Frances Messano
NewSchools Venture Fund
Austin, TX USA
"It’s a journey and where you think you’re going is not necessarily where you end up."
Career Roadmap
Frances's work combines: Non-Profit Organizations, Education, and Helping People
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Day In The Life
Skills &
Education
Advice for getting started
When I was in high school, I felt so much pressure to have my future job all figured out. I had this idea that I was going to go to college, study business, land a job, and be there for 20 years. In reality, I learned that your career journey is actually a very winding road. You end up learning a lot about yourself and the different opportunities that are out there. As you do that, you need to be open to changing your mind and trying new things out.
Here's the path I took:
High School
Bachelor's Degree
Economics
Harvard University
Graduate Degree
Business Administration and Management
Harvard Business School
Life & Career Milestones
My path in life took a while to figure out
1.
I went to Harvard University and studied economics, which was the closest major to business that the college offered.
2.
Every summer throughout college, I interned on Wall Street.
3.
After graduating, I accepted an analyst role with Morgan Stanley—however, after working there for three years, I realized that it wasn’t my passion and that I needed to do some more exploring.
4.
I decided to go to Harvard Business School.
5.
After grad school, I decided to go into consulting because I was very interested in marketing strategy.
6.
I started working on projects related to education and realized that I really loved education work, so I declared my focus in education.
7.
After working in education consulting for five years, I found a job with Teach For America.
8.
I then joined NewSchools Venture Fund as Chief of Staff and have since worked my way up to CEO.
Defining Moments
How I responded to discouragement
THE NOISE
Messages from Myself:
I'm going to get my degree, find a job, and work at that job for the rest of my career.
How I responded:
When I was in high school, I felt so much pressure to have my future job all figured out. I had this idea that I was going to go to college, study business, land a job, and be there for 20 years. In reality, I learned that your career journey is actually a very winding road. You end up learning a lot about yourself and the different opportunities that are out there. As you do that, you need to be open to changing your mind and trying new things out.