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Success Story: Jonathan Coronel ’19 lands Evercore investment banking position

Success Stories | Feb 27, 2019 |

By Kelly Anderson

If there’s one thing people notice when they meet Jonathan Coronel, BS ’19, it’s his relentless positivity and ambition.

You can always look at things in two ways,” he says, looking back on his job-search experience. “If I’m sending two hundred emails per day and I’m not getting a response, maybe I’m doing it wrong. Maybe I need to send three hundred.”

Coronel’s active email outbox has undoubtedly paid off; he recently accepted a full-time position as an investment banking analyst for Evercore’s oil and gas advisory. He was also the recipient of the First Bank Scholarship Award for the Beta Gamma Sigma Global Leadership Summit in Chicago.

As an international student with no prior banking background, Coronel hopes to demonstrate to fellow Fordham students that anything is possible with perseverance.

Growing up in the small providence of Batangas in the Philippines, Coronel dreamed of earning a U.S. college degree. He attended Ateneo de Manila University, a Jesuit institution in his home country, for two years before receiving a scholarship to study abroad at Fordham, where he later transferred permanently. “When I set foot at Fordham I told myself, hey, this the opportunity you’ve been waiting for. So just take it and never falter,” he says.

Though it may sound counterintuitive, Coronel considers it an advantage that Fordham doesn’t currently have a specific track for investment banking. He finds it has “pushed me to go beyond” the classroom to experience additional opportunities, and he also believes it compels Gabelli School students to help and rely on one another, rather than act like competitors.

His advice for students currently job-searching? “When it comes to interviews, just show that extra enthusiasm,” he says, recalling being up against 11 other candidates with only one position open. “When they asked me, ‘How are you doing today?’ I wouldn’t say, ‘I’m good.’ I would say, ‘I’m very excited for this opportunity. I’m from the Philippines, and this is amazing.’”

Beyond his investment-banking hustle, Coronel shares that he is an experienced singer who performed competitively back home, his favorites being ballads and R&B tunes.

“Whenever I’m sad, I just sing,” he laughs. Is this his secret to positivity? We all might want to take notes.

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