NATIONAL CAREERS WEEK: ABBY ANDREWS

A constant juggling act is the reality for many elite athletes, working hard to balance their sport and professional career.

It’s something that Ord Minnett Aussie Stinger Abby Andrews never thought would be possible for her, until an opportunity came up to intern at Ord Minnett.

In June 2023, Ord Minnett came on board as a major sponsor for Water Polo Australia, and naming rights sponsor of both the Aussie Stingers and Aussie Sharks.

But it’s not just in the pool that Ord Minnett is supporting athletes. Ord Minnett is a leading Australian wealth management group specialising in financial planning, stockbroking, funds management and corporate finance. 

Currently studying a Bachelor of Advanced Finance and Economics (Honours) at the University of Queensland, Andrews couldn’t pass up the chance to gain experience in her dream field of work.

“It was huge - I got to be an Equity Research Intern, and do a lot of company research, Excel modelling, company valuations and forecasting, and some report writing. It is so inline with what I want to do,” Andrews said.

“Because of being an athlete, I haven’t had that chance to have that exposure anywhere else, whereas all my peers and colleagues have. So I’ve always felt like I was behind, but that opportunity was huge. 

“Somehow, by some miracle, I pulled it off. It worked with uni, it worked with my personal life and it worked with water polo. I got six weeks of full time work, and it was amazing,” she said.

For Andrews, not only was the career experience she gained important, but the support she felt from Ord Minnett was something she said was invaluable.

“The people there were huge supporters, and they loved that I was very interested in the work that they were doing. I got to actually do a water polo showcase at my office, which they all loved too,” Andrews said.

“To have me who has been struggling and wanted a job exactly like this, and for me to step in so seamlessly and really take me in was amazing. 

“There were so many people at Ord Minnett who were super supportive, and understood if I was a little bit late in coming from training.

“I’m so grateful for their support and this opportunity. When they came to the Test match in Brisbane earlier this year with the whole office, it was just huge,” she said.