"Coming to Smith was like a breath of fresh air for me and my career..."

Helen Patton | Information Risk Manager, JPMorgan Chase & Co. | USA

I attended Smith at a time when my career was at a crossroads, trying to decide which way to move, and how quickly. Although I had no doubt about my technical skills, or my ability to add value to my company, managing work, family, and my own identity was becoming a challenge. Compounding the problem, there seemed to be few people who were my gender or age at my responsibility level who could relate to my issues and give me guidance.

At Smith I was suddenly surrounded by women of all ages, who could give me on-the-spot mentoring for the immediate issues I was dealing with. The classes were first rate - aimed at women with significant work experience - which offered me new tools and processes to deal with my professional challenges (negotiations, financial management, innovation) and personal ones (life balance, gender issues at work, individual branding).