Finding my voice - and my path - with the HEC Summer School
Two HEC summers did not just add lines to my CV,
they shaped how I think, collaborate, and decide.
At HEC, we believe that transformation begins with curiosity—and sometimes, one spark is all it takes. In 2023, a high school student joined our Youth Leadership Initiative* and discovered the power of her own voice. That experience didn’t just build confidence; it ignited a passion for global affairs that reshaped her academic journey. Two years later, Emilie Pezet returned for our Geopolitics, Globalization and Business Strategy program, ready to turn insight into impact. Her story is a powerful example of how the HEC Summer School can guide students from exploration to conviction, and from potential to purpose.
"My HEC story began in 2023 with the Youth Leadership Initiative. When I learned about this intense program mixing workshops, practical projects and enriching interactions, designed for high schoolers, I knew I had to be a part of it. The on-campus, international format, and the promise of experiencing leadership in action, felt exactly right. That week challenged me in the best way: speaking up when I was unsure, giving and receiving feedback, and turning scattered ideas into a plan we could actually execute. We were not just talking about leadership, we were practicing it with real time pressure, negotiating roles, and making decisions together.
What stayed with me just as much as the skills and tools it gave me was the people. YLI felt like a small world on campus with different accents, stories, and ways of thinking. I learned to adapt my communication, ask better questions, and listen for what someone really means. I left with friends I still see and a quiet confidence that I can walk into a room of strangers, find common ground, and build something together. That is where I learned the basics I still use today: structured brainstorming, respectful disagreement, clear briefs, and the habit of checking assumptions before I defend a position. And then, right as those foundations clicked, there was a game changing lecture on US China relations by Prof. Jérémy Ghez, which flipped a switch. Geopolitics did not feel like headlines anymore, it felt like a way to understand choices.
That first spark changed my path. I doubled down on geopolitics at school and, instead of continuing toward a classe prépa for HEC, I aimed for Sciences Po Paris, Campus de Menton, so I could keep global issues at the center of my studies. That class on US China relations stayed with me. It shaped how I read the news, how I connect events across regions, and how I think about consequences for real organizations.
Two years later, when I saw that Prof. Ghez was leading the Geopolitics, Globalization and Business Strategy summer program at HEC, I knew it was the right next step. If YLI helped me find my voice, this program taught me to turn context into strategy. The two weeks were intensely practical. We had to lead a case project from start to finish, and working on the same subject over two weeks made us dive deep and really understand what was at stake. That is why I chose an NGO rather than a business, to stay close to geopolitics and what I study at Sciences Po. I focused on UNHCR and the question of refugees, a central issue in today’s geopolitical landscape. We mapped stakeholders, surfaced risks and trade-offs, and wrote recommendations that were feasible, not just elegant. Working with an international team sharpened everything. My framing was challenged, my briefs became tighter, and I learned to make solid calls with incomplete information and stand behind them.
Looking back, the arc is simple. YLI gave me momentum, confidence, and the habit of building with others. Geopolitics, Globalization and Business turned that momentum into a practical way of thinking that I can apply across contexts. Two HEC summers did not just add lines to my CV, they shaped how I think, collaborate, and decide.
And because YLI paved the way to where I stand today, I want to say this clearly. The Youth Leadership Initiative was an amazing first experience. It left me wanting to come back, it left me with friendships that still matter, with knowledge I use every day, and with the basics that proved incredibly useful in my studies and projects. Most of all, it set a new trajectory. It changed me in the best possible way. If you are in high school and curious about leadership in a truly international setting, start with YLI. Then, when you are ready to translate global issues into real choices, come back for the Geopolitics summer program. Doing both created a clear, meaningful path for me, from voice to judgment.
*The Youth Leadership Initiative was co-founded in 2018 by Elyse Michaels-Berger and Jessica Honan who both direct, coach and instruct in the program. Each summer it welcomes a cohort of talented, motivated high school students from around the world for an intense 5-day leadership experience on the HEC Paris campus.
Find out more about the Youth Leadership Initiative
Find out more about the Geopolitics Summer Program