Hi, my name is Dylan Pinkins. I am a first-year undergraduate student at Case Western Reserve University studying computer science with a minor in finance. I am a member of the varsity football team and a member of some of the Weatherhead business clubs: the operations club, the consulting club and the marketing club. Outside of school, I am the COO of a software development consulting startup called Beyond The Box and an incoming spring extern at PwC. I am a part of some national business accelerator programs such as BLK Capital Management, BTG Family, Seizing Every Opportunity and HeadStart Fellowship. I have always been interested in the world of business, however I began taking strides in the industry when I took a position as an intern at Beyond The Box. I learned about finance, beginning venture capital and business strategy. I also began to network, using my high school and college networks to connect with company CEOs, VPs at companies such as Blackstone, Ares, Morgan Stanley and others. Through much of these conversations, and company events I have been accepted into, I have fallen in love with the world of investments and consulting. I aspire to access the world of private equity and venture capital after my undergraduate studies. My mother inspires a lot of career choices. As I grew up, I experienced the changes in our lives as my mother climbed the corporate ladder in her company. She went from working long, hard 9-5s every day to being able to work from home more often. And almost every day, after she returned home from work, she would make dinner or take me to sports practice. Until recently, I never truly fathomed how dedicated she was to my success and educational development, even at the expense of her own at times. I hope to give back, not only to her, but to the rest of my family. I want to build generational wealth within my family while also paying off all of our debt. The finance industry allows for me to pursue my passions while making enough money to accomplish some of my personal goals. I am also inspired by the vast amounts of options available to me. I do not want to look back after three decades of a successful career and realize that no one benefited from my work except me. Helping others while working is a strong necessity of mine and so many divisions within finance allow for this type of work. I can manage the portfolios of nonprofits to help cover their costs and raise capital for initiatives and donations. I can become a consultant who focuses on healthcare and sustainable startups, granting them tools they need to realize their objectives. The options are almost limitless as far as I can imagine. This versatility also inspires me to work hard in and out of the classroom.

As a result of my background and ethnicity, I have not had access to many opportunities. Most of the opportunities I have been offered have been through connections and being in the right place at the right time. I am a product of squeezing everything I could out of every chance I got to prove myself. With every step I take forward, the chip on my shoulder grows larger because I take a step not only for myself, but for my family. Many people in my family are a constant reminder of the experiences my people have endured. My grandfather grew up as a sharecropper and my grandmother took a bus by herself as a twelve-year-old from Florida to Seattle, Washington because her mother wished for a better life for her. As a result, one of my main goals in life is to build generational wealth within my family. I want to look at my family and sit back knowing that none of us are in debt. Furthermore, I fully understand that others have experienced very similar stories to mine, some much worse, and we all deserve the chance to succeed. Diversity and inclusion is all about granting people the ability to sit at the table. It is granting the ability to access the same resources that many individuals have had access to since birth. This is why I always make it a priority to extend every opportunity and advice I can give to others, further helping everyone I know in their own personal endeavors. There is no point in life if you succeed alone without your loved ones by your side to share it with you. My experiences make me who I am. They make me different. Regardless of the obstacle in front of me, my ethnic background grants me the agency to persevere through all. I have learned to take nothing for granted and work for everything that I want in life, developing a work ethic that has put me in rooms that rarely any other eighteen-year-olds are in. I have talked to CEOs, VPs at Blackstone, Ares, Morgan Stanley and others to understand the finance industry and my career. I have joined national student accelerator programs to not only develop my education, but to also put myself in the room as the world’s next leaders. However, I acknowledge that I could not do it alone. I never forget the people who have helped me and the people that continue to do so. The obstacles I have faced have affected my relationships in such a way that I am more empathetic and able to relate with their struggles. It has made me a more compassionate and caring person, but it also has made me more altruistic. I want to help all that I can because some of the people who helped me had no obligation to do so. I express this same logic with all of my friends, and even strangers, because I believe that no one should control the knowledge of how to succeed. What has not killed me has made me stronger, and I hope to give back in a manner that helps others achieve the same amount of success that I hope to.

As a result of my background and ethnicity, I have not had access to many opportunities. Most of the opportunities I have been offered have been through connections and being in the right place at the right time. I am a product of squeezing everything I could out of every chance I got to prove myself. With every step I take forward, the chip on my shoulder grows larger because I take a step not only for myself, but for my family. Many people in my family are a constant reminder of the experiences my people have endured. My grandfather grew up as a sharecropper and my grandmother took a bus by herself as a twelve-year-old from Florida to Seattle, Washington because her mother wished for a better life for her. As a result, one of my main goals in life is to build generational wealth within my family. I want to look at my family and sit back knowing that none of us are in debt. Furthermore, I fully understand that others have experienced very similar stories to mine, some much worse, and we all deserve the chance to succeed. Diversity and inclusion is all about granting people the ability to sit at the table. It is granting the ability to access the same resources that many individuals have had access to since birth. This is why I always make it a priority to extend every opportunity and advice I can give to others, further helping everyone I know in their own personal endeavors. There is no point in life if you succeed alone without your loved ones by your side to share it with you. My experiences make me who I am. They make me different. Regardless of the obstacle in front of me, my ethnic background grants me the agency to persevere through all. I have learned to take nothing for granted and work for everything that I want in life, developing a work ethic that has put me in rooms that rarely any other eighteen-year-olds are in. I have talked to CEOs, VPs at Blackstone, Ares, Morgan Stanley and others to understand the finance industry and my career. I have joined national student accelerator programs to not only develop my education, but to also put myself in the room as the world’s next leaders. However, I acknowledge that I could not do it alone. I never forget the people who have helped me and the people that continue to do so. Therefore, the social issue I hope to address is the lack of diversity within the finance industry. My dream is to one day see an ethnically proportionate ratio of people of all different backgrounds within the finance workforce. Through the organizations I am a part of, I am building a network of talented ethnically diverse individuals who want to succeed in finance as badly as I do. I hope to work to facilitate our growth and development into finance executives who then have the pull to place others who look like us in the same space. I want to help all that I can because some of the people who helped me had no obligation to do so.

As a result of my background and ethnicity, I have not had access to many opportunities. Most of the opportunities I have been offered have been through connections and being in the right place at the right time. I am a product of squeezing everything I could out of every chance I got to prove myself. With every step I take forward, the chip on my shoulder grows larger because I take a step not only for myself, but for my family. Many people in my family are a constant reminder of the experiences my people have endured. My grandfather grew up as a sharecropper and my grandmother took a bus by herself as a twelve year old from Florida all the way to Seattle, Washington because her mother wished for a better life for her. As a result, one of my main goals in life is to build generational wealth within my family. I want to look at my family and sit back knowing that none of us are in debt. Furthermore, I fully understand that there are others who have experienced very similar stories to mine, some much worse, and we all deserve the chance to succeed. Diversity and inclusion is all about granting people the ability to sit at the table. It is granting the ability to access the same resources that many individuals have had access to since birth. This is why I always make it a priority to extend every opportunity and advice I can give to others, further helping everyone I know in their own personal endeavors. There is no point in life if you succeed alone without your loved ones by your side to share it with you. My experiences make me who I am. They make me different. Regardless of the obstacle in front of me, my ethnic background grants me the agency to persevere through all. I have learned to take nothing for granted and work for everything that I want in life, developing a work ethic that has put me in rooms that rarely any other eighteen year olds are in. I have talked to CEO’s, VP’s at Blackstone, Ares, Morgan Stanley and others to understand the finance industry and my career. I have joined national student accelerator programs to not only develop my education, but to also put myself in the room as the world’s next leaders. However, I acknowledge that I could not do it alone. I never forget the people who have helped me and the people that continue to do so. What separates me from the average individual is the degree to which I want to give back. Not only through donations, but facilitating better education, planting trees and participating in other sustainable initiatives. I want to help all that I can because some of the people who helped me had no obligation to do so. I will succeed and I plan to take all of my friends and family with me as I help others achieve the same level of success.