alumni spotlight series fall 2014
a league of
her own
How one grad has taken the Ivy Leagues by storm and found success in volunteerism and career development.
Juliette Levine, Mulgrave Class of 2011, was the third Mulgrave graduate to attend an Ivy League university in the United States. An outstanding and involved student during her Mulgrave years, Juliette has continued in her pursuit of excellence at the post-secondary level. A soon-to-be Princeton grad, Juliette has a wealth of experience through her academic, volunteer and business initiatives. In this week’s Alumni Spotlight, Juliette shares her reflections on the International Baccalaureate, insights into her international work experiences, and news about her post-Princeton plans.
Juliette Levine How did the IB Diploma Programme prepare you for your post-secondary studies at Princeton University? The time management and study habits I learned through my IB education prepared me well for my studies at Princeton. Freshman year arriving at Princeton, I was surprised to learn how prepared I was for the academic rigor. During orientation, they tell the incoming students and their parents not to be alarmed at poor performance on the first set of midterms as students aren’t prepared yet for the amount of studying needed to succeed. However, I never felt the shock experienced by most of my classmates as they acclimatised to the work environment. If anything, at Princeton I was pleased to find myself with more free time on my hands than I did during my time at Mulgrave.
Did you have any mentors who helped you in navigating your post-secondary ambitions while at Mulgrave?
Q&A
I was fortunate to have close relationships with many of my teachers at Mulgrave who encouraged me to keep pushing myself and supported my ambition to go to an ivy-league school. Ms. Morgan played a particularly big role as my physical and emotional cheerleader during the process. Ms. Morgan helped me with my admissions essays and spent a lot of time on a thoughtful letter of recommendation. More importantly, without her mentoring me in debate, school, and during the admissions process, I am sure I wouldn’t be where I am today.
What drew you to Princeton’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs? Through many years of debate, I knew I was interested in studying politics of some form in university. However, beyond theory, I was interested in the practical application of politics and how to influence change. The Woodrow Wilson School is at the intersection of politics, economics, history, sociology and, increasingly, science as a lens through which to solve problems in a policy format. Therefore,
Above: Juliette and fellow Class of 2011 grads, Ethan Gaudry-Gardner and Andrew Moffatt, with Ms. Morgan in front of the houses of parliament in Ottawa at the International Independent Schools Public Speaking Competion in 2010. Front Cover:The director of GTM Strategy, Juliette, a senior analyst, and a fellow intern at Thomson Reuters on the office balcony on the 22nd floor overlooking Times Square. not only is this essentially a ‘problem-solving’ major which allows me to think up solutions to major world problems, but it is also broad, appealing to my wide range of interests and passions.
During your years at Mulgrave, you were a member of the Debate Team. Not only did you earn the Senior School Public Speaking Award in recognition of achieving the highest overall standing in competitive public speaking, but you were also the Top Speaker at the International Independent Schools Public Speaking Competition in Ottawa, 2010, and later represented Canada at the Worlds Public Speaking Competition in Australia. How did your experiences as a debater help to shape your interest in public and international affairs? Debate is one of the main factors that got me interested in public policy. During debate competitions, we typically debate policy recommendations such as ‘Performance Enhancing Drugs should be Legalized’. Although some of the
issues may seem clear on the surface, through the process of researching both sides for a debate, you learn how complicated the issue actually is. I find the process of trying to draw some conclusions out of a gray area of uncertainty and confusion really interesting.
What has been the most interesting course you’ve taken at Princeton to date? That’s a really tricky question. I think one of my favourites has been ‘Ethics and Public Policy’. We learned a philosophical framework for thinking about policy issues such as abortion, gay marriage and torture.
In what ways have you become involved in student life at Princeton? I’ve joined a sorority and an ‘eating club’ at Princeton (sort of a co-ed fraternity where you eat your meals) which is where I’ve made a lot of my friends. Additionally, I’ve acted in several productions and give continued on next page...
tours of the campus.
You traveled to Nairobi, Kenya to work as the Director of Strategic Partnerships and Community Engagement at DUMA, a social-entrepreneurship start-up, in the summer of 2013. What type of work did your role entail? I joined DUMA after they had only been on the ground in Kenya for one year and had just moved to Nairobi, so it was still a very small company. I got to work closely with the two co-CEOs and cofounders on shaping their strategy and vision for the future, in addition to my official job description. In my role, I reached out to the top Kenyan universities and attended meetings to pitch them the idea of partnering with our employment service for their graduating students. I also created job opportunities through the DUMA database by sending business proposals to international companies with a Kenyan presence, encouraging them to use our system for their hiring needs. However, I am most proud of my role in writing the grant proposal DUMA submitted to the Rockefeller Foundation which won $100,000 to allow DUMA to develop a sophisticated screening mechanism to test job candidates for the skills they list.
What was the greatest challenge you faced while working abroad in Kenya? I think my biggest challenge was just a matter of safety and independence. Nairobi is a dangerous city; therefore, it wasn’t advisable for me to leave the house unaccompanied. I’m an independent person, so I found this frustrating and limiting.
This past summer, you worked as a Summer Analyst in the Financial and Risk Corporate Strategy Sector of Thomson Reuters. What skills from your previous role at DUMA were you able to lend to your work in this sector? Honestly, this job was extremely different than my previous internship, and there was not too much carry-over in terms of skills. I went from working in a t-shirt at a start-up incubator to working in a suit on the 22nd floor in Times Square. I learned a lot at Thomson Reuters about conduct in a business
Juliette chimpanzee tracking in Rwanda with one of DUMA’s CEOs and Juliette’s housemate from Kenya. environment, attention to detail, research and presentation.
You are involved in a very special organisation founded by a fellow Princeton student, Music is Medicine. Can you share with us your experience working as a director for the ‘Donate A Song’ project? I have been involved with Music is Medicine since my first year at Princeton and have been the Director of the Donate A Song Project for 2 years now. The Donate A Song project connects critically ill patients with celebrity artists who meet them, write them personal songs and then perform these songs for the patients. The songs are later released on iTunes and YouTube and all proceeds go towards research for that child’s illness. It has definitely been a challenge leading this project as it involves coordination between bureaucratic hospitals, extremely busy artists, and patients who we sincerely do not want to let down. However, it is rewarding to know that this experience changes the lives of the patient, their friends and family, and the artist. Our mission is really to make giving back to the community a normal and expected part of the music industry. If you want to know more, you can take a look at the Music is
Medicine website at www.musicismed.org.
You seem to be a very busy person! How do you unwind after a hectic day? I’m not as busy as I sound and definitely not as busy as I was when I was at Mulgrave! I live with 5 of my best friends, so I mostly like to check-in with everyone and see what is new in their lives at the end of the day.
What is next on the horizon for you? I recently accepted an offer to work at Bain & Company* next year at their headquarters in Boston as an Associate Consultant. (*Bain & Company is one of the world’s leading management consulting firms).
What advice would you give to students interested in applying to a US university? Definitely go for it! It is a little more effort than applying to Canadian schools, but it can be really rewarding. I almost didn’t apply because studying for the SAT seemed like too much work, considering I probably wouldn’t get in anyway. However, the SAT is not that important – US universities keep in mind that, in Canada, our curriculum is not geared towards the SAT! Also, really try to dive in to extra-curricular activities. US universities want to know that when you’re on campus, you will contribute to the campus culture outside of the classroom.
Above:The CEO and COO of Music is Medicine and Juliette, after winning $10,000 from Princeton’s TigerLaunch Competition for Social Entrepreneurship.
Do you have a favorite Mulgrave memory that you would like to share with our readers?
Below: Juliette presents to the judging panel during an IBM case competition.
I have a lot of great memories from my time at Mulgrave. One of my favourite times was my Grade 11 SAC retreat. Spending a few days away with classmates strengthened my friendships and also got us started on our Make A Wish/ Olympics 2010 Spirit Week, which was incredibly rewarding and fun.
Juliette Levine, October 2014 As interviewed by Chloe Scott Know an amazing Mulgrave grad you would like to see featured? Contact alumni@mulgrave.com.