Clare B. Hawthorne (MBA 2012) took a rather winding path to HBS. She first travelled south to earn her undergraduate degree in engineering at Duke University and then to the West Coast for a master’s in accounting from the University of Southern California. A job at Ernst & Young then drew her back to the East Coast.

After spending three years in the Real Estate Audit Group at EY, Hawthorne decided to go to business school in order to prepare for her next career step. “I knew that I wanted to work in the people space,” she recalls. “I also realized that a common thread in my experiences was satisfaction in fixing things that were broken and creating efficiencies and processes.” While at HBS, she talked with alumni, professors, and classmates, and ultimately concluded that human resources aligned with all of her interests. “Access to an incredible and engaged network was—and continues to be—a big part of the HBS experience for me,” she says.

Hawthorne remembers many HBS moments that continue to have an impact on her life. One was a case discussion a Technology and Operations Management class. Many students in the class felt that the case’s protagonist was good for the company. Hawthorne disagreed. “The professor called on me, and I laid out my argument, bucking what everyone else said,” she explains. “Suddenly people were agreeing with me! Though it was a small moment, it’s one I think back to, and it bolsters my confidence.”

When she drafted her will, Hawthorne decided to include a bequest to HBS. “I wanted to show my appreciation for a place that has given me so much,” she explains. She enjoys being one of the youngest members of the John C. Whitehead Society, which recognizes donors who make legacy gifts. “It’s fun and special to be a non-traditional bequest donor,” says Hawthorne. “I’m proud to be planning for my future, and hope I might inspire other younger alumni to do the same.”

Learn how you, too, can remember HBS in your will.

Post a Comment