Annette Rodriguez

1999 Mathematics

Our Lady of Lourdes Academy

Q: What drew you to win the award in that category?

A: Both my parents are really numbers oriented. My mother's a math teacher and my father's a CPA. My mother was actually my math teacher at St. Agatha. She probably had some influence.

Q: Did you know your mother had won the award?

A: Yes, I did, so my mother encouraged me to apply for it. Both of my parents had always been really involved in the community.

Q: Did your mother's trophy ever pressure you to win?

A: No, but I never felt pressure from my parents. They were always the type who wanted me to just give my best, whatever that was.

Q: What are you doing with your life now?

A: I'm a second year at Harvard Business School getting my MBA. Prior to that I was doing private equity at J.P. Morgan Partners. I also went to the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and got a bachelor's of science in economics and a concentration in finance and accounting. I also minored in French. I try to be well-rounded.

I'm also getting married next year, and I'm moving back to New York after I graduate. I'm going to work at another private equity firm, Warburg Pincus.

Q: How did you earn your award?

A: I was always the first in my class in math, and I took it at the highest level I could take in high school. I was really involved with the Archdiocese of Miami's group, Amor en Acción, which does a lot of work with the poor in the Dominican Republic and in Haiti.

I really enjoyed my time in the Dominican Republic. I lived terribly there, but the smiles that you get should be all the reward you need. Even if I hadn't won the award, it wouldn't have invalidated me of everything I had done.

Q: What drew you to community service?

A: I'd have to say my parents. They were both really involved in the community and I always saw that as an example in my house. Up until my youngest brother was born, they would go every year to Mexico to work with poor communities there. Even as a little girl, I would help my mother package the crayons and put them into boxes.

Even when I was a kid, I was very aware that there are people out there in the world who are less fortunate. I grew up in a Catholic family, so it was something that I was always made very aware of.

Q: What kind of crayons are you giving out now?

A: In private equity, we buy companies, try to make them better and then sell them for more money.

Q: What kind of ethical issues arise from doing that?

A: You run into issues when you have to lay people off or change a CEO. You're faced with a decision: you can change out one person and save the whole company and then create the thousands of jobs that are associated with it. It's difficult but in the long run, making the right ethical decision will be the right business decision.

Q: Where do you find the answers for the right ethical decision?

A: Some of it comes internally or listening to your gut. Some of it comes from talking to people who have been in the business much longer than I have or close friends who know me. My morality comes from the Catholic background. So, it's some combination of that and ethical judgment that I've developed through business ethics courses and experiences.

Q: How are you continuing what you started in high school?

A: I have this huge knowledge base and skill set that I help apply to multiple companies rather than just one. If I went into the corporate sector, I'd be helping one company and have an impact on that one company. It goes back to helping as many people as I can. If I help companies stay alive, I help people keep their jobs, which helps the economy run -- capitalism isn't all bad. Hopefully, I'll be able to do some good and clear the name of finance on Wall Street.

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