2024 Alumni Award Winner, Shatiek Gatlin, On Having a Competitive Advantage With NAF

I’d like to start by telling you a story. As a kid from the southside of Jamaica, Queens, I never knew what I wanted to be when I grew up. As the product of teen parents, the notion of having bold career aspirations was foreign in my working-class, multi-generational household. 

That’s why I’ll never forget what my seventh grade math teacher, Carmen Pintauro, said to me: “you seem to like math, you should become an accountant…I was one, my husband’s an accountant, and you could make A LOT of money.” At 12 years old, I couldn’t fully comprehend what that meant, but given my family’s background, I was intrigued. 

Her advice led me to The High School of Economics and Finance on Wall Street, where I discovered the NAF Academy of Finance. 

Despite having to travel an hour and 15 minutes one-way, each day — I immediately felt at home. The experiences I had through NAF truly felt tailor-made for me.

I had teachers like Miss Donna Thomas and Aristides Lourdas. They taught me invaluable lessons that I still think of today.

And the internships! I was only 15 or 16 when I got a NAF internship at BNY Mellon. Suddenly, I was being treated like a young professional, getting coaching and advice, earning a paycheck, and learning how to manage my money wisely. I felt valued.

All of that was life-changing. In business jargon, we talk a lot about this idea of having a competitive advantage — something that sets a company apart from its peers and contributes to its success. NAF has been my competitive advantage.

Today, I am a first-generation college graduate from Babson College, the 27-time #1 school for entrepreneurship, and I’m pursuing my MBA at Columbia University. I’m still connected to NAF as an inaugural member of the Alumni Leadership Council. In fact, I just finished my term as Chair of the council. 

It has been great to see how the council has grown over the years. While I was a student at Babson, I was able to bring my own passion for how NAF could support the high school-to-college pipeline, and make sure college students were supported on their journeys. I’ve proudly witnessed as we launched mentoring programs, and expanded Alumni Chapters to new cities. 

I have been a living witness of the literal life-altering work that NAF — ALL of you in this room — are a part of. And for that, I express my sincere gratitude and thanks. 

If I were to sum it up in any other way, I think I finally know what 12-year-old Shatiek would’ve wanted to be when he grew up: a NAF alumni.

Thank you, all!