Goldman Sachs @ Chinese American Planning Council: The Distance Shortens
During The City Tutors’ Goldman Sachs Mentorship Event at the Chinese American Planning Council (CPC) Suffolk Street hub, anticipation built among many first-time visitors from across CUNY and the city. CPC educator Fabyan Roldan opened the room the way he does in class—by giving permission to release that pent-up energy: “Introduce yourself, and connect.” The rows came alive. Heads turned, hands went up, and first names and goals moved up and down the aisles. Goldman Sachs Community TeamWorks volunteers were already in the rows, listening and joining. From that first beat, the center of the room belonged to the learners.
Building on that start was a conversation moderated by Garri Rivkin, Executive Director of The City Tutors, with three Goldman Sachs partners. They spoke plainly about beginnings: what they wish they had heard on day one, how to use mentors well, how non-linear paths lead into investment banking, and how learning continues once you are inside a firm. The message stayed practical: relationships carry farther than titles, skills move when you can name them, and when information is incomplete you decide, then adjust.
“We were thrilled to participate [and meet] so many wonderful people. Their curiosity, enthusiasm and drive matched the dedication of our volunteers and made the experience incredibly meaningful. While everyone who came brought different backgrounds and perspectives, they all shared a commitment to invest in themselves and the entire community.”
— Caitlin (Ramsey) Pollak, Craig Smart, Matthew J. Leskowitz, Goldman Sachs
From there, the room moved straight into three rounds of small-circle mentoring. Community TeamWorks volunteers from Healthcare Investment Banking and teams across the firm rotated through, fielded questions, and offered next steps: how to open a coffee chat without a built-in network, how to read a job description against lived experience, and how to turn one proof of excellence into the case for the next opportunity.
Snapshots from a wide cohort
Learners came from across CUNY and the wider NYC community, including first-years and graduate students, mid-career switchers, parents finishing degrees at night, and recent immigrants building new networks. A few of many reflections:
Ricardo Martin (Colin Powell School, CCNY): “It was encouraging to see people who looked like me at a Fortune 100 company… It is okay to pivot or reassess later.”
Rayliah F. Sterling (Brooklyn College): “You don’t need the ‘perfect’ background. Once you master one skill, it becomes easier to transfer it. Approach everything with excellence.”
Efath Ahmed (Baruch College): “Everyone had a different path… One partner finished medical school and now works on the same deals as someone who never studied medical sciences. Don’t copy a path. Focus on the qualities and actions.”
Akash Karmakar (Baruch College): “I learned about the healthcare division at Goldman… I am setting up coffee chats before applying.”
Anastasiia Klimova (Baruch College): “The roundtables felt personal. Hearing mentors’ paths next to peers’ stories made the advice usable.”
Daria Sunanda (Hunter College): “Be excellent at what you do. Show you are worth developing.”
Rabiya Lucky (Baruch College): “Be a motivator and a team player. Bring purpose and curiosity. Ask thoughtful questions.”
Why this matters
City Tutors is a digital educational subway system—most mentoring and academic support start online. Our in-person stops—like CPC’s Suffolk Street hub—turn that support into face-to-face relationships. Access is more than information. In the same room, trust builds faster, questions sharpen, and handoffs happen on the spot. For many mentees, this stop deepened ongoing virtual support; for others, it was a first introduction. The outcome was concrete: contacts exchanged, coffee chats scheduled, roles to explore, and clear next steps in hand. This is how we shorten the distance to opportunity: online reach paired with in-person connection.
Thank You to Our Partners
This event's impact was a result of a powerful collaboration.
To Goldman Sachs: Thank you for your support and for the crucial presence of your Community TeamWorks volunteers. It's especially meaningful that this took place at the Chinese American Planning Council (CPC), a vital community hub that your firm's Urban Investment Group helped fund years ago.
To CPC: Our thanks to you for being our vital community partner. Access is more than information—it's about in-person connection. By providing a hub, you allow us to turn our digital model into a tangible, face-to-face resource that expands access to opportunity.