Valeria Morillo

Providence College School of Business

“I am a resilient and hardworking student, passionate about learning about business, cultures, and equity.”

Fun fact about yourself: I was born and raised in Venezuela.

Hometown: Miami, FL

High School: Miami Senior High School

Major: Finance

Minor: French

Favorite Business Course: Investments with Dr. Liu Wang.

Extracurricular Activities, Community Work and Leadership Roles During College:

School Awards: Saint Juan Macias Scholarship and Dean’s List (all four years).

Honor Societies: Beta Gamma Sigma and Providence College Dirigo Honor Society

Leadership Roles: Student Congress Awareness, Education, and Collaboration (Committee Chair), Peer Mentoring Program (Coordinator), Dialogue, Inclusion, and Democracy Research Lab (Research Fellow), Center for Orientation, Transitions & Leadership (Orientation Leader), Habitat for Humanity, and Club Tennis

Community Work: Community Fellow in the Providence College Feinstein Fellowship Program

Where have you interned during your college career?

Summer Analyst Intern, International Wealth Management Jefferies LLC, Miami, FL

Tutor, Providence College Student Success Center, Providence, RI

Where will you be working after graduation? S&P Global, Credt Program Analyst

Who is your favorite business professor? I have had so many amazing professors throughout my college career that it is impossible to choose one favorite. Most of my professors at the Providence College School of Business have been not only great at teaching their respective disciplines, but have also served as mentors who care about their students and are there for them. Every single professor I have reached out to discuss post-graduation plans have been there for me as a mentor and willing to sit down with me to share their experiences as professionals, something that has truly meant a lot to me.

What advice would you give to a student looking to major in a business-related field? Make sure to keep up with both global and national news and establish relationships with your professors.

What has surprised you most about majoring in business? I have been amazed at the number of opportunities and different jobs one can have with a business degree. As someone who does not have any family members that work in the business industry, my perception of jobs in the industry was quite limited to accounting and management positions.

Looking back over your experience, what is the one thing you’d do differently in business school and why? I would have looked for an internship during the summer of my sophomore year instead of waiting to do so for the summer after junior year. I was not aware of how important they were to gain experience in the professional world.

What business leader do you admire most? Grace Beverley. I admire her because she built her brand and started her companies in her early twenties, all while pursuing a degree in the University of Oxford. She is the founder of a company, Shreddy, that helps people, especially women, to achieve their health goals, and TALA, which produces environmentally sustainable fitness wear.

Which academic, extracurricular or personal achievement are you most proud of? The personal/academic achievement I am the proudest of is being a recipient of the Saint Juan Macias Scholarship because the college only awards one of these scholarships per year. Ever since I moved to this country during my freshmen year of high school, I knew that I wanted to attend college. I worked very hard in high school to be a good candidate when applying to universities, and this scholarship proved to me that all that hard work was worth it.

I am also proud to be a coordinator in the Peer Mentoring Program and a Committee Chair in the Awareness, Education, and Collaboration Committee of Student Congress. I went from a first-year student who was extremely shy due to her lack of fluency in English to a senior who has presented in front of the Board of Trustees, leads meetings, and organizes events. I am proud of the personal and professional growth I have accomplished over the past four years.

Which classmate do you most admire? A classmate I admire is Cecy Granados. She graduated from Providence College in 2022 and is now pursuing a master’s degree in public health with a concentration in Latino health at Brown University. Cecy is not only a great friend, but an overall amazing student and person. During her time at PC, she was passionate about helping first-generation students feel at home at PC and be proud of their accomplishments as first-gen. She is the reason I joined the Peer Mentoring Program during my sophomore year, and I had the pleasure of being a coordinator alongside her throughout the 2021-2022 academic year.

Who would you most want to thank for your success? My parents, since they have sacrificed many things for me to have the life I have today. They moved to a new country without knowing the language or having any contacts so that my brother and I could have better opportunities. They have taught me that being kind and having a strong work ethic are fundamental attributes and believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself. They are everything to me, and everything I do is for them.

What are the top two items on your professional bucket list? I want to be successful in the field I work in and have a career successful enough to help my parents retire.

What are your hobbies? I enjoy playing tennis, dancing, and going to the beach with friends.

What made Valeria such an invaluable addition to the Class of 2023?  

“Valeria is a great student, but an even better person. Valeria exemplifies the Friar ethos – compassionate, driven, philosophically courageous and deep. She exudes confidence in what she wants to do, not just for herself but selflessly for others. She knows who she is but is curious to know everyone else, always going above and beyond what is simply necessary.

We all know when we have great conversations, as when they are over we miss them like a great read, and hours went by where it seemed like minutes. Within every teacher there is a student, and the student, a teacher. For Valeria, that cannot be more true.

In finance, we teach the markets, which comprises every opinion, strategy, philosophy.  The successful also recognize early the markets teach us — if we listen.  With Valeria, I am definitely listening.”

Frank Lin, M.B.A.
Practitioner Faculty in Finance

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