"The HEC students gave me the keys to succeed"

As a high school student in Maurepas, Lucas Lamour met HEC students who came to present the PACE program of the HEC Paris equal opportunity mission. After two years of tutoring, he joined SciencesPo Paris and is now committed to opening the doors of the Grandes Ecoles to everyone. In this interview, he looks back on his career.

^{Auteur/Author of this article: Frédéric Voirin}

To give confidence, to make ambition grow and to transmit. Lucas is not an HEC student, but he is the perfect embodiment of HEC Paris' action in favor of equal opportunity.  

From his Dumont d'Urville high school in Maurepas and his two years of tutoring in the PACE program with HEC students from the Fleur de Bitume student association, to SciencesPo Paris where he is now studying, Lucas Lamour's career path illustrates the extent to which giving students confidence and opening up the field of possibilities is a powerful lever for success.  

By enabling high school students to increase their cultural knowledge, gain self-confidence, practice public speaking, assert themselves and reflect on their future career path as students, the PACE program aims to remove forms of self-censorship, regardless of the field of study they are considering.

Lucas Lamour tells us how his experience with the PACE program has fueled his ambition and why he is now trying to fuel the ambitions of others through his involvement with the Cordées de la réussite.

Can you introduce yourself and tell us how you came to know this equal opportunity program at HEC?

Hello, my name is Lucas Lamour, I am 19 years old and I am a second year student at Sciences Po Paris.  

I learned about the PACE program through my high school. A meeting was organized there by HEC students. The idea of the program convinced me. I decided to join this equal opportunity program during my junior and senior years, between 2019 and 2021.

What do you remember about this program?

My main takeaway from these two years in the PACE program is an increased confidence in myself. The HEC students gave me the keys to succeed. From an academic point of view, of course, but I especially remember my knowledge of general culture. The sessions allowed me to develop a real general culture.

On a personal level, I remember the human encounters during these sessions. I think it is a great opportunity to be in contact with HEC students. They introduced me to the world of business schools. Thanks to the help of my tutor Mathilde, I was able to practice for the SciencesPo admission oral. It is obvious that her investment helped me to succeed in the entrance exam.

Did you develop specific skills thanks to HEC?

The students were keen to help us develop our oral skills. They are brilliant students who knew how to transmit their oral technique during the tutoring sessions. We did debates, speeches.  

Everything was done to help us improve our oral skills. This is especially important since the creation of the Grand Oral au bac. Also, oral skills are necessary for personal and professional growth.

How did the PACE program help you with your studies?

I particularly appreciated the help and learning I received from HEC students during my admission to SciencesPo. I had indeed told my tutors about my ambition to enter the institution. They gave me the necessary support so that I would not censor myself.

How have you integrated these learnings into your student life now?  

Today, I have decided to commit myself to equal opportunities. I understood the importance of weekly tutoring sessions. This is why, since I am a SciencesPo student, I have joined the Cordées de la Réussite as a tutor in a secondary school in Reims. I am now the secretary of the association, and as such I am in charge of the organization of our association.  

I see this commitment as my way of committing myself to equal opportunities.  

We accompany more than a hundred college students towards success, and I am convinced of the benefits brought by these sessions.

Since 2021, Lucas Lamour has been coordinating and acting as secretary for the Cordées de la réussite program on the SciencesPo Paris campus in Reims. The fact that he is now involved as a tutor for this national equal opportunity program and his desire to give back a little of his experience are a superb illustration of what his participation in the PACE program has brought him. He has learned to share what he has learned as a former tutor and as a young student, and this makes his experience and that of the middle school students he now helps even more valuable.

Read an interview with another student who benefited from the HEC Paris PACE program

More information about the equal opportunities' mission at HEC Paris