Jeffrey Castillo Found Guidance and Connections at UAlbany

2006 graduate took advantage of personal attention from School of Business faculty and staff to chart path to JPMorgan Chase vice presidency.

ALBANY, N.Y. (December 10, 2013) — The people at a university make the difference, says Jeffrey Castillo ’06, a business administration major who in only six years after graduation became a vice president at JPMorgan Chase.

“You go in as a freshman with only a vague idea of what you want to do with the rest of your life,” said Castillo, “but UAlbany has a great faculty and staff that really take the time to sit down with you and map out what you need to achieve your goals. Later, they connect you with people in your chosen field, so that your path comes into being.”

Working out of JPMorgan Chase’s offices in Boston, Mass., Castillo leads a commercial banking team charged with creating solutions for the complex financial needs of higher educational and cultural institutions. “I’m developing a new market with hopes of achieving significant growth over the next five to 10 years,” said Castillo. “That’s an uncommon opportunity so soon after college.”

Castillo recalls being “a little intimidated” when he began his studies at UAlbany. “Very quickly, though, I realized I was seeing the same students in my classes, and we began to form what you might call a network of colleagues. Plus, the faculty and staff really took an interest in me and what I wanted to do with my life.

“My professors often sat down with me after class, talking about different ways to look at particular opportunities, and ultimately driving my decision to take the job at JPMorgan Chase. I guess that’s another way of saying that a university is so much more than buildings and facilities. It’s the people who make a difference.”

His original decision to attend UAlbany was based on the reputation of the School of Business, particularly in light of the much greater cost of attending top private schools. Many of his current colleagues have graduated from some of the most prestigious schools in New York and across the U.S. and, according to Castillo, the biggest difference among them is that he doesn’t have large sums of debt weighing him down.

“Knowing I was given equal opportunities to those who attended private institutions, I would say that the value of the University at Albany is significant. I believe my higher educational experience was second to none.”

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