Carlos E. Calderon's ALPFA Story

Upon hearing that ALPFA Boston was launching a mentorship program, I immediately sought out to apply. I am the first of my large family to graduate from college and pursue a profession and being so new to the business world, I quickly realized there is a lot to learn without a lot of time to learn it. Up to this point in my career, I had been able to survive solely on the morals and values of my traditional parents. I was able to successfully accomplish my job functions daily. However, the business world is a culture in and of itself, and despite the great personal lessons learned, I had no true guidance from within. I was selected to participate in the mentorship program and assigned a mentor by the name of Juan Carlos Morales, Sector CFO of Wealth Management for BNY Mellon Financial Corporation. While being a part of ALPFA opens you to the networking aspects of business and opportunities, this program does it on a completely different level. Juan Carlos was not my boss, not my professor, or even a colleague. Instead, he was someone who understood completely where I stood and where I could go. Over the course of my participation in the program, Juan Carlos would break down my concerns and experiences so that I could take a lesson from each one. Working for a small investment bank as an analyst, there were many situations where his guidance clarified the appropriate actions to be taken. I cannot stress enough the importance of being able to pick up the phone and ask a word of advice. Throughout this period of time I conquered many challenges and was guided through some very critical decisions that directly impacted my career. This program is not meant to offer mentees a job opportunity or human resource advice, but you will learn in ALPFA that through networking, anything is possible. Eight months later I have moved on, and I now work for BNY Mellon Financial Corporation as a Financial Analyst for the Wealth Management Division. Although mentee graduation is around the corner, I know throughout the rest of my career that I have someone to call on who will, again, understand completely where I stand.