04/15/2021
April on April: Here’s a story about a MD who graduated from Columbia.
Acronyms have different meanings for different students. MD stands for Doctor of Medicine for healthcare students. But for business students, MD stands for the coveted position of Managing Director at a Wall Street firm.
Let me share about one MD who graduated from CBS (not the news network but Columbia Business School). Her name is April Tam Smith (‘10) who works at a top-tier firm on the Equity Derivatives team in Sales & Trading with a focus on volatility products and light exotic products. I have a vague idea of her work since I took an Options & Futures course and calculus class “for fun” at City College in my 40s (it might have been a mid-life crisis decision!). What I can understand after taking many finance & accounting classes for mid-life merriment is that April makes big bucks!
April is known for her radical generosity. She is a co-founder of P.S. Kitchen, a vegan restaurant and social enterprise in Times Square, which donates 100% of net profits to sustainable, charitable, and justice work.
Here’s a 3-minute video done by CBS (not the school but the news network) on April and P.S. Kitchen.: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gr5H_TEI49Y
April sees one of the purposes of business as problem-solving and providing creative solutions. In her many years of volunteer work in orphanages and social businesses in Haiti and South Africa, she recognizes the importance of affirming significance and offering jobs so that she is giving a hand up instead of a hand out.
P.S. Kitchen hires people from marginalized communities. April tells the story of a man who spent 30 years in and out of prison. He had overcome his drug addiction and had married. He was trying to start a new life and provide for his family. But after countless rejections from job interviews because of his criminal record, this man became despondent. He just expected more rejection. So when P.S. Kitchen offered him a job as a dishwasher, he broke down and cried.
All that she has belongs to God, April often proclaims. She recognizes God’s blessings in her life. Her parents were born in China and moved to Hong Kong to work. Her father received a high school education. Her mother only received a 5th-grade education and started working full-time at age 11. At the same age of 11, April had a different experience. She and her parents immigrated to the United States.
Although she graduated from a prestigious business school, she attended a so-so college called MIT (‘05) and “only” graduated in three years with honors😃!
April has a lot of energy. She has a day job, night job, and side gigs on the weekends serving on the board of several non-profits. What fuels her energy and vitality in life and work is her love for Jesus, childlike faith, and expectant prayers. She keeps a prayer journal that reminds her of the amazing ways God has blessed her life, family, and all her jobs.
The InterVarsity MBA ministry greatly appreciates the generosity of April's time and faithfulness of her witness in speaking regularly at Columbia and the Believers in Business Conference (national InterVarsity MBA conference). This awesome alumna exemplifies the GFM (Graduate & Faculty Ministries) Four Ministry Commitments:
1) Spiritual Formation
April Tam Smith has a vital prayer & devotional life.
2) Community
She is actively engaged in a church and has lived with apartment-mates even as a married person. She and her husband provide free rent, reduced rent, or live with those in their industry in order to do life together.
3) Evangelism & Service
She serves in orphanages in Haiti and builds schools in the Congo like P.S. Grace, P.S. Kindness, and P.S. Justice.
4) Integration of Faith, Learning & Practice
Her love of Jesus and math helped her land a job on Wall Street where she has worked for the same firm for 16 years with a number of promotions. Her colleagues see April's infectious joy and indomitable faith.
