He has gone on to make some great strides from his time with us, so it was wonderful to hear of what he has been doing and as a valued Alumni, reflect on his time with ourselves.
Daniel explained that he ‘began working with the charity when in Year 8 at Cardinal Langley so, roughly, 2018’.
We talked about others he attended with at the time. It was great to hear that ‘Fione Emmanuel is in his 3rd year of university ‘and ‘Leon Alasade went straight into employment after GCSE’s ‘.
Working closely with EBFT, the programme was tailored to support learners who benefit most from additional guidance, combining mentoring, practical experience, and real-world exposure to help them take meaningful steps towards their futures.
Daniel then told us his story to date…
“So… I was last in touch with the charity in 2021, just as I was finished my GCSES due to Covid etc. Since then, I passed all my GCSEs and stayed at Cardinal Langley Sixth Form. During first year, a charity called the social mobility approached me. This is a charity that focuses on helping underprivileged students that achieve high academically and tries to give them a better chance in getting into higher paying jobs that people from private school etc have a better chance of getting in too.”
It was great to hear how Daniel took this opportunity and others that were presented to him but also how he re-routed what he was doing and kept a focus once he realised his ambitions, as explained below.
“Through them, I got a two-week internship at JPMorgan investment bank in 2021 in trading. Through this I decided that I wanted to go into this career pathway and changed my options in college, resat year 12 and did more economic based A-levels.
I then returned to JPMorgan (JPM) the year after to do another internship in wealth management at its private bank and have stuck with that sector ever since. I achieved A*BC in my A-levels and got into my first-choice university - The university of Exeter and now study Finance and Investment Banking here.
I stayed in contact with JPM and did a paid summer internship in wealth management and was recently offered a graduate role in Canary Wharf for when I finish my degree! ”
We had celebrated Daniels place at university when updated by colleagues at Cardinal Langley; with whom we have worked with, have a very positive relationship with and have supported students from for now over a decade.
Daniel went on to very openly reflect on his time when at EBFT…
“For me personally I had a lot of at home struggles that the charity really helped with. For example, I remember we went into Manchester City centre and the Trafford centre with Travis and I’d never actually had been before which, sounds crazy to say since I was 14/15! The Charity (EBFT) was extremely eye opening for me in that sense.
I also know it was extremely helpful for me and other members who struggled in school socially as it forced us to be sociable, took us out of our comfort zone and helped really build our confidence.
With the help of Angela Williams and other teachers, the charity really made me focus on how important it was to focus on my academics in which I didn’t beforehand. In Year 7/8 I was consistently getting put out in isolation and was close to being put on a manage move.”
Using some of the skills and learning from the experiences encountered through EBFT, it’s fantastic to hear that Daniel has created a sound foundation on which, he continues to build and achieve – Great work!
As ever, ‘the doors always open’ at EBFT and we are hopeful that Daniel will be back, perhaps supporting one of our Camps or working with some of our present students when he is back in Manchester for the summer – Watch this space!
We are always keen to hear from our Alumni so if you’re reading, please get it touch via enquire@ebft.co.uk