Jonathan Jean-Pierre is a Senior HR Corporate Strategies at Google, who graduated from the Global Studies program in 2015. He met with Prof. Allison Mickel on Zoom to discuss what he remembers and what he gained from his time in GS at Lehigh, and how it got him to his current position today.
Prof. Allison Mickel: All right, so why don't you start by just introducing yourself? What did you major in, and when did you graduate?
My name is Jonathan Jean-Pierre, and I grew up in Brooklyn, NY. Everyone at Lehigh and work calls me JJP. I graduated from Lehigh in 2015 – it seems so long ago now that I look back! At Lehigh, I double majored in Africana Studies and Global Studies.
And when you first came to Lehigh, did you know you wanted to study Global Studies? Or did you find it along the way?
I think Global Studies found me! When I came to Lehigh, I got accepted to the Global Citizenship (GC) Program during my senior year of high school. The GC Program had a strong partnership with the Global Studies program, and I took multiple courses during my first year at Lehigh. I have always loved international studies and traveling. There was a substantial interdisciplinary component to the program where you could take classes in different departments and design your concentration. Naturally, I got exposed to Global Studies through the Global Citizenship Program. Then I met Jack Lule, Kashi Johnson, and many other outstanding faculty and staff across campus. And after taking a few classes and participating in off-campus immersion programs, I decided to major in Global Studies.
Do you have a favorite memory from your time in Global Studies?
What is remarkable about the program was that you had the opportunity to make the program any experience that you wanted it to be. Some of my peers went to the UN every week to advocate for NGOs, and others did internationally recognized research projects around the globe. Through the program, I studied abroad in Spain and interned in Madrid doing diversity and inclusion training programs in public schools across the city – that was a phenomenal real-world experience. It helped me get a job at Google as an HR intern, and I also got to continue that work in DC. I did a semester in Washington doing public policy work with an internationally recognized LGBT nonprofit. I got invited to the White House to meet with the Obama Administration. From those experiences, I got to work with Nike to drive LGBT inclusion in sports through the Be True Campaign with professional athletes worldwide. It was an extraordinary experience to get credits for classes and make a real difference in the world, and the program supported it. Those were my best experiences at Lehigh and in my life!
You said that studying abroad led to you getting the opportunity to intern at Google. Could you explain how that happened?
While studying abroad in Spain, I was looking for summer internship opportunities. While aboard, Google was recruiting for summer interns. As part of the application process, I had to write essays, and I wrote about studying in Madrid and the on-campus work I was driving to bring Posse back to Lehigh, which they found interesting. I went through a lengthy interview process, and the rest was history.
Fantastic. And what have you been doing since you graduated?
Since I graduated from Lehigh, I have worked at a number of Fortune 50 companies. I got a job at JP Morgan in my senior year and did an HR leadership development program. While going through the program, they sponsored me to get a Master's degree in HR at Temple University's. Right before graduating, I was offered to oversee Google's business travel compliance program globally. I managed a global team across tax, compliance, and mobility in different hub sites in Singapore, India, and Dublin.
From that role, I also served as the chief of staff to our HR Operations Director, joined our strategic planning team, and recently joined our Chief People Officer Office as an HR strategist. These experiences led to me being nominated to be on the Board of Directors at the Fiver Children’s Foundation, becoming one of the first two alumni from the program to join the board. And starting next summer, I will begin my executive MBA at Duke University.
At what point did you know that the field that you're in now is where you wanted to work?
When I started at Lehigh, I never thought I would get the opportunity to work at Google, especially as a first-generation college student. I grew up in New York City and witnessed countless people in my community impacted by systemic issues such as limited access to healthcare, housing insecurity, and the list goes on. I was always focused on becoming a lawyer one day or being involved in public policy in DC. And then what happened was when I went to Lehigh, took a public policy class, went to DC, and felt like that was not where I could add the most value to my community. And through that work, I got to work with Nike and Google. I realized that even though I was passionate about those particular areas, there are still elements I could do in a corporate world to drive global change. And when I look back, even though it was not linear, where it was like, I took a course and now I'm here, I think that by being curious, taking risks, and working hard, different doors opened up for me. And because I had a passion for diversity and public policy, it blended nicely with the HR world.
How do you think Global Studies has been helpful to you in your career?
I think of the skills I developed from the program in multiple parts. The first skill is the ability to think about things in a multidimensional way, so when you solve problems, there are many intersection points that you must consider. Because I took many courses in many areas, it helped me dissect complex issues and break them into actionable solutions.
Another piece is that the program has an extensive writing component. You are taking many classes where you conduct your primary research, write research papers, and present to different stakeholders at Lehigh. That skill has been super helpful in all of my jobs. I learned how to write effectively and communicate with people from different levels and backgrounds to drive change.
And I think the other piece, too, is that global element because many companies operate in such a global environment. It is essential to have international experience, so when I came to Google, having worked in Europe before, that gave me much greater exposure to working in a global team. When opportunities came up at Google to work in Ireland to launch a program or lead a project in London, my leadership and manager offered them to me.
Absolutely. I often tell students that the business world looks for applicants with that global experience. What have you seen as an insider that shows what companies are looking for when they hire these days?
The jobs that existed when I was at Lehigh and just graduating do not exist in the same capacity anymore. For example, at Google, we have teams focused on innovation in HR, like well-being, culture, workplace sustainability, and racial equity. These things were not top of mind a decade ago for most organizations.
And I think the most important things for campus hires are critical thinking skills, the ability to read effectively, communicate concisely, and learn on the job. Many organizations are very flexible in recruiting college students with different backgrounds as long as they demonstrate leadership capabilities and impact. The Global Studies program offers many immersion opportunities, like studying abroad, getting involved in clubs on campus, or volunteering in the community to build soft and hard skills that you can apply in any role and organization. And then all of those give you a unique viewpoint that adds value to different projects you are on in an internship or full-time job. For example, you are studying abroad in Chile, and a company is trying to go to market in that region. You bring deep expertise because you have been on the ground, know what works, how to interact with diverse teams, and understand what top of mind for consumers in that market is.
What advice would you give students who want to get a job at Google, for example?
I try to tell current students to get involved at Lehigh; you will get a lot of opportunities from the program and Lehigh to gain leadership, soft, and hard skills. By taking challenging courses and making an impact on campus, the campus hiring team will get to understand how you would be a good fit for Google. Your time at Lehigh will go fast, network with alumni at Google, attend Google's recruiting events, and apply for Google's BOLD internship program. I never thought I would have the chance to work in London, partner with inspiring global leaders, and launch many innovative HR programs and policies you see in the news. And I think about it because Lehigh seems so tiny when you are there, so I try to tell people to do the best job and be open-minded to new experiences by taking risks. You never know what opportunities may come to you after you graduate from Lehigh due to the experiences you gained from global studies.