OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS - Sponsors for Educational Opportunity
OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS - Sponsors for Educational Opportunity
OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS - Sponsors for Educational Opportunity
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spring07newsletter<br />
volume 5 number 1<br />
OPPORTUN ITY KNOCK S<br />
S P O N S O R S F O R E D U C A T I O N A L O P P O R T U N I T Y<br />
Preparing young people of color to lead by example in their families, communities and careers.<br />
2007 ANNUAL<br />
AWARDS DINNER HONORS<br />
OUTSTANDING INDIVIDUALS<br />
SEO provides services<br />
through three major programs:<br />
the SEO Scholars Program,<br />
the Career Program and Alumni<br />
& Philanthropy Programs.<br />
Jamie Dimon and William A. Goodloe<br />
(left to right) William A. Goodloe, Michael Osheowitz, Diego Recalde and Walter K. Booker<br />
“A good friend of mine once told me you should live your<br />
life in three stages – learn, earn, and return. That’s what the<br />
SEO program is really about.”<br />
These words from SEO Founders Award recipient Theodore<br />
V. Wells, Jr. characterize the celebration of professional and<br />
philanthropic excellence at SEO’s Annual Awards Dinner on<br />
April 18, 2007, at The Waldorf-Astoria.<br />
SEO’s friends, alumni and corporate partners from around<br />
the country gathered to honor three people <strong>for</strong> whom<br />
professional achievements and<br />
philanthropic leadership are<br />
indivisible: Theodore V. Wells, Jr.,<br />
Partner and Co-Chair of the<br />
litigation department at Paul,<br />
Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton &<br />
Garrison LLP; Donald Tang, Vice<br />
Chairman, Bear Stearns & Co.;<br />
and Diego P. Recalde (SEO ’84),<br />
Co-Founder and President of<br />
Concrete Stories, a commercial<br />
real estate firm.<br />
CBS 2’s Cindy Hsu was Emcee<br />
<strong>for</strong> the fourth year. Chairing<br />
the event was Jamie Dimon,<br />
Chairman and CEO of JPMorgan<br />
Chase. In introducing Mr. Dimon,<br />
William Goodloe, SEO President<br />
Theodore V. Wells, Jr.<br />
and CEO, noted that first quarter 2007 results were released<br />
a few hours be<strong>for</strong>e the Awards Dinner, and JPMorgan Chase<br />
reported record profit of $4.8 billion on record revenues of<br />
$19 billion, and profit was up 55%, versus their first quarter<br />
in 2006, far more than analysts’ estimates.<br />
“In 1990 I went to my first SEO recruiting event and it blew<br />
me away,” said Dimon as he addressed the crowd of more<br />
than 650. As dinner chairman, Mr. Dimon led the fundraising<br />
ef<strong>for</strong>t <strong>for</strong> the event and he proudly announced that a record<br />
of $1.3 million was raised, an increase of 30% over the previous<br />
record set <strong>for</strong> the 2006 SEO Awards Dinner.<br />
SEO Scholars Program senior Brian Clarke gave a poignant<br />
speech about how SEO helped save him from the negative<br />
aspects of his neighborhood. “One day as I walked by the<br />
basketball courts I watched my friends and neighbors standing<br />
at a candlelight vigil <strong>for</strong> a murdered gang member. I knew<br />
that SEO was a lot better than becoming a part of that life.”<br />
SEO Founder and Chairman Emeritus Michael Osheowitz<br />
said, as he presented the SIRV Alumni Leadership Award to<br />
Diego Recalde, that “if there’s one person in this room that<br />
personifies the SEO creed of giving back to those who come<br />
after you, it’s the soft-spoken, generous Diego Recalde.”<br />
(continued on next page)<br />
ALUMNI<br />
NEWS<br />
INSIDE<br />
STAY CONNECTED WITH THE SEO FAMILY!<br />
Inside you will find two pages of news about the exciting things happening among SEO<br />
alumni, including updates on social events and volunteer opportunities, profiles of alumni on<br />
the move and a wealth of other in<strong>for</strong>mation to keep you connected and in the know.<br />
Ours is a unique network of remarkable people of color, living across the country and around<br />
the world, making a difference in a vast range of fields. Please keep in touch with us and with<br />
each other. We are here to help you personally and professionally – and to help you give back to<br />
the next generation of deserving students of color.<br />
www.seo-usa.org
SEO BOARD OF DIRECTORS<br />
WALTER K. BOOKER ‘81 / Chairman<br />
Group Vice President<br />
Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc.<br />
AMY ELLIS-SIMON ‘93 / Vice Chair<br />
Managing Director<br />
Merrill Lynch<br />
GILBERT ANDREW GARCIA ‘83 / Treasurer<br />
Managing Partner & COO<br />
Davis Hamilton Jackson & Associates, L.P.<br />
CHARLES SHORTER ‘84 / Secretary<br />
Creative Artists Agency<br />
WILLIAM A. GOODLOE*<br />
President & CEO<br />
<strong>Sponsors</strong> <strong>for</strong> <strong>Educational</strong> <strong>Opportunity</strong><br />
NATALIE AU-YEUNG ‘97<br />
Associate<br />
Merrill Lynch<br />
KENNETH W. AUSTIN ‘87<br />
President<br />
ABFE<br />
MAYBEL MARTE BLACK ‘93<br />
Vice President<br />
Goldman, Sachs & Co.<br />
GLEN CAPELO ‘86<br />
Senior Partner<br />
RBS Greenwich Capital Markets<br />
FLORENT DALENCOURT ‘91<br />
Senior Systems Engineer<br />
Nortel Networks<br />
DAVID J. DAY ‘97<br />
Director of Strategy & Business Development<br />
Merrill Lynch (Asia Pacific) Limited<br />
CARLA HARRIS ‘82<br />
Managing Director<br />
Morgan Stanley<br />
ADAM KARR ‘92<br />
Director<br />
Orbis Investment Management<br />
DIEGO RECALDE ‘84<br />
President<br />
Concrete Stories<br />
JEFFREY SCRUGGS ‘83<br />
Managing Director<br />
UBS Investment Bank<br />
EDUARDO SEDA ‘84<br />
Associate Director<br />
UBS Investment Bank<br />
BEATRICE SIBBLIES ‘89<br />
Principal<br />
B.O.S. Development<br />
JORGE SOLARES-PARKHURST ‘97<br />
Senior Managing Director<br />
Bear Stearns & Co., Inc.<br />
EDWARD TAM ‘91<br />
Partner<br />
Apollo Investment Management<br />
DON TELLOCK ‘91<br />
Partner<br />
Arent Fox<br />
STEPHAN YANG ‘98*<br />
Square Mile Capital Management LLC<br />
Founder and Chairman Emeritus<br />
MICHAEL OSHEOWITZ<br />
*Ex-Officio<br />
SEO CHAIRMAN’S ADVISORY COUNCIL<br />
MARK BIELER<br />
President<br />
Mark Bieler & Associates<br />
LLOYD CAMPBELL<br />
Head of Private Placement Group<br />
Rothschild Inc.<br />
JAMES HADDON<br />
Managing Director<br />
Citigroup Global Markets<br />
MILTON IRVIN<br />
Managing Director<br />
UBS Investment Bank<br />
WILLIAM E. LIGHTEN<br />
Managing Director<br />
Lehman Brothers, Inc.<br />
RAYMOND MCGUIRE<br />
Co-Head of Global Investment Banking<br />
Citigroup<br />
MICHAEL RICCIARDI<br />
Managing Director<br />
Merrill Lynch<br />
SABIN STREETER<br />
Adjunct Professor<br />
Columbia Business School<br />
JOHN O. UTENDAHL<br />
Chairman and CEO<br />
Utendahl Capital Partners<br />
JIDE ZEITLIN<br />
The Keffi Group Ltd.<br />
2007 ANNUAL AWARDS DINNER (continued from cover)<br />
He is an SEO Board member and the Chairman of the<br />
New America Alliance Institute. Mr. Recalde, who, with<br />
his company Concrete Stories, played the leading role<br />
in developing SEO’s permanent home noted,“in classic<br />
SEO fashion, when we finally found a solution to our<br />
space needs, we leveraged it, we created value, but<br />
we also created value <strong>for</strong> the community. Thus SEO’s<br />
new home truly embodies SEO’s values.”<br />
Asia Society President Vishakha Desai presented Donald<br />
Tang the 2007 Corporate Leadership Award. Born in<br />
Shanghai, his distinctive vantage point as a Chinese<br />
American business leader gives him uncommon insight<br />
into the impact and opportunity of globalization. As a<br />
mentor to the founder of the Urban Entertainment<br />
Institute (UEI), Mr. Tang is driving UEI’s pioneering ef<strong>for</strong>t<br />
to teach Mandarin language skills and Chinese culture<br />
to at-risk youth in South Central LA. Invoking Buddhist<br />
teaching, Mr. Tang said, “all happiness comes from the<br />
(left to right) Vishakha Desai, General John Fugh and Donald Tang<br />
desire <strong>for</strong> others to be happy. All misery comes from the<br />
desire <strong>for</strong> oneself to be happy. The people in this room<br />
are living proof of this wisdom.”<br />
A highlight of the evening was the announcement<br />
by Board Chairman Walter K. Booker, that The Campaign<br />
<strong>for</strong> SEO has raised more than $13 million – which includes<br />
a $1 million gift from JPMorgan Chase.<br />
The dinner concluded with a speech by Mr. Wells, who<br />
accepted the Founder’s Award from 2005 Corporate<br />
Leadership Award recipient William M. Lewis, Jr. Mr.Wells,<br />
who was named “Lawyer of the Year” in 2006 by The<br />
National Law Journal, specializes in white-collar criminal<br />
defense work and complex civil and corporate litigation,<br />
and currently serves as Co-Chair of the Board of<br />
Directors of the NAACP Legal Defense and Education<br />
Fund. He advised SEO alumni to “prepare yourselves,<br />
rejoice in the great success of your program, but make<br />
sure you protect the ability to take part in the SEO<br />
program <strong>for</strong> the people coming up behind you.”<br />
SEO INTERNS TRAINED AT<br />
BARUCH’S SUBOTNICK CENTER<br />
SEO EXECUTIVE ADVISORY BOARD<br />
ROBERT MCCANN<br />
Chairman<br />
Vice Chairman and President<br />
Global Private Client Group<br />
Merrill Lynch<br />
JESSE J. GREENE, JR.<br />
Vice President & Treasurer<br />
IBM<br />
WILLIAM M. LEWIS, JR.<br />
Co-Chairman, Investment Banking<br />
Lazard Ltd.<br />
DINAKAR SINGH ‘88<br />
Chief Executive Officer<br />
TPG-Axon Capital<br />
<strong>OPPORTUNITY</strong> <strong>KNOCKS</strong><br />
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS AND EDITORS<br />
Jon Feldman<br />
Eric Goldsborough<br />
Daree Lewis<br />
Eve Orenstein<br />
Kierstyn Thayer<br />
2 spring07newsletter<br />
Since 2005 Baruch College’s Zicklin School of Business has been hosting training <strong>for</strong> SEO interns in<br />
fixed income markets, equity markets and trading.<br />
At the beginning of each summer, interns attend a three-day training session developed <strong>for</strong> SEO<br />
by Baruch College professors Bernard Donefer and Richard Holowczak at the Subotnick Financial<br />
Services Center. The Subotnick Center features a state of the art trading floor that offers real time<br />
markets and trading simulations, as well as facilities <strong>for</strong> classroom instruction.<br />
“The training is preparing our interns to hit the ground running the first day of their internships,”<br />
said SEO Career Program Vice President, Barbara Berliner. “We have seen a significant increase in job<br />
offer rates since we began working with Baruch – and I can say confidently that there is a correlation<br />
to the training program at the Subotnick Center.”<br />
www.seo-usa.org
SCHOLARS PROGRAM<br />
PROFILE:<br />
Luisana Taveras<br />
Luisana Taveras, a senior in the SEO Scholars Program, shared some<br />
of the highlights of her SEO experience with us recently. Luisana feels<br />
that SEO encouraged steady growth during her high school years,<br />
where she focused on preparing <strong>for</strong> college admission.<br />
Luisana says,“My SEO mentor encouraged me to consider a women’s<br />
college, and after meeting Bryn Mawr alumni who visited SEO, I applied<br />
and was accepted there.” Some of the nation’s best liberal arts colleges<br />
also offered her admission with very generous scholarships, but Bryn<br />
Mawr was her top choice. Bryn Mawr is a highly competitive women’s<br />
college founded in 1885 when many women were denied higher<br />
education opportunities.<br />
Luisana just returned from a campus visit where she marveled at<br />
the beauty of the 135-acre campus designed by landscape architecture<br />
pioneers Olmstead and Vaux, whose masterwork is Central Park. She<br />
will enter Bryn Mawr with a substantial scholarship.<br />
One of the unique features of the SEO Scholars Program is the<br />
opportunity <strong>for</strong> summer enrichment experiences. After an intensive<br />
application process, Luisana was accepting into the Experiment in<br />
International Living study abroad program last summer, and she<br />
spent five weeks in Thailand, studying, traveling and volunteering.<br />
“The trip to Thailand was very meaningful and enriching. One of the<br />
most wonderful periods of the trip was a ten-day home stay with a<br />
Luisana Taveras (left) inThailand.<br />
family in a rural village. While I was there, I helped reconstruct a<br />
community center, taught elementary school children, and learned<br />
traditional Thai dance, music and cooking.”<br />
To a NYC high school student considering SEO, her advice is clear:<br />
“SEO helped me right from the very beginning, and worked with me<br />
through many challenges along the way. It has been hard work, but<br />
very rewarding. SEO helped me prove to myself that I can achieve my<br />
goals and get into a top college.”<br />
Entering 9th grade<br />
Scholars visit Ellis Island.<br />
SEO SCHOLAR NAMED<br />
NEW YORK TIMES SCHOLAR FOR THE<br />
FOURTH CONSECUTIVE YEAR<br />
SEO congratulates Jahmil Eady on winning a<br />
prestigious New York Times Scholarship. She was<br />
one of 20 New York City high school students<br />
selected from among more than 1,400 applicants<br />
to receive a $30,000 scholarship over the next<br />
four years. “Jahmil is a passionate student and a<br />
very gifted writer,” said Scholars Program instructor<br />
Tim Eash. Jahmil’s application to the Scholarship<br />
included an essay about her experiences in<br />
Argentina in Summer 2006, where she spent time<br />
teaching English in an AFS International program, which she applied<br />
<strong>for</strong> through SEO. Not only is this the fourth consecutive year that an<br />
SEO Scholar has won this award, but this year five Scholars, including<br />
Steve Menendez, Brian Clarke,Trevor Jaikissoon, Patricia Rojas, and Jahmil,<br />
made it to the semi-final round of the process – a first <strong>for</strong> SEO.<br />
Jahmil will be attending Pomona College in Fall 2007.<br />
BOARD MEMBERS ON THE MOVE<br />
NEW SCHOLARS<br />
RECRUITMENT EFFORTS<br />
BRING RESULTS<br />
In Fall 2006 we began a new approach to broaden the SEO Scholars<br />
recruitment ef<strong>for</strong>t by reaching out to students throughout New York City.<br />
SEO presented in<strong>for</strong>mation sessions at a number of schools citywide.<br />
At some schools SEO staff and Scholars visited every 9th grade English<br />
class to introduce the students to the Scholars Program. At other schools<br />
SEO staff gave school-wide assembly presentations or met with groups<br />
of students, parents or teachers. Some guidance counselors provided SEO<br />
with a list of honor roll students to whom we sent individual in<strong>for</strong>mation<br />
packets and applications.<br />
This ef<strong>for</strong>t increased the applicant pool to 234 students – up from 80<br />
applicants the previous year. This 192% increase has enabled us to select from<br />
a larger number of qualified applicants to choose 9th grade students <strong>for</strong> the<br />
Scholars Program. We interviewed 130 applicants and accepted 68 students.<br />
“This is the most selective process Scholars has ever had,” said Program<br />
Coordinator, Marc Pongnon.<br />
DAVID J. DAY ‘97 is now a Director of Strategy & Business Development<br />
at Merrill Lynch (Asia Pacific) Limited.<br />
GILBERT ANDREW GARCIA ‘83 earned his CFA and became<br />
Managing Partner & COO at Davis Hamilton Jackson & Associates,<br />
L.P. He was also appointed to the Board of Trustees of the Houston<br />
Municipal Employees Pension System. Gilbert and his wife DeeDee<br />
welcome Julianna Eva Garcia, who was born on September 8, 2006.<br />
CARLA HARRIS ‘82 per<strong>for</strong>med her second concert at Carnegie Hall’s<br />
Zankel Hall to benefit the St. Charles Borromeo School in Harlem,<br />
NY and Bishop Kenny H.S. in Jacksonville, FL on November 20, 2006.<br />
JORGE SOLARES-PARKHURST ‘97 is now a Senior Managing Director<br />
with Bear Stearns & Co., Inc.<br />
DIEGO RECALDE ‘84 was honored as one of New York’s Finest<br />
Philanthropists at the Association of Fundraising Professionals<br />
National Philanthropy Day in November 2006.<br />
CHUCK SHORTER ‘84 is now with Creative Artists Agency, one of<br />
Hollywood’s top talent and literary agencies.<br />
AMY ELLIS-SIMON ‘93 and CARLA HARRIS ‘82 are featured in the<br />
October 2006 issue of Black Enterprise highlighting the “75 Most<br />
Powerful Blacks on Wall Street.”<br />
DON TELLOCK ‘91 became a Partner at Arent Fox in January 2007.<br />
STEPHEN YANG ‘98 has joined Square Mile Capital Management LLC.,<br />
a real estate investment firm. Stephen and his wife Rebecca are the<br />
proud new parents of Ty Bunyasaranand Yang, born August 5, 2006.<br />
www.seo-usa.org spring07newsletter 3
ALUMNI NEWS<br />
SPOTLIGHT ON<br />
Tiffany Singleton<br />
For Tiffany Singleton (SEO ’01) giving back and getting ahead are<br />
intrinsically linked. What she learned about donor-advised funds<br />
through her involvement in SEO’s SIRV (Saving, Investing and<br />
Returning Value) initiative has helped her succeed in private banking<br />
at JPMorgan. Her experience in finance has brought Tiffany back<br />
to her alma mater, Dillard University, to consult <strong>for</strong> the Office of<br />
Institutional Advancement during the months be<strong>for</strong>e she begins the<br />
MBA program at Harvard Business School in Fall 2007.<br />
“After my internship, I felt indebted to SEO, so I became a Scholars<br />
Program mentor, mentored Career Program interns and became a<br />
firm captain at JPMorgan. I really wanted a long-lasting involvement<br />
and I wanted to learn about wealth management, so when SIRV<br />
came around it sounded like something good,” said Tiffany.<br />
Tiffany was instrumental in launching SIRV’s first Speakers Series<br />
and helped to enlist JPMorgan to host the Speakers Series events.<br />
“Learning about wealth management through SIRV helped me<br />
understand how to work with people who had wealth, and it put me ahead of my peers who did not<br />
know about things like donor-advised funds.”<br />
Not long after Tiffany moved to Houston, Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, and her beloved<br />
Dillard University. She got to work creating a network of <strong>for</strong>mer Dillard student body presidents, like<br />
herself, to develop a strategic plan to help the University recover.<br />
The first phase involved organizing Dillard alumni and their contacts to raise money to help get the<br />
school back on its feet. In the second phase, once the University re-opened, the alumni group rallied<br />
to get Dillard students back to campus – and to convince potential students to apply <strong>for</strong> admission.<br />
Phase three, currently underway, focuses on bringing services to students, including career development,<br />
recruitment by business schools and access to corporate recruitment – much of which has been slow<br />
to return to New Orleans institutions.<br />
“I’ve only been out of school <strong>for</strong> five years – I’m not at the point of wealth that you would expect<br />
<strong>for</strong> someone to start being a major philanthropist. But I do what I can to make an impact. Giving back<br />
early is so important – you can start giving back immediately – and you can do so in many different<br />
ways. SEO taught me that.”<br />
MAKING CHANGE IN YOUR CAREER<br />
On February 1, 2007, SEO alumni in New York gathered<br />
to learn about cutting-edge programs <strong>for</strong> professionals<br />
interested in making a difference in the public and<br />
nonprofit sectors. Hosted in collaboration with Teach<br />
<strong>for</strong> America, and sponsored by JPMorgan Investment<br />
Bank, the “Making Change in Your Career” event<br />
featured panelists representing several organizations:<br />
Recy Benjamin Dunn (SEO ’96) from the Broad Residency<br />
in Urban Education, Alexandra Martinez from the<br />
Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University,<br />
LEGENDS IN BUSINESS,<br />
LEADERS IN PHILANTHROPY<br />
SEO’s Saving, Investing & Returning Value (SIRV) Initiative is expanding its offerings with the newest series,<br />
“Legends in Business, Leaders in Philanthropy.” These intimate roundtable-style events target more senior<br />
SEO alumni, and each event features a prominent individual who has achieved significant professional<br />
success and been notably involved in philanthropic endeavors. In typical SEO<br />
fashion, alumni are well prepared to ask questions and exchange insights with<br />
attendees and featured hosts.<br />
The most recent session on February 27, 2007, was hosted by Russell L. Carson,<br />
General Partner at Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe, one of the country’s<br />
largest private investment firms, which he co-founded. Mr. Carson shared with<br />
alumni his path to success and his approach to philanthropy, including how he<br />
selects the organizations he supports and leads. Mr. Carson currently is Board<br />
Chair of The Endowment <strong>for</strong> Inner-City Education and Co-Chairs of the Columbia<br />
Business School Board of Overseers. In addition, the Carson Family Charitable<br />
Trust has been a long-time supporter of the SEO Scholars Program and made<br />
a leadership gift to The Campaign <strong>for</strong> SEO.<br />
The event included a presentation from Michelle Coffey and Darlene Currie of<br />
the Tides Foundation who discussed the process and benefits of establishing<br />
Paymon Rouhanifard of Teach <strong>for</strong> America, and Tiffany<br />
Woolfolk from National Urban Fellows. The panel was<br />
moderated by SEO alumna Latricia Barksdale (SEO ’03),<br />
currently a Manager of Transitional Funding at Teach<br />
<strong>for</strong> America.<br />
During the panel, Latricia noted that the transition<br />
from a corporate environment to the nonprofit sector<br />
was not just a lifestyle choice; it was about making<br />
an impact. “If you come up with a good idea, you are<br />
told, ‘Great, go make that happen.’”<br />
Russell L. Carson<br />
a donor-advised fund <strong>for</strong> charitable giving. SEO has launched a partnership with Tides that is enabling<br />
alumni to enhance their philanthropy by creating donor-advised funds. Participants can also leverage<br />
matching funds from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation <strong>for</strong> charitable giving to organizations other than SEO.<br />
The philanthropy roundtable series was kicked-off last October by an event hosted by Dr. Henry Jarecki,<br />
a legendary gold and silver metals trader. Dr. Jarecki has also been the driving <strong>for</strong>ce behind the Institute<br />
of International Education’s Scholar Rescue Fund, which helps scholars worldwide who are in danger or<br />
threatened with persecution.<br />
4 spring07newsletter / alumni news<br />
www.seo-usa.org
2007 SIRV SPEAKERS SERIES KICKOFF<br />
SEO and JPMorgan Investment Bank kicked off the 2007<br />
SIRV Speakers Series on March 7, 2007 in New York with “Gaining<br />
On Your Goals: Building a Strategy Around Your Finances &<br />
Philanthropy.” Sponsored by JPMorgan, the series is part of SEO's<br />
SIRV (Saving, Investing & Returning Value) initiative. SIRV brings<br />
together SEO alumni and other professionals of color to learn<br />
about the personal wealth creation strategies that can help<br />
them build greater capacity <strong>for</strong> philanthropy, and integrates a<br />
discussion of how young professionals can effectively engage<br />
with and impact their communities.<br />
The March 7 panel included Sháka Rasheed, a Vice President<br />
at JPMorgan Asset Management, and Michelle Coffey, Senior<br />
Philanthropic Advisor at the Tides Foundation. Mr. Rasheed<br />
helped attendees gain a more strategic perspective on how to<br />
develop financial goals and what investment vehicles and asset<br />
allocation methods can help them achieve those goals. Ms. Coffey<br />
discussed how to harness your passions and make change in<br />
the world through a variety of philanthropic tools, including<br />
donor-advised funds.The underlying theme of the panel discussion<br />
was “empowerment,” both financial and philanthropic.<br />
The networking reception following the panel gave attendees<br />
a chance to meet representatives from the SEO Scholars<br />
Program and Rising Tide Capital, a Jersey City-based nonprofit<br />
that provides business training and consulting, technical<br />
assistance and access to capital to low and moderate-income<br />
entrepreneurs.<br />
SIRV programming is made possible by funding from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.<br />
(top) SEO College Scholars learn interview techniques<br />
from SEO staff member, Abdulla Mirpur,<br />
as a part of the Winter Retreat.<br />
(right) SEO Alumni and Philanthropy Programs<br />
Director, Daree Lewis, speaks with SEO College Scholars<br />
during a Winter Retreat on January 4, 2007.<br />
SAN FRANCISCO<br />
BAY AREA CHAPTER:<br />
NEW PARTNERSHIP<br />
FOR CHANGE<br />
With giving back on their minds, the SEO San Francisco Bay<br />
Area Alumni Chapter is <strong>for</strong>ging a partnership with Juma<br />
Ventures, a San Francisco-based nonprofit youth development<br />
program that establishes business ventures to help at-risk<br />
youth make successful transitions from high school to<br />
adulthood. Juma Ventures is recognized as an innovative,<br />
effective program and has been profiled in the Stan<strong>for</strong>d<br />
Social Innovation Review, Harvard Business Review, and<br />
other prominent publications.<br />
The relationship was spearheaded by Bay Area Chapter President Kirk Williams<br />
(SEO ’90) and Adriane Gamble (SEO ’03), who are working with Juma’s Executive<br />
Director to develop ways to involve SEO alumni in Juma’s Young Entrepreneurs<br />
Mentor Program. Through this program, economically disadvantaged youth (ages<br />
16-24) in San Francisco will gain entrepreneurial training and experience through<br />
educational workshops on developing micro-enterprises, compete in a business plan<br />
competition, and receive small grants and loans from the City of San Francisco to<br />
launch their idea. In addition, professional volunteers provide supportive relationships<br />
to the youth through mentoring and career exploration.<br />
“The SEO mentors bring tremendous value to the project, and their participation<br />
will help to ensure its ultimate success,” said Juma Ventures Associate Director,<br />
Marc Spencer. “It is rare to see such dedicated and talented mentors. Juma is truly<br />
grateful <strong>for</strong> this working partnership.”<br />
TUPAC HUNTER (SEO ’94) was<br />
elected as Michigan State Senator<br />
in November 2006, and was<br />
previously a member of Michigan’s<br />
House of Representatives. Senator<br />
Hunter moved from business to<br />
politics as a way to represent and<br />
serve the people of Detroit and his<br />
home state of Michigan.<br />
www.seo-usa.org spring07newsletter / alumni news 5
PROGRAM SPOTLIGHT:<br />
GCFL<br />
Summer 2006 GCFL interns get hands-on experience at global corporations.<br />
The SEO Career Program’s newest program,<br />
Global Corporate Financial Leadership (GCFL), is<br />
now entering its third summer. Created <strong>for</strong> young<br />
people of color who are interested in pursuing<br />
careers in corporations, GCFL boasts a 100% offer<br />
rate <strong>for</strong> the interns placed at its partner companies.<br />
Interns spend their summers in the finance<br />
departments of Fortune 250 companies who are<br />
leaders in their industry – IBM, Xerox, and new<br />
partner EMC Corporation, an in<strong>for</strong>mation<br />
management and data storage leader. These<br />
corporations are committed to developing a<br />
high-per<strong>for</strong>ming, diverse work<strong>for</strong>ce and providing<br />
opportunity <strong>for</strong> their employees. Interns also take<br />
part in the week-long GCFL Institute that offers<br />
a mini-MBA course, corporate officer roundtables,<br />
panels, networking opportunities, training in <strong>for</strong>mal<br />
dining etiquette, and professional golf lessons – an<br />
invaluable skill <strong>for</strong> getting ahead in business.<br />
“These companies are global, so there are endless<br />
opportunities to grow and move up,” said GCFL<br />
Program Manager, Jill Hart, and “GCFL interns sit<br />
down with CEOs and CFOs and ask them questions –<br />
most employees don’t ever get to meet with people<br />
at that level.”<br />
WE ARE PROUD TO<br />
ANNOUNCE THAT SEO<br />
SCHOLARS WILL BE<br />
ATTENDING THE<br />
FOLLOWING COLLEGES<br />
AND UNIVERSITIES:<br />
Baruch College of the CUNY<br />
Barnard College<br />
Binghamton University<br />
Bryn Mawr College<br />
Columbia University<br />
Dartmouth College<br />
Georgetown University<br />
Hamilton College<br />
Macaulay Honors College<br />
at CUNY<br />
Middlebury College<br />
New York University<br />
Oberlin College<br />
Pomona College<br />
Syracuse University<br />
University of Chicago<br />
University of Michigan<br />
Vanderbilt University<br />
Vassar College<br />
COLLEGE SCHOLAR:<br />
ASAAD ZAMAN<br />
Asaad Zaman wants to make an impact on his classmates at<br />
Hamilton College. Asaad, currently a freshman, c0-founded<br />
the Muslim Students Association at Hamilton and acts as<br />
treasurer. “Since Hamilton is really small, there aren’t very<br />
many Muslims on campus. We just want to make sure that<br />
other students are able to differentiate what is real and<br />
what is not real about Islam.”<br />
Asaad was drawn to Hamilton College because he wanted<br />
to be in a place where he wouldn’t get lost in the shuffle.<br />
“All my professors know me – it’s so easy to approach them,<br />
and you actually get to talk to them at office hours. They<br />
even take the time to call or email you if they need to.” He<br />
also likes that there is no core curriculum at Hamilton so he<br />
can focus on the classes he is most interested in, namely<br />
math, biology, and economics, be<strong>for</strong>e he chooses a major.<br />
Asaad, who credits SEO with teaching him the study<br />
skills that are helping him excel in his first year at school,<br />
is taking an active part in the SEO College Scholars program.<br />
He follows College Program Manager Ays Necioglu’s email<br />
announcements about workshops at SEO and internship<br />
opportunities, and contacts her with questions about his<br />
academic progress and campus life.<br />
6 spring07newsletter www.seo-usa.org
COLLEGE SCHOLARS PURSUE THEIR<br />
GOALS WITH INTERNSHIPS<br />
SEO College Scholars are on their way to successful careers, having received<br />
the prestigious internships listed below <strong>for</strong> Summer 2007. The students<br />
all participated in the SEO Scholars Program in high school and are now<br />
attending selective colleges throughout the country.<br />
Emem Adanga - Mt. Sinai Medical Center<br />
Ariel Ashley-Pastoriza - Pfizer Health Science Division<br />
Lawrence Buckley - Securities Industries Automation Corporation<br />
Andrew Canarte - Turner Construction, assistant engineer<br />
Carly Cobbold - Xerox, engineering<br />
Sean Dawson - McKissack Group, construction management<br />
Xavier del Rosario - Goldman Sachs Sophomore Rotational Program<br />
Johnny Drayton - Enterprise Rent-a-Car<br />
Irma Encarnacion - Children’s Aid Society<br />
Courtney Ferguson - Specter De Souza Architects<br />
Suliana Gallardo - Catholic Charities of USA<br />
Angelina Gallesi - EOP peer counselor<br />
Justine Gonzalez - Upward Bound, Resident Teaching Assistant<br />
Nadeghda Gonzalez - International Public Policy Fellowship<br />
Barrington Harvey - National Institute of Health, National Cancer Institute<br />
Kenya Lee - First Focus, public policy research<br />
Carolina Lopez - Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship,<br />
domestic violence in the Latino Community<br />
Ananiki Peoples-Clark - HBO Production Department<br />
Kelvin Quezada - Career Program, Lehman Brothers<br />
Dahlia Raymond - Cornell University, biology research<br />
Melissa Rodriguez - Community Service Society of NYC’s<br />
Af<strong>for</strong>dable Housing Unit<br />
Hollis Savage - Time Warner, Corporate Responsibility<br />
Phyllis Suen - Citigroup<br />
Sean White - Citigroup<br />
CAREER PROGRAM NEWS:<br />
CAREER PROGRAM – MOST APPLICANTS, LARGEST CLASS<br />
Applications <strong>for</strong> the Summer 2007 Career Program have grown to 4,800<br />
from 3,600 in 2006. “We have a really phenomenal recruitment team – and<br />
our alumni are returning to their campuses and spreading the word about<br />
what a great program this is,” said Career Program Director, Tonya Gayle.<br />
While SEO can’t accept every candidate, the class size has increased to 434<br />
interns from 400 in 2006. The additional applicants make this year’s SEO<br />
Career Program Class the most selective ever.<br />
CORPORATE LAW PROGRAM SEES MAJOR GROWTH<br />
The applicant pool <strong>for</strong> the Summer 2007 Corporate Law Program grew 250%<br />
from last year’s pool – from 240 applicants to 615 applicants. SEO accepted<br />
53 interns – up from 43 last summer. This increase is due in part to a new<br />
approach to recruiting interns <strong>for</strong> this program. By identifying the most<br />
appropriate candidates and approaching them directly, SEO was ensured not<br />
only a larger number of applicants, but those who are best equipped to<br />
achieve in the program. Another factor is the success of previous interns who<br />
are now working at our partner firms. “Law firms are identifying SEO as an<br />
effective way to build their minority pipeline and are hiring SEO interns<br />
after the completion of law school,” said SEO Career Program Associate<br />
Director, Louie Rodriguez. Six new partner firms have joined the Corporate<br />
Law Program this year.<br />
HONG KONG INTERNS POISED FOR CAREERS IN ASIA<br />
Asia’s commercial epicenter is also the site of one of SEO’s fastest growing<br />
international programs. The number of intern placements at investment<br />
banks in Hong Kong has doubled since last summer, from 10 to 20, with<br />
requests <strong>for</strong> up to 25 interns. SEO has proven that we can provide them with<br />
exceptional talent who also have a desire to work in Asia after graduation,<br />
and banks want more. SEO alumni in Asia have also built a great model <strong>for</strong><br />
mentoring, which is an invaluable support to interns who are working in<br />
Hong Kong <strong>for</strong> the first time.<br />
12th grade Scholars shared their summer enrichment experiences<br />
at the Enrichment Program Fair on October 21, 2006.<br />
ENHANCED SEO SCHOLARS<br />
CURRICULUM<br />
In addition to providing intensive test preparation,<br />
the Scholars Program’s academic preparation<br />
curriculum has recently been revised to cover critical<br />
reading and critical writing, vocabulary, and grammar.<br />
The Scholars Program will also implement new<br />
technology as an aspect of the enhanced curriculum’s<br />
focus on math learning. In addition to their Saturday<br />
sessions, students will attend mid-week computerbased<br />
math labs. The software, in conjunction with<br />
direct instruction, will rein<strong>for</strong>ce math skills and better<br />
prepare students <strong>for</strong> success on standardized tests<br />
and in advanced level math classes.<br />
The underlying foundation <strong>for</strong> the new Scholars<br />
curriculum is that if Scholars spend more time on<br />
academic tasks, they will be better prepared to achieve<br />
the same level of academic success as students who<br />
have had more opportunities from an earlier age.<br />
In 2006-2007, <strong>for</strong> example, 10th grade Scholars will<br />
spend nearly 230 hours in academic activities – up<br />
from 55 hours of similar programming in previous<br />
years – including:<br />
One additional day-long Saturday session per<br />
month (currently three- to-four sessions, increased<br />
from two-to-three sessions in 2005-2006)<br />
One additional mandatory mid-week computer<br />
lab per week<br />
Added full-day sessions during school breaks<br />
SEO Scholars Program activities extended through<br />
the end of June<br />
Bi-weekly speakers series featuring young<br />
professionals of color<br />
A four-week Academic Summer Boost Camp <strong>for</strong><br />
rising 10th and 11th graders<br />
www.seo-usa.org spring07newsletter 7
spring07newsletter<br />
SEO SCHOLAR STEVE MENENDEZ:<br />
SUMMER EXPERIENCE IN BRAZIL<br />
Steve Menendez (far left in top photo<br />
and far-right in middle photo) and fellow travelers.<br />
Standing on the edge of a 30-foot waterfall, Steve Menendez decided<br />
it would be fine to walk away from the edge and not dive in – no one<br />
would think any differently of him if he didn’t jump.<br />
But it wasn’t about the people around him – he wanted to try it <strong>for</strong> himself. So he dove in.<br />
He also pet a wild crocodile during his ecologically focused Summer 2006 trip to Brazil with<br />
Experiment in International Living, which is one of SEO’s Summer Enrichment Program partners.<br />
“I learned not to be afraid to take chances. One of the girls on the trip was deaf, but it didn’t<br />
stop her from going on what was clearly going to be a challenging trip. I thought, if she can<br />
do everything then so can I.”<br />
Steve chose Brazil as his summer program destination because of his interest in biology.<br />
“In biology you are constantly talking about the rain<strong>for</strong>est – I wanted to be there. I also wanted<br />
to be challenged in a place where I didn’t speak the language.”<br />
Steve learned Portuguese – and sign language from his friend – and learned about Brazil’s<br />
unique ecological make-up as he traveled throughout the country. In Tacuarucu, where he<br />
was hosted by a family <strong>for</strong> 12 days, the group visited some of the 70 waterfalls in the area.<br />
They also spent time at an ecological preserve deep in the jungle – where he was introduced<br />
to the crocodile.<br />
“Our group leader told us not to go out at night – animals might attack you.” Luckily, Steve’s<br />
new sense of adventure didn’t lead him to disregard that warning.<br />
<strong>Sponsors</strong> <strong>for</strong> <strong>Educational</strong> <strong>Opportunity</strong><br />
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