Friday Headlines
the weekly newsletter from EHS
Head's Message
15 November 2019
It was a great pleasure and privilege to be at my first EHS Speech Night last Friday. To celebrate the achievement and hard work of our young people is always an enjoyable part of being a teacher. It was also fantastic to meet Laura Chung, our speaker, who is an Old Girl. She attended with her sister Emma (another Old Girl) and their mother. To see all of their faces as they recognised members of staff who had been at EHS when they were here, was magical and speaks to the wonderful community that we have at EHS. Laura spoke with ease and openness about the challenges that we all face in life and was, as one Sixth Former said to me, ‘so relatable’.
In Laura’s own words she ‘shared her fails, how better to understand vulnerability and to keep going despite those fails’. Her message was a powerful reminder that we need to encourage our young people to accept that it will not go according to plan all of the time and that sometimes we need to fail to understand ourselves better. As Nelson Mandela said, ‘Do not judge me by my successes, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again’.
Laura spoke most movingly about not feeling good enough when she started her first managerial post, and how she has experienced the ‘imposter syndrome’. This is something that we can all fall victim to, and to hear that someone as successful as Laura feels this also, was reassuring for all in the Hall to hear. Laura was too modest to speak much about what she has achieved in the six short years since she left university. But, when you know what she has already achieved in her career, her message becomes even more powerful. Laura has worked for Microsoft, comScore and is currently the Global Growth Marketing Manager for PayPal. Her capability, drive, determination and ambition were all palpable but her message was that everyone has doubts about themselves; it is how we embrace those doubts and move forward with positivity in our lives and careers that is important. Laura spoke about supporting each other to do this and to facilitate this she co-founded DevelopHer, a women’s network community that encourages women in tech to develop their confidence and careers. Having a supportive community around us is vital for success and at EHS we all help to build this so that not only do our girls receive encouragement and support whilst here, but also build friendships that will last a lifetime and can look forward to enjoying the support of the Old Girls Association when they leave.
It was a fantastic Speech Night and I look forward to many more.
Mrs Macro
Headmistress
