A holistic approach to helping people develop a long-term pathway to success.
I’m a big believer in the ideology of “teaching a man to fish” versus “giving a man a fish.”– LeAnn Cyr
Early Years & Education
During and after receiving my Masters in Education degree, I worked at multiple universities in the Washington DC area as a Career Counselor, including the Career Education Center at Georgetown University. I have always had a desire to help people, even at a very young age, which is probably why I went into the counseling and education field to begin with. However, I was always a believer in empowering people through education, and teaching them the skills necessary to succeed. I’m a big believer in the ideology of “teaching a man to fish” versus “giving a man a fish.” Being a College Counselor was rewarding, but my success in academia drew the attention of an Executive VP of one of the nation’s top corporate recruiting firms. I was offered a position in Florida and was thrust into the throes of a busy group of recruiters from the nation’s top universities who were more driven than any team I had been exposed to previously. My mentor, a Cornell University graduate with an Economics background, was extremely tough on me, but taught me the ways of the corporate world. I had to sink or swim, but I used my background as a counselor to guide CFOs in some of the largest corporations in America to advance their already successful careers. A lot of that guidance included understanding how to optimize their resumes, interview and presentation skills to large corporations to enhance their potential of receiving offers of employment in extremely competitive companies.
Experience & Transitioning
Through this experience, I was able to see the importance and impact one’s college and career choices had on their marketability in corporate America. I think it’s imperative that, to the extent possible, people have a general idea of what they are going to do from a young age and begin to lay the foundation for that career early on, as early as their Freshman year in High School. This foundation helps them to choose the right courses and college(s) and to begin navigating their careers post-graduation, allowing them to become the architect of their own destiny.
For me, transitioning into corporate America was definitely different than being in the world of academia. It was a matter of “theory versus application.” A strong academic foundation is imperative and I’m a big advocate for that, but you have to know how to apply those skills to be successful in the real world. It’s actually a combination of both perspectives that most thoroughly equips a person for success. There are many brilliant minds who never reach their full potential beyond college.
Guidance & Goals
During her senior year, I started down the road of helping my oldest daughter and some of her friends with college applications. I realized a couple of things through this process: 1) things have changed a lot since I was in academia and 2) I missed working with students. Unwittingly, I had helped Alexa craft a resume throughout high school that could only have been accomplished by someone who had a clear idea of their ideal pathway from high school to college, and ultimately, to a career. Of course, there would be nothing to craft had she not done the work, but she knew to “do” the work because of the guidance she received from both her parents. She knew that waiting until her senior year was simply too late and doing the basics in school was just not enough, at least not for the real competitive institutions.
My goal at Le CYR Consulting is to help other students the same way I helped her and thousands of other students and professionals in the past 20 years, to arm them with the tools and knowledge necessary to reach their maximum potential in college and later, in their careers.
