Alumna Shanelle Trinidad mentored student Isabella Pradhan through the Q Mentorship Program, which helped Isabella land an internship in New York City.
Last spring, Junior Isabella Pradhan received a phone call she’ll never forget: she had earned a paid finance internship in New York City.
On the phone to share the good news was Shanelle Trinidad (BBA ’09), Pradhan’s mentor through the Q Mentorship Program and a vice president in Equity Sales at Jefferies Financial Group.
“I never would have had the opportunity to intern in New York or learn from Shanelle without the Q Mentorship Program,” says Pradhan.
Connecting students and professionals
The Q Mentorship Program is a supplement to Quinlan’s BSAD 220 Career Preparation course. Through the class, business students are paired with a mentor who is either a Loyola graduate or a business professional connected to Loyola.
For Trinidad, volunteering to be a mentor was an easy decision.
“I certainly wouldn’t have made it this far in my career if I didn’t have people who cared enough about my progress to help me build upon my skillset,” she says. “There’s great value in mentorship, and I wanted to give back.”
According to Trinidad, the most valuable aspect of mentorship is having access to people who have experience in a potential career path.
“You can discuss someone’s day-to-day, their own experience in getting their foot in the door, quality of life, etc.,” she says. “Not only that, but you can make a connection with someone who has the potential to get your foot in that door.”
Launching careers
Trinidad certainly helped open doors for her mentee: Pradham attended several events with her mentor, including flying to New York to attend Jefferies’ Inspiring Women for Finance Symposium. Subsequently, Pradham was invited back to New York to interview for an internship at Jefferies. “And she got it!” says Trinidad.
“The Q Mentorship program is really what you make of it,” adds Trinidad. “Finance was never on Isabella’s radar as a potential career, and I’m happy that she’s considering it given the experience that she’s had with me.”
Learn more
- Q Mentorship Program →
- Mentor Jim Dempsey reflects on the Q Mentorship Program →
