Mathew Petty 2002

After graduation, I got a job in Denver with a mutual fund company called Wasatch, where I worked as a stock analyst. I got the job through a Central connection, Laura Vander Pol Hoffman ’93, who hired me on the recommendation of her old finance professor, Debela Birru. I worked at Wasatch through 2008. In 2009 I began working for Charles Schwab as a portfolio manager, managing diversified portfolios of stocks, bonds and commodities.

What books am I reading? Most of the books I read these days are nonfiction books for work that I probably wouldn’t recommend anyone read for pleasure. For instance, I’m learning how to program in R and Python, so I’ve been reading books to get better at that. I’ve also been getting into Jiu-Jitsu, so I’ve also been reading books to get better at that. In terms of things I would recommend, everyone should go binge watch Silicon Valley. I think it’s the funniest show on TV, even after my favorite character (Erlich) decided not to come back for Season 5.

What I remember most about my time at Central was spending time with my friends, my roommates’ hygiene habits, various wrestling matches in the dorm rooms, going to football games and leading the crowd in various cheers (EIEIEIO!!), eating at CUIFS and my semester studying abroad in France. My mom has worked in the alumni office at Central since the second semester of my freshman year, which probably has a lot to do with why I volunteered to fill out this alumni profile, and I enjoyed being able to stop in to see her while I was a student. Also, I was a member of the BKE fraternity, which led to many interesting stories, some of which probably shouldn’t appear in print. Among other things, I remember staying up all night to run a football to Simpson’s campus, and I can’t forget to mention the couch the fraternity donated for an event, that no one should ever sit on again.

I have lived mostly in Colorado since graduating from Central, with a couple of detours for work over the years. While at Wasatch I was transferred to the Utah office for two years, where I lived in Park City and worked in Salt Lake City. I also spent four months living in Paris, France, as part of a work program, where I had the opportunity to revisit the places I had seen years before during my study abroad experience. I got married to my wife Katie in 2010 and we have two sons: Evan, who is six and Eli, who will turn three in a couple of weeks. Two years ago, we moved from Denver to the suburb of Lone Tree, so our children could live in a neighborhood that was a little more kid-friendly. These days I spend most of my time chasing after our boys and supporting them in their various activities.