Emanuel Casado graduated from Cardinal Hayes High School, an all-boys Roman Catholic school in the Bronx, New York, in 2020. Because of his strong academic performance, he was offered a full-tuition grant through the Community Partnership Scholars Program at Fairfield University. Casado appreciated Fairfield’s Jesuit values and fell in love with the healthy green foliage and historic architecture. “I could see myself there,” he said. The scholarship was also a deciding factor. “I wouldn’t have been able to attend such a prestigious university without that financial help.”

Casado attended Fairfield online during his first year because of the pandemic but said, “Moving onto campus my sophomore year was one of the best decisions I made. It was life-changing.” He joined the Latinx Student Union, where he served on the executive board and chaired the fundraising committee to raise money for student events. He was also on the Remixx Hip-Hop Dance & Step Team, served as a community service coordinator for the Black Student Union, became a resident assistant to help pay for his room and board expenses, and mentored incoming first-year students attending the summer Academic Immersion bridge program through the Office of Student Diversity and Multicultural Affairs.

As a finance major and management minor, Casado says that the education he has received has been instrumental in preparing him for the next steps after graduation, especially because his Dolan School of Business professors bring professional experience into the classroom. “My Global Capital Markets professor worked at J.P. Morgan. His perspective and the stories he told were crucial in helping me learn what I want to do with my life and understanding the different pathways in the business realm.” Casado also felt inspired and supported in a way that bolstered him. John Hottinger, former associate director of career services at the Dolan Career Center, served as a mentor, helping him tweak his resume, hone interview skills, and build up his confidence. “He had 30 years of experience on Wall Street, so everything he had to say was so inspiring. He helped me showcase everything that I’ve learned at Fairfield.”

A spring break immersion trip to Silicon Valley provided networking opportunities with C-suite executives at the headquarters of several technology companies, including Apple, Google, NVIDIA, Salesforce, and Zoom. That experience and a summer internship at PricewaterhouseCooper (PwC) helped Casado refine his career goals. He plans to pursue an MS in Financial Technology and has accepted a full-time job offer at PwC beginning in the summer of 2025. After gaining real-world business experience at the Big Four accounting firm, he hopes to go into real estate investment and private equity. 

Casado has learned that the path forward isn’t always easy. He notes that the strong group of lifelong friends he has made at Fairfield is an important support system, making his experience more meaningful and filled with friendly competition. Intramural volleyball and basketball have added fun and camaraderie that help him destress around exam time. One of his older friends—a Fairfield alumnus--shared some words of wisdom that stuck with Casado. He said, “Nothing is achieved in a comfort zone.” Every time Casado tries something new, like participating in the Lucy Katz Dialogue & Resolution Fellowship through the Office of Student Diversity and Multicultural Affairs, he leans into that discomfort to grow as a person.