21/12/2023
Sophie Paine, Head Girl, Class of 2015
Hi LIS Community! I’m writing to you from Cambridge in the UK, where I’ve found a home over the last 4 years.
A brief update… After graduating from LIS in 2015 I headed up to the East Coast of the US, where I studied for an undergraduate degree in Political Science and Education from Brown University. On my very first day at Brown, I somehow found myself in a rowing boat (I wanted to try something new). Less than four years later I had fallen in love with the sport and was on a flight to the UK to attempt to make the British Under 23 team. Six weeks after that I was off to the U23 World Championships, where I ended up with a silver medal around my neck!
My rowing journey continued for another 2 years, where I studied at the University of Cambridge for two Masters degrees (one at the Business School, another in the Sociology department). I was lucky enough to become President of the Women’s rowing team in my 2nd year, leading the team to an epic victory in the 75th Boat Race against Oxford. To this day, I maintain that standing on a podium spraying champagne at your friends is one of the coolest things you can do!
Ultimately, I put down my oar in the Summer of 2021 and embarked on a new journey in the ‘real world’ as a strategy consultant at a boutique firm in London. I work in a small team, which in many ways reminds me of my days at LIS, when classes were sometimes as small as 3 students.
I remember in Primary School when the IB Learner Profile was engrained in our heads – we all needed to be reflective, principled communicators who took risks and were open minded to new experiences. I must admit, while I wasn’t quite sure why the same 10 words seemed to appear in front of us at every opportunity (pinned to the walls, spray-painted on the quad concrete…), I’ve now come to realise their importance. Every successful team I’ve been a part of, whether on or off the water, has embodied these principles in one way or another. So, thank you LIS, for laying the foundation for an awesome, adventure-filled journey – and for teaching the most important things. I can’t wait to see what’s next!