Introduction

SPRING SEMESTER 2022

As you can see, we are beginning to have a true impact on the financial services sector as our students age up into college and into careers. Our students are 5 times more likely to choose a major/minor in Finance, Economics or related business field than the average female college student. This change starts in the high schools in which you and your colleagues are heading

into to introduce the benefits of having an intentional relationship with money and a career in the M of STEM.

Given the overhanging challenges COVID still presents, please be prepared to continue to pull back a bit on the skills and lessons we normally provide during our mentorship sessions. Focus on collaborating with your protege vs. being content driven. Your protege likely had no idea that

being financially literate is critical to her independence, nor did she know that a profession in finance even existed before she met RTSWS in the fall sessions.

Please always keep in mind, even when it appears they’ve come unprepared, that youth with mentors find more self-confidence and self-esteem and are able to create bigger goals for themselves. Their behavior and attitudes improve. You will help them grow while closing social and economic opportunity gaps.

This spring mentoring season we are emphasizing the importance of making a connection first and foremost with your protege. You will find an article in the following pages on the impact covid is having on teenagers. Please be sure to read it carefully and take heed. You will be serving as an inspirational mentor to your protege. She likely had no idea that being financially literate

is critical to her independence, nor did she know that a profession in finance even existed

before she met us in the fall sessions. And for those students who did know of the profession, you will help them to “not exit” finance or economics as a major when they get to college, where we still represent only two out of twenty in those classrooms.

Thank you for all you do to move girls forward in the field of finance.

If we change WHO we invest in, we’ll change WHAT we invest in.

Maura K. Cunningham Founder & CEO, Rock The Street, Wall Street

MISSION

Rock The Street, Wall Street is a financial and investment literacy program designed to bring both gender and racial equity to the financial markets and spark the interest of high school, secondary school or sixth form girls into careers of finance.

Mentor: A trusted counselor or guide

Protege: One whose college/university and career path is furthered by a person of experience, prominence or influence

The Rock The Street, Wall Street Mentorship Program is designed to encourage racially-diverse high school, secondary school and sixth form girls to take a strong interest in their personal finances at an early age and to explore the possibility of a career in the financial services industry. We do this by offering a five-week series of classroom workshops and a Wall Street Experience Field Trip in the fall. In the spring, we pair those students with female financial professionals. Our mentors offer a firsthand (and often, first-time) view into the world of business. The mentor provides guidance to their protege about savings and investments, interview skills, resume/CV preparation, professionalism, confidence-building and career interests. The goal of the mentorship program is

to encourage girls to take charge of their financial lives at an early age and to provide a diverse population early access to lucrative internship and job opportunities in the financial sector.

Mentoring is a valuable resource in developing the protege’s self-confidence, providing accountability for her goals, discovering her interests and exploring professional aspirations.

Get comfortable sharing ideas on life, leadership, academic and career goals and overcoming obstacles. Our larger goal is to have the two of you stay in touch long-term as your protege grows into a college/university student and beyond.

Many of our former RTSWS mentor and protege relationships have lasted for years, attesting to the effectiveness of a formal mentorship program.

BACKGROUND

Two out of three women state that they know little to nothing about finance. By reaching girls in high school, secondary school and sixth form, we commission them to take charge of their finances at an early age. We illuminate the relevance of finance in everyday life and encourage girls to study business and seek a profession in the financial industry. Women are vastly underrepresented in the upper ranks of finance and comprise only 2.5% of hedge fund CEOs, 8% of venture capital professionals, 9% of mutual fund managers and 11.7% of private equity executives.

Let’s face it, women, and particularly women of color, are not participating in the capital markets in the numbers they should be. RTSWS is reaching young women in 34 cities across the U.S., U.K. and Canada through local schools, introducing them to financial concepts such as savings, investments, budgets, stocks, bonds, derivatives, private equity and university/financial preparedness. We offer young women a pathway to financial and investment literacy and career preparedness through financial hands-on projects in our workshops, role modeling, mentoring, strengths assessments and real-life Wall Street field trip experiences.

TRAITS OF A MENTOR

The following are the traits that RTSWS believes makes for a good mentor:

• Sincere desire to be involved in the life of a student

• Respect for the protege

• Willingness to share

• Ability to relate across cultural and economic differences

• Active listening skills and asking thoughtful questions

• Ability to empathize with a young person

• Skills in recognizing solutions and opportunities

• Patience

• Ability to guide conversations

MENTOR MEETING LOGISTICS

To learn more about mentoring, watch this mentor training video: www.rockthestreetwallstreet.com/spring-mentor-training/ Password: Ment@r2023!

• Over the course of the spring semester, it is expected that the mentor and protege teams will

meet five times.

• RTSWS will work with schools and volunteers to select mentoring dates. Make note of the dates of the subsequent mentoring sessions with your protege.

• RTSWS will send meeting reminders to students & volunteers the day before each meeting is scheduled.

• If you’re unable to attend a session due to a work conflict or unforeseen emergency, please notify your protege and Lead Volunteer so your protege can be added to another group.

• You will be meeting with your protege in person at their school. Everyone will find a quiet corner or table to work together for the session.

• We recommend that you bring your laptop or personal device to these meetings to access additional resources in the curriculum.

WHAT TO BRING TO YOUR MENTORSHIP SESSION

Laptop or Smart Phone RTSWS Mentor Handbook Pencil and Paper

BEST PRACTICES

• Expectations: Have a conversation about guidelines, the importance of attendance, confidentiality and the boundaries of the relationship.

• Establishing Agreements: Help your protege work out a plan with clear tasks for achieving her goal (e.g., arriving on time for class, asking more questions in class, applying to other programs that serve her academic or professional goals, etc.).

• Communication with Students: Communicate with your protege about upcoming meetings. We encourage you to exchange contact information with your student to stay in touch regarding sudden changes or unexpected cancellations. Please select the method of communication you feel comfortable with (email is acceptable).

• Session Absence: Please let your protege and your Lead Volunteer know if you will be unable to attend a session. We will work to pair your protege with another mentor for that session.

• Two-Sided Conversation: Encourage your protege to ask questions about finance or talk about something they are interested in. Find your common ground and share favorite hobbies, books, Netflix shows or music. Conversations don’t have to be solely career focused or financial literacy-based, but we highly encourage both.

• Uncomfortable Topics: If a question or topic arises that you are uncomfortable addressing, please don’t feel the need to respond. Thank the student for feeling comfortable enough to share that information with you (that is a huge compliment to the relationship you have built) and let them know that you don’t feel equipped to give a good response or the correct information. Please make note of the conversation and relay it to a RTSWS staff member.

We will handle this situation confidentially and appropriately on a case-by-case basis.

• Moving Forward: Each party should reflect on her own learning from this experience. What have you learned about yourself as a mentor? What have they learned about themselves as a protege? How will you both take what you’ve learned to the next level? The intention of this component of the RTSWS program is for the mentoring relationship to continue beyond this academic year. Stay in touch with your protege so that the relationship can continue to grow.

Some of our previous mentors have set up job shadowing opportunities for their proteges or have stayed in touch long after the program finished.

• Relax and Have FUN! This mentoring relationship allows young females the opportunity to develop social capital, as well as begin to think about what their future might look like, and you’re able to play a role in that!

RESPONSIBILITIES OF MENTORS

Typical mentor responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Acting as a resource for information about the financial profession and savings and investment concepts

• Establishing the meeting agenda

• Helping the protege identify and reach specific goals

• Establishing trust with the protege

• Listening actively

• Challenging the protege to think and analyze options

• Sharing unique professional experiences

• Serving as a sounding board for ideas

• Providing college/university and career guidance (however, you are not expected to be a college/ university counselor)

• Encouraging self-confidence and strong self-esteem by serving as a solid role model

• Offering constructive and meaningful feedback and critical analysis

BENEFITS TO MENTORS

Serving as a mentor offers the following rewards:

• The personal satisfaction of giving back to your community

• A legacy of personal knowledge, insight and experience

• Professional enhancement, higher visibility and prestige

• Expansion of your community and professional network

“Volunteering with RTSWS was a really rewarding experience. It was really cool because normally every day you come into work and you do a job and you don’t always see that tangible impact you are making on someone. But when you come into the classroom and you interact with these girls you can see right then how you are making a difference in their lives.” — RTSWS Volunteer

RESPONSIBILITIES OF PROTEGES

Each protege is expected to:

• Actively engage in conversation with their mentor, which includes responding to questions and a two-way exchange

• Stay in contact and communicate clearly with their mentor

• Attend the scheduled sessions and notify their mentor 24 hours in advance if they are unable to attend their scheduled session

• Help to establish the meeting agenda

• Be receptive to feedback and coaching

• Assess their own individual needs

• Openly share successes and failures

• Take advantage of opportunities presented by their mentor

• Follow through on commitments and goals set during the mentoring sessions

• Admit mistakes and take responsibility for them

• Be confident to tactfully and respectfully disagree with their mentor