Graduating UW-Oshkosh finance major Will Kleiber was named one of the Top 100 Interns nationwide in an annual competition with Northwestern Mutual.
Will Kleiber, foreground, had a leadership role managing assets in the Student-Managed Endowment Fund.
As UW-Oshkosh senior Will Kleiber prepares to walk across the commencement stage next month, he does so with a major accolade already under his belt: a Top 100 national internship honor from Northwestern Mutual. Out of approximately 3,000 interns nationwide, Kleiber was recognized in fall 2024 for his performance as a College Financial Representative, an elite designation awarded to high-achieving interns based on client growth, insurance production, investment credentials and overall contributions to the firm.
A first-generation college student from Waupaca, Kleiber chose UW-Oshkosh for its strong business program and proximity to home. While college wasn’t expected of him, it was fully supported. His parents, who didn’t attend college themselves, encouraged him to pursue his goals and have made meaningful sacrifices to help him succeed. From career fairs that led to both of his internships to classroom experiences that pushed him out of his comfort zone, Kleiber says UW-Oshkosh gave him the tools and the confidence to launch a meaningful career in financial advising.
Why did you choose UW-Oshkosh?
I grew up in Waupaca, so location was important to me. I applied to all the UW schools and got accepted, but Oshkosh was the closest to home, and I knew it had a good business program. That made the decision pretty easy.
What drew you to the finance field?
I always had an interest in money. Growing up, I was super tight with it. Birthday money, Christmas money, I’d just save it. I was kind of a penny pincher. Then in high school, I started getting into the stock market. I opened a custodial brokerage account around 15 or 16 using some money my dad had saved for me when I was a little kid. There was about $500, $600 in it, and I started trading options, calls and puts on the S&P 500 and on companies like Facebook, Google and Apple. I did a lot of day trading, not long-term positions. In hindsight, I wish I’d just taken an equity position in something like Tesla. I would’ve made out like a bandit.
What really drew me to financial advising was that I wanted to help people. Business in general isn’t a selfish career by any means, but it was really important for me to help people, and I didn’t see a way that I was going to be helping the individual person or the individual family if I went into corporate finance. I felt like I’d always be providing shareholder value, driving bottom lines for a company. I wanted to have more impact in the community and in individual lives, and financial advising gives me that opportunity.
Will Kleiber, center, with his father Jay Kleiber, his fiancee Amelie Hirscher, who graduates in May with a UWO nursing degree, and his mom Misty Kleiber.
Finances aren’t taught in schools and in a lot of families, including mine, they’re kind of a taboo topic. We never had a financial advisor growing up. Once I started learning more, I realized how much of my great childhood was made possible by sacrifices my parents made. That really gave me a lot of conviction about going into this field. Now I work out of the Northwestern Mutual office in Appleton, where I’ve been surrounded by successful advisors since day one.
How did your internship with Northwestern Mutual come about?
I got connected at the fall career fair during my junior year. I’d already done one internship as an accounting intern at Miller Electric, which I also got through the career fair. That internship gave me good experience, but I knew I wanted to move into financial advising. Northwestern Mutual had a booth at the career fair, and I just stopped by to learn more. That led to the internship, which began in January 2024. The career fairs at UWO have played a huge role in my journey. They’re such a great way to meet companies, ask questions and figure out where you might fit. It’s actually a requirement in the business professional skills course to attend one and I think that’s such a smart move. A lot of students get their internships and later, full-time offers, because of those events. I know so many classmates, including my roommates, whose jobs after graduation came from connections they made at the fair. I even came back this year to represent Northwestern Mutual and talk with students. If I could give one piece of advice to my 18-year-old self or to any student at UWO, it would be: go to the career fair.
What did you do in the internship?
It’s basically a financial advising development program. From the beginning, I was running my own practice under the guidance of licensed advisors. I got licensed in health, life and disability insurance, and then earned my securities licenses – SIE, Series 6 and 63. Then I started meeting with clients which included friends, family, young professionals, pre-retirees and doing real financial planning work.
UWO senior Will Kleiber, right, with mentor Kyle Boucher ’21, at the Fleisner Agency Recognition Dinner, where Kleiber won agency intern of the year and Boucher garnered the advisor of the year award.
I worked closely with my mentor, Kyle Boucher, who’s a 2021 UWO grad. He sat in on meetings at first, and I learned by doing joint work with him. Eventually, I started leading the meetings myself. By the end, I had built a small book of business with clients and assets under management.
What did it mean to be named among the top 100 interns nationally?
It was a huge honor. The top 100 were recognized for their production from October through December of 2024. They looked at how many clients you brought on, insurance policies written and investment credentials completed. I had already won our agency’s Intern of the Year award, and this national recognition was just incredible. I found out I made the cut a few days before Christmas. It meant I got to travel to New York City for the Top CFR (College Financial Representative) Summit, which was amazing.
How did UWO prepare you for success?
The required internship component of the business program is huge. I love that UWO makes us get real-world experience. It sets Oshkosh grads apart. There were also some key classes and professors who really shaped me. One was the professional skills in business course with Ashley Petr (Career Development Manager/Career Advisor at UWO). It’s only a one- or two-credit class, but it pushed me out of my comfort zone in a big way. We did mock networking, market interviews, and even a dining-with-professionals event where we learned etiquette and how to navigate formal dinners. Those lessons stuck.
Graduating senior Will Kleiber, right, poses with William Morrison, UWO finance and business law teaching assistant professor.
And then there were my finance professors, Dr. Robert Kunkel and Dr. William Morrison. Dr. Kunkel’s courses helped me directly with the exams I had to pass for my licenses. Dr. Morrison led the Student Managed Endowment Fund (SMEF), which I was part of for two semesters. He encouraged me into a leadership role and working with real donor money in SMEF was some of the most practical, high-level finance experience I’ve had.
What are your biggest takeaways from UWO?
The network. I’ve made great friends and professional connections here, especially through SMEF. A lot of my peers in that class are going into asset management and financial planning too, so we’re all on similar paths.
And on a personal note, I met my fiancée, Amelie Hirscher, here. She’s in the nursing program and will be graduating in May with me. That’s a huge part of my Oshkosh story.
What’s next for you?
I’ve accepted a full-time offer with Northwestern Mutual. Once I graduate and officially earn my degree, I’ll drop the “college” from my title and become a financial advisor. It’s exciting to start my career with a company I love and a mission I believe in.
Learn more:
Study business at UWO
UWO College of Business earns another AACSB accreditation
Donation raises UWO Student-Managed Endowment Fund’s assets over $1 milllion
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