Sacred Heart Greenwich held its annual Alumnae Career Morning last Thursday. The gathering allows members of the Upper School community to listen to Sacred Heart

alumnae talk about their lives and career paths. This year, Sacred Heart welcomed three alumnae back to school, Dr. Julen Harris ’04, Ms. Vance Hynes ’01, and Ms. Danielle Cavanna Ogden ’99. Through Sacred Heart’s Goals and Criteria, these influential women pursued higher education and now work towards specific career paths unique to their personal interests such as pediatrics, law, and art.

Dr. Harris is currently a first-year pediatrics resident physician at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. After graduating from Sacred Heart, she went on to earn her Bachelor of Arts in Community Health from Brown University in 2008. Dr. Harris also earned her Master of Public Health from the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health in 2011. She recently graduated from the University of Minnesota Medical School with a Doctor of Medicine degree in May 2017. 

Dr. Harris was a member of the Gold Humanism Honor Society and served as co-president of the University of Minnesota’s chapter of the Student National Medical Association (SNMA). The SNMA is the oldest national student organization committed to supporting underrepresented minority medical students, addressing the needs of underserved communities, and increasing the number of socially conscious physicians prior to medical school. Dr. Harris worked in several capacities as a health educator and program manager of health promotion initiatives that focused on reproductive health, nutrition, and wellness of women and adolescents in Harlem and the Bronx. 

Dr. Harris explained that she has used Goal Three, “a social awareness with impels to action,” and Goal Five, “personal growth in an atmosphere of wise freedom,” throughout her medical training.

“I definitely feel the Goals and Criteria… are always salient [to my job]. A deep respect for intellectual values, in terms of a level of learning and intellectual curiosity, are of course [important] to medicine,” Dr. Harris said. “Social awareness which impels to action, commitment to social justice, and service to be informed and responsible citizens is an important part of this career as well.” 

The next speaker, Ms. Hynes, also studied at Brown University after completing high school at Sacred Heart, graduating with a double concentration in Economics and English Literature. In 2008, after working for American Express in the Corporate Card division, Ms. Hynes decided to return to school and study law. While enrolled in the Fordham University School of Law, Ms. Hynes pursued public interest law. 

After finishing law school in 2011, Ms. Hynes then served as an Assistant District Attorney in Bronx County, prosecuting felony and misdemeanor crimes. In 2015, Ms. Hynes joined the Westchester County Law Department as an Assistant County Attorney, where she is currently responsible for representing the county in civil litigation matters including negligence and tort cases, employment actions, and federal lawsuits.

Ms. Hynes believes that Sacred Heart has helped cultivate her the desire to help others through emphasizing the importance of community service at a young age. Today, she continues to use the values she learned at Sacred Heart. 

“I’m really grateful for the background I had at Sacred Heart,” Mrs. Hynes said. “When I was here, I had a community service requirement and [it] was really instilled in us that we had to give back however we could, and that principle is actually built into the practice of law.” 

The final speaker was Ms. Ogden who, after graduating from Sacred Heart, attended Boston University, where she received her Bachelor of Arts in Art History, and Harvard University, where she earned her Master of Education. Ms. Ogden’s 13 years of national and international work in art museums, historic houses, national heritage sites, and cultural institutions have prepared her for her current occupation. Now, Ms. Ogden works as a Senior Manager of Academic Programs at the Aldrich Contemporary Arts Museum. Ms. Ogden is also an art advisor for emerging artists and works with museums such as Yale Art Gallery, where she trains docents to teach in museums. 

Ms. Ogden cherishes her Sacred Heart education and still holds the Goals and Criteria close to her heart. She applies the skills she learned at Sacred Heart every day while working with artists.

“I knew I was interested in the arts, but I didn’t quite know what direction it would take,” Ms. Ogden said. “Sacred Heart really provided a vehicle to explore different opportunities and take my education in a different direction.”