After graduating from Georgetown with a degree in international political economy and working as an operations consultant for financial services in New York, Maria Jose Dassum Narino found herself in an ironic situation: She realized that she had no idea how to manage her own money.
If someone like her who had studied economics, finance and accounting had trouble managing her money, Maria reasoned, what did that mean for everyone else? She consumed as many books and online courses on the topic of personal finance as she could. The more she learned, the more motivated she became to educate others.
Maria recently shared how this epiphany led her to the Columbia University School of Professional Studies (SPS) Master of Professional Studies in Wealth Management, and how the program has informed her approach to her business, taught her the importance of adaptability, and helped her build her brand on social media.
How did you hear about Columbia’s Wealth Management program? What attracted you to the program?
After I realized how much I didn’t know about managing my own money, I started an Instagram account called Simplemente Dinero (Simply Money) to teach basic personal financial topics in Spanish to Gen Z, millennials, and young professional Latinos, because I rarely found any non-English resources. It started as a hobby, because I wanted to help people in Latin America learn about wealth management since no one talks about it. I wanted to pay it forward with this Instagram account, but eventually wanted a degree in personal finance to build my knowledge in the field.
I have an MBA, but much of what I was teaching people on my Instagram account was self-taught. I thought a Certified Financial Planning certification would be good and was Googling classes and found the Columbia Wealth Management program. I listened to Columbia’s free wealth management webinars and talked to students in the program, and the network seemed so strong. Plus, it was a master’s degree at an Ivy League school, and it was asynchronous, so I could organize my schedule around growing my business.
How has the program informed your approach to your business?
The material I’m learning in the program is spectacular. It’s helped me a lot and opened my mind to the many options I have for my career.
One specific example would be related to my social media brand. It really comes down to your ability to connect with your ideal customer and effectively persuade people to buy your products or services. I’m thankful that Columbia’s Wealth Management program emphasizes sales and communication as part of the curriculum, as I have found in my short time in entrepreneurship that it is critical.
M.P.S. in Wealth Management student Maria Dassum Narino at the Women in Biz conference she organized.
Can you tell us about the conference you organized at Universidad San Francisco de Quito [USFQ] called Women in Biz? What was the inspiration behind it?
I created a podcast called Libertad Financiera (Financial Freedom) in which I discuss money matters openly, both from an educational and a personal development standpoint. One day, as I doubted myself, both a classmate and a lecturer told me separately they strongly believed in what I was doing. I realized this happens to many women, and it starts with our upbringing. I decided to discuss this in a series of episodes within my podcast called “El Desafío de princesa a REINA” (“The Challenge: From Princess to QUEEN”).
In these episodes, I asked women I admired how their sense of self might have influenced their relationship with their money. The idea for the series came from the Disney movies I loved when I was little. In each of these stories, though, the princess or female protagonist is somehow dependent on a man to gain freedom. It bothered me that perhaps every girl internalized this feeling that we were not self-reliant. And that if we achieved success, there would be a terrible sense of imposter syndrome.
The conference was the in-person version of the podcast, so I invited entrepreneurs from across all sorts of industries—fashion, hospitality, finance, neurodiversity in education—to offer the message that regardless of the industry, there is not just one way to be successful in managing your finances. We had over 200 attendees, and it was a great success!
What else have you learned in the Wealth Management program?
The more I teach, coach, and learn about finance, the more I realize that the psychological component determines one’s ability to successfully manage their money. If you don’t think it’s possible to improve your financial situation, you may not try, seek help, or persist in long-term goals when things get challenging. It all starts with mindset. Progress over perfection!
About the Program
A 16-month online program with asynchronous instruction, specially designed to accommodate working professionals, Columbia University’s Master of Professional Studies in Wealth Management program is taught by distinguished faculty with deep, applied experience in their respective fields. Additionally, it is a CFP Board Registered Program designed to help students meet the educational requirements for CFP® certification.
