Providing a distinctive edge

Sponsored by the Marquis Parents Council Catalyst Fund, a special session was held for students during the Finance Career Track in New York at the June Jacobs headquarters in midtown Manhattan Jan. 18. The evening session gave students the opportunity to engage in discussion with featured presenters representing successful careers in entrepreneurship, finance, and cryptocurrency. The students also were able to provide input into the design of potential future programs related to financial literacy. Highlights of the session included:

• Rochelle Jacobs P’25 shared her thoughts about the importance of networking and being open to new opportunities as she described her journey starting out in finance at Lehman Brothers, making her way to Viacom, and then co-creating and running her own business, June Jacobs.

• Dean Krauss spoke about his experience pursuing an entrepreneurial career and starting a new investment fund, emphasizing how essential networking, careful due diligence, and building a skilled team can be to finding success.  

• Andrew Johnston and Norm Dannen from Fidelity Investments engaged the students in a discussion about the company’s history of innovation, the current state of the crypto market, and their team’s approach to developing a crypto strategy for Fidelity.

Laura and Erik Eselius P’22 concluded the session with a quick overview of the Marquis Parents Council’s efforts to bring experiential learning opportunities to students, including summer boot camps in data analytics, digital marketing, and web development, and plans for future offerings related to financial literacy. Students shared their input through a survey before they left the session, expressing strong interest in attending additional in-person programs and educational sessions focused on topics such as navigating personal finances, dealing with taxes, understanding approaches to investing, managing credit and debt, and saving for retirement. As one student highlighted, “It’s never too early to start preparing.”

Members of the Marquis Parents Council recognized a gap they could fill for students by offering this session. “Having the chance to engage directly with industry experts and learn about emerging trends can help students be even more marketable as they seek summer internships and jobs after they graduate,” explains Laura Eselius P’22, director at C Space. “As parents, we recognized that we have a terrific network of colleagues who are willing to share their experience and expertise with students. Leveraging their collective knowledge during the NYC Career Track was the perfect opportunity to contribute to students’ future career success.”

Special thanks to the following hosts:

Erik and Laura Eselius P’22, Rochelle Jacobs P’25, Andrew Johnston, and Dean Krauss

Read more about Gateway Career Center’s annual Career Tracks program.