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Name: Laura Lee
Title: Founding Co-Director
Major: Social Studies
School: BA - Harvard College; MBA - Harvard Business School
Years out of college:
0-2
2-5
5-10
10+
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Linear path (English major to English teacher)
Evolving path (English teacher to PR to guerrilla marketer)
Off the beaten path (English major to stand-up comic)
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My major got me here
My experience got me here
I knew what I wanted to do
I wasn't sure
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A Passion for Public Education: Intro
"It is easy to be risk-averse and to stick to things that you know you're good at. What I try to remember, however, is that I don't have to be afraid of failure. The defining moments along my path have come from being willing to take risks when making transitions. I am starting a brand-new charter school next year, choosing to follow my passion and taking a very non-traditional path, and I am loving the excitement of starting my own mission-driven organization."
Name: Laura Lee
Title: Founding Co-Director
Company: Kings Collegiate Charter School
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School:
BA - Harvard College; MBA - Harvard Business School
Years Out of College: 5-10
Major: Social Studies
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For many, an offer from an established, prestigious
management consulting firm is a no-brainer.? Not
for Laura.? After college, she instead went with
a consulting upstart, where she says she reveled in the
entrepreneurialism of her firm.? After four
amazing years in consulting, Laura's trail?swerved?as she
joined?the education reform?movement in New York City to
pursue her passion for public education, where she could
apply her strategy and management skills for the public
good.? She is now juggling two major
commitments: completing an MBA program, and founding a
charter school.?
--Interviewed by Erdin Beshimov
From Then to Now
"The Social Studies concentration at Harvard was an
interdisciplinary social sciences program with a basis in
social theory. It provided great training in thinking about
how to approach problems from multiple perspectives, and
perform rigorous issue analysis."
"If I look back at my career path, I think my
transitions between jobs make a fair amount of sense. It was
a natural fit to apply my problem-solving skills to business
situations through management consulting; to move from
consulting to an analytical role at the DOE; to further my
leadership training at Harvard Business School, where I am
now a second year; to pursue my interest in charter schools
through a summer internship at Uncommon Schools; and then to
apply my leadership and management skills towards my passion
in education by becoming the Founding Co-Director of a brand
new public charter middle school: Kings Collegiate
Charter School."
"The defining moments along my path, however, have come
from being willing to take risks when making transitions. I
joined a brand-new consulting firm when I had the opportunity
to join other established, prestigious organizations and
reveled in the culture and entrepreneurialism of growing a
world-class firm. I joined the DOE and took a pay cut, and
gained invaluable experience in obtaining an insider's view of
the nation's largest public school district. I am starting a
brand-new charter school next year, again foregoing
compensation and taking a very non-traditional path, and I am
loving the excitement of starting my own mission-driven
organization."
Challenges Faced
"One main challenge has been being thrown into
unfamiliar circumstances, where I have to start working my
way up the learning curve again. This is a typical challenge
with any career transition, but I think it's been important
to approach the learning curve with excitement and without
trepidation. Another challenge has been that people haven't
always understood or agreed with my choices. While I have
been luckier than most people in having supportive friends
and family, it has sometimes been hard to explain to people
why I have made choices that often seem riskier (e.g., going
with a less-established consulting firm, taking a significant
pay cut relatively early in my career)."
My Experience
"I am currently juggling finishing my MBA at Harvard
Business School and launching my new charter school, which will
open this coming August. A typical day includes attending
classes, reading case studies, interviewing prospective
teachers for my staff, and working on the details of my new
school while trying to squeeze in a lunch with a good friend
and some down time with my boyfriend. I love what I'm doing:
making the most of a great learning opportunity at HBS, while
also creating a vision for my new organization and working
towards making it a reality. I think the fact that I'm pursuing
my passion and really challenging myself, and that I'm doing
something that has the potential to make a significant
difference in the lives of others could be inspiring to people
who are thinking about their initial career path after
college."
Next Steps
"I want to use all the parts of my past experience to
make a truly great school for my students and staff. I will
strive to apply the skills, knowledge, and intuition that I've
developed through my different professional experiences to
becoming the best school leader possible."
Did I Ever Think I'd End Up Here?
"When I was in college, I didn't have any idea what I
might end up doing. I knew I wanted to make a difference
somehow. I was confident I'd find the right opportunity, but
had no idea what it would look like. And I was always
optimistic that I could do whatever I put my mind to."
Advice for Others
"I think the single best piece advice I've heard so far
came from two different sources: from my summer employer at
Uncommon Schools as well as one of my professors. They both
encouraged me to challenge myself: to recognize my talents, and
to not be afraid of doing something that was truly hard, and to
in fact go toward the unfamiliar, or something that made me
uncomfortable."
"I think that it is easy to be risk-averse and to stick to
things that you know you're good at. What I try to remember,
however, is that I don't have to be afraid of failure. Striving
for personal development and finding the right professional
path is a journey. I might make wrong turns, but they're never
irrevocable."
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