Lessons Learned Through my Collegiate and Pre-Professional Career

In the past few weeks, I had the privilege of being able to return to the Morehouse College campus to volunteer for our in-person commencement setup. It felt great being back and seeing so many familiar faces. Yet, it was bittersweet. On one end, I am a rising senior and a student leader, serving as the student chairman of the commencement exercises, and it feels good to see myself come so far in such a short amount of time and step into the leadership positions my brothers have occupied before me. However, on the other end, I am coming to a close on my collegiate career at Morehouse and pretty soon it will be me sitting in the very chairs I set up, graduating. The very thought of graduating is unpleasant as it feels like I've been robbed of the traditional college experience that many of my brothers and sisters before me had. However, COVID-19 has changed everything for everyone. Spelman had a record application year and Morehouse has launched a virtual degree completion program with the new technological infrastructure it gained due to the pandemic. I start my virtual internship with AIG today, something that would be unthinkable to do in the industry just a few years ago. While I am an "in-person" type of person, I can appreciate the convenience and some of the benefits of working from home like not having to commute and find a place in New York for the summer. I've also been able to volunteer with Ray McGuire's New York mayoral run from remote and be a part of the conversation from Atlanta (and now Chicago). Last year, I had the privilege of virtually interning under the Director of the U.S. Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network from remote in Chicago instead of D.C. and?was named the #1 intern in America by WayUp?for my efforts and achievements. Recently, I was spotlighted in a few Morehouse media and communication channels and as a result, I have had folks from all over the country reach out to pick my brain about the school and my past professional endeavors and successes. I want to share some of what I've shared with them about how I got to where I am and ways I've navigated my path. I underlined the most important point of each section and I encourage folks to learn from my lessons, but not to copy it as I believe that everyone takes different paths to get to their end goals.

Value Mentorship

In a throwback to my public service announcement in 2016 with Exelon / ComEd, "We wouldn't have the great people that we have today if you didn't have other people behind them". I would not have made it into my school or the financial services industry without the guidance and support of countless others. I've been on LinkedIn since my freshman year of high school. I used the service as a tool to connect with individuals from all over who work for companies that I was interested in. From vice presidents, recruiters, and folks who could help navigate me around pitfalls, I reached out and asked to set up phone conversations to pick their brain and learn more about them. Over time I developed a great understanding of several corporations and industries and curated a strong network. I went above and beyond to get access and exposure to opportunities that didn't exist for high school students which led to me being the youngest intern in the #1 minority-owned investment bank, Loop Capital, and being the only intern in the Chicago Mayor's Office under Rahm Emanuel, which I cold-called his cellphone to get and was able to create a triple internship for myself.?I identified champions for me who I knew I could both learn from and gain exposure to their world, which most people like me from the south side of Chicago never got.

Stay Hungry, Hustle Like Your Life Depends On It

For me, my life did depend on grinding in high school and still does to this day. I didn't have a benefactor or parents to finance my collegiate education so I had to go all-in on what I could. I did diversity promos and had speaking engagements with banks, institutions, and large corporations, I was active with civil rights leaders and community organizations, did several programs and activities in different industries and fields of study, and even joined a youth board for a large non-profit.?I created a lot of opportunities for myself through networking because I knew I needed to stand out from a crowded group of peers.?The schools I was looking at accepted students who've started high-grossing companies and businesses or have had opportunities due to who their parents are or what high school they went to. I, an independent and public school student, did not have the same luxuries those students had. I had to work five times as hard as my peers in an environment where my direct high school peers were unmotivated to even show up to school and the private school students in Chicago, whose parents are XYZ at whatever corporation and on the boards of their schools, just had to show up to be successful. While folks were vacationing and hanging out I was interning, and while folks were out partying I was studying and getting school work done. I graduated high school above a 4.0 with a high ACT and with some scholarship aid from both external organizations and Morehouse.

Have a Vision and Focus on it

When I worked at Loop Capital, one of the biggest lessons I learned was from Jim Reynolds on vision and focus.?Identify five things you want to get accomplished over a long-term timeframe.?For me it was; economics degree from a great school, a career in financial services, develop a strong platform and personal brand, curate a strong network, and maintain flexibility and control over my life. If something came up that did not fit into my vision, I passed on it. I operated as the chief executive of myself and focused on being the person I want to be by bringing value to myself and my network. I developed an impressive resume and background and produced exceptional test scores to get into Morehouse. I curated a network of individuals who care about my success and have supported my path into financial services. I learned about the dynamics of public speaking and outreach and attained a large following on various social media and networks to bring awareness to things important to me and get support for my various endeavors. I also gained access to pursue various opportunities and pet projects. I serve in a myriad of roles at Morehouse and continue to grow closer with my community. I've had the opportunity to meet and connect with various leaders of industry and celebrities. Through my social media platform, I represented my favorite clothing brand and got free clothes, and shared ideas for the brand with their senior leadership. And I've accomplished many other things and helped a lot of others in the process because I thought about what my long-term vision is and set my short-term goals to align with them.

Bring Value

Anyone at any level can bring value to anything. Everyone has different experiences and different viewpoints on things. People do things differently. This is one of the main reasons why I am heavily involved with diversity and inclusion efforts. A person with a different perspective can hold the keys to tackling obstacles you might not know how to solve. I spend a great deal of time learning what it is others do and thinking about how it can be done better. When I interned for the City of Chicago, I was working on a personal project of retrieving unclaimed property for a family member from the state treasurer's office. Out of curiosity, I searched the database to see if the City had any listings in the system and came up with hundreds of results. I then informed the budget director and team of this issue and developed a workflow for the state to automatically send claims to the City which now adds thousands of dollars back to the City's balance sheets every year. As an unpaid intern, I went above and beyond the call of duty, owned and lead a project that continues to significantly bring value to the City even years after I left, and communicated to the folks I work with that I take this opportunity and my career incredibly seriously. I always look to bring value wherever I go because I am always thinking about filling outstanding needs and what I want my legacy to be. To leave a lasting impact on something I was a part of means a great deal to me as it makes things a lot easier for the folks who come after me to continue to progress.?A fundamental key to success comes from personal fulfillment, and if you are intent on bringing value rather than just climbing the ladder, the success will come a lot easier and be more meaningful.?I spend a lot of time using my resources, to invest in my peers as well. I've both directly and indirectly gotten more students at Morehouse and Spelman colleges access to programs, opportunities, and internships than any other student and I am very proud of that. I can't have all the internships. In my work in diversity and inclusion and other endeavors, I've connected with a lot of people who want to give people like me an opportunity to be successful. And what I've done through my platform is connect them with either my peers or with the colleges to give deserving talent access to those opportunities. I am a very firm believer that a rising tide lifts all boats, and having come from the very bottom I know what it's like to be ambitious and not have the access or opportunity to grow. I also know that investing in my peer group can provide the potential to reap great dividends down the road and create more opportunities for everyone to grow.

Be Informed, Be Aware, Be Present

You miss one hundred percent of the shots you don't take. I can't tell you how many opportunities I've gotten by simply being in the room. Sometimes it's hard getting in the room, which is where networking and/or hard work come into play to get you admission. Other times, it's simply being aware of what's happening around you and just showing up. During my freshman year at Morehouse, I remember reading an article talking about how many executives, politicians, and celebrities still use the BlackBerry Bold 9900. I searched online and saw that I could buy a new phone for ~$50 or a lot of 12 used phones for ~$100. Logically, I bought the 12 used devices. I used them to assuage my brick breaker nostalgia from my childhood and as a PDA to take notes on and keep track of my calendar when I didn't want to be connected to social media on my iPhone. When I first met Spike Lee, I saw him on his BB at Morehouse, and I went to him and showed him my BB. We both had the exact same model, the Bold 9900. I had my Black Dog Martha's Vineyard gear on and asked him for a selfie (which I used my iPhone for and later led to me becoming a brand ambassador for Black Dog). A year later saw him on an iPhone and asked what happened to his BB. He showed me that it was all cracked up and that he couldn't find any working ones anywhere. Checkmate. I told him I had several in my room on campus and came back and gave him two like-new working models. Now we keep in touch and he'll never forget that his Morehouse brother fixed a need others weren't even aware of. It goes even further as Spike narrated Ray McGuire's initial campaign announcement video and when I joined the Youth for Ray coalition, me being cool with Spike Lee stood out to the team and the story highlighted how informed I am about the smallest details, which is something Ray stresses for a successful individual. Through being aware of what is important to others and being present, I created a unique opportunity for myself which opened up many other opportunities along the way. If I stayed in my room playing PlayStation or if I ordered other BlackBerry models thinking they are all just old phones, I wouldn't have made the connection with Spike and none of this would have happened.

The president of Morehouse College, Dr. David A. Thomas, regularly repeats the quote "Excellence is a habit, not an event". When I was a kid, I had a shirt that had a Steve Prefontaine quote that said "to give anything less than the best is to sacrifice the gift". Across my medias you might run into my quote, "preparing like I've never won, performing like I've never lost". They are all quite similar in that you are the ultimate stakeholder in your life, and control the narrative of your story. I live by the rules of producing grade A work in all of my endeavors because my highly ambitious goals require it. I can't make the impact I want to make and achieve what I want to achieve if I don't put the work in to see it through. I remain centered in my values and beliefs and allow the framework I've built to guide me down my path, even when I've taken unexpected turns and worked through new challenges or things never done before. It's very important to build out your framework to follow and provide structure for your goals and ultimately you have the power to ink your story no matter the scenario with hard work and great support.