Jefferies & Company, Inc. has been a partner of Futures and Options since 1997, when their municipal securities group began hosting an intern each summer as part of the Urban Leadership Fellows Program. On February 16th, the bank expanded their commitment to our mission when their investment banking division welcomed a group of our pre-interns, interns and alumni for an informative career exploration program – “Investment Banking 101.”
Interns Davon Dirton and Anthony Castillo at Jefferies & Company.
Michele Vespi, Head of US Recruiting for Jefferies, opened the program by welcoming the students to the firm and leading an activity to break the ice. Michele then introduced Matt Remsen, an analyst in Jefferies M&A group, who walked the students through a PowerPoint presentation covering the basics of investment banking. Special thanks to Matt, who clearly put a lot of thought into the presentation. He contrasted traditional vs. investment banking and then discussed the range of services offered by an investment bank, including debt & equity raising, M&A advising and restructuring advice.
Panel of five Jefferies analysts participate in Q&A.
Following Matt’s presentation, Laura Barkin moderated a Q&A with a panel of five analysts – Matt, Mike McCarthy (Healthcare), Monica Jamaluddin (Financial Services), Christine Hwong (M&A) and Celso Goncalves (LatAm). The panel answered questions about their path to investment banking, the people they looked to for advice during college, recommended classes, and the best and worst parts of their jobs. After the panel, Michele energized the room with a lively quiz and prizes. She then opened the session up to allow students to ask the panelists questions, and we closed with a chance for the students to network with all of the Jefferies volunteers.
The event was a tremendous success, and Futures and Options extends a huge thank you to the Jefferies US Recruiting team – Michele, Laura and Alyssa Murstein – for hosting our students in a well planned, fabulously executed career exploration program. Our students walked away with a solid look into the life of an investment banking analyst, and they capitalized on a fantastic opportunity to hone their networking skills.
To learn more about becoming a Futures and Options business partner, please contact Keleigh Karl, Corporate Partnership Manager, or call 212-601-0002.
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We are pleased to announce that the George Westinghouse High School Internship Program has entered its sixth year this spring, thanks to continued support from HSBC-North America. We offered paid internships to nearly 50% of applicants, matching 20 selected students with New York City nonprofit organizations. The 12-week program launched on February 22nd and includes bi-weekly career development workshops. We welcome five new partnering businesses this year: Downtown Brooklyn Partnership, Ms. Foundation for Women, New York Transit Museum, Polytechnic Institute of New York University, and Urban Justice Center.
Spring 2011 Westinghouse Program interns.
The teens in this distinctive program for George Westinghouse High School will have an added opportunity to learn and practice their networking and communication skills with volunteers from the Youth, I.N.C. Young Professionals Committee, which provided mentors last year. The volunteers recruited by Youth, I.N.C. Young Professionals will mentor the 20 interns, focusing on career exploration and higher education. Mentors and mentees will participate in three events throughout the program as well as communicate weekly by email or phone.
For more information on the George Westinghouse High School program, please contact Tyran Williams or call 212-601-0002.
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Through our partnership with Inspire, Inc., we are conducting online surveys with our business partners and alumni so that we can improve our program. The survey is open until March 2nd- complete it now for a chance to win an iPad and other great prizes.
Complete the alumni survey here.
Complete the business partner survey here.
Thanks so much for your help!
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Westinghouse and Youth, I.N.C. Young Professional Mentoring Kick-Off
What: George Westinghouse High School and Youth, I.N.C. Young Professionals Mentoring Program Kick-Off Event.
Who: Westinghouse students and Youth, I.N.C. mentors.
Where: SIFMA.
When: March 2nd, 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM.
For more information on the Westinghouse and Youth, I.N.C. Mentoring Program, please contact Tyran Williams or call 212-601-0002.
Income Tax Filing Workshop
What: Learn How to File Your Income Tax Return.
Who: Interns and Futures and Options alumni.
Where: Alliance for Downtown New York.
When: March 3rd, 6 PM to 8 PM.
For more information on this workshop, please contact Tyran Williams or call 212-601-0002.
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This month, Futures and Options bid farewell to Rebecca Dougherty, Assistant Program Coordinator, and wished her the best of luck as she travels to Kazakhstan to join the Peace Corps. Rebecca joined the Futures and Options team in June of 2010 as a program assistant and was promoted to a full time assistant program coordinator in the fall.
Rebecca was an indispensable member of our team, with responsibility across all programs, including interviewing internship applicants, workshop facilitation and tracking outcome measurement. Rebecca took the lead on our pilot program with RR Donnelley this fall, a five-week career exploration program for 14 youth where RRD executives designed a series of workshops on career options, networking, interviewing and resume writing, business conduct, and dining etiquette.
We will truly miss Rebecca’s warmth, positive energy and genuine concern for our Futures and Options’ team and the youth in our program. A native New Yorker, Rebecca attended Hunter College High School and she recently graduated with honors from Carleton College, where she majored in Sociology & Anthropology.
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The Pre-Internship Program culminates with sessions where youth are paired with corporate volunteers for mock interviews. The youth look forward to this opportunity to practice the skills they acquire in the program with professionals, who provide valuable feedback on their resumes and interview styles. For the fall program, we welcomed 17 wonderful volunteers from various companies and careers.
Middle School Pre-Intern Sally Leung from School of the Future, mock interviewing with David Rosa of Old Navy.
Since the inception of the Pre-Internship Program, volunteers from across Gap Inc. have dedicated countless hours in support of Futures and Options. With help from Tina Petallides-Markou, Banana Republic HR Manager and Abby Frost, Manager, Employee Engagement & Community Partnerships, Gap Foundation, nine volunteers from Gap Inc., as well as Gap, Old Navy and Banana Republic stores, joined this fall’s mock interview sessions. Our thanks go to the following volunteers who enriched the final mock interview sessions:
Gap Inc.: Betty Bruen.
Gap Stores: Shinnel Simmons, Glenda Rodriguez.
Old Navy: Nelly Guzman, David Rosa and Marc Matos.
Banana Republic: Tamaika Powlett, Josephine Sciascia and Carolyn Sadkowski.
High School Pre-Intern Stephanie Rivas from Saint Jean Baptiste, mock interviewing with Josephine Sciascia of Banana Republic.
In addition to acknowledging our Gap volunteers, we would like to thank Allison Puca of Alvarez & Marsal, Lindsy Klar of Youth, I.N.C., and Marie Surpris of Macquarie Holdings (USA) Inc., who generously offered to conduct mock interviews with our middle school youth. Marie, who is an alum of our program, also recruited eight professionals with careers ranging from teacher to industrial engineer to conduct mock interviews. We greatly appreciate Marie's continued dedication to Futures and Options, and the following volunteers:
Macquarie Holdings: Marie Surpris, Liz Flynn and Warren Valenton.
Other Volunteers: Derrick Sabates, Miriam Alexandre, Toni Unrein, Omar A. Jackson and Garry Graham.
Marie Surpris, of Macquarie Holdings Inc. and a Futures and Options alum, mock interviewing with Ailyn Rosa, a Middle School Pre-Intern from Hugo Newman.
Each volunteer’s enthusiasm and interest are much appreciated. Our teens welcome their sincere feedback as well as various tips about the work world, and truly enjoy hearing the volunteers’ stories about their career paths.
We at Futures and Options are truly grateful to our wonderful group of volunteers, who generously give their time, energy and feedback to our Pre-Internship youth.
If you are interested in volunteering with Futures and Options, please contact Keleigh Karl or call 212-601-0002.
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