Empower Yourself.
As the child of immigrant parents, there was no discretionary income for birthday or Christmas presents. My parents would say, “Your education is your gift.” They worked multiple jobs to pay school tuition, and I did homework on boxes in the backroom of their neighborhood store.
Through their sacrifice and some luck, I gained admission to, and graduated from The Loomis Chaffee School with Dean’s Honors and the Florence E. Sellers Prize.
At Yale University, I created my own major, worked three financial aid jobs, founded the Yale Archery Team and received recognition in various publications, including from USA Archery for my time competing as a member of Team USA, and as a 3-time All-American and All-Academic student athlete.
Upon graduation, I moved to Washington, D.C. and pursued work experience in healthcare and education consulting, government affairs and corporate communications, concurrently launching philanthropic campaigns to combat childhood illness, homelessness and abuse. These roles required frequent travel, including to Fiji where I lived for two years advising the Attorney General and Prime Minister during the country’s democratic transition.
Moving to Chicago, I pursued a JD at the Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, graduating with distinction, and am currently a practicing corporate attorney at a top-tier global law firm in New York City.
This is not an unprecedented story, but it is more rare than it should be.
Commitment to Mentorship
As a student, my understanding of careers - informed by my immigrant parents - was limited to “doctor, lawyer, engineer,” and my understanding of how to prepare for a career was limited to “get good grades.”
The 2014 tiger mom phenomenon was not news to me — my experience tracked a tunnel visioned approach to success, paved with good grades and discipline.
Unfortunately, I missed guidance on practical skills and endeavors necessary for the real world: internships, networking, plotting a career trajectory, understanding interview styles, “job” vs. “career” considerations, exploring complementary industries, and so on. Some of this can be passively absorbed when you have professionals in and around your life, but if you don’t know what you’re missing, it can be exponentially more difficult to take action.
Professors, coaches and mentors have provided critical guidance at each educational, athletic and professional juncture in my life. Learning how - and who - to ask for help was difficult to learn and execute, but also invaluable.
My mentoring sessions help similarly situated students and young professionals develop tools and strategies to position themselves for a seat at the table.
Together, let’s:
democratize access and exposure to professionals and career opportunities
build and engage your personal board of advisors
expand and activate your network
understand how to turn advice into action
craft your story to pilot your own path