Jeremy Mathurin, the Class of 2016 Commencement speaker, will immediately put his public policy concentration to use as he begins a career as a consultant at Deloitte D.C., the largest professional services firm in the world.
Mathurin, a Posse Miami scholar, learned of the position through Hamilton alumna Hannah Carlisle ’14. Through this connection, Mathurin was able to navigate the highly competitive world of finance. By reaching out to Hamilton alumni, he was able to receive “help you don’t get by doing it yourself.”
Throughout the fall semester, Mathurin relied heavily on the resources provided by Hamilton’s Career Center as well as the Hamilton Student Emergency Aid Society to explore the financial job market. He diligently completed upwards of 25 applications before interviewing with about half.
Mathurin called a typical consulting interview “intimidating. “Many of the applicants he was competing against came from Ivy League schools and had spent years studying for the case work portion of the interview. This is the part of the interview where each applicant is expected to conduct a modified case review of a hypothetical scenario in order to show their prowess as a future consultant.
After receiving a third-round interview with Deloitte D.C., Mathurin remarked that he had “about seven days to cram a full book’s work of case prep.” The studying paid off about three weeks after that interview when Mathurin got a phone call. “They always call at 6 o’clock. And, as I started talking, I was waiting for the ‘but,’ and then they offered me the position,” he recalled.
Public policy is a fairly new interest for Mathurin, whose initial career goal was education. Since 2006, he spent his summers as a student, volunteer and then teacher for Breakthrough Collaborative, a program that provides academic programming for the summer months in certain cities across the U.S.
As he entered his junior year on the Hill, Mathurin was drawn to the world of finance and economics. He cites his Introduction to Economics course as the reason for his shift in focus. After discovering his passion, Mathurin realized he no longer was interested in leading a classroom for a summer job. He discussed his new career goals with Breakthrough Collaborative's Miami branch and was offered a position that involved budget analysis, financial planning and grant writing.
Mathurin points to his semester spent in the Hamilton New York City semester as launching his successful senior year. While in the city, Mathurin secured an internship with the corporate finance division of the New York Nets. The graduate reflects that he was given “substantive work. They were trusting me with thousands of dollars and real information. I wanted more,” he said. This experience put him in an excellent framework to begin his final year at Hamilton.
Mathurin discussed the speech he gave at Commencement. After being chosen through an increasingly selective process that involved being judged by faculty and students, Mathurin served as the first elected Commencement speaker. He found inspiration in David Foster Wallace’s speech, This is Water, a speech that focuses on the realities and potential for adult life. Mathurin wanted to emphasize the importance of choices, and noted that “we can choose to be happy.”
Reflecting on the past four years, Mathurin credits the Hamilton environment for his successes, saying, “Hamilton tells you to make sure you test all the options. I just know my life will never be the same.”