First Tee Scholar Natalie Cao Reflects On The Power Of Mentorship

Forbes

19 hours ago

First Tee Scholar Natalie Cao recently graduated from the University of Pennsylvania, where she was captain of the golf team.
While she loved golf from an early age, she struggled with the independent nature of the sport until her parents enrolled her in First Tee during fifth grade. That's when she realized golf could be something more than just a competitive sport and was immediately drawn to the life skills curriculum.
She quickly integrated herself into the community at First Tee – Greater Houston and began junior coaching while she was in middle school.
All along, her eyes were set on the future and finding a place where she could grow as a golfer and student. Soon she found the best of both worlds: the University of Pennsylvania, where she could play on the golf team as well as pursue a degree in economics.
Around this same time, Natalie applied and was accepted to the First Tee Scholarship Program. In addition to financial support and professional development opportunities, each First Tee Scholar is matched with a dedicated mentor to help them navigate their time in college and beyond.
Natalie's mentor was Valerie Wong Fountain, a Managing Director at Morgan Stanley in the Firm's New York City office. Like Natalie, Valerie also played collegiate golf at the University of Pennsylvania, and she is a board member of First Tee – Metropolitan New York. The relationship between the two quickly flourished after they met in person for the first time to play golf while Natalie was visiting New York City over the summer after her freshman year.
Natalie and Valerie engaged on topics ranging from career advice to leadership to negotiating offers. In addition, Valerie opened doors to opportunities at Morgan Stanley and provided additional networking experiences in the asset management industry.
Throughout her time at the University of Pennsylvania, Natalie flourished academically and athletically. She completed two internships with Morgan Stanley as part of the Firm's Early Insights program and competed with the UPenn women's golf team contending for its first Women's Ivy Championship in more than a decade. Each time she competed in the Ivy Championships, Valerie attended to cheer her on.
After her graduation at the end of May, Natalie moved to Miami to begin a two-year rotational program in commercial mortgage-backed securities with Rialto Capital, an investment management group. She has already been in touch with First Tee – Miami to coach and mentor the next generation of First Tee participants.
Want to learn more about the First Tee College Scholarship Program and how you can get involved? Visit here.