Interview with Isabelle Clarke ’09

Interview by Eliana Eisman '22 and Mercedes Zobel de Ayala '22

Isabelle Clarke graduated from The Lawrenceville School in 2009 and played an active role in the community by excelling in athletics, arts, and a rigorous academic course load. She continued her studies at Harvard University before pursuing her Master of Business Administration (MBA) at MIT Sloan School of Management. With experience in financial services and a driven work ethic, Clarke is an exemplary woman in business.

What extracurriculars were you interested in Lawrenceville and how has that helped influence what you were planning to do in college?

Clarke emphasized the impact of her experience with the athletic department at Lawrenceville, mentioning, “it’s where I made my closest friends and learned a lot of valuable lessons.” Factoring practices and games into her daily routine helped keep her both “busy” and “focused,” organizational traits which followed her to collegiate level lacrosse. She had always hoped to play a sport in college, but was intimidated by the athletic recruitment process and wasn’t sure she wanted to focus on one sport full-time (Clarke was a tri-sport athlete). After admittance to Harvard, Clarke reached out to the lacrosse coach to inquire about a possible try-out and joined the team just after the first practice. She reflected on the similar relationships shared with teammates at both Harvard and Lawrenceville, referencing them as “a built-in group of friends and mentors,” Overall, she appreciated the variety of opportunities at Lawrenceville to try different things, even if it is completely new.

In what ways have you seen a long-term effect from your time at Lawrenceville since you graduated?

The Lawrenceville language department first offered Chinese during Clarke’s freshman year at the school, and with encouragement from her older sister, she decided to dive in. She remembers “so many happy times in Pop hall” and the influential teaching of Mrs. Daniell. But, Clarke’s passion for Chinese didn’t end after graduating from Lawrenceville; she decided to pursue this interest in college and majored in East Asian Studies. Additionally, she saw a drastic difference made by the school’s Harkness teaching method which “helped [her] learn how to express ideas clearly/succinctly” and built “a foundation of academic confidence that set [her] up for success at Harvard and professionally.”

Is there anything you wish you had done differently? Do you have any advice for current students?

While she doesn’t regret anything in specific, Clarke considered the difficulties of a high school environment. There are academic and social pressures, along with an element of self-discovery. Looking back, she would have “been more accepting of [herself] and less self-conscious.” Clarke advised, “don’t be afraid to try new things,” “be kind to yourself and others,” and playfully added, “fake it until you make it.”

What inspired you to transition from your studies on East Asian Languages and Civilizations at Harvard to Business at MIT?

Although Clarke had spent several summers abroad in China, she wasn’t quite ready to move so far away from home for her career. Her first job out of college was the result of a Lawrenceville connection, a compelling opportunity, which gave her the exciting chance to live in New York City. Her interest in business was long developed; she had always thought she might want to go to graduate school to continue her education.

How did you reach your level of success, given the sector's gender gap, especially among leadership?

Clarke mentioned the impact of having a good first boss, as hers granted the opportunity to grow and develop within the working community. She stressed that “it can be undercounted how important a relationship with a boss is in terms of career happiness.” She credited her success in terms of ability to confidently speak up when she felt something was wrong, as well as pointing out the areas in which there could be an improvement (especially when the subject was focused on diversity). Clarke touched on finding “a balance between being yourself and making sure the way you react or act in business is the version of you that will lead to the best result.” She placed an emphasis on how she can be true to herself yet also accomplish what she would like to accomplish, stating “everyone is an actor.”

What made you want to transition away from financial services?

When Clarke was exposed to AlphaSights she put a lot of pressure on herself to find a calling career mentioning that, “I haven’t found my passion yet. For me, there’s a lot of different things that I would love doing.” When she was given the opportunity to provide a specific research service to hedge funds she enjoyed the work but knew it was not going to be her long term career choice. The end market of customers, as well as her interests, didn’t seem to align. When working in the food consumer industry, she felt as though she was contributing to bad health, in turn, which is why she is currently interested in moving into health care. Not only did her personal interests align, she felt as though when looking into the future of health care, its macro trajectory was steadily increasing.

Did you notice a change in pace from the workload/environment of Lawrenceville to Harvard?

Moving from Lawrenceville to Harvard, Clarke had transitioned into a higher caliber of school sports, playing lacrosse her freshman year. She mentioned that playing lacrosse was a big physical commitment tiring out her days. In addition, “a few times in college [she] didn’t take the most difficult courses so that [she] could balance a social life and lacrosse, yet, looking back [she] wasn’t being honest with [herself] and was very intimidated.” This intimidation was the result of classes in her freshman fall that she felt she didn’t perform her best academically. However now, she mentioned that she wishes she hadn’t cared as much and persevered to pick the most rigorous courses.

What do you think was your stand-out quality when applying to college?

Clarke believes that the success in her application was a representation of well-roundedness at Lawrenceville. Due to her being a day student, she credited a lot of her success to having involved parents. “I did a lot of different things - sport, academics, and orchestra,” stating that she had been thoroughly involved in almost all her four years. Her stand-out quality was not only an effort in being well-rounded but also “being committed to one thing that you love,” in her case Chinese, and taking advantage of what the school has to offer. She concluded by underscoring that Lawrenceville had all the necessary resources for a student to succeed and that every student should capitalize on this advantage.