RECOGNIZING VSB ALUMNI: CHRISTINE ROGERS-RAETSCH ’07 MBA
Christine Rogers-Raetsch is VP of People at Duolingo. She has an MA in History from Villanova, and also received her MBA from VSB in 2007. Before working at Duolingo she was an executive at Vanguard. Christine is a board member for several organizations including the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy and Innovate Pittsburgh.
What inspired you to pursue your current career path?
“Like most people in HR/People, I landed in the field mostly by accident, but I’m so glad I did! Out of graduate school I was lucky enough to get an entry level job at Vanguard in the Learning and Development area. I spent a few years at Vanguard University before moving to Vanguard’s line operations. Toward the end of my tenure at Vanguard I was given the opportunity to head up Culture and Inclusion, which brought me back to my HR roots and paved the way for my current role. I benefitted so much from Vanguard’s rotational culture where crewmembers are challenged to stretch into roles they wouldn’t normally have gravitated toward. I discovered I can do a lot more than I ever thought and it gave me the courage to try something new.“
Can you tell us a little about your job at Duolingo?
“I have the opportunity to build the People practice for a start-up language learning company based in Pittsburgh. In case folks aren’t familiar, Duolingo is a language-learning platform and the most downloaded education app in the world with over 300 million users. Duolingo’s mission is to make language education free and accessible to all. Ultimately, I partner with the rest of the executive team to find, grow and retain the most talented people in the world so that we can achieve our mission.”
What do you like most/find the most inspiring about your job at Duolingo?
“Now more than ever I find our mission inspiring. We believe that providing great educational content to the world for free will ultimately reduce inequality. I know that just doing my “day-to-day” job helps on some level to fight systemic racism.”
Can you tell us more about your journey to becoming VP of People at Duolingo?
“Well, I was really in the right place at the right time. My husband had taken a job in Pittsburgh and the commuter marriage thing was not our cup of tea! I ended up taking the plunge in September of 2016 and leaving Vanguard after almost 20 years. It was by far the scariest thing I’ve ever done. Lucky for me, Duolingo was looking for their first Head of People at the same time. I have to admit, I had no idea that Duolingo was headquartered in Pittsburgh. I was a long-time user and imagine my delight and surprise when I found out it was in Pittsburgh! The stars truly aligned for me and I consider myself incredibly lucky and blessed to be where I am.”
What do you find to be the most challenging aspects of your career?
“I think any HR person will tell you that the most challenging part of the role is helping employees through difficult times. People don’t just leave their problems at the door when they start work every day. With COVID-19 I think we’ve all learned that lesson this year! Sometimes I’m the only person an employee can turn to for help at their darkest hour. Their challenges can weigh heavy, and I certainly bring them home with me.“
Have you ever faced any adversity in your career? Could you share a specific story with our readers as well as provide us some insight into how you overcame the adversity?
“Let me start by saying that my scale for adversity looks a lot different than most of the world. I’m just going to say outright that I’m incredibly fortunate. With that context in mind, I’d say taking that leap of faith to leave a great company with no other job lined up, and moving to a new city to boot (one that I’d only been to once) was the scariest thing I’ve done. There were many weeks I wasn’t sure if I’d find a job at all. I’m not sure I’d call it adversity, but I focused on building my network in my new city. I went to absolutely everything I could. For about two months, I’d say I was a professional event attendee! I went to everything, and I always went alone which forced me out of my introvert shell. I met some incredible people that way. Some were certainly helpful professionally, but most were helpful personally by allowing me to feel more connected to my new community. One of my favorite connections led me to Social Venture Partners, a non-profit that provides coaching and strategic support to local non-profit organizations. It was through this organization that I ‘found my people’ – people who were interested in the greater Pittsburgh ecosystem and in giving back. I had many fun nights and weekends of working with a great group of like-minded local leaders.”
I note that you have both a Master’s degree in History and an MBA from Villanova. Can you tell us a little bit about that journey as well as what drew you to pursue your degrees at Villanova?
“A lot of people tell new graduates to ‘follow their passion.” That’s what I did. I just love History and historiography in particular. I wanted to pursue a career in teaching at the college level. A wise professor told me that I’d have to make trade-offs to pursue that dream, and I realized that it was time to make the leap into the business world. I had been working for about five years at Vanguard and just felt like I didn’t have that broader business context that I needed. I started looking for the program with the highest quality, part-time and proximity to Philadelphia – and VSB was it!”
What was your favorite class at Villanova and why?
“I just had so much fun in all my History classes. I don’t think that I can pick a favorite – it feels unfair! I am not sure I’d describe the business classes as ‘fun’ but I really enjoyed the Leadership symposium with Professor Brooks. Of all the business classes I took it felt the most practical and immediately applicable for me.”
Could you share one or two of your memorable experiences during your time as a Villanova student? How has it impacted you as an alumna?
“One of my all-time favorite experiences was the summer program in Milan! We got to go to a vineyard, a shoe factory, and see parmesan cheese being made. In Italy. For class credits. We did some side trips to Florence and Venice. I only wish I had spent more time there! Who knows now when I’ll get back!”
What is the best piece of advice you ever received?
“Be really thoughtful about the trade-offs you want to make in your life. That wise professor told me I’d need to make trade-offs. My immediate reaction was – trade-offs?! What’s she even talking about! I quickly learned that in life you have to prioritize whatever you believe to be most important to you based on your value set. That’s true for the major decisions in life, like what career to pursue. But it is also true for all the micro-decisions we make every day, like when to step away from the computer and go downstairs for dinner.”
What are some ways you find that being a woman has impacted your career path, both positively and negatively?
“As a cis gender, white woman I am aware of my privilege. I see very clearly how the systems have worked in my favor. I’m not going to say it has always been easy being in male dominated fields for my entire career. However, I think we should put more time in as white women thinking about our systemic advantages and how we can help others.“
What are some of your interests outside of work?
“I really enjoy doing anything outdoors. Since I moved to Pittsburgh I have done the Rachel Carson Homestead challenge, an 18-mile hike near the summer solstice, every year. I also have done the Presque Isle Triathlon and was hoping to do it again this year. Alas…”
Do you have a major goal for yourself right now?
“At this point my major goal is just to make it through 2020 with something close to sanity!”
Do you have any advice you would like to offer our readers as they pursue their own professional goals?
“Have a little compassion for yourself. You’re probably typical of most Wildcats – very driven and goal-oriented. Consider that a huge strength! And couple that with a touch of compassion when everything doesn’t work out quite exactly as you planned. Try to embrace that old quote, ‘when one door closes, another window opens.’”
