20 for 20: Honoré Cole SGS Alum Class of 2008

Since graduating from Seattle Girls’ School in 2008, Honoré Cole has used the courage and leadership skills that she gained during middle school to pursue her interests and passions without fear. After studying and learning abroad in China and the Netherlands, she now finds herself in Washington DC in pursuit of a Masters of Science in Foreign Service at Georgetown University with plans to start work in international affairs.

When my mom and I were looking at schools, my mom insisted on sending me to private school because I am not very good at taking standardized tests and would have had trouble testing into Advanced Placement (AP) classes, which is where she believed I belonged. We weren’t specifically looking for an all-girl’s school, but it was here that I gained the confidence and determination to seek out new experiences and push myself outside of my comfort zone. After I graduated, I knew I wanted to live intentionally and make a positive impact on the world, and attribute a large part of this resolve to my time at SGS. Being immersed in the SGS community and surrounded by unique, diverse, and ambitious role models inspired me to not limit myself.

 

Someone I really admired at Seattle Girls’ School was my teacher and adviser, Rosetta Lee. She is of Korean heritage and is always unapologetic about making herself heard. In middle school, I viewed myself as very mediocre – unspectacular, really - but Rosetta had a lot of confidence in me and helped me realize that my grades are not a reflection of how intelligent I am and that I should not let them dictate the way I think about myself. After I graduated from college, I wrote Rosetta a letter to tell her how much she meant to me. I still think about her impact on the person I have become and aspire to be like her.

 

I appreciate how Seattle Girls’ School helped me recognize injustices and flaws in the status quo—what everyone has come to accept as “normal.” In middle school, we did a lot of group exercises that helped us understand and handle self-image issues and stand up against damaging norms, including the way women are portrayed in the media. I remember one time, we looked at a Barbie doll and sketched her proportions, and it was crazy how disproportionate her body was when drawn to real-life scale. It was an important moment for us young girls who were going through life and body transitions.

 

SGS also taught me how to handle challenging social situations. I remember one instance when my class of about 30 girls was sitting in a circle, and we were talking about difficult subjects, like micro-aggressions and bullying. Rosetta had us all stand up and approach someone in our class and apologize for anything we might have done or said to offend or hurt her. I don’t know any other school that does that, and that experience helped me cultivate emotional courage.

 

When I graduated from middle school, I learned how to look at something critically and say, “I want to change that.” At SGS, we questioned the status quo in a way that made me view everything differently – from the way I perceived others, the assumptions I made about them, and my cognitive biases. I think more about how I treat others, how I am treated, and how I treat myself. People often describe me as soft spoken and gentle, and I’ve learned that I don’t have to be the loudest voice in the room. I can make a difference as I am. SGS gave me the confidence to see that through.

I was adopted from China when I was 18 months old, and have always been interested in my Chinese heritage, which my mom has really helped me re-connect with. After high school, I took a gap year and spent 10 months in Beijing studying Mandarin Chinese. It was in Beijing that I realized that we have more in common with one another than we often think we do and became interested in international relations.

 

For undergraduate school, I went to Brandeis University. There, I was able to study abroad in The Hague in the Netherlands and take classes at Leiden University on international law and justice. Following my college graduation, I moved to Shanghai and worked as an education consultant. After a year and a half, I moved back home to the States and began looking for jobs in Washington DC. I moved there and eventually ended up interning for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. I was working in the Office of Robert Menendez for the Asia Pacific portfolio. Being in that environment was inspiring and it was a huge privilege to be so close to US foreign policymaking towards China.

 

I’m currently pursuing a Master of Science in Foreign Service at Georgetown University where I am concentrating in science, technology, and international affairs. I’m more of a humanities-oriented person, and studied social science as an undergrad, but am pushing myself now to get more into STEM-oriented fields. I’m also very passionate about climate change and fostering climate cooperation between the US and China. In May, I will graduate and decide what I want to do more long term to combine my interests.

 

As SGS prepares to celebrate its 20^th anniversary, what are your hopes for the school in the next 20 years? 

I hope they continue to have great role models like Rosetta and open the doors for more girls to have this kind of education. I also hope that they continue to graduate students who come out of middle school with a real purpose in life, who are inspired to change the world, and won’t let one or even several “no”s deter them. I see the state of world now and know that we need more people who are willing to stand up against the status quo and speak truth to power. SGS makes you wrestle with the tough questions and find the courage to stand up for what is right. I hope they continue to make courageous leaders.