If you love stories about people whose mission in life is to help others... you're in luck.
Our guest today is a rockstar. I'm so excited to tell you all about Nicole LaMontagne.
Hola Friends,
While everyone is busy traveling, doing their best to stay cool, and trying to make the summer last as long as possible, I thought it was time to introduce you to another fascinating person.
This week in Who I’d Rather Be Talking About…The Interview Series, I’m excited to introduce Nicole LaMontagne.
Nicole was recommended to me by Wanda Brewer Ickes of First Tee, a previous featured guest. Wanda told me that in addition to being a professional rock star (she’s a Vice President & Senior Counsel at Goldman Sachs in NYC), Nicole has an inspirational story to share about determination, hard work, and a love of golf and life. I can’t wait for you to read it…
Abbey: First, can you tell me a bit about your childhood/early life?
NICOLE: I was adopted from South Korea at about six months old. I have a younger sister, also adopted from South Korea, and an older brother who is mentally and physically handicapped. My family is of Polish descent and the area I grew up in NJ was predominantly white. I had such a strong desire to fit in when I was younger that I shied away from my Korean heritage. It wasn’t until law school, where I met other Koreans who were proud of our culture, that I started to try to connect with it.
This doesn’t mean I’ve forgotten (what I consider) my Polish heritage - I still cook pierogis, but now I also cook mandu (the ethnic equivalent of a dumpling or a ravioli). My parents separated when I was pretty young and my father passed away when I was in elementary school, so I was pretty much raised by a single mom. Once I was older, I realized how difficult this must have been for my mom, but I didn’t see it at the time because my mom selflessly devoted herself to ensure that we never felt the full impact of our life circumstances.
She, together with my grandmother, aunt and uncle who helped raise us, always made sure we felt loved and supported, and worked together to make sure we always had someone at school events and to help us with schoolwork, go on fun vacations (even if my mom couldn’t always go with us because she had to work and take care of my brother), and were able to participate in sports and other activities and just generally had the best childhood they could provide us.
It was a true “it takes a village” scenario that I’m so grateful for, even if I (foolishly) didn’t always realize or show it at the time.
Can you share a bit more about your family life - caring for your disabled brother and how that impacted your childhood and life today?
NICOLE: I think having a handicapped brother made me a more compassionate person - someone who doesn’t judge someone else because they are “different”. I remember being pretty young and overhearing my mom tell someone something along the lines that my sister and I accepted and loved my brother for who he was and that we wouldn’t engage with people who wouldn’t also accept him. I don’t know if she knows I heard that, but it resonated with me, even then. I think I’ve extrapolated this to my life; everyone’s experiences, personality, circumstances, views, etc. are different, but just because they’re not yours, doesn’t mean they’re a lesser person.
Everyone deserves to be treated with respect and kindness. I think the world would be a much better place if people took this approach to life. Just because you disagree with someone or don’t understand them, doesn’t mean you should ever treat them poorly. My mom’s strong will and determination has influenced me more than I think she will ever know. She showed me what it was to be independent and persevere through whatever happened in life. She even went back to school when I was in college and became a nurse.
My mom showed me what it was to be a strong woman who could stand on her own two feet and this is something that has stayed with me throughout my life. It’s wonderful to have people in your life to support you, but it’s also a wonderful feeling knowing you can take care of yourself.
I understand that you put yourself through college, finished in three years (!) and then put yourself through law school? AMAZING!
NICOLE: Thank you! My family always valued education, but my mom wasn’t in a position to pay for college. Plus, it was something I never assumed she’d do, as ultimately it was my education and I felt I should take ownership over it.
I actually think this was a blessing as it made me really take college seriously. I would see my peers taking for granted that they were able to attend college and valuing partying more than the amazing opportunity they had to receive a higher education. I was honestly naïve and chose majors (I double majored in history and economics) that interested me rather than focusing on the career opportunities that my majors would provide me right out of college – I was just so excited to be able to learn.
Luckily, I realized my freshman year, I could pursue these majors and then become a lawyer. However, I knew this would be 3 more years of school (with a much higher price tag) so I decided to put in the work to graduate early. Fortunately, my mom had always pushed me to take AP classes in high school (and to take them seriously), so between those credits and a few summer classes, I was able to cut off a year. I knew I needed to get into a good law school for what I wanted to do career-wise and actually took every historical LSAT that was available leading up to my exam and would travel over an hour to attend my LSAT-prep classes.
Even though I knew I had put in the work to be there, I had serious imposter syndrome when I went to law school. I attended Boston College for undergrad and I recall looking at the alma maters for my classmates at Columbia Law and seeing all of the Ivies definitely intimidated me.
I would encourage anyone dealing with imposter syndrome to not be your biggest enemy – you are where you are because you deserve to be there; you should never question you deserve what you’ve earned and you should never let anyone make you feel that way.
Today you’re a Senior Vice President & Senior Counsel for Goldman Sachs… can you share a bit about your road to this role? What do you love most about your job?
NICOLE: I absolutely love my job. I’m a lawyer supporting Goldman Sachs Investment Banking and have been with the firm for over six and a half years. I have the opportunity to work with intelligent, talented people every day and my bankers are constantly working on some of the biggest and most innovative M&A transactions. There are always new issues that come up, which keeps the job interesting.
You spearhead the Young Professionals Board for Harbor House and are a director on the First Tee- Central Florida Board.
Please tell us about the great work you’re doing!
NICOLE: My childhood and upbringing have drawn me towards helping others, particularly children. Not a day goes by that I don’t consider myself so lucky to have not only had a second chance through my adoption, but also to have had a family that was willing to sacrifice so much time, energy and money into ensuring that I had the best opportunities they could give me, which has allowed me to achieve the success I have in life.
I think it is incumbent on anyone who has something to give - time or money - to give it to those who are less fortunate. I am a passionate believer that living a “successful” life is not just defined by your own success, but also by the success that you assist others in achieving. While you can certainly do this by providing financial funding alone, I feel I am well positioned to give more with my time and to leverage the experience I have been fortunate enough to have obtained throughout my life to contribute to the missions of both the YPB and First Tee.
What is Harbor House?
NICOLE: Harbor House provides shelter and support for victims of domestic violence. Children are some of the most vulnerable members of our population and deserve to be protected, but also deserve to be children. The YPB focuses its efforts to raising funds and awareness for Harbor House’s youth programs. I joined 3 years ago; last year I chaired our signature Handbags for Hope event and this year I am Co-Chair.
While giving these children and their families a place to be safe is definitely first and foremost, what really brings me joy is knowing I’m helping to allow these children to experience some sort of “normalcy” and just to be children through events like a Trunk-or-Treat and Camp HOPE, which is a week-long camp that strives to inspire children to believe in themselves, others and their dreams.
Tell us about your involvement with First Tee…
NICOLE: I believe that golf has the ability to be more than just a “sport” or a “hobby” – it can teach you valuable skills (patience, perseverance, respect, etc.) that you can apply to your life. Golf is different from many sports in that there is a high barrier to entry and therefore is often seen as something that only the rich can enjoy. I think everyone, not just children, learns better when the lesson is given through something relatable and fun.
First Tee uses golf to teach children life skills and makes this opportunity available regardless of their families’ financial situation. I wish I had been exposed to golf earlier in life and it makes me so happy to know that I’m opening up the door to golf to children and setting them up for potential success in life, particularly those who wouldn’t otherwise even think this was a possibility.
Tell me more about your discovery of golf, when did this happen, and how did it change your life?
After someone introduced me to golf about 7 years ago, I started taking lessons at the Brad Brewer Golf Academy from Brad Brewer himself, which is actually how I met Wanda. I was a shy, introverted person at the time, so the thought of going out on a golf course as a single, someone so new to the game, and honestly, a woman, terrified me.
I was worried people wouldn’t want to play with me, would judge me and/or might be mean to me. Lessons from Brad gave me the confidence in my game and etiquette to go out there – to the point I would spend entire days, sunrise to sundown, on the golf course playing with whoever was there.
It was more than golf, though. Brad’s positivity and outlook on life bled into my own. In golf, you can have a bad shot, but you need to shake it off and go to the next one without letting the bad shot affect the next one. This is the same with life – you can make a mistake, something bad can happen to you, etc. but you need to dust yourself off and keep living. You can waste energy dwelling on what has happened or you can choose to put positive energy into the next part of your life.
I actually had to have a double hip replacement about 6 years ago. After the initial shock of the diagnosis, rather than feel bad for myself, which is the reaction most people had expected me to have, I chose to focus on the positive. It wasn’t a life-threatening diagnosis, it was something that had a solution, and I would be better for it after the fact. I firmly believe that my positive outlook helped with a quick and successful recovery. Because of golf, and honestly, Brad, I try my best not to sweat the small things in life and to focus on the good – keep things in perspective.
Yes, you might hit a ball into the water, but one bad shot isn’t going to ruin your score; one bad score doesn’t define your game; you can consider a shot or score good even though it wouldn’t be for someone else.
It’s the same with life – we need to celebrate the wins and accept the losses without constantly comparing ourselves to others, and realize that life is composed of many moments and many situations. One moment or one situation doesn’t define the life you choose to live.
What does your golf life look like now?
My golf life is full of highs and lows, so I guess I can consider myself a true golfer now! I try to play whenever I can, but definitely prefer early morning during the hot months in Orlando. I love the game but when the temps feels like is well into the 100s, it can be a bit much. I mostly play Orange County National in Orlando. I also encourage other women to golf whenever I can.
What do you do to recharge? (Hobbies, interests, guilty pleasures, etc.)
I was always an avid reader growing up – while other kids might have been getting into trouble for staying up late playing video games or watching TV, I was getting in trouble for hiding under the covers reading well into the night. One of the most memorable gifts I received as a child was actually a book lamp!
Nowadays, I do less reading but love listening to a good audiobook and enjoyed over 100 last year. I’m also guilty of spending hours binge watching a good TV series – cooking, medical and crime shows are my favorite. I like to say I have my MD courtesy of Netflix, which always gets a good eye roll from friends, particularly the doctors.
Fun Round: All the Things You’d Rather Be Talking About
Streaming rec: House – I think I’ve watched the full series at least 3 times at this point.
Book: Untamed by Glennon Doyle. There were so many things I took away from this book, I can’t pick just one, but highly recommend.
Travel tip: I firmly believe everyone should take a solo travel trip at least once in their lives. It allows you to be true to yourself and learn what really interests you.
Favorite golf course: That’s a tough one… would have to be one of the courses I played in Hawaii – Kapalua, Ko Olina, Poipu and Wailea are all standouts.
Golf course you’d like to play: Augusta.
Online shopping rec: Pretty sure 90% (if not more) of what I buy online
comes from Amazon.
Quote you live by: One of my favorite movies is Uptown Girl. Not a cinematic masterpiece by any means, but one of my favorite lines is “Other people always let you down…forget about them and do something for yourself.” While I don’t fully subscribe to the first part, I constantly remind myself to do something for myself. It’s not about what you have or circumstances outside your control – it’s what you do about it.
THANK YOU for making a difference and sharing your inspirational story, Nicole!
I hope you enjoyed today’s interview!
And… if you’ve got someone I should be talking about, send me an email (abbeyalgierspr@gmail.com).
I’ll be back with a surprise “Summer Links” pop up newsletter for paid subscribers, and as always, I’ll see everyone back here next Thursday.
Until then, stay safe and enjoy the summer sun.
Abbey