Alumni Equipping the Next Generations of Aiglonians for Life’s Unpredictable Journey

Do you remember how you felt contemplating the unknowns of life after school? Apprehension? Curiosity? Excitement? Or did you already have your sights set on becoming an astronaut or doctor since the age of 5 and had everything planned out?   

Our students surely experience a mix of these feelings. This is why our Alumni and University Advising departments worked together to launch the new academic year with a special career-themed panel and workshops to help guide our Year 12 and 13 students. University Advising’s Director Patience Fanella Koch emphasises: "Our alumni community is such a rich resource for career advice. It is wonderful to invite former students, some that my team even advised during their time at school, back to share their tips with the next generation."

We welcomed eight alumni panellists from a broad spectrum of backgrounds: engineering, entrepreneurship and pure science to finance, international relations and law, and ranging from the classes 1980 through to 2020. Some of the alumni had had few chances to return to campus since graduating, which may have been before our current senior students were even born, yet they were all amazed by Aiglon’s progress, and shared practical wisdom that effectively resonated with the audience because it remains relevant to this day.

 IT Executive, Venture Capitalist Investor and Co-Founder Pietro Dova (Belvedere, 1980) launched the proceedings with his keynote speech where he likened Aiglon to a character defining launchpad with takeaways learnt there that we carry with us along life’s journey. 

Pietro touched on ten key ideas about being kind; valuing time; learning from failure; being yourself; taking risks; strengthening your network; cherishing your family and health; positively influencing others through your actions; trusting your gut and attuning to your true self so that you can better seize opportunities. 

He concluded that while artificial intelligence is radically altering the workplace, fundamental notions surrounding how we behave professionally basically remain the same. In fact, character is becoming an increasingly vital component for career success.          

Our first panellist Alejandra Ureta Melcon (Le Cerf, 2016) has always been a huge planner, loving spreadsheets and lists, and worked hard to secure numerous internships in parallel to studies. Regardless, she acknowledges the importance of ensuring flexibility is built into that plan so that you can be agile and open to the unexpected. For example, Alejandra began in International Relations and widened her scope incorporating studies in Law. In her opinion, the programme choice is more important than the university.  

Carolyn Ennis (Exeter, 1974) recommends following your passions and values, trying out different professions and finding fulfilment through aiding others - she experimented with museum research, journalism and then specialised in refugee coordination and as a Representative at UNHCR. Ultimately, she draws attention to the well known expression that “when life gives you lemons, make lemonade”. 

Shervin Kheradpir (Alpina, 1982), with a grounding in engineering, has been able to master his craft, spending his entire career at Intel and becoming Vice President and General Manager of IP and Competitive Analytics. He highlights that there will always be ups and downs in life and to strive for positivity. As a former big basketball player at Aiglon, when they used to play in Parsons hall where the panel took place, Shervin made the clever analogy that if you hang round the net long enough, the ball will eventually come to you and be ready when that happens.

Sofija Bečanović (Le Cerf, 2016) took a gap year to learn German before beginning Political Science and International Affairs studies at University in Vienna and going on to a professional career in the NGO sector. Due to passport/visa barriers and challenges obtaining internships, she had to dare to open her own doors. 

Recent Bioscience Innovation and Enterprise graduate Sylvia Ang (Le Cerf, 2020), first intended to become a doctor however pivoted to cancer biology research and has now started as an Analyst for a healthcare consultancy. She stressed that it is ok to make career changes, that failure is part of the process towards developing resiliency and to “leverage all your resources”.

Contrary to the other alumni, Muriel Cunningham (Clairmont, 2000) never had a plan, but after a stint in sports journalism surprised herself by starting work in financial services, landing a position at Bloomberg thanks to a chance meeting after the credit crunch and then eventually joining the sports brand On. Muriel rightly said: “Things for sure won’t go to plan… accept it… own it!” She revealed that often you get the job because of who you are. Creativity, pragmatism and being proactive will take you far.  

Enduring expeditions and outdoor challenges at Aiglon enabled Dmitri Dogaev (Belvedere, 2000) to overcome initial hardship at Lausanne University. Although the Commodity Trading Director did not study hospitality himself, he sees this as a well rounded education that can then be applied to diverse industries. His advice is to stay inquisitive and convince your families a gap year could be the right option for you. Dmitri echoed his fellow alumni’s assertions that kindness matters most, that you are unique and should find the path that suits you and to remember that the only constant is change.

Many thanks once again to our alumni for their impactful advice and engaging workshop exchanges with our students. Now armed with plenty of advice, our students can confidently career towards their future careers, with direction, led by our University Advising department, by respected alumni, and their own intuition. As Pietro pointed out, it might look like a straight line to summit that mountain but might prove quite a sinuous path and to summon that inner strength to keep walking.