Dane Gray graduated from Gillespie High School (GHS) in 2003, earning the Tebbe Family Foundation Scholarship. The $500 award was deposited with Eastern Illinois University (EIU) at Charleston and was used toward tuition.
Dane earned his bachelor’s degree in finance in 2007 and then immediately entered the EIU Masters in Business Administration (MBA) program. He completed the MBA in 2008.
Currently Dane works for Edward Jones, an investment firm, in St. Louis.
“I am a Senior Mutual Fund Analyst,” he says, explaining that he is “responsible for recommending international equity mutual funds and ETFs (exchange traded funds) for our clients. I spend a lot of time meeting with mutual fund managers, doing quantitative analysis, and communicating our recommendations.”
Although Dane has no immediate plans to undertake additional graduate courses, he says “as my career progresses, and the types of jobs that are available evolve, I imagine I will need to seek additional training or education.
“I’ve worked at Edward Jones for two and a half years,” he notes. “I’ve spent my entire career in financial services in research. Our industry is changing so rapidly, it’s really hard to say what I’ll be doing in the next ten years. I’d like to think that I’ll still be at Edward Jones in a similar capacity with more responsibility.”
Dane and his wife Courtney have been married for seven years. They have two daughters, five-year old Natalie and two-year old Lydia.
“Outside of my family – which comes first – my only hobby is playing golf,” says Dane. Any spare time I have outside of my work or my family responsibilities, I am probably playing golf!”
As to the importance of post-secondary education, Dane says: “Obtaining additional education after high school is a must in our modern economy.
“Four-year schools are a good option for lots of people, but trade schools and other specific job training can be viable options for those looking beyond high school,” he says. “I was fortunate enough to go to a school that was a good fit for my interests, and it provided me with a set of skills so that I could be competitive in the job market.”
Dane is the son of Kevin and Elaine Gray of Gillespie.