Feb. 16, 2021

This week’s Up-and-Comer is Sam Hoskins, a trust officer at Dorsey & Whitney Trust Co.

Name: Sam Hoskins

Age: 29

Hometown: Sioux Falls

What brought you to Sioux Falls?

I was born and raised here.

What keeps you in Sioux Falls?

Many things. My family: I am blessed to have my immediate and extended family in the Sioux Falls area. My career: I have a multitude of opportunities to expand and grow my career in Sioux Falls. The Sioux Falls community: Sioux Falls is a safe community with good schools; it is large enough to have amenities of larger cities, and there is a lot of community involvement and engagement.

What’s your favorite thing about your job?

This is a hard question to pin down to one specific thing. I like that my job is challenging and interesting. I’m the type of person who likes to dig into problems and find solutions. But beyond that, I think if I had to choose one specific thing, it would be relationship-building. We work with a very diverse clientele, so you get to see a lot of different circumstances and situations. It is really interesting to get to know your clients and figure out how you can help those clients with their own personal circumstance. Beyond that, as a trust officer, you really sit in the middle of the relationship, and with that, you get to meet a lot of great professionals, whether that’s investment professionals, attorneys, insurance agents, real estate agents, tax advisers, etc.

How did you get connected to your industry?

I have always had an interest in investing, so when I was in college, I thought I would end up working for an investment advisory firm. When I got to my senior year of college at Augustana University and started looking for jobs, there was an opening to join Dorsey’s investment team. For the most part, I really was not sure what a trust company was, let alone how broad of an industry it is. So, in short, I kind of fell into the industry.

Describe Dorsey & Whitney in three words.

Integrity, experience, excellence. Ironically, these descriptors do not stray too far from the firm’s core values. But I think they really nail our firm’s mission and focus. When you really look at the cumulative knowledge of the team and the vast experience, educational training and certifications that Dorsey staff have achieved, it really provides a good experience for clients from an expertise standpoint, and from an employee standpoint, the experience provides a nice environment to learn and be mentored.

What is something someone might be surprised to learn about you?

I have a twin sister.

What’s your favorite way to give back to your community?

Volunteering has been my go-to. Dorsey is actively involved in the community and does a really good job of organizing opportunities to volunteer, either individually or as a group. It is always nice to be able to give back to the community and get to know your co-workers outside of the office. One of my favorite organizations is Junior Achievement. I think it is really important to teach financial literacy, and that is one of the things Junior Achievement does well.

What’s one business you’d like to see in Sioux Falls that isn’t here now?

My friends have always given me a hard time about this one, and I know this has been a popular response but — Chick-fil-A is a favorite of mine. I always make a point to make a stop there when I travel. In fact, I like it so much that I looked into franchising at one point. I am very excited that we will be getting one soon!

Where do you see yourself in five years?

Professionally, I see myself continuing to grow and develop my career at Dorsey.