Mel K.

Mel K

Get Into Your Dream Colleges Building a Passion Project

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 Application Strategy, General Exploration, and .

Mel’s College Qualifications

My background combines both building and navigating traditional systems. 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 participated in Lean Startup classes. I’ve also spoken at SXSW EDU and TEDxYouth@Seattle, worked as a Teaching Assistant for Stanford’s largest Public Speaking course, and been accepted into Wharton for Business School. Professionally, I’ve worked in Investment Banking and now in Institutional Consulting in New York. All while being the first in my family to attend a top U.S. college and break into Wall Street.

Mel can help with:

Application Strategy

General Exploration

Resume

Supplementary Materials

School Selection

Mel also coaches for Career Coaching 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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