take me to a night class from about six to six to 930. And then, you know, I can kind of managing emails throughout the day. Or when I do get home, at the end of the day, I'm usually blasting out a few more emails or kind of setting up for the next day or studying a little bit more, doing some homework. So I said it's a busy day, but get it all done. 

Joel Vanner: And on some days, travel in there, too. And managing all that, too. That's a lot. 

Quinn Guth: Yeah. So days we were doing all of that from the hot spot on my phone, on a laptop, on a bus headed to, you know, wherever in the conference we're playing that day. 

Joel Vanner: Know you've touched on it a little bit already. How have these experiences helped you grow as you're looking to what life beyond Quinnipiac will turn into? 

Quinn Guth: Yeah. Again, I'm just a giant believer in that the business world and the sports world go hand in hand. So just through basketball, right? You learn how to work with a team. You learn how to be a leader. You know the qualities of showing up early and leaving late. Of outworking the person next to you and kind of in my short term of being a businessman and kind of figuring out what I wanted to do with my life in the world of business, I've just come to see that all those qualities and characteristics apply. They just apply in a different sense in the business world. So I said, I was lucky enough to work an internship this past summer with a company, and then I just kind of found, you show up a little bit earlier than everybody else, you stay a little bit later. If you, you know, constantly ask, like what you could be doing better, and you just put all the characteristics that you kind of learn on a basketball quarter in life through sports. I said, it kind of takes care of itself in the business sense to yeah. 

Joel Vanner: So you have quite a connected story how basketball led you to Quinnipiac led you to finance and led you to the game form, as well. You mentioned you had an internship over the summer. What is next for you? 

Quinn Guth: Yeah, right? And it's crazy that you're asking that question because, you know, everyone says college goes by so quickly and to think now, right, that I'm headed into the working world and, you know, college is going to be kind of in my rearview mirror is crazy to think about. But yeah, like you said, basketball kind of led me to finance. Finance led me to game. Games kind of helped lead me to a job, too, to a point. And so, what's next for me is I'm headed to Manhattan, head right back to where game started to work for Key Bank in their sales and trading department. Congratulations. Thank you. Yeah, really excited and have to thank a ton of people at Quinnipiac and kind of in my life, too, that helped me get there. Um Again, I'm a big believer, right, that sports and finance go hand in hand. So I think a lot of the sports world helped me get there. And obviously, the people within Quinnipiac and within finance played a large part in that. So I'm excited for what's next. I'm very thankful to Quinnipiac for helping me get there, and, you know, ultimately, right finance in the world. And everything that kind of entails is, you know, coming here shortly, so I'm excited for it. 

Joel Vanner: And you've been so well connected to the hub, right? New York so close to Quinnipiac with Game Form and cool that you'll be back there for this job. 

Quinn Guth: Yeah, I mean, there's a place to go work in finance, right? It's New York City. So again, very thankful to Key Bank for septing me into their internship program and then, you know, offering me a return letter. I'm thankful to Quinnipiac for kind of helping set that up, too, and, you know, coaches and mentors even before college, kind of helping me find a love of basketball and create all the characteristics that it takes to be successful in the basketball world that have going to translate over here to the business world here soon. I'm just just thankful and, you know, definitely takes a village, and I'm a product of that village. 

Joel Vanner: You've had a lot of mentors, I think, along the way, a lot of teams. If you could give advice to somebody who is looking to balance athletics and involvement or even just find some way to get started and involvement in a way that you have and gotten great involvement, what advice would you give someone who is looking for that? 

Quinn Guth: Yeah, I always say do what you love and love what you do and love who you do it with. For me, it wasn't so much about managing everything. It was finding stuff that I was passionate about. Like, I love basketball. I love game form. I love getting an education. I love other things I do on campus. So for me, it's never felt like work so much and it felt like I'm contributing to a community that invested in me and also that I'm getting to do stuff, right? It's not that, oh, I have to go to basketball practice. I have to run game form. I have to, you know, go to class. It's all stuff that I like doing, all stuff that I'm passionate about. All stuff that I know is benefiting me for later in life, too. And the other part of it is that the people I do it with are great. I said, I generally enjoy being around my teammates for four, five, 6 hours a day of going on road trips with them. The volunteers in game club, I said, from the interview process of when I get to meet them to the end of the year when I'm thanking them for all their hard work, like, I get to know who they are, what their dreams are, if I can help them or provide advice to them, maybe for their business ideas or once down the line, too, like, being someone like Brendan Martin was to me. I said, It's really just something that I enjoy doing and something that at the end of the day doesn't feel like work. 

Joel Vanner: Awesome. Well, Quinn, thank you so much for joining me today. Good luck with the game forum. It's awesome to see it every year and how it grows and just the work that's put behind it. It's really incredible. Thank you.  

Quinn Guth: Thanks for having me. 

Joel Vanner:  That is a rap for today's episode of "Who Are You." If you like today's episode, be sure to find us wherever you get your favorite podcast, Apple or YouTube. Don't forget to like and share. And until next time, when I ask my next guest, who are you, I'm Joel Vanor. Goodbye.