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Lunch & Lead: Former United Nations Senior Officer
From Center for Leadership Director Kate Parker-Burgard:
As part St. Luke’s World Language Week, Mohan Peck (parent of Brian Peck ‘19) came to speak with a group of Upper School students about his long career working in the United Nations (UN). A job opening at the UN when he was a young man led to him to being engaged in urban sustainable energy projects in 25 countries. Thanks to language training at the UN, Peck learned how to speak Mandarin and Spanish fluently and discovered how much of the culture became accessible to him once he knew those languages. Opportunities to spend time in Latin America and China gave him the immersive experiences he needed to really solidify his linguistic skills and cultural understanding.
Peck went on to emphasize how globalization is making it increasingly advantageous for people to know more than one language. Although English is the official international language of business, Peck stressed that there is so much more that can be done if one has command of the cultural nuances through the native languages. Using the example of socks, he spoke about the worldwide coordination needed to manufacture them and the benefits of knowing some of the countries’ languages in order to effectively produce them.
Several students stayed afterward to hear more about his experiences and get insights into the workings of the United Nations.
View the Lunch & Lead with Mohan Peck photo gallery.
View the Lunch & Lead with Mohan Peck photo gallery.
St. Luke’s School is a secular (non-religious), private school in New Canaan, CT for grades 5 through 12 serving over 35 towns in Connecticut and New York. Our exceptional academics and diverse co-educational community foster students’ intellectual and ethical development and prepare them for top colleges. St. Luke’s Center for Leadership builds the commitment to serve and the confidence to lead.
