Discovering Boundless Opportunities
Imagine a room where you are faced with two challenges - high-fiving everyone in the room and making everyone happy in less than two minutes. How would you do it? The 18 young women taking part in Fidelityās Boundless Fellowship Program first rushed around the Fidelity Center for Applied Technologyās (FCAT) ThinkSpace in Boston to high five as many people as possible. The second task was more difficult, so the women tested a few solutions, from yelling out āpuppiesā to āYouāre all great!ā
These exercises were part of FCATās Design Thinking Challenge to demonstrate the difference between complex and ambiguous problems, just one of many activities the Boundless Fellows participated in during their two weeks at Fidelity. That morning, they had already networked with Leap associates and learned about the intricacies of Bitcoin. Boundless Fellow, Tika N. noted, āBoundless teaches me and other young women skills that only come from hands-on experience.ā
The Boundless Program, run by Fidelityās Asset Management Talent Acquisition team, is a career discovery program for high school aged young women to explore their career possibilities in financial services, and especially at Fidelity. Ā While this was the first year of the Fellowship, the Boundless program launched in 2015 and hosts day-long Summits several times a year in multiple regions. The most recent Boston Summit had an incredible 122 attendees who participated in multiple challenges throughout the day, heard from a keynote speaker, learned about managing their money, and participated in a Shark Tank-style challenge.
While the Summits focus on financial services career discovery, financial literacy, and innovative thinking, the Fellowship offers a deep dive into all things Fidelity. As Fellow, Mia M. put it, āThe best way I can describe it is that you learn something new every hour.ā Daily activities ranged from learning about Wall Street 101 and Porterās 5 Forces, to resume building and an interview challenge, and even participating in a Fidelity Cares event at the Greater Boston Food Bank. Ā In addition to daily activities, attendees also worked on a project that spanned their two weeks at Fidelity. Each group of fellows researched a company, determined whether they would recommend its stock to be bought or sold, and ultimately presented their findings to a panel of Fidelity judges including a Fidelity Portfolio Manager.
While some of the women had inklings of what professions theyād like to pursue, others had no idea, and they all came to the same conclusion that Boundless helped them navigate potential career paths. As her project teammates nodded in agreement, Gabriella M. explained, āThis has really opened my eyes to the diversity of job options here. Itās given me an entirely new perspective and opinion on Fidelity as a company.ā














