Lise De Maere ’24

Environmental sustainability became one of my main interests when I worked as a consultant for Bain and Company in Brussels. I was involved with a variety of industries and topics, including ESG and sustainability, and I discovered my passion for sustainability in business. I’ve always enjoyed watching nature documentaries and traveling to admire different landscapes. Climate change, and the other environmental crises facing our planet, deeply concern me. I’m at Yale to learn how I can help big corporations improve their environmental impact quickly.

The core curriculum has helped build my foundational business knowledge. So many courses have had a powerful impact on me. State and Society was eye-opening. Topics such as gender equality have always been close to my heart, and I really appreciated the space created for us in class to have tough but important conversations around topics like this. This semester I’m taking Interpersonal Dynamics, which has included a weekend retreat. Despite the intensity, I’ve loved every moment because it created a special connection between my peers and me. I was so moved hearing their stories and experiencing how every single person wants to become the best version of themself. It was truly inspiring.

So many things have helped me explore my interests and possible career paths. The broad SOM alumni network, courses at the School of the Environment, the continuous stream of events, fellow classmates, and professors have all helped me learn about different industries, companies, and functions.

I found my internship through the Business and Environment: Strategy and Management course, which included guest speakers from all areas of corporate sustainability. The chief sustainability officer of Albertsons spoke, and after the session I reached out to her on LinkedIn and received an internship offer a few weeks later.