Students interested in finance and consulting met a new-but-old face this semester, as former Senior Associate Director and Advisor in Finance and Consulting at Career Exploration and Development (CXD) Lisa Noble left the College in July. The position was filled by Dawn Gerding, who previously held the role from 2018 until 2022.

“We’re thrilled that Dawn, having originated the role, decided to rejoin CXD upon Lisa’s departure,” Executive Director of CXD Kristin Brennan wrote in an email to the Orient. “And I wouldn’t be surprised if you see Lisa on campus from time to time too; I’m always sorry not to get to work with a colleague day to day but thrilled when they stay close by.”

Noble left CXD to join a startup called RecruitU, a platform that houses finance recruiting resources for undergraduates. Students who worked closely with her throughout their recruiting processes have bittersweet feelings about her departure.

“My initial reaction was that I was very happy for her because it’s an awesome role she is going for at RecruitU,” Zach Marchese ’25, one of the leaders of the Bowdoin Finance Society, said. “We’re very grateful for her time here that helped us streamline some of the initiatives and programs we’re working on today.”

Noble has remained engaged with Bowdoin students throughout Gerding’s transition, both unofficially and through her position at RecruitU.

“[Noble] still lives in Brunswick,” AJ DiChiaria ’26, one of the leaders of the finance society and a former intern at RecruitU, said. “I have directed [to Noble] students who are particularly interested in certain careers in finance or consulting, just because it sometimes can be more nuanced, and you might need a more specific prep program that she’s working on with [RecruitU] right now. So, I have helped be a liaison for her and some underclassmen.”

Gerding says she has felt “very comfortable” about the transition back to CXD and is focused on improving the advising role. One of the major changes to the position, according to Gerding, is that her title includes advising for business rather than finance and consulting exclusively. She hopes this will expand her purview beyond the typical finance and consulting job cycles into areas like market research, business administration and leadership development programs.

The driving force behind the advising business is creating relationships with employers, and Gerding has been reacquainting herself with the practice. Internally, CXD has restructured how the office maintains alumni and employer relationships in the years since Gerding’s original tenure, with Director of Partnerships and Programming at CXD Bethany Walsh spearheading most of the employer relations.

Gerding is also concerned with making approachable programming for students gaining new professional connections. Along with students at the Finance Society, Gerding wants to develop more technical workshops for those specifically interested in finance to ensure they are ready for the recruiting process.

“We need to continue to do what we can to educate students on technical finance concepts for the interviews at these firms that we don’t learn in class as an economics major or mathematics major. That’s a continuous battle as a liberal arts college and a liberal arts student, but something that we continue to compensate for and thrive with,” Marchese said.

While Noble’s departure was relatively sudden for students navigating the recruiting process this fall, Gerding is focused on ensuring that students get the “individual attention” they need while creating more efficient programming to help students proactively.