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Nkrumah Pierre â06 (Glen Head, N.Y.) is looking forward to more than receiving an A.B. degree with a major in economics and business. Thanks to his participation in Lafayetteâs Gateway program, he has a position lined up with M&T Bank in Manhattan.
As a first-year student undecided about a future career, Pierre began his journey with Gateway. The Gateway program allows students like Pierre to explore interests, goals, and career opportunities. Starting in the first year, students complete four deliberate steps to help them explore their options, gain experience, and plan for the future.
âThey provided me with a lot of ideas to play with and information on different careers in economics and business,â says Pierre. âThe advantage of Gateway, as a freshman, was they gave me that push in the direction of a career, but they didnât tell me exactly what to do.â
It was up to Pierre to determine through externships and internships what type of career would best suit him. Gateway helped him secure those opportunities starting in his sophomore year when he served an internship with Enterprise Rent-A-Car.
âIt taught me about sales, customer service, and running your own business,â he recalls.
Pierre also completed an externship with Pfizer, Inc. in New York City, where he learned about pharmaceutical sales. Lafayette alumnus Tim Hylan â88, a senior director/team leader, hosted Pierre, pairing him with a sales representative at the company. These experiences helped Pierre realize that a career in sales was how he could best utilize his Lafayette degree.
Pierre worked closely with several Gateway counselors to refine his resume and polish his cover letter. To build his resume, Pierre served several more internships and externships at Merrill Lynch, a worldwide financial management and advisory company; Morgan Stanley, a nationwide investment bank; and Bloomberg, a global provider of data, news, and analytics. He even worked in the Office of Career Services, where he completed independent study research on the philosophy and structure of Gateway under the direction of Nanette Cooley, assistant director of employer relations.
He attended alumni panel discussions and dinners, which are designed to provide information and networking contacts for Gateway students.
âTheyâd [the Office of Career Services] get alumni at different levels â“ some were fresh out of college, some at the executive level, some were VPs â“ and I had a chance to understand where people are coming from at different levels in their career. I think that was definitely advantageous,â says Pierre.
Pierre appreciates Gatewayâs large network in Manhattan, where there are many financial companies. Professionals attended a Gateway networking event to talk with Pierre and other students about their positions, offering valuable insight into what a career in finance is all about.
âI learned from freshman year that networking is key because the people you meet at the networking functions and the people that you extern with are people you keep in contact with,â he says. âYou build a rapport with these people and after time, you can refer friends to them or just talk about different situations with them.â
He attributes the M&T job offer to his Gateway experience. With several job offers on the table, Pierre found it difficult to decide which path to take. After speaking with several Gateway counselors, Pierre realized that M&T provided opportunity for advancement and valuable skills in finance that he could utilize at other companies later in his professional life.
Upon graduation, Pierre will become a commercial real estate analyst and will participate in the relationship managerâs sales program, where he will learn skills to establish new real estate deals as a vice president.
Pierre is president of Brothers of Lafayette. He is a member of the entrepreneurship society CIRCLE and Association of Black Collegians. He was a resident adviser for two years and helped organize the Minorities in Corporate America panel discussion on campus in the fall. This past January, he traveled to Greece and Italy with 23 other Lafayette students for a special interim course on the roots of western civilization.