Gabrielle Naomi Armon-Wickers grew up on Milwaukee’s North Side and graduated from Rufus King International High School before receiving a full-ride scholarship to a private liberal arts school on the East Coast.
She was majoring in American studies, exercising her leadership skills as class president, and preparing to depart on a study abroad trip to South Africa. But then the COVID-19 pandemic hit, halting everything and sending her back to Milwaukee.
Armon-Wickers continued classes remotely while holding multiple jobs. As the pandemic continued, her goals began to change. She had been teaching herself about investing and realized she wanted to build her financial expertise. Changing her path would not only benefit her personally but also help others in the Black community.
“I want to attack the wealth gap,” she said. “I pursued finance because I grew up seeing how a lack of financial knowledge could impact generations. I may not be able to undo centuries of inequality, but I can learn, teach and help ensure the cycle doesn’t repeat.”
Armon-Wickers’ first step, she decided, was to attend Milwaukee Area Technical College, where she earned a financial services technical diploma. With that diploma in hand, she transferred to UW-Milwaukee’s Lubar College of Business to study finance.
The rigorous coursework involved working on real financial portfolios and preparing for a range of roles in finance. At the same time, Armon-Wickers served as vice president of the Black Student Union, a reading and math intern at Highland Community School in Milwaukee, and as an investment intern at Northwestern Mutual.
Armon-Wickers appreciated the mentorship of Lubar’s executive-in-residence Kevin Silverman. “He introduced me to some women working within the investment management space,” she said. “He also helped me to dream just a little bit bigger because he said that I had the smarts and the capabilities to open up my own registered investment agency one day.”
After graduating in May 2026, Armon-Wickers was hired full-time as an investment client services analyst at Northwestern Mutual. She hopes to one day attend Howard University in Washington to earn her MBA. But her first priority is to become a chartered financial analyst charterholder, a top certification that involves passing three challenging exams. Doing so, she said, will give “me a richer perspective for future academic discussions and leadership opportunities.”
Her dreams have not unfolded precisely the way she expected, but Armon-Wickers remains hopeful and driven.
“Success might not be linear,” Armon-Wickers said. “It might not come at the time that you expect it, but as long as you are resilient, it will come.”
