The Risk Analyst

John Carlo Bautista ’21 has cultivated an impressive set of skills in his time at Pace. He’s worked in compliance at Morgan Stanley, offered technical support at Apple, interned at the Westchester County Board of Legislators, and much more. That’s three different industries! Not to mention his work with Pace Mart, the student-run grab-and-go store on the Pleasantville Campus.

He knew about Pace well before he began making his mark here, though. Bautista’s mother attended, having studied on both the New York City and Pleasantville campuses, so he had a unique perspective when deciding where to apply. “I chose the Pleasantville campus since I was from New York City, and [I] wanted a change of scenery,” he explained. What made him stay, however, were two crucial things: the scholarships that were available, and the “many different people from different backgrounds [I met] through Pace organizations.”

Finance seemed like a natural fit as well when choosing a major. “I have always enjoyed working with numbers and data,” Bautista told us. But it was the Great Recession that swept the US in 2008 that inspired him to pursue finance as a career. “If I can, I would love to work to help prevent as large of a recession as the one we saw 10 years ago.” Not one to stop there, he took on a minor in information technology, having chosen it “as a result of my interest in electronics from childhood and in how computers function.”

Utilizing his skills across several disciplines, Bautista began working both as a Lubin student ambassador as well as an associate at Pace Mart. He’s now the HR Manager, having risen the ranks to his current role where he works directly with many of his peers. “I am passionate about mentorship,” Bautista said. “There are many Lubin students who have a lot of potential, but do not know about the many opportunities Pace offers or how to go about pursuing them.” That’s why he goes out of his way to help others, just like others have helped him. They “[help] each other out [...] finding internships and jobs, and selecting the correct courses.”

It should come as no surprise, then, that Bautista has exercised his civic duty and pursued internships in the political sphere. He’s managed two campaigns for city council as well as a school board, and even worked for the Westchester County Board of Legislators. That experience in particular changed his perspective when the chairman offered some sage advice: “‘You have no permanent friends. No permanent enemies. Only permanent interests.’” Bautista agrees. “Many people who, in the beginning, I would have never aligned myself with, I ended up working with later in politics. I also learned that it is important to ensure you always surround yourself with good people.”

Bautista has big plans for the future. He’s interested in working on Wall Street after graduation in compliance or risk management. “I am interested in looking at what kind of mechanisms financial institutions have in place to ensure that business conducted is not too risky [or] compromising of the financial security of individuals,” he told us, going on to explain, “Once mastering that, I plan to work full-time in politics either consulting or running for office myself to [ensure] individuals looking to run for office are successful.”

There is no doubt in our minds that Bautista will achieve everything he wants and more. We can’t wait to see where his achievements take him next!