Sitting with a Staff Barbara Martin

Hi Barbara! Thank you for taking the time to speak with us today. Would you mind introducing yourself to our community?

I’m Barbara Martin, I’m the Academic Advisory/Student Affairs Manager at EHL Lausanne & Singapore and I’m an alum from the school. I graduated in 1997, I started my career in a five-star hotel in the region of Lausanne at the Front Office and then as a purchasing manager. After that, I started at IMD and thought I would just stay a couple of months – I stayed 13 years and really fell in love with education. I went through some learning & development and HR roles, and then started in 2015 at EHL as a Student Affairs Manager.

What’s the first thing you do in the morning to get your workday started?

What I really do first thing in the morning is to pour myself a nice cup of tea. I go through my emails and my calendar so that I can start the day, have an overview and get full of energy!

What is your daily motivation?

It’s really the students. Being there for the students, helping them out, finding the best option for them – not always what they want, but helping them to seek solutions and to guide them through their academics or whatever situation they’re facing.

What is your greatest strength in your role?

Well, my greatest strength is definitely the team I’m working with. I’m gifted to work with a team of experts; I could not do it on my own. We all have an understanding of the ecosystem of EHL, the rules and regulations, the directive and really that ground helps us guide the students and be there for them, keeping the big picture on one hand and finding individual solutions for all the requests.

What are you looking forward to the most for this new semester?

To start this first cohort, to have students on campus. I feel really gifted to share this amazing experience with them. It’s going to be an incredible semester.

Go-to way to wind down after a long day?

A good run. I love running in Switzerland as I live in the countryside. And to my surprise, I love running here in Singapore (a bit more crossroads though!).

Quickfire round: Where is your happy place?

At home.

Best thing about living in Singapore?

The weather, but not those rainy days, and sharing this experience with my kids.

3 adjectives to describe yourself. Active, full of energy and benevolent.

Food/drink that you could have for the rest of your life?

White wine.