Sharing Passions and Professions

Even in her one-company career, Mars did just that, exploring diverse aspects of the family business -- working in marketing, learning finance, managing products from boats to candy bars -- before eventually landing in an area she was passionate about, human resources. She went on to create and run Mars’ noted Ombudsman program before becoming Chairman of the Board several years ago.

 

“Finally, there were no more voices about going back to school or becoming a doctor,” she said. “I realized that I wanted to be a doctor because I wanted to help people. As Ombudsman, I was able to do that in a different way.”

Showing compassion, being true to your ethics and values, doing whatever you do well and with passion, and always staying open to learning were the other key points Mars made.

”Take some risks, try new things,” she urged, “It’s not going to be easy. You will have to make choices and change routes. Sometimes you must step back and look at what you are doing.”

Following Mars’ talk, the 10 alumnae “panelists” who graduated five to 37 years ago, introduced themselves and then split up into individual sessions with groups of 15-20 students. The professions represented ranged from nursing, marketing and event planning to biodefense analysis, environmental studies and investment banking.

Two sessions back-to-back offered the girls a chance to learn from two alumnae of their choice. Whether sharing tales of snorkeling in the Chesapeake Bay, as Maryland Department of Natural Resources biologist Brooke Landry ’96 did, or talking about becoming a singing star on YouTube (Amanda Lee Bogart ’11), these accomplished women engaged and educated our girls for the next hour.

And, perhaps, the day helped to launch some girls' journeys to finding their passions and embracing them.