[Futures and Options] Spotlight on Alumni

Spotlight on Alumni

Five Tips from a Futures and Options Alum

Published in July 2012 E-Newsletter

Greetings! I'm Dashawn Walker, a Futures and Options alum, originally from Bronx, NY. I currently attend Bowdoin College in Brunswick, ME, where I study mathematics.

As a Futures and Options alum, I wanted to give back to the organization that helped me score my second-ever finance-related internship with Jefferies. This summer I'm working at Futures and Options as the Office Assistant. I've been enjoying making life easier for the staff so they can allot more time to strengthening Futures and Options and assisting the eager youth in exploring careers.

As a rising junior in college and a current intern at Futures and Options, here are my tips for F&O students and alumni:

Never Give Up This may sound cliché but it is the truth. Transitioning from high school to college was a huge challenge for me. During the first semester of my freshman year I was constantly homesick and struggled with academics and fitting in at my school. However, my second semester is when things started to turn around. I made more friends, adjusted to my school, and got a better sense of how to tackle academics. The key is to keep going. Like the common quote goes, "It may be stormy now but it can't rain forever."

Be proactive about your future It's very important that you spend your summers in college being productive, whether through internships, volunteer work or staying on campus to engage in a research project with a professor. Your summer experience is what will open doors for opportunities later in life.

Network, network, network! Networking is one of the most useful tactics that one can engage in. Always keep ties to your past employers, mentors, etc. You never know what opportunities they may have for you when you're struggling to find opportunities yourself. Furthermore, not only is it good to 'take' from networking, but 'give' as well. When you find yourself with the power to afford an opportunity to someone who is struggling to find one, do it! Keep the network strong and alive!

Do your BEST in college Having decent grades is important for a lot of fields. For instance, a lot of the banking/finance internships require a 3.0+ GPA to apply for their programs. To get into a top law school, medical school, or business school, you generally need to have a very competitive GPA (3.5+) to even be considered for their programs. Your GPA is not the end-all be-all of your future, but having a competitive GPA sure does help afford you a lot of opportunities that could change your life and enhance your career.

Explore! Explore, explore, explore. The average person who graduates college is 21. There is no reason at the young age of 21 for you to know what your permanent career is. Explore careers. See what works for you and what doesn't. You don't want to end up later in life questioning and regretting things you didn't do while you were younger.

If you are an alum of our program and would like to reconnect with us please fill out our alumni contact form, email us at info@futuresandoptions.org or call 212-601-0002.

Where Are They Now?

AMANTA ANTIGUA

Core Internship Program
2003-2004

Intern at NYC Department
of Small Business Services

EDUCATION

Murry Bergtraum High
School for Business Careers,
2004

University at Albany, State
University of New York
B.S. Business
Administration, 2008

CAREER

NYC Department of Small
Business Services,
program analyst for the
workforce development
division

IMPACT

"Futures and Options gave
me the opportunity to work
in a professional office
environment in which I had
the chance to learn many
aspects about working with
business people and the
daily duties they encounter.
The program also showed
me the importance of
creating a network and
maintaining relationships
with individuals and
influenced me to come
back and apply for work at
the place where I interned.
Thanks to Futures and
Options I was able to
learn more about what
the city of New York does
for individuals seeking to
enhance their skills through
occupational skills training
and it also stimulated my
interest in public policy."

TRAVIS J. BRISTOL

Charles Hayden Internship
Program 1997-1999

Intern at Museum of Jewish
Heritage and Constitution
Works

EDUCATION

Washington Irving High
School, 1998

Amherst College
B.A. English, 2003

Stanford University
M.A. Education, 2004

Teachers College, Columbia
University (PhD Candidate)

CAREER

Educator

IMPACT

"Futures and Options
provided me with the
opportunity to experience
a context outside of
my homogeneous
neighborhood and school
communities. Also, I
learned the invaluable
skill of networking,
which continues to prove
beneficial. Lastly, the
opportunity to earn a salary
and - more importantly -
save some of my earnings,
allowed me to realize how
work opened the door to
economic liberation."

LAURA A. HENRIQUES

Urban Leadership Fellows
Program
Summer of 1997

Intern at The Goldman
Sachs Group, Inc.

EDUCATION

James Madison High
School, 1997

Stony Brook University
B.S. Business Management,
2001

Series 7 and Series 63
licensed

CAREER

Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc.,
registered senior client
associate for an ultra high
net worth financial advisory
team

IMPACT

"Futures and Options
gave me the opportunity
to explore exactly what
career path I wanted to take
as well as what options
were available to me that
I may not have been able
to see otherwise. Futures
and Options ensured that
with every internship
experience I had, I grew
as an individual and a
professional. Because of
Futures and Options I
was able to hit the ground
running and was prepared
for whatever challenge I
may have encountered in
corporate America after
graduating from college."

EDIL J. LACAYO

Urban Leadership Fellows
Program
Summer of 1996

Intern at Bear Stearns & Co.
Inc. in the municipal bond
department

EDUCATION

All Hallows High School,
1996

Northfield Mount Hermon
School
Post-grad year

Lehigh University
B.A. Finance, 2001

CAREER

Brown Harris Stevens
Residential Sales, LLC,
vice president, associate
broker

IMPACT

"Inspiring, Motivating, Eye
Opening. The internship
allowed me to think that I
could be successful in life.
It gave me the confidence
to pursue a degree in
finance, and know I would
be successful. With the
support of Futures and
Options, and those that
supervised me throughout
my internship, I knew there
was no way I could fail.
Even today, I am still in
touch with my co-workers
and supervisors. Many of
them attended my college
basketball games, and
continue to be a big part of
my life. This program is a
huge reason for who I am
today!"