One hundred percent of Row New York’s 2014 seniors have been accepted to college! Proud and pumped up, the students have started getting ready to dive into university life. But before they move on, Row New York and Goldman Sachs wanted to help them build solid foundations for rewarding careers.
At Tuesday’s Senior Career Night, Lindsay LoBue from Goldman Sachs hosted our seniors at the company’s offices in downtown Manhattan. Kelley Brennan moderated a guest speaker session masterfully and our seniors gave the event five out of five stars!
Row New Yorkers heard from an impressive panel:
Unique Brathwaite: Director of Staff and Program Development at the GO Project
Victor Calise: Commissioner of the Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities
Eric Harris: Executive Vice President of Business Operations at Buzzfeed
Caroline Kim Oh: Executive Coach to Nonprofit Leaders
Lindsay LoBue: Advisory Director for Goldman Sachs
Daniel Phelps: Editor & Director of Photography
Here’s what our student-athletes had to say about the evening:
What was your favorite part of the event?
“Hearing people’s career journeys and the different paths they have taken.” – Mackenzie O’Connor
“Meeting with the career panelists afterwards.” – Bianca Pickering
“The mingling!” – Carly Hochman
How has this inspired you?
“Do everything in college!” – Carly Hochman
“It got me interested in different jobs and areas of study.” – Betsy Yang
“I know that I want to try something new and more thoroughly explore my options.” – Joy Ene
“I’m more likely to branch out into different fields in order to find what I’m really passionate about.” – Paige Nichols
“This inspired me to stay motivated and learn about my strengths and weaknesses.” – Reyhan Ayhan
“This cleared up so many questions I had!” – Xatziri Ponce
Did the event change the way you think about careers?
“I learned that it’s good to let your career evolve and to challenge yourself.” – Reyhan Ayhan
“With so many possibilities, I don’t feel as pressured to choose.” – Kassandra Nevarez
“This has made me more open to seeing how people take different paths than their original interests.” – Betsy Yang
Do you have a favorite presenter or favorite quote from the night?
“’Know your skill set – Lindsay LoBue” – Betsy Yang
“I like when Eric Harris said to focus on what you are good at.” – Carly Hochman
“Daniel Phelps! The quote I liked was ‘Do what you love and pursue your interests.’” – Xatziri Ponce
“Unique was my favorite. ‘Go with your gut.’” – Bianca Pickering
“There was no one person that was my favorite. The more they spoke on their experiences and elaborated the more I was drawn to them.” – Paige Nichols
A huge thank you to Lindsay LoBue and Kelley Brennan from Goldman Sachs for hosting us, and to the guest speakers who dedicated their time to inspiring and guiding our senior class.
Full Bios:
Unique Brathwaite currently serves as the Director of Staff and Program Development at the GO Project where she works on a collaborative leadership team providing ongoing innovation of strategy to inform long-term organizational development. Informed by many years of experience in program design and implementation, Unique supports the development of new program sites through rigorous evaluation and data-driven decision making. Before joining GO in 2012, Unique served as the Director of Curricula at iMentor where she designed college and career focused curriculum content for over 2000 NYC students and mentors. Prior to iMentor, Unique developed a college counseling program for the six schools of the Martin Luther King High School Educational Campus to support first generation college bound students and their families in making the successful transition from high school to college. In addition to a fundamental belief in educational equity, Unique remains deeply committed to supporting women in leadership advancement; in 2012, Unique co-founded the Talent and Leadership Network for women of color in the nonprofit sector. She is an alumna of Prep for Prep and a graduate from Barnard College with a B.A in Latin American Studies. Unique also earned her M.A in History from Rutgers University and currently serves as an Alumni Trustee of Prep for Prep.
Victor Calise is Commissioner of the Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities. Commissioner Calise has served the disabled community for over 15 years, most recently as Accessibility Coordinator for the Department of Parks and Recreation where he oversaw accessibility compliance at city parks and in Parks Department programming throughout the five boroughs. Prior to joining the Parks Department, Commissioner Calise held several positions at the United Spinal Association, a non-profit organization focused on disability rights that aims to improve the quality of life for Americans living with spinal cord injuries. An avid athlete, Commissioner Calise was a member of the USA Paralympic Sled Hockey team and represented the USA in the 1998 Winter Paralympic Games in Nagano, Japan. He volunteers for the Wheelchair Sports Federation and is frequently a guest speaker on the topics of spinal cord injuries, physical therapy and adaptive sports.
Eric Harris is Buzzfeed’s Executive Vice President of Business Operations and is responsible for all business operations and partnerships. Eric was one of the company’s first employees and has been a key figure in developing its business model, new ventures and growing the site’s relationships with publishers and brands. Eric leads a team of strategists, planners, account managers, marketers and advertising operations professionals who work with FORTUNE 500 brands. Before joining BuzzFeed, Eric was VP of Product Management at Operative Media where he helped to build their best of breed Advertising Management platform. Prior to Operative, Eric was Director of Operations at washingtonpost.com and spent several years doing consulting work at Price Waterhouse. Eric has an MBA from the Tepper School of Business at Carnegie Mellon University and lives with his wife and two children in Brooklyn.
Caroline Kim Oh is an executive coach to nonprofit leaders, focusing on executive directors and aspiring leaders. Prior to coaching, Caroline served over 12 years with iMentor, serving as its first Director of Programs, Executive Director, and then President. During her tenure, Caroline helped lead iMentor through national expansion and rapid growth; during which the budget grew from under $350K to over $10MM, mentor-mentee pairs increased from 180 to 2600 in NYC, and the staff grew from 4 to more than 80 full-time employees. Caroline is a frequent speaker and advisor on the issues of board development, fundraising, volunteer management, and staff development. She is also an accidental expert on work and life balance, especially for women and nonprofit professionals. Caroline received her Masters in Public Administration from New York University, and her B.A. from Cornell University.
Lindsay LoBue is an advisory director to Goldman Sachs. Previously, she was head of Investment Grade Credit Sales in New York. Before that, Lindsay managed the Credit Products Group and served as a salesperson in Credit Derivatives, Structured Credit, and Relative Value Solutions Sales. Lindsay joined Goldman Sachs in 2002 as a vice president and was named managing director in 2005 and partner in 2010. Prior to joining the firm, Lindsay worked as a research analyst in Commercial Mortgage Backed Securities and then as a salesperson in Structured Products Sales at J.P. Morgan. Lindsay earned a BS in Marketing and Psychology from Boston College in 1996 and an MBA in Finance and Marketing from New York University in 2002. Lindsay also leads diversity initiatives at Goldman Sachs in an effort to recruit women, people of color, and members of the LGBT community.
Daniel Phelps is a New York City based Editor & Director of Photography. His work consists of various forms of non-fiction media, specializing in the use of hi-technology for digital storytelling. Holding a B.S. in Mass Media Communication as well as an M.F.A. in Integrated Media Arts, he currently teaches Non-Fiction Storytelling & Digital Media Production at York College in Jamaica, Queens. Daniel’s most recent work is based around Maker Culture and Community Advocacy.
