Nervous yet optimistic, with a head full of dreams, teens enter the world of high school.  Aside from the standard academic program, Leadership students are introduced to free career and mentoring programs from day 1.  The school has its own college and careers mentoring program, SUMMA. It also partners with Big Brothers Big Sisters of NYC, known for its workplace mentoring.  BBBS starts sophomore year.  Alexis Huerta Reyes, Class of 2024, belongs to both, SUMMA and BBBS.  As a rising senior, Alexis was selected to a highly competitive paid summer internship with BlackRock, and he was offered a 4-week, 6-credit scholarship to attend Syracuse University summer college.  Alexis chose BlackRock’s 6-week internship.

LEAD News interviewed Alexis to learn more about his experience.

G. 1. How did you hear about this internship?

A. I heard of this internship from my program manager, Gabby, in Big Brothers Big Sisters.

G. 2.  What is BlackRock? What do they do?

A.  BlackRock is one of the world’s largest investment management firms.  They manage investments for everyday working people and large companies. They are are all over the world but their headquarters are in Hudson Yards, New York City.  

G. 3. What were your duties ? Which ones did you like?  Which one’s were difficult? How did you overcome challenges you faced in this internship?

A. I Attended mandatory career panel meetings. In these meetings, guest speakers shared their experiences in their careers and we took notes and asked questions.  During these panels, I would make sure I connected with someone who had a career I wanted to pursue or who I found genuinely interesting. Later I set up a coffee chat to talk about their personal experiences in their careers.  At the end of the internship, my group was supposed to present how BlackRock ETFs and Bonds compared to their competitor, Vanguard. We spent 3 weeks researching and interviewing BlackRock employees to strengthen our presentation and as a result, I connected with many people and continued to strengthen my knowledge equities. Finally, we presented in front of over 100 people, and by practicing and memorizing our data, I was able to present in total confidence.

G. 4. What motivated you to apply to this internship?  What was the process of applying to this internship?

A  I was motivated to work beside intelligent minds who could strengthen my knowledge in finance. Working for the largest financial management firm would be great for my future career in finance.  To apply for this internship, I completed an application, one personal statement, and two career-related essays about why I wanted to intern for BlackRock. Another essay calls for why you would make a great candidate for the internship 

G. 5. What activities did you do in your internship ? Did you find any of them fun?  Which ones did you find most challenging?

My personal favorite activity was taking a personality test and how personality can affect how people work with others.  The coding activity was the most challenging part of the internship because I had no experience in it, but I quickly picked it up.

G. 6. What is unique about this internship ?

A. The internship was available for rising senior high school students in New York as well as rising first and second-year college students. During my time there, I also met third and fourth-year college interns. They were part of the Summer Analyst internship program and they gave advice for new internship opportunities and college advice. Having people who listen and are willing to help with all their experience and knowledge cant be found anywhere else.

G. 7. What were the greatest benefits ?

A. There are many benefits besides getting to intern for two consecutive years.

• Working on my LinkedIn profile and increasing my connection list 
• I have a great relationship with my manager, Anna who always willing to help and encourage me through my career journey 
• Meeting people who share my interests and learning from them makes me a better person 
• Working on my public speaking skills, and being overall more confident with myself.

G. 8. What advice would you give to students who are interested in the internship ?

BlackRock is very competitive, so having some prior experience would help your chances of getting in. Having anything above a 3.5 GPA and having great recommendations will increase your chances. Make sure your essays show your commitment to take advantage of opportunities given to you. (If you need help for this summer internship, make sure to reach out to me. The sooner, the better)

G. 9. Would you recommend this internship to other students? 

A. I recommend this internship to anyone who wants to explore their career interests.  It doesn’t have to be finance. BlackRock exposes you to everything from computer science marketing to human resources, etc.