Story of a non-target that went through two scams and made it

My story:

I went to a non-target liberal art in suburb Mass, 3.2GPA. In freshman year, I did an internship with one of those pyramid schemes that work for telecommunication companies, selling internet with full suits on. I didn’t know if that internship was legit before I do it because my family was not from the States, and they have no idea about the tricks and scams in the job market of this country. And I have only immigrated to the U.S in HS. Definitely fell for that one, but it did improve my oral/negotiation skills.

In sophomore year, I applied for a “notable asset management company”, and after months of “interviewing” it turned out to be a scam. The scammer just wants me to send money to him after two months of “interviewing”. However, at that time, it was already April and there was no way for me to get another legit internship. In the end, I was able to find an unpaid internship with a start-up PE fund that is founded by a couple of Harvard MBA grads. Learned a lot from the job search, but the scam left me a scar (we all know the grueling process of trying to get an internship) that I will remember for a very long time.

Despite all these, finance and investments are something that I eat, sleep, and sh*t thinking about. I started investing when I was 12, and I actually make different models on investment/portfolio allocations that I come up with for fun in my free time. I was not going to give up.

Finally, in my junior year summer, I applied to a BB AM internship and got it. I did 450 applications and got 2 interviews. 2….. I know I had to nail every single aspect of the interview, otherwise, my dream could be dead before it ever takes off. Of course, I did well in the interview, and the Interviewer gave me an offer the day after our last interview.

Now, I am preparing for my internship this summer, and solidifying my skills in the process. I am also studying for CFA level 1 and finished the whole curriculum during winter break. I registered for the exam in June.

I am sorry about the length of the story, but I have not really told the whole story, all the tears, and sweat, to anyone else, including my parents. Thanks for reading, and feel free to share your story below. Thanks.