By Michael Liu
Sunday, February 25th marked the informative February monthly meeting of YES, involving a balance of networking opportunities, keynote presentations emphasizing “better money habits,” and interactive sessions among members. The lively gathering sparked the interest of over a hundred members and parents who were given the unique opportunity to engage with industry professionals and a diverse set of peers. Overall, with the collaboration of the avid members and organizers of YES and highly informative speakers, this event truly established itself as indispensable to the minds of the aspiring young generation.
After some team building and networking, guest speaker and AVP, Financial Solutions Advisor of Bank of America Gerardo Caldero was warmly introduced. YES members were given the pleasure of engaging in an important lesson touching on the topics of money management, goal setting, and developing better money habits. By involving topics of budgeting, tracking expenses, and avoiding debts, Caldero connected the ideas of financial security with the intimidating sphere of entrepreneurship, enlightening the leaders of tomorrow with the fundamental knowledge of understanding risks, separating personal and business finances, and setting and tracking specific spending goals.
Following the members’ appreciative applause and a brief intermission, speaker Amaris Wilson, senior operations analyst at Bank of America, was introduced. Her engaging address centered around money and expenses was as indispensable as Caldero’s, touching on the fundamentals of budgeting, tracking spending and savings, prioritizing wants and needs, and understanding one’s paycheck. By targeting the young adults of YES, she resonated with ideas of the financial independence of navigating through college and starting their own career, creating emergency funds, saving for long-term goals such as retirement, maximizing wealth, and harboring robust money management skills. Ultimately, such moving lessons truly affirmed YES’s values in terms of cultivating informed next-generation leaders through community engagement and provided members with a unique and authentic glimpse into the nuanced realm of finance.
Following another brief intermission and a lively group picture with the speakers and YES students, the YES Launch program resumed. By collaborating with members of groups formed in the previous meeting, YES members were given a unique opportunity to formulate, enhance, and prototype a unique product and simulate true entrepreneurial conversations and venturers. Furthermore, by collaborating tightly with an appointed advisor, ranging from seasoned entrepreneurs to enthusiastic leaders of our community, members were given the opportunity to truly realize their ideas and refine their budding understanding of entrepreneurship. Ultimately, the event’s unwavering enthusiasm attests to its success in providing a tangible platform that propels the YES community into becoming the true leaders of tomorrow.
