Balancing calculated risks for personal and professional growth

An alumna in the social impact field shares how the continued support of Kellogg has allowed her to pursue a meaningful, purpose-driven career and the reassurance of a robust network.
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Sara Lamb learns about pyrethrum production with Kentegra in Kenya
"What has served me well in my career (and life) has been doubling down on the opportunities that excite me and throwing all my energy into making them happen,” says Sara Lamb.

By Sara Lamb ’19 MBA

My intention for my time at Kellogg was to say “yes” to as many experiences as possible so that I could better understand all of the potential paths available to me. So when I got the opportunity to intern at an ed-tech startup in Nairobi Kenya, I jumped at the opportunity to try out a new function, industry and continent.

That summer was nothing short of transformative — I felt completely aligned in my career and personal life and wanted more. However, I knew that relocating to another continent upon graduating was a considerable risk, as I would be leaving behind my entire support network, the security of the U.S. job market (especially with my heavy debt burden) and the inherent knowledge of the personal and professional cultures and systems I was raised with.

While I was committed to finding a meaningful career path, I set a personal condition to help mitigate risk: I would only make the move if I could secure a position with a certain salary threshold, or else I would take it as a sign to stay stateside. That’s when I learned about the Social Impact Loan Assistance Award at Kellogg — where students planning to work in social impact post-graduation can apply for funding ($20k - $75k) to help pay a significant portion of their student debt over two years. 

This, combined with the Collins Family Loan Assistance Program (LAP), applicable for Kellogg graduates entering into the public and nonprofit sectors, helped me pay down a significant amount of my debt burden and make “riskier” career moves.  For this, I am incredibly grateful to Kellogg and its commitment to investing in intentional and purpose-driven leaders. 

For months, I dedicated myself to researching, networking and interviewing, which ultimately led me to accept a senior position at a boutique consulting firm in Rwanda, and after a year there, I went on to join the USAID Mission in Kenya.

Lamb and some of her peers were part of a panel discussion during the Africa Business Conference
Lamb and some of her peers who attended the Africa Business Conference as part of a panel discussion.

What has served me well in my career (and life!) has been doubling down on the opportunities that excite me and throwing all my energy into making them happen. Saying yes first, and then figuring out how to make it successful after.  During those months of recruiting, I would occasionally doubt my path, but I often found that the doubt came from a place of fear of failure and that I was usually trying to decide before I needed or was ready to do so. 

While I do think having backup plans and deadlines for yourself are important, of equal importance is giving yourself the time and space to see how forces outside of your control convalesce to help lead you in a clearer direction.

The truth is, if you want your life to be better than you can imagine, you have to be willing to take some risks and step outside of your current frame of thinking to allow that to happen. It’s good to be a little delusional!

On playing to your strengths

My top advice to anyone is from a lesson I learned from the Personal Leadership Insights (PLI) class at Kellogg. Instead of spending a lot of time trying to build up your weaknesses use that energy to double down on your strengths. Realize what competitive advantage you have over others based on professional and personal feedback and look for opportunities to make that shine.

For me, that looked like taking classes that I had a passion for like Sustainability Across the Enterprise where I joined a group of students to deliver water sustainability recommendations for a local Chicago brewery. It also meant spending a lot of time making new friends which I did by attending many small group dinners, activities, trips, joining the social impact interview prep group and becoming co-president of the soccer club. By hyper-focusing my energy on the classes, experiences and groups that made me happy, I brought more of myself to these experiences, and got a lot more out of them too.

“My previous consulting experience coupled with the wide variety of finance, marketing and management classes I took at Kellogg equipped me with the skills and knowledge necessary to ask the right questions and confidently engage with leaders across industries.”
Sara Lamb ’19 MBA
Full-Time MBA Program
 
On recovering from setbacks
 
One of the biggest struggles I faced after graduation, along with the rest of the world, was handling the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic. Six months into my first job after graduating, the small consulting firm I had joined had laid off half of the staff, and I was suddenly living in Kenya without a job. I put the recruiting skills I had honed during Kellogg to use and set up a string of virtual coffee chats to tap into my network. 

Through this process, I made some great social impact and Kellogg connections in Kenya, learned a lot more about the development landscape, and even managed to engage in COVID-friendly activities like going on safaris (don’t make recruiting your full-time job!) before landing a role — that required an MBA — as a private sector advisor at the USAID Mission in Kenya. I believe that my Kellogg education combined with my private sector experience in both the U.S. and East Africa helped me stand out from other applicants.

I’ve been able to excel in my role partly due to my preparation at Kellogg. For example, part of my job at USAID was to meet with private sector organizations across East Africa at the USAID Kenya/East Africa Mission I met with hundreds of businesses — from large manufacturers and investors to small social enterprises — to discuss their growth plans and challenges to better understand their business and how USAID might be well-positioned to catalyze their growth.

My previous consulting experience coupled with the wide variety of finance, marketing and management classes I took at Kellogg equipped me with the skills and knowledge necessary to ask the right questions and confidently engage with leaders across industries.
 
Lamb met some of her classmates, who were leading Tanzania KWEST, in Zanzibar when she was interning in Kenya.
Lamb met some of her classmates, who were leading a trip to Tanzania, in Zanzibar when she was interning in Kenya.
 
On collaborating to innovate

I’ve found that perhaps even more important than technical expertise, is the ability to effectively build relationships not only in your organization but across industries and communities.  These connections will play an important role in supporting you for success in your career and personal life. Having a strong professional and social network allows you to have access to a larger pool of expertise in various topics and also provides you with people who can assist you in navigating your career. 

Thankfully, the school’s emphasis on collaboration and attracting diverse classes prime students well for this. This was actually what sold me on selecting  the school. Sally Blount, the Dean at Kellogg at that time, made a compelling case: if you just want to be rich, there are other schools for that, but if you want to invest in yourself and your community to change the world for the better, Kellogg is that place.  

I have relied on my Kellogg network when recruiting for new positions, moving cities, trying to get smart quickly on new topics, discussing and debating development questions, finding the best happy hours — and even writing this reflection! It should go without saying but treating others with kindness and helping when you can, banks you a lot of positive karma that pays dividends for years to come. 

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