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 found the funds for private schooling, and I did homework on boxes in the backroom of their liquor store.

Through their sacrifice and some luck, I graduated with Dean’s Honors and received the Florence E. Sellers Prize from The Loomis Chaffee School. Subsequently, at Yale University, I created my own major, worked three financial aid jobs, founded the Yale Archery Team and received recognition in various publications, and from USA Archery for competing as a member of Team USA, and as a 3-time All-American and All-Academic student athlete.

From 2008-2014, I navigated diverse domestic and international work experiences, environments and challenges, later taking this experience to Chicago to pursue a JD at the Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, graduating with distinction, and since then, practicing as a corporate transactional attorney at a top-tier global law firm in New York City.

This is not a unique 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 — our shared mentality was a tunnel visioned approach to success.

Professors, coaches and mentors have provided critical guidance at each educational, athletic and professional juncture in my life. I routinely questioned how my decisions would impact my future, and whether I could succeed without parents or family friends who could provide guidance (or a safety net). Learning how - and who - to ask for help was the hardest thing to learn and execute.

The goal of these mentoring sessions is to help similarly situated students and young professionals —

• democratize access and exposure to careers and professional opportunities

• build and engage a personal board of advisors

• normalize seeking advice and understanding how to turn it into action steps

• empower individuals to craft their stories and to direct their futures