About
After I majored in English in college, I went on to a 25-year career in corporate technology leadership where I managed large teams, supported critical systems, led major change initiatives, high risk projects, huge re-organizations, and much more. I spent my early years on the job feeling sheepish about my academic credentials and grateful I’d escaped the lifetime of noble poverty I’d been led to expect.
But the more I learned, the more opportunities I took advantage of at work, and the more I moved into management, the more I realized that I was prepared for business and leadership because of–not in spite of–my education.
A few years ago, I quit my job to write a book (an urge English majors probably never get over) and teach, to help working professionals speak, write and lead, and to help liberal arts majors see their professional potential. Today, I’m committed to:
- Helping students understand how their education translates into knowledge and skills businesses need
- Helping faculty recognize that what they’re teaching is essential to business leadership
- Helping advisors better connect liberal arts students to career prospects beyond teaching, publishing, non-profits, and fast food preparation
- Helping hiring managers find what they’re looking for: good communicators who can think not only critically but strategically. (Hint: Look to the liberal arts.)
If ever there was a time business leadership needed grounded, ethical, informed, leadership capable of critical thinking, it’s now. And where better to look for the next generation of leaders than among students of language, culture, history and social science?
To new horizons!
Susan de la Vergne
