Lending A Hand
Public School Alumna Gives Back
Because of the New York City Mentoring Program, Jennifer has been working at Citi since she was 16.
Growing up, Jennifer wanted to become a lawyer, but as she got older her passions gradually shifted to finance. At Paul Robeson High School, she had the opportunity to work with a mentor through the school’s long-running partnership with Citi. Jennifer began interning at Citi as a result of the mentoring partnership, and has been with the firm ever since.
Jennifer remembers the first time she met her mentor, LaVerne, at a "Dress for Success" event.
"She was talking about appropriate clothes to wear to work, and she seemed so stern and strict,” she says.
“She mentioned that capri pants were inappropriate. Mind you, I had just bought a whole bunch of new capris that weekend! You can imagine my reaction when I learned she would be my boss."
Despite her initial worries, Jennifer found LaVerne to be an incredible influence while she was in school. She was a mentor in the truest sense of the word, keeping up with her after high school and helping Jennifer continue working at Citi through college.
“Getting to work with her was great,” she says.
Jennifer calls herself a "people person," and immediately found a place for herself in the busy and chaotic world of finance. "When I first saw the trading floor, I knew it was where I wanted to be."
Jennifer sees a direct relationship between her success at work and her mentoring experience in high school. She says her early exposure to finance allowed her to excel in an industry she loves. Her hard work has also reaped financial rewards: she's looking forward to taking her mother to London as a 60th birthday gift.
"I never thought I would in a position to foot the bill for something like that at 24," she says. "My mom is very proud of me for getting where I am."
Naturally, when Citi was recruiting for new mentors to work with current Robeson students, Jennifer didn’t have to think twice. She is paired with an 11th grader at the school, and they are currently researching college options and preparing for the SAT. Jennifer e-mails her mentee a daily vocabulary word, and regularly checks in about school and other issues.
“My mentee reminds me of myself—another kid from Robeson who’s working hard,” she says. “She might even be more focused than I was!”
“This three-month internship with my mentor in high school changed my life,” she continues. “When I’m old, I want to know I had a similar effect on her life, and maybe in turn she’ll be looking out for someone else.”
To other prospective mentors, Jennifer’s message is simple and clear.
"The smallest touch you have on someone's life can change everything," she says. "Even if you don't think you have enough time to commit, that dinner once a month or free visit to a museum can have a huge impact on someone in the long run."
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