Yeshivat Frisch welcomed Twitter’s Chief Marketing Officer & Head of People Leslie Berland, on May 20, as part of the seniors’ mini-semester that began at the start of May. Berland initially started out in the mental health field, and wanted to bring people’s voices to life…flash forward to the work she does at Twitter. Berland’s career trajectory is fascinating on its own, and her talk was even more special in light of the fact that she is a Frisch alumna herself (Class of ‘96).

For the seniors, about to enter adulthood and embark on their own adventures, Berland offered invaluable career and life advice. She encouraged them to “lead with heart and empathy” and advised taking risks in one’s career to pursue one’s passion. Other points of advice: Do what you love, evaluate if you are in the right environment for yourself, let go of your fear of failure, treat people with care, let your voice be heard and be your authentic self—don’t hide who you are. Importantly, challenges lead to growth. “It’s amazing what you’ll learn if you have to,” she said.

Berland described her work at Twitter, and balancing her career at a fast-paced, 24/7 working environment while upholding her values as an observant Jew. In addition, she addressed the specific challenges women face balancing work and career and how they tend to put extra pressure on themselves. At the end of her talk, she credited Frisch for having a tremendous impact on her life. “Frisch is the most important thing that set my life in motion and all the decisions I made thereafter,” she stated.