Cyndy Jean ’07
Major: Black Studies/Pre-Med Concentration
Q. What is one thing you learned about yourself early in your career?
A. Self-advocacy! I had to learn how to speak up for myself, particularly when I didn’t want to be overlooked for an opportunity or when I needed to negotiate self-care.
Kim Karetsky ’99
Q. How do you use your liberal arts education in the work you do today?
A. Every day, I am grateful for having studied Psychology at Amherst. While perhaps not an obvious choice of majors for work in the financial services industry, understanding people and interpersonal relationships/dynamics is critical in any organization with more than one person! My consulting work in leadership development is essentially business psychology; I work with individuals on their relationship skills, their management skills, their communication skills — all in an effort to help them be better leaders.
Thierry Pauyo ’05
Q. What is one thing you learned about yourself early in your career?
A. Trust your gut feeling. The values that my parents taught me, along with my past experiences, all contribute to the creation of this gut feeling. Whenever I am presented with a difficult decision, whether in the operating room or in relation to patient care, I have learned to trust my instincts. The times I have chosen to silence that voice or decided to take the easy way out, I have always regretted it. I have learned that my gut feeling is always right and to rely on it.