by Alexandra Weaver
When Alejandro Rangel was six years old, his parents moved him from Mexico to Hamlin, NY. As he grew up, he began to view the small town, and the surrounding area of Brockport as home. He went to Brockport High School, worked at Lorenzo’s on Main Street, and ended up going to The College at Brockport to study finance.
Rangel has fond memories of growing up in Brockport, but a lot has changed for him since he was in high school.
“I enjoyed the people, honestly,” Rangel said. “But as they got older you see where they all go, and they don’t go the right way. They don’t go in the right direction and you tend to split off. I’m not in touch with my high school friends any more. They got into drugs, they’re just not working, they’re not looking for work, or they’re working for their parents. When I see that it’s sad, but I guess that’s how it goes sometimes.”
Rangel is determined not to go down the same road as his friends. He’s already had one internship with New York Life Insurance Company, and he’s currently preparing to take his Chartered Financial Analyst exam in the spring. It’s a six-hour test, and Rangel says it’s one of the hardest tests in the world, but it will help him get a job.
He’s been looking at the local job market since last year, but he says he hasn’t found many.
“If you want a job in finance, it’s very hard to find out here,” Rangel said. “Most of the time they want people with ten years of experience. There aren’t many entry level positions around here.”
When Rangel realized this, he decided to broaden his search.
“Big cities are where you’re going to make the most money in this field, so right now I’m looking at Richmond, Virginia, New York City, and Houston, Texas,” Rangel said.
Over the summer, he visited New York City for a job interview with the financial services firm Morgan Stanley. The company even paid for him to stay at a hotel for two days. He believes that he made a good impression, and he’s been keeping in touch with his interviewer. He may even be a good fit for a position with Morgan Stanley in Texas.
“I speak Spanish as well, and they really loved that,” Rangel said. “They have a lot of clients out in Texas, who speak Spanish and English, but prefer to speak in Spanish.”
Rangel has already spoken to his parents about the fact that he’ll need to leave Western New York to find a job. As a farm hand, his father understood the need to go to where work is available.
“It’s kind of like I’m just following in my dad’s footsteps at this point,” Rangel said.
Rangel said that he never seriously saw himself leaving the Brockport or Rochester area as a kid. Coming to the realization that he had to move wasn’t initially pleasant.
“It was scary at first,” Rangel said. “You have to look at it in a different way though; you have to realize that it’s an opportunity for you to make something big of yourself, make some money, and help your family and the world.”
Rangel is willing to follow opportunities wherever they may lead him. It may mean that he needs to leave his home, but just like his parents, he’s willing to do what he must to better himself.
Editor’s note: This is the first in a series about local millennials and their career plans, as reported by Alexandra Weaver, a student at The College at Brockport and intern for Westside News. If our readers would like to suggest a millennial for this series please email the information to info@westsidenewsny.com.
