Rising Star: How Mentorship Helped Adelisa Music Find Her Wings

November 20, 2025

FWA–Baruch College Mentoring Program Spotlight


Adelisa Music is a rising star with a bright future in finance. A college student at Baruch, she’s built her success through focus, resilience, and a willingness to keep learning. Along the way, the Financial Women’s Association’s Mentoring Program at Baruch College added another dimension to her journey, giving her the guidance and confidence to take her ambitions even further.


“My experience with the FWA Baruch College Mentoring Program was more than transformative,” Adelisa says. “It served as a guide and support throughout college, introducing me to people and opportunities that opened doors I didn’t know existed and helped me learn more about my strengths and weaknesses.”

From the start, she knew she wanted a mentor who could offer both professional insight and genuine guidance. “I recognized the need for someone I could lean on,” she explains. “Importantly, I wanted to learn how to navigate career planning and professional development as a woman.”


That mentor came in the form of Ellen Sills-Levy, President and CEO of ESL Insights, LLC, past FWA President, and a 14-year mentor in the program. Ellen still remembers their very first conversation. “I was struck by Adelisa’s intelligence, curiosity, creativity, and genuine compassion,” she says. “She came ready to learn, but she also brought warmth and perspective beyond her years. Her deep connection to her family and the way she speaks about them has always been an endearing part of who she is.”


Their relationship soon evolved from structured mentoring to something deeper, a partnership built on trust, learning, and encouragement. Over coffee chats and Zoom calls, they discussed everything from professional growth to personal confidence. “Ellen gave me advice that helped me apply for jobs, work on my interview skills, and develop leadership abilities I can use anywhere,” says Adelisa. When she hesitated to apply for a competitive opportunity, Ellen helped her reframe her thinking, and Adelisa landed the position. “Because I had someone to lean on, I was able to feel more confident and get something that I wanted.”


Through that process, Adelisa discovered the power of self-advocacy and persistence. “From my mentor, I gained important skills that include networking, goal-setting, and advocating for myself,” she says. “These lessons helped me embrace a growth mindset.” Ellen adds, “Adelisa continues to inspire me. As she graduates from Baruch and steps into her full-time role at Merrill Lynch, I look forward to seeing her continue to flourish.”


This December, Adelisa will graduate and begin her new position as a Wealth Management Client Associate with Merrill Lynch, a division of Bank of America Wealth Management, a milestone that reflects both her hard work and the mentorship that helped her refine her path. “The guidance and support I received from the FWA Baruch College Mentoring Program have served as a hand when I needed it most,” she says. “Becoming a mentor myself one day would be a great privilege.”


For Ellen, that impact is exactly what makes mentoring so rewarding. “As a past FWA President and a mentor for 14 years, I can say that mentoring has enriched my life in countless ways,” she says. “I’ve learned as much from the women I’ve mentored as I hope they’ve learned from me. Many of these relationships have grown into lasting friendships. This program is one of the FWA’s greatest strengths—a powerful engine for women’s advancement in a world where major challenges persist.”


At a time when some companies are scaling back inclusion and mentoring programs under the banner of “merit,” the FWA–Baruch College Mentoring Program continues to stand for what truly drives progress: access, representation, and belief.


As Adelisa’s story proves, mentorship doesn’t just shape a career—it empowers women to see their own potential and soar.



Get Involved


Are you a professional ready to pay it forward? Or a student seeking guidance? Join us. Learn more about our Mentoring Programs and empower the next generation of women leaders. Connect with our program leads to get started:


Baruch - Betsy Werley ([email protected]) or

Seton Hall - Laura Travers ([email protected]) or Laura Bourgeois ([email protected])



Ellen Sills-Levy (left) and Adelisa Music (right).

Preparing for What's Next: Cailyn Kitchens and the Power of Mentorship

August 13, 2026
by Robert Brown "I believe that mentorship is incredibly valuable, especially during college as you are navigating a lot of changes and first-time experiences." For Cailyn Kitchens, a junior at Baruch College, those words aren't simply a reflection on her college experience. They've become the foundation of how she's prepared for her future. Following her junior-year internship at Scotiabank, Cailyn credits the Financial Women's Association's Baruch College Mentoring Program and her mentor, Laleh Bashirrad, Managing Director at BNP Paribas, with helping her approach one of the most pivotal chapters of her college journey with greater confidence, curiosity, and perspective.

Wall Street Exchange Interns Get an Inside Look at Strategic Communications

August 6, 2026
On July 7, 2026, interns in the FWA’s Wall Street Exchange (WSE) Program came together virtually for the fourth session of the summer, titled “Strategic Communications,” sponsored by Joele Frank. Jordan Resnick, HR Specialist, and Heather Wallach, Talent Acquisition Manager, introduced interns to Joele Frank and the world of strategic communications, a field many interns had never considered as part of the financial services landscape. Jordan and Heather explained that Joele Frank advises companies through their most consequential moments, from mergers and acquisitions to shareholder activism, restructuring, leadership transitions, and crisis response, ranking as the #1 U.S. M&A PR advisor and #1 shareholder activism defense advisor in the industry. To bring the firm’s work to life, Jordan and Heather walked interns through several high-profile engagements, including Joele Frank’s support of Warner Bros. Discovery, a current client, as an example of how the firm helps companies navigate high-stakes, high-visibility situations in real time. The discussion underscored that effective strategic communications require not just managing a narrative, but protecting a company’s credibility with every audience watching, from investors and employees to the media and the public. Jordan and Heather also broke down the many disciplines that fall under the strategic communications umbrella, including investor relations, corporate and media relations, governance and corporate stewardship, design, and digital strategy. They emphasized that the firm hires like a law firm, bringing on Account Associates directly out of undergrad, and encouraged interns interested in the field to build strong writing skills, stay current on financial news through outlets like The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg, and consider Joele Frank’s summer internship or full-time Account Associate programs as a path into the industry. Interns had the opportunity to ask questions throughout the presentation before breaking into small groups to discuss their key takeaways from the session and reflect on what they had learned so far this summer. Many interns shared that the session reshaped their understanding of what a career in PR actually looks like, moving past common misconceptions to reveal a discipline built on strategy, judgment, and relationships. Several groups also highlighted the session’s emphasis on soft skills, noting how much communication, adaptability, and emotional intelligence matter in a field so often mistaken for being purely about writing press releases. At the conclusion of the session, the WSE spun the wheel to award a CFA Society Student Membership, sponsored by the CFA Society, to Sarah Convery. Congrats, Sarah! A huge thank you to Jordan Resnick, Heather Wallach, and the entire Joele Frank team for giving interns a behind-the-scenes look at the strategic communications industry. The WSE Co-Chairs and Committee extend their sincere thanks and appreciation to the President’s Circle Firms, the Partnership Circle Firms, and the Friends of FWA for their unwavering support and generosity to the interns and the Wall Street Exchange Program. 

Wall Street Exchange Interns Learn Foundations for Professional Excellence

July 30, 2026
On June 23, 2026, the FWA's Wall Street Exchange (WSE) Program 2026 cohort gathered virtually for the third weekly session of the program. The session was sponsored by Knopman Marks, a boutique NYC-based firm known for its high-performance training for securities licensing exams. Brian Marks, Co-Founder and President of Knopman Marks & Highwire, led a practical, high-energy conversation titled "Foundations for Professional Excellence." The first topic that Brian discussed was the habits that drive a successful early career and why those habits matter well beyond an internship. The skills interns build now are the same ones that separate a good intern from a great one; and that later separate a good professional from a high performer. He described high performance, not as a matter of raw talent, but rather as a set of behaviors one can practice. The habits put in place early are the ones that compound. The interns who start practicing them now are the ones who carry them from an internship with limited responsibilities into executive-level responsibility later. The interns then reviewed a series of four credibility builders and four credibility killers, proactive behaviors that shape how senior professionals come to trust a young professional. Owning your mistakes and learning from them is a key credibility builder and surprising your manager with bad news at the last minute is a major credibility killer. The interns then rated themselves on a Strategic Action Matrix, a four-box framework charting how strategy: “Are you focused on the right things?” interacts with execution: “Are you doing the work to get there?”. He asked interns to consider one or two new habits they could put to work immediately. Brian impressed upon the interns that professional excellence is thinking strategically and executing well, while stepping outside their comfort zone, stretching past their limits and building resilience when the plan changes. Brian then introduced the five strategies in The Intern Success Playbook, emphasizing that interns are building their personal brand every day through what others observe. Whether it's staying focused instead of constantly checking a mobile phone or taking the initiative to connect with colleagues, everyday actions shape how others perceive them. His five strategies focused on working and communicating smarter, building authentic relationships, and paying close attention to perception and details. The interactive format kept energy high. Interns enjoyed the live Q&A, the quiz, and the chance to ask questions. A screen full of Zoom hearts spoke to the value they found in his advice. A huge thank you to Knopman Marks and Brian Marks for investing their time and expertise in the WSE 2026 cohort. The session concluded with the WSE Committee awarding intern Sarah Convery a CFA Student Annual Membership, sponsored by the CFA Society. The WSE Co-Chairs, Gerri Bostick and Laura Smith Dunaief, and the WSE Committee extend their sincere appreciation to Brian Marks and Knopman Marks for their support in making this virtual session a success. We also thank the FWA President Albana Theka, FWA leadership, volunteers, sponsoring firms, and participating employers for their continued commitment to providing this valuable experience to the next generation of financial professionals. 

Wall Street Exchange Interns Learn Networking Best Practices

July 23, 2026
Interns participating in the 2026 Wall Street Exchange (WSE) Program gathered virtually for the program’s second session, an interactive panel discussing “Networking Best Practices.” Sponsored by S&P Global, Northwestern Mutual, and Wells Fargo, the session brought together three financial services professionals to share how they have built and sustained meaningful relationships throughout their careers. The discussion was moderated by Dan Yu, Co-Founder of FutureProof You and Director of Partnerships at the talent development nonprofit Ascend Leadership . After a long career on Wall Street, Dan pivoted to recruiting and career coaching, work that has since taken him from coaching college students to C-level executives. He set an energetic, conversational tone for the panel, joined by Jena Angeliadis, Executive Director and Senior Lead Product Manager at Wells Fargo; Antonietta Gaudio, Recruiting Operations Manager at Northwestern Mutual; and Christina Siekierski, Senior Product Manager at S&P Global.  Jena traced her own path across American Express, JPMorgan Chase, and now Wells Fargo, encouraging interns to think of networking less as a transaction and more as an ongoing practice built on curiosity and follow-through. She pointed to her own career transitions, including launching the Chase Sapphire Reserve for Business card, as proof that relationships built early in a career often resurface in unexpected and valuable ways later on. Drawing on nearly 14 years in talent acquisition, Antonietta spoke about her “white glove” approach to building trust, urging interns to lead every interaction with empathy and authenticity rather than a polished pitch. She reminded the group that confidence in networking is built from within, and that the goal of any conversation should be genuine connection, not simply a foot in the door. Christina offered a product manager’s view of networking, describing how cross-functional relationships across product, commercial, and client teams at S&P Global have been just as important to her growth as relationships built outside the office. She encouraged interns to treat every colleague, not just senior leaders, as a connection worth investing in. To help interns put the panel’s advice into action, Dan closed the session with five “homework” assignments to complete in the weeks ahead: Update your LinkedIn profile Build a Linktree or dotcard Join or start a virtual networking group Reply to your three oldest unanswered text messages, using voice text Call someone you haven’t spoken with in a year A huge thank you to Dan Yu, Jena Angeliadis, Antonietta Gaudio, and Christina Siekierski, and to S&P Global, Northwestern Mutual, and Wells Fargo, for helping interns build the confidence and tools to network with purpose. At the conclusion of the session, the WSE Committee awarded a CFA Society New York student membership to Angela Lin. The WSE Co-Chairs and Committee extend their sincere thanks and appreciation to the President’s Circle Firms, the Partnership Circle Firms, and the Friends of FWA for their unwavering support and generosity to the interns and the Wall Street Exchange Program.
More Posts