Camille Lemieux
Class Year
2017
Area(s) of Study
French; Self-designed Major in Applied Linguistics
Hometown
Farmington Hills, Michigan
Co-curricular
Richter Scholar
Internships
Lake Forest College Digital Chicago Research Fellow Assistant (2016), English Teaching Assistant at École Pascal, Paris, France (2015) Research assistant at Ohio State University (2015)
Achievements
Senior 25
Current Job
Manager, Global Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at Springer Nature
How did you explore your interests and decide on a major/majors?
Speaking with professors across departments about potential career paths helped me learn about jobs I hadn’t heard of before, and I was lucky to be able to curate specific courses through a self-designed major.
Describe a moment or experience you had in college that helped define your career path
My passion for applied research solidified in the summer of 2016 when I served as a Chicago Fellows Research Assistant with Digital Chicago, working with education professor Desmond Odugu to study the history of housing inequities in Chicago.
What steps did you take at Lake Forest College to prepare for your career?
I participated in the Richter Scholar Program in the summer after my freshman year, and that experience opened the door to multiple opportunities in research and education at the College and beyond.
What would you recommend Lake Forest College students considering a career in your field do to prepare?
To prepare for life after graduation, I recommend students look for opportunities to intern in fields of interest to learn what they would like their workdays to look like. In the classroom, I recommend pursuing courses that rely on problem solving and critical thinking skills because those will be valuable for a lifetime.
How did the Department of Modern Languages, other department, Career Advancement Center and/or the Forester community give you an edge on taking your first steps after graduation?
Learning languages and exploring cultures outside of my own were crucial to developing conscientiousness, discipline, and humility, all of which are needed to succeed in international jobs.
What have you found the most rewarding in your career and life after graduation?
Working to make the world a better place is by far the most rewarding aspect of my career. Without encouragement from peers and professors at Lake Forest College, I would not have as much confidence or drive to tackle lofty goals related to educational research or advancing diversity, equity and inclusion in workplaces.