Modern Languages and Literatures

Describe a moment or experience you had at Lake Forest College that helped define your career path:

I was in the first class of the Richter Scholar program – which was extremely confusing as a new student and in a new, untested curriculum for a course that felt like pure theory. At the time, we all had a feeling that things were so far over our heads with this course, "Ways of Knowing". It was 70% terrifying, 30% intrigue. What I didn’t realize at the time was that it was preparing me to be thrown into the unknown – multiple times throughout my career – and to feel the confidence that I knew how to fish my way out, to find a way to swim to shore. Many folks today are highly skilled and confident about the one thing they know how to do well, their wheelhouse or comfort zone. But take away one or more of the guardrails – remove their favorite boss/mentor/colleague, change the focus of the company, add a new country to their purview at work, introduce a personal life challenge that will change them forever – and people freeze, freak out, seize up. "Ways of Knowing", at the end of the day, showed me a handful of ways in which I would need to figure out HOW to learn within a new discipline or category – which easily translates to new products, new markets, new audiences, new media to engage.

What steps did you take at Lake Forest College to prepare for your career, in particular, what role did your internship or research experience (or study abroad) play in shaping your career path?

The Paris Internship is the cornerstone of my career path, as I had hoped it would be. The program was very different back then – the internships were far less mind-blowing than the ones I see students having today, the French families we stayed with were quite often hosting students for the money. To get the most out of the program you had to put in the most. As the available internships had little to do with my interests, I developed my own internship using the connections I made through babysitting in Lake Forest – which is what all ambitious students should be doing. One of my families had a deep, executive-level background within fashion retail and they connected me to a buying office in Paris. I contacted them and we had bit of an ‘interview’ and they welcomed me upon arrival, their first intern ever. As it was a small Parisian office with massive global influence, I was given an extraordinary amount of responsibility, freedom and encouragement. I hustled, I ran my ass off, I starved – but I knew it was the key to future success. Through contacts I made during my internship (with the buying team from Bergdorf Goodman), I set up an internship the following year at Donna Karan in her PR department. After my third week, Donna encouraged me to drop out of school (as she had done after two years at Parsons School of Design) and come work for her. I respectfully let her know that I would finish my internship, go back to complete my studies and then come to New York and work in her PR department – and that is precisely what I did. So the short answer is: the Paris Internship was the sole reason for my career path. The more nuanced answer is that my Paris Internship set the stage, cast the characters and placed me in a lead role – and my own drive, determination and perseverance built the path.

What would you recommend Lake Forest College students considering a career in your field do to prepare?

Persuasive communication in any language is at the core of any great career, whether it is written or verbal. These days you hear “Content is King” when it comes to brands and personalities trying to communicate with a target demographic, a new segment that they’re looking to tap into and engage. Critical thinking, the ability to gather, assess and synthesize information in order to develop solutions to challenges is the name of the game. The amount of people I have met throughout my career who do not possess this skill is staggering. They may rise through the ranks as experts in the one thing they do, but if the landscape shifts, if the role changes focus, they are lost. Cultural competency is the frosting on the cake of critical thinking. Great – you have assessed the situation, understand the context and have multiple ideas for solutions. Through the lens of cultural competency, you can understand how your solutions might play out based on how that audience behaves, which is often quite different to how you were raised or spent your career. Audiences in Portland are different from Dallas are different from Burlington – just as they are different in Paris, Tokyo, Sao Paulo and Berlin. Having these skills – which are similar skills to developing a hypothesis, testing and providing results/solutions in an academic setting – can be translated into any career path. Learn how to think, learn how to find solutions and learn how to communicate those solutions effectively to achieve the desired outcome. A doctor does this when he proposes a treatment to a patient, a professor does this when applying for a grant, a worker on an assembly line does this when they have an idea for increased efficiency on the shop floor, a content creator does it when they want to establish clear content differentiation.

How did the Department of Modern Languages, or the Forester community give you an edge on taking your first steps after graduation?

To be honest, I forged my own way and then when I reached the top of the hill, I reached back and helped others find their way up. But the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures supported me. There was no sense of rigidity (‘these are the options for you and you must not stray’), an ethos which should be the heart of any liberal arts institution. Once they approved my development of an internship that had never existed before in Paris, their support had to continue through to the end. My papers and subject matter in French and English, my achievements and experiences were all new ideas to them. I was extremely fortunate in that they celebrated this newness, the expansion of their own set of ideas and goals. Following my Fall ’90 internship, a friend of mine secured the same internship in Paris and went on to get her Masters in France and become the managing director of the entire agency. That openness to the possibilities of greatness within areas of interest that were not yet on the radar of the MLL Department – that is the greatest edge I could have ever hoped to be given.

What have you found the most rewarding in your career and life after graduation?

Cultural Literacy. Travel has been a big part of my career. Understanding that there IS such a term as ‘cultural differences’ is the vital first step to operating successfully with new audiences. This is a domestic truth as much as it is a global fact. Knowing that the world or other parts of your own country do not necessarily respond in the same way or in the same language is a key understanding to being successful. Bulldozing through never works. Assumptions never work. 'My Way or the Highway' is not a winning gameplan. The farther I travel, the more brands I work with, the more I see that this skill of mine is priceless. The skill to stop, keep my mouth shut, absorb, begin asking questions, realize that I don’t know everything, I don’t know how business is conducted in every category, country, region. That humility – when paired with an eagerness to learn and feel competent – is something I really value.