Financing Great Futures: How My Boys & Girls Club Invested in My Career (And How I’m Paying it Forward)
Morgan Stanley has well over 80,000 employees in 40 countries around the world. As Morgan Stanley’s chief human resources officer, I’m responsible for the people and the culture of the firm. It’s amazing to think back on how I started at this multinational investment bank and financial services company as an intern nearly 30 years ago.
A big part of my job is being in front of people. I have to be confident and ready to hold court in any given room at any given time. Developing this skill wasn’t easy, and it took me some time to believe that I belonged in those rooms in the first place. While I understood that everyone, regardless of gender or race, has the ability to be successful, I was also aware that not all young people have access to the kinds of opportunities that foster growth and achievement.
Growing up on the West Side of Chicago, my three brothers and I lost our parents early on in our lives. We were fortunate enough to be raised by my grandparents, who worked hard to give us the structure and support we needed. Getting involved in their community taught me many skills that I now use daily in my career — leadership, empathy, collaboration. Going to the Boys & Girls Club after school also gave us more consistency, and for many years, the Club was an essential part of our family’s lives.
Helping young people reach that next level of success and build great futures is the heart of the Boys & Girls Club mission. I’m evidence of what’s possible through the efforts of the Club. And as a member of Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s national Board of Governors, I’m committed to providing more kids and teens with the same job readiness skills and opportunities I was given to unlock their full potential, too.
Finding Structure & Support at My Club
I was six years old when I first walked into a Boys & Girls Club and remained a proud Club kid all the way to age 18. Boys & Girls Clubs of Chicago has 24 locations, and for me, the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boys & Girls Club was as normal as going to school. I was an active kid who loved sports. Joining a game of little league baseball or basketball was my favorite Club activity, which gave me some of my first experiences of working together as a team. I also participated in several Toastmaster classes that empowered kids to trust their voice and sharpen their public speaking skills.
I still remember many of the Club leaders and program directors who encouraged me every day — Kenny Teagues, Michael Mayberry, Carl Lavender, Tina Sanders and Lorraine Norsworthy.
I remember one of the Club staff, Lorraine, making the executive decision to close the Club early on the evening of my grandmother’s funeral. I will never, ever forget that gesture and how special those people were to me.
When I was 17 years old, I landed an internship at a small municipal bond sales and trading desk at Morgan Stanley as a part of a youth work readiness program at my high school. This was it — the launchpad the set me on my fulfilling career path in the financial services industry. I stayed on permanently with the company while completing my Bachelor of Arts in Economics at Northeastern Illinois University. I even earned scholarships largely generated through my Club and their connections that paid for much of my college education.
Empowering a New, Diverse Generation in Finance
I stepped into my first manager role at Morgan Stanley in 2004 before returning to school to earn my Masters of Business Administration from Fordham Gabelli School of Business. I’ve since held several positions, including national sales manager for our wealth management business and global chief marketing officer.
I also became a trustee for Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s leadership council and served on the Midwest regional team before being honored with an invitation to serve on their national office’s Board of Governors.
I’ll never be able to pay my Boys & Girls Club back for the role they’ve played in my success. But being on our national organization’s Board of Governors gives me a chance to empower more youth by having a purview of the entire domestic ecosystem that our country operates in.
One of the ways I am making a difference at both Morgan Stanley and Boys & Girls Clubs of America is through The Equity Collective. According to a 2019 study conducted by Mercer, high school is a critical time for Black and Latino students to develop an interest in financial services careers. The Equity Collective unites both organizations through their mission to cultivate, nourish and assist young people in pursuing a finance management career. Our partnership powers Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s job readiness and career exploration tool CareerLaunch in addition to providing mentorship, career preparation and internship opportunities to Club members across the U.S.
So far, we’ve engaged more than 30 local Clubs and reached close to 2,500 young people, and we’re just getting started! As we connect with Club members — whether or not they decide to come work at Morgan Stanley or at any other asset management firm — our goal is to help prepare them to find success in any occupation that interests them.
One of the ways I’ve been able to stay on track in my career goals is by reflecting on the following questions:
- Am I learning?
- Am I growing?
- Am I having an impact?
- Am I happy?
Time and again, answering these questions has helped me assess where I am in my professional journey. This type of consideration has steered me in a direction where I can expand my skillset, broaden my perspective, positively impact others’ lives, learn, and experience joy in the work I’m doing.
I’m excited to continue my role in The Equity Collective because I know firsthand the impact the right mentorship can have. Through this partnership, we’ll help more young people starting out in their careers be able to answer these four questions with a resounding “yes!”
Three Qualities for Life & Career Success
One of the most powerful lessons I learned from my Club are the three essential attributes to set any young person up for success in the workforce. Throughout my career, these characteristics have repeatedly helped me move upward and onward. Those attributes are:
- Confidence in Yourself. Your belief in your ability to achieve any goal you set your mind to has got to be strong. You ARE good enough, and it’s essential that you know it for your own professional and personal growth.
- An ability to manage insecurities. Insecurity can affect anyone, whether it’s feeling inadequate, unprepared or intimidated in certain rooms. As a Club kid, when I faced adversity, I learned to manage my self-doubt and understand that I had just as much right to pursue my ambitions as anyone else.
- Impulse control. It’s important to have a healthy process in place when making big life decisions. Making decisions too quickly or out of emotion can have drastic effects on your career. Be mindful of your words and actions to get to the place in your career you want to be.
Ultimately, the person who will care most about your career development is you, but as the old adage says, “no one gets there alone.”
To achieve our hopes and dreams in life, we get there through motivation, inspiration, guidance and encouragement from others. From athletics to academic achievement to workforce readiness programs — there’s no shortage of good that Boys & Girls Clubs deliver to youth around the world. My experiences alone are evidence enough for what the right support network can do for a young person. I look forward to seeing what the next generation of financial whizzes, leaders and problem-solvers coming out of Clubs will do next.
Led by Morgan Stanley, The Equity Collective is a prominent group of wealth and asset management organizations that have united to empower and deliver educational resources with a focus on the finance industry for generations to come. Composed of more than two dozen members from each organization, the group participates in education and awareness initiatives over a multi-year commitment that will bolster Club kids throughout the nation.
Ignite the Potential of Tomorrow’s Leaders & Change-makers
Boys & Girls Clubs of America provides caring adult mentors and life-shaping programs to millions of kids and teens each year. In safe, inclusive places, youth build the skills and resilience to thrive in school, the workplace and in life. Join us on our mission of helping all young people reach their full potential:
