Simmons moved to New York after graduating from Kennesaw State University in December 2016. The Georgia native had interned at a local clinical treatment center in college while earning a BA in genetics with a minor in statistics. She had planned to pursue a career in the medical field, but after realizing that medicine wasn't her passion, she started searching for opportunities in other industries.
Simmons started applying to positions in finance — she had loved numbers since high school — and eventually secured her current position at Rosenblatt Securities by applying to an opening posted on LinkedIn.
"The one thing that I love about numbers and statistics, and kind of one of the reasons I came to the New York Stock Exchange, is because numbers are a universal language," she explains. "When you put them on a board it connects everyone, which is probably one of the reasons why the New York Stock Exchange is so iconic."
She started her role in March 2017, but says her employment was contingent upon passing the Series 19, the exam all floor brokers must pass to earn their badge.
"I had a month to take the exam," says Simmons, "and when I tell you a lot of people did not think I was going to pass, they really did not think I was going to pass."
The exam is rooted in financial principles and concepts. Despite her math background Simmons had not studied finance in college, and had to hit the books — hard. When she passed ("It shocked everyone"), she says it eased her doubts about whether she could manage the role. It also proved to the men on the floor that she was equipped to work alongside them.
"When I see statistics that say '80 percent don't get through,' I look at the 20 percent," she says. "So when everyone kept saying, 'It's a hard test. Don't worry if you don't pass,' for me, I needed to pass to prove to myself that I could do this."