Every year, the Sacred Heart Greenwich Upper School gathers for Alumnae Career Morning, an event where students hear from designated alumnae about their respective career paths.  This year, Ms. Stephanie Mellert ‘14 and Dr. Joana Groden ‘74 returned to Sacred Heart to speak with students about their professions.  During the gathering, Ms. Mellert spoke about her position in finance and business and Dr. Groden shared her passion for biology and science research.

Ms. Stephanie Mellert currently works for the Restructuring group at Rothschild & Co, an independent financial advisory firm in New York City.  She earned her Bachelor’s Degree of Business Administration from the Mendoza College of Business at the University of Notre Dame in May 2018, where she majored in both finance and political science.

Ms. Mellert talked about her experiences in the workplace as the only female and how her Sacred Heart education prepared her for her college and the workforce.

“Clubs like Speech and Debate and a small classroom size at Sacred Heart really helped me to develop my voice [and] gave me the confidence to speak my mind,” Ms. Mellert said.

Dr. Joana Groden is an internationally recognized human geneticist and the Vice Chancellor for Research at the University of Illinois at Chicago.  She received her Bachelor’s Degree of Arts at Middlebury College, a Ph.D. in cell biology and genetics at Cornell University’s Graduate School of Medical Science, and a postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Human Genetics at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute at the University of Utah.  Dr. Groden is also a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and a Fellow of the American Gastroenterological Association.  Dr. Groden’s research includes identifying significant genetic causes of inherited cancers such as, colon cancer.

Dr. Groden talked about the path that she took to her current career as a human geneticist.

At the end of their speeches, students were able to ask questions.  Dr. Groden ended the gathering by offering some words of advice.

“So, be powerful women, make strong choices, be ambitious, be happy, remember who you are and where you come from, […] and the things that are most important to you.  Pave the way for other women,” Dr. Groden said.  “Women are powerful, we can be anything we want and we should go for it […] Do what you love and go light up the world.”