The content. The presenters. The audience.
Successfully juggling the logistics of a live program requires a moderator who artfully guides every turn.
Ladies and gentlemen, meet Miguel Carrillo.
“The whole event went how I imagined it,” said Carrillo of the “Fine Print, Big Impact” education session he recently facilitated featuring Regions Bank associates serving as panelists (see below).
While the execution was flawless, the hours leading up to showtime were touch and go for Carrillo.
“Miguel had gotten sick prior to the program and let his peers know, ‘Hey, I may not be able to be the moderator,’” said Jamilah Kangudja, a Student Success coordinator and adjunct professor with the University of North Texas (UNT). “But he did everything in his power to make sure he felt well enough to be there. He was determined. He showed up.”
Showing up is a consistent theme for the sophomore enrolled in UNT’s First In Business Program, which empowers first-generation business students by providing academic support, structured mentorship and career readiness resources. Regions Bank in Dallas has been a UNT community partner for several years, teaching the bank’s Reality Check session to students last fall and sponsoring First In Business this academic year.
In addition to co-creating and leading September’s panel discussion, Carrillo also regularly shows up as:
- A First in Business Distinguished Fellow, the leadership track for members to serve as peer mentors and event hosts
- A First in Business Ambassador Chair representing the program at events and conducting outreach to current and prospective students
- A team leader with a big box retailer where he works 30 hours a week
And the accounting major also carries a full courseload.
How does Carrillo balance it all?
“Miguel is very organized, dedicated and adaptable,” Kangudja said. “He’s just amazing.”
It’s a little harder for us commuters to make friends, so involving myself in this program means I made a community – a real community, a family. That’s what this program means to me.
During the Regions panel discussing networking, professional development, the value of employee benefits and more, Carrillo was focused on something besides being the moderator. Like his peers, he was there to gain valuable takeaways.
“David Zacha’s portion on investing really opened my eyes,” Carrillo said. “And Reagan Donahue’s session on how to present yourself during job fairs was something I could apply right away.”
Zacha, a business development officer with Regions Institutional Trust, had his own takeaways that day.
“The students were focused and clearly have a desire to succeed,” Zacha said. “Having the opportunity to interact with them, hearing their questions and learning about their interests and achievements was really rewarding.”
Having the opportunity to interact with them, hearing their questions and learning about their interests and achievements was really rewarding.
David Zacha, business development officer, Regions Institutional Trust
Carrillo will tell you his First in Business experience has been equally rewarding for several reasons. Key among them? The rapport he and Kangudja have built.
“Jamilah is a great mentor; she’s one of my favorite people at UNT,” Carrillo said. “She tells it as it is, and we all need people in our life to tell us as it is. Jamilah’s motivation and support have increased my sense of self-worth.”
The bond the two have forged is so strong, Kangudja doesn’t just trust Carrillo to lead the recruiting charge for new First In Business participants; she relied on him to oversee it this past spring.
“Miguel interviewed and successfully brought on our entire third cohort,” Kangudja said. “He literally met with all 25 students. I shared a basic structural foundation and told him, ‘I’m giving you free autonomy.’ You give Miguel a deadline and he’s on it. I love that he is so self-sufficient and takes the initiative.”
Carrillo knew he was up to the challenge.
“I meet my deadlines, and I produce good work,” he said. “Jamilah tells me I’m doing a good job. We all need that pat on the back sometimes. Having that reinforcement from someone I look up to is great.”
Instilling that sense of confidence and belonging to the now 75 First in Business students is Kangudja’s primary focus.
You give Miguel a deadline and he’s on it. I love that he is so self-sufficient and takes the initiative.
“It can be overwhelming for our students to step on campus if that sense of ‘imposter syndrome’ kicks in,” she said. “Some may think, ‘I could never be president of an organization; I could never sit on a board.’ In our program, it feels obtainable, because we’re saying, ‘Come in, and get comfortable. This is yours. We share in this space.’ We are offering that platform to students.”
And now, Carrillo is sharing that same support to his peers thanks to his Ambassador leadership role.
“I have really close relationships with some of the students because I was the first friend they made in college,” he said. “I get a little gushy talking about the newest cohort. I see the group and think, ‘I did that.’”
And Carrillo especially values those connections given the Denton native lives down the street rather than on UNT’s campus.
“This is the only community I have because I’m a commuter,” he explained. “It’s a little harder for us commuters to make friends, so involving myself in this program means I made a community – a real community, a family. That’s what this program means to me.”
“Fine Print, Big Impact” Panelists:
This information is general in nature and is not intended to be legal, tax, or financial advice. Although Regions believes this information to be accurate, it cannot ensure that it will remain up to date. Statements or opinions of individuals referenced herein are their own—not Regions’. References or links to third-party websites do not imply endorsement.