Uptree

Patrick joined Uptree in 2018 when he was in Year 12 and he became one of the most active young people in our network. Here, he shares his journey with Uptree and the experiences he had which helped him secure a degree-apprenticeship with Morgan Stanley who he met at a FuturesUP event.

Tell us about your Uptree journey

Well I must say my Uptree journey has been a fun one.

I started out in the early months of Year 12 when I attended an event at UBS which was one of the first times I’d been to a City firm.

It was an amazing experience because funnily enough even though I struggled to open the fancy water bottles and got lost on my way there, it provided me with the experience of networking with other students. This was something I was aware of but hadn’t yet fully put it into practice, and I got to do so first hand at this event.

After that, I attended several networking events, workshops, but also volunteered as a panel moderator at my first FuturesUP back in March 2019.

Patrick moderating the Early Careers Panel with 8 industry professionals

This was one of my highlights with Uptree. It was such a great experience for me personally because I'd attended several events and seen other people moderate panels and it was something that I’d always wanted to do.

Being given the opportunity to do it enabled me to develop some great relationships that contributed to me being in the position I am in today, as well as my overall apprenticeship process as a whole.

At FuturesUP, I learned so much about myself especially how I interact with a range of people from professionals to students and this really helped me in school, especially in my role as Head Boy at my Sixth Form.

Overall every Uptree event I’ve attended has given me an understanding of what I need to do to get to the levels which I’ve set for myself.

It has also taught me the importance of creating environments where people who have succeeded give back to those who are upcoming and following the same route as themselves.

Do you have any advice for other students like you?

The biggest advice I would give to students is to do as much as you can!

During my time in Sixth Form, I literally took up every single opportunity I could which enabled me to learn SO MUCH about so many industries outside of technology, and it’s helped in giving me a well-rounded understanding of the City as a whole and enabled me to share my knowledge with others too.

Additionally doing different things gave me so much confidence because I got used to being in those spaces and it was no longer a foreign thing to me.

Patrick with Nana Dekyi (left) and other Uptree Ambassadors

Furthermore I would encourage students to speak to people and utilise the power of social media we have today, whether its LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, there are so many people out there who are willing to share knowledge and information with you, so don’t be afraid to reach out.

Even if one person ignores you, don’t be discouraged and try again because there is always someone else willing to speak with you and help.

Congratulations on your degree-apprenticeship! Can you tell us a little more about it?

My degree apprenticeship is with Morgan Stanley where I’ll be doing a Technology Degree Apprentice for the next four years.

Over the course of my apprenticeship I’ll be engaging in several rotations across the Technology division at the firm.

Currently the onboarding and training is online which I’m obviously disappointed about especially considering that I’m starting a completely new role out of Sixth Form.

Patrick on his virtual degree-apprenticeship induction

However, the HR team have done an amazing job in ensuring that everything was as close to the real-life experience as possible, and my induction week was brilliant, it really enabled me to meet the people within my cohort in London, but also the group up in Glasgow, which I would not have been able to do if it wasn’t a virtual environment.

My cohort are really great individuals despite having not seen them in real life, we’ve all managed to develop really good relationships so far. I’m definitely looking forward to meeting them all officially in real life and continuing our apprenticeship journey together.

Morgan Stanley, Canary Wharf, London office

My hours are the normal 9am-5pm, however this changes on certain days during the week as a result of me having to dedicate some time to my university studies, so it’s quite hectic/busy but definitely really exciting and can’t wait to continue growing at the firm.

A really fun moment was participating in the group quiz which my team won. I was definitely proud especially after being labelled as one of the most competitive in the group, so that was wonderful!

Additionally I really enjoyed taking part in our group cook-a-long where I made a Maltesers cake tray, it was really funny seeing everyone in their kitchens turning into their very own version of Mary Berry and baking away. I’m definitely looking forward to creating more memories at the firm and with my cohort.

The Uptree Team is so proud of Patrick and we're delighted that he has returned as an Alumni Ambassador for 2020/2021 to continue to inspire the next generation of students to achieve their dreams, too!