How I went from community college to a Blackstone internship in just 5 years

• Getting a job at an elite Wall Street firm can be hard without an Ivy League degree.
• Blackstone's LaunchPad program seeks to open more doors for first-generation college students.
• Elian Hilario discusses his path to a Blackstone internship and what it taught him.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Elian Hilario, 23, a LaunchPad intern in the summer of 2024. It has been edited for length and clarity.

I moved to New York from the Dominican Republic in my senior year of high school and had to start applying to colleges immediately. My options were limited because I didn't have an academic track record in the US, and as a first-generation college student, I knew I had to make this decision alone. I decided to attend the Bureau of Manhattan Community College to build up my academic skills before eventually transferring to City College.

At City College, I took a course that introduced me to someone who works in human resources at Blackstone. That person suggested I apply to Blackstone's LaunchPad, which gives first-generation college students a chance to experience corporate life through an internship. I leaped at the chance.

I was accepted into LaunchPad my senior year, and after graduating this May, I spent the summer working in Blackstone's HR department. Now, searching for the first job of my career, I feel much more prepared. Before this internship, I had no corporate experience, but now I feel confident because I've succeeded at such a big firm with a good reputation.

Here's how I went from being the first person in my family to apply to college shortly after moving to the US to an internship at Blackstone in just a few short years.

College and Braven

When I came to the US in 2018, I knew English, but speaking to people every day and learning different dialects made it challenging. During my senior year of high school, I decided to turn that challenge into an opportunity. I volunteered to help teach English to others new to this country.

I realized that I liked to work with people, that I liked giving them tools to help them grow, and that I liked to help foster environments that make that possible. That experience prompted me to learn about psychology during college, but I was also interested in the business world. I decided to major in industrial psychology to prepare for a career in human resources.

While selecting my classes in the summer of 2023, I decided to take the Braven career-acceleration program, which my university offered as a class. The nonprofit program gives students hands-on experience with job hunting and the rigors of professional work in a classroom setting. It was a very last-minute decision to try it out.

On my first day with Braven, I was introduced to my leadership coach. He worked in human resources at Blackstone. At the time, I didn't know he was from Blackstone. I didn't know what Blackstone was.

The experience was eye-opening, as I learned so much more about the job market and the corporate world. My leadership coach taught me about Blackstone, but also helped me learn to express myself and show off my skills. He referred me to a campus recruiter from Blackstone and also told me about the LaunchPad internship.

LaunchPad began as an entrepreneurship program at college campuses, but last year, Blackstone piloted its LaunchPad paid-internship program at City of New York schools and HBCUs. In its first year, the program placed 100 students in corporate roles with Blackstone, its portfolio companies, or a select group of startups through summer internships that offer hands-on corporate experience. This year, it doubled to more than 275 students.

My Braven leadership coach and the campus recruiter encouraged me to apply, saying it would be a great start to my career. Once I found out I had an interview, I spent the entire week before preparing and learning everything I could about Blackstone. After the interviews, I knew it was the sort of place I wanted to work

The campus recruiter I met also called me and gave me the good news that I was accepted.

Blackstone Experience

Before the internship started, there were multiple networking events with the other LaunchPad interns. While I was going to be interning on the HR team at Blackstone, I got to meet other interns who were going to Blackstone portfolio companies or other partner businesses. Those events helped prepare me for my first day.

Right away, everyone was welcoming and gave me so much attention. The internship was rotational, so I worked with the DEI team, the talent development team, and the HR operations team.

I worked on a project for each team, and I got to learn how they work together. I also got to see other parts of the company and how they interact with HR. I was able to see how Blackstone works, the methods that the firm uses, and learned the importance of striving for excellence while also being nice.

I really enjoyed the talent development aspect of my internship, which was the closest to my major in industrial psychology. I helped evaluate programs offered to the employees and find ways to improve them. But my experience wouldn't have been complete without my time on the DEI team. I was tasked with promoting programming and events for our employee resource groups (like OUT Blackstone and Diverse Professionals Network), looking for ways to improve them, and making sure employees enjoyed the events and continued coming to them.

My favorite thing was the collaborative environment. I got to work with many different people across the organization.

I didn't know what to compare it to, because it's my first corporate environment, but it was way better than I could have imagined. I had challenging work, but I also built great relationships.

What I've learned

Now, after my internship has ended, I am ready to start searching for the place to truly start my corporate career. LaunchPad isn't an internship that leads directly to an offer, but I feel prepared for the future.

I would tell anyone interested in the program that they should do all the homework they can about the firm. But you also need to show that you're human and be yourself. That became clear after my first-round interview, as my interviewer really made sure to make me feel welcome. I realized I wanted to be like that.

Of course, my Braven career coach helped me get into the program, so I'd suggest anyone interested makes sure they are talking to people and making connections with people who might help. The other thing I'd say is to just try. I was applying close to the deadline, but another LaunchPad applicant who had also applied at the last minute encouraged me to apply. "You don't know what can happen," they said. I'm really glad someone pushed me to do that.

Once there, I continued to foster connections with Blackstone employees and the other LaunchPad interns across the country. I built my closest relationships with the other LaunchPad interns who were working with Blackstone. We would go to lunch together and talk through our challenges. I grew really strong relationships that I will probably have for the rest of my life.

Blackstone's high standards pushed me and allowed me to learn important corporate skills, such as how to send a good email. But above all, whether it was speaking to others in the firm about HR's programs or the people on my own team who were willing to help me, the best thing I got out of it were the connections I made.

Six months ago, I wouldn't have had this skill of talking to so many people and maintaining connections with people. Those people have helped me, but we've also built real and authentic relationships. Coming out of Launchpad, I know how crucial that is.