From Florida to the Swiss bank - Jakub Živec success story

Jakub Živec spent his high school years running. He decided to gain experience overseas when representatives of local universities noticed his talent and started vying for him. During his four years at Florida State University, he even managed to participate in the national championship with the university's top team at the time. However, after graduating, his steps led him to the banking sector.

Jakub, you went overseas when you were seventeen. What led you to do that?

I was a competitive runner and when my parents saw that I was doing relatively well, they wanted to give me the opportunity to experience a different environment. I wanted to improve my English and, above all, I wanted to stand out among other competitors so that university scouts could notice me in the local environment and maybe even offer me a scholarship. So I went to Minnesota in my third year of high school. It was 2007.

What was it like for you then?

The whole move was quite challenging. At that time, these overseas student transfers were completely in their infancy, I only knew about one person who had done it, there was no agency for that. So at my high school in the Czech Republic, I arranged a six-month individual and traveled to America. It was a great adventure. I ran and learned English. I enjoyed the new environment, the great atmosphere at the races, and when I returned six months later, I had several offers for university scholarships on the table. All I had to do in the Czech Republic was finish my fourth year, finish my high school diploma, and I could fly back again.

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How did the scouts' courtship go?

I felt a bit like I was in an American movie. I arrived at the first race as an unknown boy from somewhere in Europe, but I ran a great result. Then I found a full voicemail at home and several flyers and letters from universities in my mailbox. They immediately started trying to get me to enroll in their school.

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What was the deciding factor?

I wanted to choose a school that was both academically and athletically interesting, with a quality athletic team and a field of study that I would enjoy. And after six months of experience with minus 30 degrees in Minnesota, something much further south. The combination of these factors made Florida State the ideal choice for me.

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How was the transition?

For a while, I struggled with the fact that in American university conditions, an athlete had to be an absolute amateur. As soon as he took a financial reward for a race, got a sponsor, or even just got free shoes from a brand, the NCAA looked at it negatively. Of course, this was common in Europe, so I had to deal with such inconveniences at first, but in the end it turned out well. I managed the transition, but I envy today's students their awareness. Back then, the role of an agency was very lacking, so you didn't know what documents you needed to have, what to arrange, sign, and so on.

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How was it with scholarship?

I had a full ride, so pretty much all covered.

How did you get used to the new regime and training in different conditions?

I have to say that this was the hardest part of it all. The American sports trend is that you go to the maximum in every training session. You have to have results even in training sessions. We trained much more than I was used to, and we focused mainly on quantity, not quality. On top of that, the weather conditions were very different, humid air and heat. We would get up at five in the morning and go to train right away, but it was already terribly hot. It took me more than a year to adapt to this environment.

How did all this affect your performance?

Massively. I got a full scholarship to one of the top five university track and field teams. The school had about twelve of those scholarships, which they distributed among a hundred runners. That put a lot of pressure on me. When I got injured and had knee surgery in my first season, I unfortunately lost part of my scholarship. My savings then went to the next year, when I tried to get my scholarship back.

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How did you manage it?

It wasn't an easy time. I couldn't train or compete, I lost part of my scholarship because it wasn't guaranteed by the school. But the way it works is that if this inconvenience happens, a student can make up the missed year and in my case, catch up somewhere else. So after four years in Florida, I finished the extra year in Maryland.

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With such a high level of pressure from athletes, there must have been high competition. How did it go for you?

The competitiveness on that team was huge. We all knew that scholarships were scarce. Most of us acted as a team, because Americans have this ingrained in them. Sometimes someone stepped on someone else's shoelace, but it was more of a catcalling and natural rivalry that is probably part of sports. At the end of the season, the coach would decide based on the results who would have a scholarship next year. When Black Peter went to someone who was from a poorer financial background, it was bad, he couldn't afford school.

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Besides sports, you also studied, of course. What field?

I studied finance and economics. I was always interested in the field and wanted to really understand it.

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What were your steps after graduation?

I had some health complications and I didn't want to run at the top level anymore. I enjoyed it to the fullest during those five years in America and honestly I missed home, so I returned to the Czech Republic after getting my diploma. During my sports career I made it to the All-American finals in Oregon, where I ran the 15km race with the top twenty, that was a dream come true and the peak I reached. But before I could settle down in Prague, I received an offer from a private bank in Zurich, so my next steps led to Switzerland.

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How did you enjoy the job at first?

Banking and finance in general are full of athletes, so I immediately got to know the people at the bank. They are fierce people who can work under pressure and stress, which is definitely present in that environment. A person who has never experienced anything like that before would easily collapse, which is perhaps why more and more companies in this and other industries are betting on former athletes. They want to employ people who are tenacious and diligent, who can go the extra mile and can handle even partial failure. Four years ago, I received an offer from the second largest Swiss bank, which was practically just across the street from the original one, Crédit Suisse, and a few months ago I resigned and got a position at the Swiss number one, where I currently work. In any case, I have to say that the combination of sports and business has accompanied me throughout my life. I also got to individual positions in banks through friends from sports, and it is sport that perfectly unites us in teams.

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What would you recommend to young students who are deciding whether to go to America to study or play sports?

So that they definitely go for it. Combining sports and studies is the best thing that can happen to them at this age. It is extremely beneficial for future decisions about their careers, whether sports or business. If they manage to get a full scholarship, it is a huge win. I personally liked the American approach to life, education and business. I absorbed the behavior of local people during that time, adopted it as my own and it still helps me in key situations today. Today, I would definitely choose the path of going with an agency or at least with someone who already has experience with the whole process. When you go blind, it is more difficult. Agencies know individual schools and environments, they know the coaches and maybe even the team and this can help you avoid burning out when making a choice. A big advantage is also a guaranteed scholarship, which guarantees that even if things don't go well, the student doesn't have to be under so much pressure that they lose money.

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