Earlier this month, the Young Professionals Council (YPC) welcomed Daniel K. Fitzpatrick, President of Citizens' Mid-Atlantic Region, to the Chamber for the latest Meet the C-Suite event. Around 50 young professionals joined a conversation moderated by Jacob Strasser, Public Affairs Coordinator at Citizens. 

Wiley Corlett, Coordinator, Partnerships and Member Experience at the Chamber, opened the evening by reminding the room that every accomplished leader was once a young professional asking the same questions about their career and opportunities. For Fitzpatrick, getting answers to those questions started close to home. 

A Northeast Philadelphia native, Fitzpatrick said every career move he made was a way to stay in the city. Over the years he turned down opportunities to build a business in the Midwest and to move to Chicago, choosing to raise his four kids in the Greater Philadelphia region instead. His father was a civil engineer for the city whose projects included work on the Spectrum and Veterans Stadium, and his mother taught in the School District of Philadelphia.  

Fitzpatrick's main advice for the room was to volunteer early. "Volunteerism is the best thing you can do for your career," he said. As a young professional, Fitzpatrick said yes to things like making phone calls for La Salle University donations and speaking at parishes across the region to recruit other young professionals into a networking group.  

Fitzpatrick said he wouldn't be where he is today without being willing to do what felt uncomfortable for him at 30 years old. "You would never know it now," he said, "but I'm actually shy." 

Saying yes to those opportunities also put Fitzpatrick in the same rooms as the people he needed to know. In corporate banking, he explained, you have to know the CEOs and CFOs of companies big and small across the city, and nearly all of them are involved in the community in some way. Senior leaders started to take notice, and some became mentors. One mentor, Bill Mills of PNC, a past William Penn Award honoree, first noticed Fitzpatrick through his volunteer work and took an interest in his career well beyond his own company. 

Decades later, Fitzpatrick is still saying yes to volunteering opportunities, from chairing Philadelphia Works for Mayor Cherelle Parker to serving on the boards of the Union League and the Heinz History Center. For a room full of young professionals, it was a good reminder that the next opportunity might start by saying yes to something small. 

Thank you to Citizens and Villanova School of Business for serving as title sponsors. Keep an eye on YPC's events page for upcoming programs.