A Teenage Leap to France Leads Kimberlee John to HEC Paris

When a school administrator announced a rare opportunity to spend a year studying in France, 15-year-old Kimberlee John’s hand went up immediately. There was just one problem: she hadn’t asked her parents.

“I remember going home and saying, ‘Mom, Dad, I’m going to France,’” Kimberlee said. Coming from a low-income immigrant family in New York City—her mother from Saint Lucia and her father from Dominica—the idea felt daunting. Her mother was firmly against her teen daughter traveling alone overseas, but her father, who had served in the Navy and understood the value of travel and exposure to the world, saw it differently. He advocated for her, and eventually, her mother agreed.

Kimberlee lived with a host family in Rennes, where the Brittany region offered an authentic French experience. “We would go on walks in the park, eat meals together, travel to places like Mont Saint-Michel,” she says. “I don’t think I would have appreciated France in the same way if I had only been in Paris.”

That early exposure stayed with her. At Dartmouth, Kimberlee initially pursued pre-med but faced a choice: continue with organic chemistry or go abroad. She chose the latter, spending time in both Marrakech and Paris—an experience that marked a turning point. She shifted her focus to romance languages and began exploring opportunities in fashion and the arts.

After returning to New York, she built a dynamic career across the jewelry and fashion industries, working at brands like Catbird, Michael Kors, M.M.LaFleur, and Wake. Yet even as her career progressed, she recognized a gap in her knowledge. “I was selling and talking about jewelry all day,” she said, “but I didn’t fully understand how it was made.” To address this, she enrolled at New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology to study jewelry design while continuing to work full time.

Her hustle eventually led her to a design role at David Yurman. But after more than six years in the industry, she felt ready for a new challenge—one that would allow her to move beyond execution and into strategy.

As she explored MBA programs, she initially considered options in the U.S, but it didn’t feel right. “I knew that if I stayed in the U.S., I would remain in the same circles,” she said. “I wanted to challenge myself in a completely different environment.”

That realization brought her back to France.

Through her research, she discovered the HEC Paris MBA. The school’s strong international reputation, consistent top rankings, and close ties to the luxury industry immediately stood out. “No other program offered the same level of exposure to luxury,” she said. “Between partnerships with companies like LVMH and Kering, specialized electives, and global treks, it was exactly what I was looking for.”

Equally important was the program’s flexibility. “What really excited me was how customizable it is. You can shape your experience based on your goals.”

When it came time to leave New York in January, she felt no hesitation—only anticipation. “The week I left felt like the longest week of my life,” she said.

As one of only a few Americans in her January MBA cohort, Kimberlee has embraced the diversity of the HEC MBA experience. “I’m constantly learning from people with completely different perspectives. It’s an eye-opening experience I wouldn’t get back home, and that’s the best part.”

Kimberlee continues to challenge herself in small but meaningful ways—like spending weekends in Paris speaking only French. More than a decade after her first visit to France, she still keeps in touch with her host family, returning to Rennes whenever she can.

She has always been driven by a curiosity about the world—one that is now influencing those around her. Inspired by her adventurous spirit, now former classmates contact her to learn more about France and her experience studying an MBA in Europe.

As her mother recently told her, “I know you love being around people who are not like you.”

Kimberlee smiled: “I’m thriving now.”