Empathy is a powerful tool—use it.
Alexandra Bailey Smith, Editor-in-Chief
While reading through our impressive lineup of articles this month, I could not help but notice a common thread intertwined in each story—empathy is an underrated source of strength. Jashin Lin’s understanding of the struggles of her fellow international students gave her the idea to launch her venture, Growbie, helping students develop soft skills to progress their careers. Edgard Mejico interviews students to understand the wide array of recruiting experiences for RCs and how they are working together to make it through this challenging season at HBS..
With a personal touch, Christianne McKinnnon takes a deep dive into the experiences of student mothers at HBS, shedding light on the challenges and motivations of this under-represented but determined part of the student body. We also get to hear from Alicia Thomas on why diversity and inclusion is important to her, and how her experiences inform her vision for the future. Just in time, Arthur Brooks shares some tips on how to approach a class of conversations that almost always snubs empathy—family disagreements over the holidays—to help build and protect some of our most important relationships.
On a lighter note, sports! This issue celebrates the HBS rugby team as we prepare to play (and beat) Yale! Keir Sullivan and River Ewing also share a hilarious piece on the (timely) acquisition of the Texas Club by the Canadian Club, a merger that is already paying dividends with the recent World Series win by the Houston Astros.
Alex Smith (MBA ’23) comes to HBS from Texas with her daughter, partner, and two dogs. Before HBS, she worked for Chevron Technology Ventures. After HBS, she is excited to be joining the climate tech startup Solugen. Coaxing smiles out of her newborn, listening to podcasts on long walks, and watching the Astros win the World Series are some of her favorite pastimes.Â