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The Gabelli School’s Corporate Communications High School Pipeline Program Prepares Students for College and Careers in Business

Gabelli School Students, Alumni, and Advisory Board Members All Play a Role
If Chipotle, Netflix, Nike, Walmart, and Wells Fargo are looking for fresh ideas, the students in the Gabelli School’s Corporate Communications High School Pipeline Program (CCP) are ready to provide them.

Mentored by Gabelli School students, 14 teams of high-achieving high schoolers analyzed case examples involving these companies and pitched their equity/revenue-generating solutions to a panel of judges during the CCP Final Showcase in May. This year, students from Cardinal Hayes High School, Cristo Rey New York High School, Academy of Mount St. Ursula, All Hallows High School, Mott Hall High School, and Saint Raymond High School for Boys participated. Cristo Rey came in first place ($2,500 prize) and Cardinal Hayes finished second ($2,000 prize).

The annual Final Showcase is the culmination of a yearlong program that gives talented high school students from underrepresented communities the opportunity to prepare for college and the business world. They learn about business strategy and career options; develop public speaking and presentation skills; and gain perspectives through field trips organized by companies like PwC, Morgan Stanley, and PIMCO.

“One of our program pillars is college access,” said Clarence E. Ball III, founder and director of the CCP Program. “Students have better post-secondary options after a program like this. It helps with their college applications and résumés, and it increases their knowledge and confidence.”

CCP Final Showcase winners, judges, and student mentors
CCP Final Showcase winners, judges, and student mentors pose together at the end of the competition, with Cristo Rey New York High School taking home the trophy.
Eileen Walsh, GABELLI ’76, the program’s alumni sponsor/angel judge, who also serves on the Gabelli School Advisory Board, feels a real connection to the CCP students. “I relate to these students,” she asserted. “I grew up in the Bronx. My parents were immigrants. We were of lower income, but I had a drive to succeed. I can see myself in all of them.’”

Walsh, who was the first woman audit partner in the KPMG New York office, is impressed with the students’ work. “They are smart as smart can be, or they wouldn’t be invited into this program,” she noted. “We have high school students demonstrating proficiency in the skills cherished by business enterprises today.”

Gabelli School seniors Andres Cintron and Luz Perez-Arias have come full circle with the CCP Program. They participated as high school students and now serve as undergraduate co-directors, helping to organize the Final Showcase and serving as mentors throughout the year. “I love it when my students hit me up for advice. It brings me joy to be able to impact their lives as my mentors had an impact on mine,” said Cintron, who recently interned at Deloitte and Citigroup.

Perez-Arias noted, “The program gave me the confidence to stand up in front of a room and speak.” During her first semester at Fordham, her presentation skills were recognized with an invitation to participate in a case competition with Deloitte. She has since interned at JPMorgan.

Over the years, highly successful alumni and advisory board members also have become involved. Donald Almeida, GABELLI ’73, former vice chairman of PwC, provided early financial support for the program and facilitated the connection with its first community partner, Cardinal Hayes High School. Three alumni served as showcase judges this year: John McCombe, GABELLI ’82, president and director of distribution at Richard Bernstein Advisors; Rebecca Peters, GABELLI ’12, ’13, founder and owner of BX Bookkeeping; and Xienna De Jesus, GABELLI ’22, ’24, who is part of the HR team at BronxWorks. Michael Reavis, strategic learning lead at Meta, rounded out the panel of distinguished judges.

—Kimberly Volpe-Casalino