Leavey Ambassadors Program Blogs

What If My College Plans Change

When I first arrived at Leavey, all I wanted was an investment banking offer. I got involved with the Investment Banking Club, enrolled in IB Fundamentals (FNCE 197) in the spring of my first year year, and went through the recruitment process like a checklist. Although I did receive an offer from a middle market bank, I decided to take a different route. In retrospect, there's nothing I would have done differently, and that's because of the people who helped me get there. 

Where it started

As a first-year, a close family friend gave me the following advice: to consider myself like a company and form a small board of directors, namely people who will serve as my mentors and who will provide a unique perspective on different aspects of life. We're all figuring it out. I didn't fully understand it then. Now it's been the most impactful advice I've received.

Around the same time, another close family friend told me that everything is all about the journey. As an incoming freshman, I didn't get it either. I simply wanted the result. After the past two years, I can say it's true.

I talked to countless alumni and connections, well over 70 conversations, and asked about their day-to-day, their turning points, and what they wished they'd known at my stage. Seven of those people became direct mentors. They pushed back on my ideas, challenged my assumptions, and helped me see what I actually cared about: helping people and doing work that felt less transactional than banking. My time on the Energy and Industrials team for the Santa Clara Investment Fund has reinforced how much I enjoy the analytical side of investing. Without that journey, I never would have connected those dots. 

Why mentorship matters

None of us knows the exact right path, and every path has detours. All of them aren’t necessarily mistakes. Some of them are necessary just for understanding what suits you. My mentors were kind enough to show me theirs, complete with the twists and turns, as well as the lessons they learned the hard way. They have taught me perspectives that I could not possibly gain otherwise, and helped me make more informed choices. Mentorship does not tell you the answers, but it tells you the things that they already know, allowing you to find your way.

Then one day, they look up to you

One thing that I did not expect is that the positions will begin to change. Students at Santa Clara who are younger than me have started asking me questions related to recruiting, clubs, and classes. The same happens from my high school, where younger students contact me as their alumnus for help and guidance in college and beyond. I understand how helpful those discussions used to be for me, and how easy it is to become a person like that for somebody else. You do not have to know everything. You only have to be slightly ahead of everybody else.

This is what makes the Santa Clara community unique. Upperclassmen in the Investment Fund and various other clubs on campus critique your work, talk about their recruiting experiences, and make connections, because they care about your success. They experienced it before, and now they pay it forward.

My advice for incoming students

1. Trust the journey. The offer matters, but the relationships and lessons along the way matter more.
2. Build your board. Seek out people with different perspectives, especially the ones who will challenge you.
3. Ask for help. People here want to give it.
4. Pay it forward. Someone will eventually look up to you, so be ready to show up.
5. Cherish every relationship, professional and social. They're the people you'll bounce ideas off of for years.

If things don’t go according to your plan, it’s okay. It just means that you’re being observant. My story is that I started wanting something and now have a completely new direction that excites me, all thanks to the people who motivated me to expand my thinking. The end point doesn’t matter; the process of getting there and who you meet along the way does. Leavey helps you to build that community, and someday you’ll get to be that for someone else.