“As I watch my daughter prepare to start her senior year in Wharton’s M&T program with a signed contract to join the world’s largest hedge fund upon graduation I cannot help but think about the role January played in her development and success.  We are extremely appreciative of all January did. I can definitively state that before January I never trusted anyone to have such influence over my children’s development/direction and I am so glad I did because January’s involvement was incredibly additive to what we as parents could have done alone. 

Like many of the students in the M&T program my daughter came to Penn with a perfect high school GPA and near perfect SAT scores. She had been the recipient of numerous accolades such as National Merit Scholarship Winner, National AP Scholar, Generation Google Scholarship, NJ Governor’s School of Engineering & Technology, and NJSIAA Scholar Athlete.  Many would argue that with a student already performing at that level there is little anyone could do to add value to the education and personal development process. While I believed the right person could add value I seriously questioned the probabilities of finding the right person. Again, we consider ourselves incredibly fortunate that January was involved with our daughter and her development over the last several years.  

Specifically, January became our daughter’s “go to” person regarding the very vast majority of her college transition, curriculum choice, and positioning for full-time recruitment questions. When my daughter first left for college I knew the time had come for her to seek out mentors outside our family and with specific experience and expertise. Knowing that fact and being ready to trust that someone else would fill that role with the type of values and approach I thought was appropriate were two totally different issues. Watching January “at work,” listening to my daughter’s comments about her interactions with January, and observing the results I knew January was the right person incredibly fast. 

January had a perfect balance of being supportive but more importantly being able to point out all appropriate hard facts and critical observations. At the age one enters college the ability to constantly be looking out several years and making appropriate plans and decisions is not a typical strength. Again, this is another area where January’s balance was so obvious. While January understood the importance of next week’s exam, January was always keeping my daughter focused on the longer-term plan. That resulted in several very positive outcomes. In the short-term January helped a perfectionist control stress. January helped my daughter develop a better understanding of the impact of one lone exam/project verses the overall objective which resulted in much better time management skills.  Finally, January was constantly providing insight as to how specific decisions could impact future objectives. From as simple as inputs about organizing classes in a certain way to allow a more seamless transition to graduate work if that option became desirable in the future to pointing out how different extracurricular activities and internships could fill voids in one’s experience and knowledge base. Again, January was a very intracule and important part of our daughter’s college development, the successful outcome of which is evident in the aggressive recruiting efforts made by the absolute top names in Tech and Finance to secure her commitment to join their respective firms upon graduation. 

January’s impact becomes even more obvious when I compare and contrast the experiences of my two children. In my assessment my son and daughter are very similar in intellect, interests, and work ethic. Like my daughter, my son obtained a BS in Computer Engineering and a BS in Finance but from a different university. That university did not have a “January” and the difference was incredibly obvious and has been a topic of family conversation on countless occasions. If I had better understood the value that a person such as January could add when my son was in school I would certainly have attempted to secure the same advantage for him.   

Furthermore, I know the impact January had on my daughter was not just the result of some magical fit or combination. I have heard about January’s impact on countless occasions. We have had the pleasure of having many M&T kids stay in our home and inevitably they make reference to January, what they learned from January, and how January’s support substantially impacted their college experience. Ironically, after my son completed his first year in Investment Banking at a bulge bracket firm he was asked to assist in college recruiting and summer intern training. As one would expect, he interfaced with many M&T students in this capacity. On several occasions he has commented to my daughter and I about the consistent references made regarding the infamous “January” by the many M&T interns with which he interfaced. 

Our entire family thanks January for everything she has done. January’s impact is unquestionable and will not be forgotten. We wish January the best in her future endeavors and hope many more students get the chance to benefit from January’s expertise and knowledge.”