Mel K.

Mel K

Design and build YOUR dream life | Stanford, Morgan Stanley

The Wharton School (UPenn) Logo

Studied at The Wharton School (UPenn)

Morgan Stanley Logo

Works at Morgan Stanley

Available Saturday at 4:00 PM UTC

Questions? Start chatting with this coach before you get started.

Mel's Coaching Offerings

Custom hourly · $100/hr

Get help with Leadership, General Exploration, and .

Mel also coaches for College and Life Coaching. View all.

Mel’s Career Coaching Qualifications

Experience level: Analyst

I know what it feels like to land a job that looks right on paper — and still feel off. To sit there thinking, I achieved everything I worked toward… so why am I not happy? What do I actually want to do with my life? From the outside, my resume looks like someone who had it figured out — Stanford Economics, Morgan Stanley, a deferred MBA offer from The Wharton School. But the inside wasn't all that straightforward. I was in a role that didn't feel right — and instead of quitting, I started asking harder questions — about what I actually wanted, who I was outside of prestige, how I wanted to spend my time, and what would actually fit me. What was actually making this feel so misaligned — was it the environment, or was it how I was experiencing it? That led to the uncomfortable, unglamorous inner work that nobody really teaches you how to do. Separating what was coming from the environment from what I was bringing into it — my patterns, my perspective — is what allowed me to move forward more intentionally. From there, I made deliberate changes — transitioning into work that fit my strengths and securing both more sustainable hours and higher pay, without quitting my job. Financial stability was a real constraint, so I had to make each step work within the life I actually had. In high-achieving, high-pressure environments where everyone is chasing the next step — better title, higher pay, more prestige — it's easy to lose your own signal. And it's even harder to stay independent in how you think when you're surrounded by people moving in the same direction. I've felt that firsthand. Some people genuinely thrive in that world. Others don't. There's no right answer — just what's right for you. The challenge is most people don't stop long enough to figure that out. That's the work we'll do together. We'll figure out what actually motivates you, where your strengths show up naturally, what might be keeping you stuck, and what you've been drawn to but haven't acted on yet. Then we turn that into real next steps — so you're not just thinking about your life, you're actively building toward it — practically, sustainably, and on your own terms. Building a life that feels meaningful — not just one that looks good on paper. You don't need to have it all figured out. You just have to be willing to be honest about wanting something different. Let's have that conversation now.

Mel can help with:

Leadership

General Exploration

Professional Networking

Salary Negotiation

Skill Building

Networking Strategy

Interview Prep

Career Planning

Personal Branding

Mel also coaches for College and Life Coaching. View all.

About Mel

Hi, I’m Mel! My background sits at the intersection of building things from scratch and navigating high-achieving, traditional paths. Before college, I founded and scaled an education and entrepreneurship nonprofit across 9 countries. I went on to study Economics at Stanford, where I was surrounded by builders and immersed in Lean Startup thinking. Along the way, I’ve spoken at events like SXSW EDU and TEDxYouth@Seattle, worked as a Teaching Assistant for Stanford’s largest Public Speaking course, and been accepted into The Wharton School for business school. Professionally, I’ve worked in Investment Banking and now in Institutional Consulting in New York. At the same time, I’ve had to figure out my own path within those environments — as a first-generation student navigating elite spaces, and as someone who didn’t want to just follow what looked impressive, but understand what actually fit. That combination — building, achieving, questioning, and recalibrating — is what I bring into my coaching. Outside of work, I love volleyball, hot yoga, travel, photography, and creating content. That same curiosity and growth mindset shows up in how I think, work, and coach. Whether you’re a student exploring your interests or a professional rethinking your path, I’m here to help you figure out what actually fits — and move toward it.

Why do I coach?

I run a coaching practice where I help people — from students to career professionals — figure out what they’re genuinely interested in and turn that into something real. For students, that might look like exploring interests early and building projects that develop confidence, initiative, and direction beyond what “looks good” on paper. For career professionals, it’s about stepping back from default paths, getting clear on what actually fits, and making intentional moves toward a life and career that feel more aligned. A lot of people feel pressure to follow the “right” path — whether that’s for college or their career — without ever really exploring what they’re drawn to. My approach is different. I focus on helping you take action: testing ideas, building things, and gaining clarity through experience, not just overthinking. I combine my own experience navigating high-achieving environments with frameworks from psychology, entrepreneurship, and life design to guide people in a structured, highly individualized way.

Work Experience

Morgan Stanley Logo

Institutional Consulting Analyst

Morgan Stanley

July 2025 - Present

Morgan Stanley Logo

Investment Banking Analyst

Morgan Stanley

June 2024 - July 2025

Project Financing & Infrastructure

Stanford University School of Engineering Logo

Public Speaking Teaching Assistant

Stanford University School of Engineering

January 2021 - December 2023

Morgan Stanley Logo

Summer Analyst

Morgan Stanley

June 2023 - August 2023

Project Financing & Infrastructure

Stanford University Graduate School of Business Logo

Research Assistant

Stanford University Graduate School of Business

September 2021 - September 2022

Research assistant on Digital Currencies under GSB Professor Darrell Duffie

Altamont Capital Partners Logo

Summer Strategy Analyst

Altamont Capital Partners

June 2022 - August 2022

Private Equity

Education

The Wharton School (UPenn) Logo

The Wharton School (UPenn)

Deferred MBA Offer

2026 - 2028

Deferred acceptance to Wharton with expected start date in 2028

Stanford University Logo

Stanford University

Economics

2020 - 2024

Gordian Knot Center for National Security Defense Scholar, Pi Beta Phi, Stanford Social Entrepreneurial Students Association (SENSA), Public Speaking TA

Mel K.

Mel K.

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