John Ly
Hometown: Kenosha, Wisconsin
Alma mater: University of Wisconsin – Madison
Major: Economics
Current Role: Customer Support Representative on the Enterprise Team
When did you start the MDP program?
August 2020
What is a typical day in your current role?
A typical day in my role starts with supporting our clients investing operations through phone calls or email cases. This can entail helping our clients select reports that best suit their needs, or helping them build proposals for their clients, but no day is the same and I continuously get the opportunity to learn more efficient ways in supporting them. Beyond supporting our clients, I will work on my stretch project, possibly learn a new role, and think of new projects I can pursue.
Are you participating in any stretch projects?
I am participating in the IMRAP program on the Credit Research: Residential Mortgage Backed Securities (RMBS) team.
What advice would you give to new MDPs?
Don’t be afraid to propose a project, even if it seems too big. That being said, make sure you are decisive on how you plan to approach the issue, and that you will see it through. From my experience, this has helped me significantly in learning our products and makes the job much more stimulating. The MDP role is really what you make out of it and my team lead, manager, and other leaders always go out of their way in enabling me.
How was it like starting your MDP role in a virtual setting?
Personally, I enjoy being around people and working in a collaborative environment so being cooped up in my room was a huge transition.
How has Morningstar helped you in this pandemic?
The $1,000 stipend helped me purchase programs like Wall Street Prep, Training the Street, and CFA preparation material, virtual Coffee Chats helped me explore roles I’m interested in, and the opportunity to meet people from various backgrounds through virtual happy hours has been great.
One piece of WFH advice?
A good chair. That’s all.
Fun Fact about yourself?
I taught myself English watching cartoons as a kid.
Aubrey Horton
Hometown: Lincolnshire, IL
Alma mater: Boston College
Majors: Economics, French
Current Role: Customer Support Representative on Enterprise Team
When did you start the MDP program?
December, 2020
What is a typical day in your current role?
I am in the queue answering calls and emails from clients, mostly financial advisors, assisting them with running reports or doing research in Advisor Workstation.
Are you participating in any stretch projects?
Soon!
What advice would you give to new MDPs?
Keep tabs on your resources, both digital and mental!
How was it like starting your MDP role in a virtual setting?
It was good, I really believe we learned as much as we would have if we had trained in the office.
How has Morningstar helped you in this pandemic?
Not only by honoring and providing job security, especially for those of us who hadn’t even started yet, but by being a source of learning, support, and community in these desolate days. I am thankful to know that even when the world is crazy, there are places like Morningstar that will continue to do the right thing in their efforts to better society and the common good. Morningstar is a shining example of brightness in these otherwise dark times.
One piece of WFH advice?
Get dressed for work if you want to! It provides mental separation if you wear “work” clothes during the workday and “chill” clothes after the workday.
Fun Fact about yourself?
I’ve been to Rolling Stones concerts in four different cities, two different countries, with hopefully more to come!
Dominic Purciarello
Hometown: Park Ridge, IL
Alma mater: University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign
Major: Consumer Economics and Finance
Current Role: Customer Support Representative on the Office Team
When did you start the MDP program?
August 2020
What is a typical day in your current role?
Help advisors with issues regarding the Office software, whether it is over the phone or email. Questions are usually about the Office desktop software, Office cloud, and importing data into Office from custodians such as Fidelity, TD Ameritrade, Charles Schwab, etc.
Are you participating in any stretch projects?
My current stretch project is helping the Office team re-design their training materials. Office is a very complex software and we decided the training materials need to be adjusted. Right now, I am working on the reports part of the training materials. Office desktop has over 50 reports that advisors can run. I am creating Excel documents to help new trainees better understand the components of each report. I am also re-writing parts of the current manual and creating more applicable homework questions.
What advice would you give to new MDPs?
Reach out to as many people as possible. Morningstar has many different divisions and the best way to learn about them is to schedule a meeting with a coworker in an area of interest.
How was it like starting your MDP role in a virtual setting?
It went well. Obviously, I would have preferred to start in the office and interact with my coworkers in person every day, but I have been able to adjust. Hopefully we will be back in the office later this year.
How has Morningstar helped you in this pandemic?
They have been really accommodating by sending different computer equipment for home use to make the job easier. Also, they send out different surveys to understand how their employees are dealing with the pandemic.
One piece of WFH advice?
Take advantage of the different Teams chats in your group. Chats have helped me so much with understanding the software. There are usually coaches (senior reps) who are always available to help.
Fun Fact about yourself?
Favorite show is Breaking Bad.
Min Kim
Alma mater: Grinnell College
Major: Mathematics and Music
Current Role: Financial Product Specialist on the Direct Support Team
When did you start the MDP program?
I started in September 2020.
What is a typical day in your current role?
It depends on the person, but I usually have a couple of hours at the beginning of my workday for stretch projects. Then I support our clients who need help with Direct. Every now and then I have a coffee chat or check-ins with my mentors/manager.
Are you participating in any stretch projects?
I am participating in the Investment Management and Research Apprenticeship Program (IMRAP), helping build a predictive model for a structured finance team in DBRS.
What advice would you give to new MDPs?
Don’t stress out too much. I noticed that corporations work at a different pace than that of university life – in some ways we are required to learn/deliver things extremely quickly; and in some other ways things feel awfully slow. Knowing what is within my control and what isn’t has been tremendously helpful for me.
How was it like starting your MDP role in a virtual setting?
Not bad. I was lucky to have joined Morningstar when they had figured out a lot of remote-working logistics, so my onboarding was quite smooth. Of course, being in the office would have helped a lot in terms of learning the products more quickly and building better relationships with people in Morningstar. But given the circumstances, I think my cohort received the best support possible.
How has Morningstar helped you in this pandemic?
Other than the generally smooth onboarding process, I received much support from my manager. I had moved to Chicago without knowing anyone. He connected me with Morningstar folks around the area and they’ve shared their home-cooked food and helpful career advice (which one is more important is your guess) with me.
One piece of WFH advice?
Make sure you set a time to get off work! I also suggest that you request 1 hour lunch breaks instead of a 30 minute one, to make sure you get some sun during the day (sunset is as early as 4:30pm in Chicago during winter).
Fun Fact about yourself?
I haven’t watched any Disney princess films (except Mulan – that was a-ok).
Morningstar Development Program 