Alumni

When you look back on your time at Lake Forest, what is one of the best lessons you learned that you've carried with you?

The best lesson I learned from my time at Lake Forest was to ask questions. I think so often, especially when we're first starting out in our careers, we feel like we're supposed to have all the answers, and we really don't. I took a class with Professor Steve Rothbaum who has since retired, but he really was an inspiration to me in so many ways. He was an advisor on my thesis, and he also taught one of the first classes I took. It was outside my major and was a history class. In that class, he really forced you to ask questions. In fact, if you used a word that he knew most students in the class would not know the definition of, he would call you out and make you define it. If you couldn't define it, you had to go to the library, get the Oxford English Dictionary, photocopy the page that had the definition, and then share it with the class. It was a horrifying thing to do to students, but it drove a point home. You do not have to know all the answers, but you do have to know how to ask the questions. I think about that all the time; I especially think about it in meetings when someone uses an acronym that I don't know because it happens all the time. You have to ask because people assume you know.

What skills did you work on while at Lake Forest that have helped you be successful today?

The skill I worked on that helped me be most successful today was probably communication, especially written communication. I can't stress enough how hard it can be to distill a million thoughts into a clearly written email that's short enough that an executive will read it. That's really something you hone in on with a liberal arts education. I had a professor once that would always say, “I wrote you a long letter because I didn't have time to write you a short letter”, and that's just so true. In business communication, you really have to spend time to distill your thoughts into what is the most important action items and make sure that it's written really clearly and concisely.

What experiences at Lake Forest have you had that you think have been invaluable to your career?

The experiences at Lake Forest that have been most valuable in my career were really my musical theater and my choir experiences. I was in a couple of plays and musicals and loved having a solo and being in the choir; I was a big microphone hog. The preparation that goes into taking on roles in theater is a lot like the preparation it takes to get ready for a really big business meeting. You have to learn your lines or learn your subject really well and build a narrative and story around what you're about to do. You also have to block out the fear of getting up in front of people and maybe making a mistake. I think having that opportunity, albeit in a very much more creative way, to get on stage and present something is so valuable; It gives you confidence and this sense of teamwork. Those skills really make a difference when you're in the business world. I've had people come up to me and say, “That was such a great presentation. Do you do Toastmasters? Are you really into public speaking?” I'm like, “No, I was just a choir kid.”

What was one of your most meaningful experiences at LFC? and why?

My most valuable experience during undergrad was definitely a study abroad. Studying abroad in Florence was an amazing opportunity and amazing culture shock. I hadn't traveled much at that point, and it really made me a lifelong traveler and a smarter traveler, too. I learned so much about how to be safe and still be curious when you're in an unfamiliar environment. I was also able to connect with fellow Foresters abroad and make some lifelong friends. In fact, since studying abroad, I have been back to both England and France multiple times and reconnected with the Foresters who I really developed friendships with in that first trip abroad through the Florence program.

What college courses have helped you out the most during your career? Why?

The college courses that have helped me most in my career are probably not the ones you would expect. I was an economics major and while my calculus and my macroeconomics classes were great, I don't think those are the ones that have helped me the most. The ones that pushed me outside my comfort zone were in such a different discipline than what I was there to study. If I had to pick, I would say my art history class when I studied abroad or my three-hour Shakespeare lecture on Friday afternoons. Those were the classes that forced me to think differently, to challenge my world view, to look at problems in different ways, and to meet people who were studying very different things than I was. It’s really those experiences that differ from your intended path that end up being the most valuable because it gives you different perspectives, teaches you how to look at problems from multiple points of view, and helps you learn how to relate to people who are different from you. All of those skills are just so valuable in the real world.