The Importance of Taking Every Opportunity
I recently had the honor of photographing Ria Rampersad. I asked Ria to share part of her journey with me.
Ria started her journey taking a part time role as a receptionist at Smith Barney while attending university. In the fall of 2001 after September 11th, one of the 4 Sr. Directors of all of Citigroup migrated from NYC to a small branch in Madison, NJ, as clients were still wary about coming into the city.
“My parents were hard working immigrants from Trinidad and Tobago who owned a deli in Manhattan. Because my parents were not part of the ‘corporate world’ I knew that unlike friends and associates, I did not have anyone to leverage for connections to obtain an internship. I had to take the back door in and use the stairs. I had to make it for myself and take every opportunity that came about. Which I did.”
The Sr. Director and his team needed an intern, Ria interviewed and was granted the marketing internship with the broker who managed $4 billion in assets.
“This was a mountain of a stepping stone for me and put me into a marketable place to start a career in the financial world.”
“My story isn’t uncommon. My family were farmers in the Caribbean with large families. They migrated to America, where they had my sister and I. They drilled into our heads that education was the key to getting in anywhere. No one can take away your education. That’s yours.”
Now a Director at the world’s largest hedge fund administrator, Ria shared this piece of advice: “Take every opportunity you get to make yourself stand out and work hard. Even if it’s volunteering to file paperwork for someone in your office, you don’t know where that could lead or who that person will remember in the future. Do everything you can to stand out and shine. Don’t let failure be the end all, be all for your journey—it’s just a stepping stone to learn and grow.”
“In finance as a female, you have to do all of the extra work and then more. It shouldn’t be that way, but that’s our current reality. You have to do more to stand out so you can be seen and heard and have a seat at the table. Otherwise you’ll just coast and it's not going to get you anywhere. Always demand a seat at the table especially if you have something to say that’s valuable.”
Thank you, Ria, for sharing your journey with me.