Meet the NYU Stern Peer Mentors!

Mckenzie Love
Peer Mentors presenting
Let’s face it: college isn’t always a walk in Washington Square Park. Between classes, socializing, and figuring out what you want to do for a career, sometimes you need a little help from your friends. Enter: the NYU Stern Peer Mentors.

The NYU Stern Peer Mentors, overseen by the Undergraduate College’s Office of Student Engagement (UCOSE), are upperclassmen with knowledge and experience in a wide range of popular industries including FinTech, Entertainment, Finance, Marketing, Accounting, to name a few. Peer mentors are available to meet with students who are still exploring their options as well! Current students can connect with a peer mentor in person during the academic year and by making a video-chat appointment this summer with one of the summer mentors via the Peer Mentors widget on Stern Life.

These knowledgeable and friendly students love meeting other NYU Stern undergrads and providing advice and guidance about anything from classes, to careers, to life as an NYU student.

But you don’t have to take it from us! We sat down with some of this summer’s Peer Mentors along with a few recent graduates to learn more about why they love mentoring and what they can do for you:


Brianna Alexander

Brianna Alexander (BS '19)

Peer Mentor (Entertainment)
Concentrations:
Accounting; Marketing
Minor: Business of Entertainment, Media, and Technology
Hometown: Brooklyn, NY

What can NYU Stern students come to meet with you about?
I can help students explore the many opportunities in the entertainment industry. Entertainment is more than actors, musicians, and famous people. There are so many behind-the-screen roles where you have a major impact!

How did you choose entertainment as your career path? What inspired you?
Everyone told me to do what you love and when I think of what I love, the first things that come to mind are music, friends, and making people happy. The entertainment industry allows me to have all three! I was inspired to pursue a career in entertainment by Karen Civil, Shante Bacon, and Angela Yee: women who have found paths in entertainment by creating their own brands and finding a niche. In an industry dominated by men, these strong women encourage my desires to be great and to continue diversifying the industry.

What made you want to become a mentor to other NYU Stern students?
I want to be that person who helps guide students to find their path in the professional world, and I also want to offer diverse students, no matter their field of interest, a person to speak with who can relate to their many experiences.


Daniel Kim

Daniel Kim (BS '19)

Peer Mentor (FinTech)
Concentrations: 
Finance; Computing and Data Science
Minor: Computer Science
Hometown: Rancho Palos Verdes, CA

What can NYU Stern students meet with you about?
I'm a FinTech peer mentor, and I'd be happy to talk about my internship experience and why I chose the industry. However, anyone can come talk to me about anything, really. Please feel free to sign up for a session, and I look forward to speaking with all of you throughout the summer and next school year!

Did you participate in the Peer Mentors program as a mentee? Who was your mentor?
Yes, I did! My peer mentor was Jaewoo who gave me an overview of the industry and motivated me to apply to be a mentor in the program this year, too. Since our first meeting, we became close friends who still keep in touch, and I hope to develop similar relationships with new mentees!

What made you want to become a mentor to other NYU Stern students?
I remember being lost on what to do after deciding that I want to follow a career path less conventional in Stern. I hope to share my career path with my fellow peers and younger students through the program.


Natasha Rajiv

Natasha Rajiv (BS '19)

Peer Mentor (Consulting)
Concentrations: Computing and Data Science; Management
Minor: Digital Art and Design
Hometown: Singapore

What can NYU Stern students come to meet with you about?
Stern students can come chat with me about deciding on a career path, being a transfer student at Stern, networking, classes, joining clubs, and generally navigating your time at Stern and at NYU!

What is your favorite part about being a mentor?
My favorite parts are being able to help mentees by sharing my experiences and being able to communicate to them that they have a huge support network and a ton of resources available to them here at Stern.

What do you think is the most valuable aspect of the Peer Mentors program?
It gives mentees the opportunity to explore different career paths, classes, and pretty much learn anything else they want to in a really casual setting!

What has been one of the most meaningful moments for you in your experience as an NYU Stern Peer Mentor?
Seeing a mentee's smile when they realized for a moment that everything would be okay no matter how overwhelming recruiting and classes seemed at the time.    


Aditya Garg

Aditya Garg (BS '18)

Peer Mentor Alum (Finance)
Concentrations:
Finance, Economics
Hometown: Greensboro, North Carolina

What has been one of the most meaningful moments for you in your experience as an NYU Stern Peer Mentor?
Recently, a student I had met with messaged me to say that a topic we’d talked about actually came up in one of his interviews. Hearing from somebody I had mentored about how our conversation directly helped him was definitely one of my most meaningful moments.
 
What was your favorite part about being a Peer Mentor?
Getting to meet all the students across Stern! Listening to their stories and their paths is always my favorite part.


Rachel Hersey

Rachel Hersey (BS '18)

Peer Mentor Alum (Marketing)
Concentrations: 
Marketing; Computing and Data Science
Track: Luxury Marketing
Hometown: New York, New York

What was your favorite part about being a mentor?
Helping students discover their passions and getting to know mentees personally. I really get to help students understand how they want to utilize their time at Stern to start building a career. It's so rewarding to see a student leave our meeting confident and excited about what their future holds.

What has been one of the most meaningful moments for you in your experience as an NYU Stern Peer Mentor?
For me, the most meaningful moments were when I could see passion for marketing in the eyes of a student. I’ve had 30-minute meetings that turn into a few hours of talking about our favorite ads, discussing where we think digital advertising is going, and geeking out over other marketing topics.


Jaewoo Park

Jaewoo Park (BS '18)

Peer Mentor Alum (Tech)
Concentrations: Statistics; Computing and Data Science
Hometown: Seoul, South Korea

What made you want to become a mentor to other NYU Stern students?
NYU and New York City are both huge places that can be hard to navigate. Equipped with a bit of inside information on the nuances of this school and city, I can help students have a more fulfilling experience during their here. It means a lot that I can provide that.

What can students meet with the Peer Mentors about?
I like to think that students can come meet Peer Mentors to discuss how great it is to actually not know what they want to do yet. I’m a big fan of not being pigeon-holed into anything early.
 
Ready to meet with a peer mentor? Current students can log in and schedule an informal chat via the Peer Mentors widget on Stern Life.

The Peer Mentors for the 2018-2019 Academic Year include:
  • Brianna Alexander (Entertainment) 
  • Adnan Ammache (Entrepreneurship)
  • Aurelien Bouee (Accounting)
  • Jorge Castro (Sustainability)
  • Hector Galvan (Consulting)
  • Sweta Gangopadhyay (Marketing)
  • Arielle Golden (Finance - Corporate Finance)
  • Jacob Hamilton (Finance - Investment Banking)
  • Simon Ilisevich (Political Economy)
  • Daniel Kim (FinTech)
  • Rujuta Kortikar (Tech)
  • Chase Lin (Exploration)
  • Jason Lu (Consulting)
  • Chris Mendoza (Tech)
  • Jose Palacios (Continuing Education)
  • Stella Park (Finance - Equity Research)
  • Natasha Rajiv (Consulting)
  • Victoria Rusinak (Finance - Investment Banking)
  • Paula Villafane (Actuarial Science)