Recent Alumni

Petrine Knight, '06
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston

Petrine graduate in 2006 with a B.A. in Art History and French. She is currently working as an administrative assistant in the curatorial department of the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, Texas. Petrine notes that "...knowing French definitely comes in handy around the workplace, whether it is for assisting with document translation or having to correspond with French museums to request information and permissions." She also says that she "feels better prepared for a future in museum work as many higher-level curatorial positions require proficiency in at least French and German." Petrine feels that it is very rewarding to be able to combine both fields that she specialized in as an undergraduate in her professional career.

A native of New York, Lauren graduated with a major in French and minored in Religion and English. She began her career in luxury marketing in the Advertisting Department at Louis Vuitton, N.A., and more recently held the position of Senior Executive of Advertising, Events and Marketing at the Monaco Government Tourist Office in Manhattan. For almost four years Lauren worked hand-in-hand with tourism and government entities in Monaco to create and plan advertisement of the destination for North America, manage consumer travel promotions in North America, and develop special events for VIPs and foreign dignitaries. In addition, Lauren represented the destination with frequent travel to Monaco and throughout the U.S. for special events, press tours, etc. on behalf of the office.

Lauren currently manages special events in the Office of MBA Student Life at Columbia Business School, where she is concurrently preparing to continue her studies in French culture and civilization and focusing on her travel.