Professionals in the Classroom

A Google employee was the latest professional to visit Montrose School. Professionals from financial services, higher education, professional sports, the U.S. military, the Archdiocese of Boston and other arenas have spoken at Montrose in the past year as part of Montrose’s LifeCompass Character & Leadership program. These successful adults have shared advice and anecdotes about the need for character and intellectual virtues in their work.

Google: Lauren Kustner of Google spoke at Montrose last year about her job as a tech writer, encouraging the girls to consider a tech career, no matter what their areas of academic interest. More recently, she worked with Bakhita Thordarson ‘12 to spearhead the Google and Montrose “Rocket Girls” partnership for coding and launching rockets. Ms. Kustner also facilitated a tour of Google for students, with a panel of engineers for students. Molly Morgan ’20 found her description of the lifestyle at Google impressive. “Teamwork is encouraged because they understand that you can accomplish more as a team,” said Molly.

Boston Celtics: LifePortraits speaker Rich Gotham, President of the Boston Celtics, shared with the students life lessons on what leadership with character looks like. His words inspired students to look beyond popular definitions of success, as he reminded them, "Character is what you do for someone who can't do anything for you."

Financial services: Shari Klahr, a financial services competitive and market research executive, addressed students on the role of courage in her work. She shared tips on how she overcame her fears of public speaking and now regularly addresses large groups of executives, frequently as one of the only women in the room. Ms. Klahr praised Montrose’s mission, noting “you students are the future, and this school is so important.”

U.S. Military: Montrose students heard from Major Scott Parsons, assistant professor of philosophy at the U.S. Military Academy. He emphasized the importance of leaders who can make difficult ethical decisions, noting that Montrose’s Character & Leadership program prepares students for this work. “Every day you have to make tough ethical decisions,” he told the girls. “Every day you have to think about who you are as a person of character. People who practice good character, continue to make good ethical decisions.”

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics: The Astronomy Club hosted Jenna Samra, from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, who spoke to the students about the upcoming Solar Eclipse on August 21, 2017 and the project AIR-Spec, which is going to collect data from the eclipse.

Boston Archdiocese: Kathleen Driscoll P ‘14, former Hill Holiday marketing professional, now serves as the Archdiocese of Boston’s Secretary for Advancement and Chief Development Officer. On her recent visit to Montrose, she spoke to juniors and seniors on Never Giving Up, explaining how perseverance has led to her successful career.