Jannet Desvira ’19: Achieving Success Through Seizing Opportunity

One of Jannet Desvira’s goals early in her Emmanuel career was to become president of the Business Leaders of Emmanuel Club. By the time she graduated in May 2019, she had achieved that and more—and positioned herself to become a business leader in the real world.

A “dedicated learner,” the economics major took every opportunity to stay on the leading edge of her academic development, from taking on challenging coursework to being a peer tutor. “I enjoyed being a mentor, and I also think that teaching is the best way to learn,” she says.

As a junior, Jannet served as a research assistant with economics professor Dr. Rebecca Moryl, helping to manage her website, audioecon, a searchable library of economics-focused podcasts to aid in student learning. She took the helm expanding the site’s social media presence, as well as documenting and analyzing the effects innovative teaching methods have on understanding of in-class concepts. The assistantship also resulted in co-authorship on a paper published by The Journal of Economic Education in September 2019.

Jannet’s “proudest accomplishment” took the form of a fund analyst internship at global financial services firm Brown Brothers Harriman (BBH) during summer 2018—a distinction earned by less than two percent of applicants. “There were more than 4,500 applications for 60 available positions in the U.S.,” Jannet says. “I was the only intern selected for my team.”

There, she thrived in the fast-paced environment, streamlining and automating processes for the management of mutual funds and developing training documentation for coworkers and new hires.

In her senior year, Jannet engaged in the College’s inaugural Innovation Quest, a co-curricular initiative in which students aimed to solve a social issue using technology. With her teammates, Jannet developed a mobile app with resources for underrepresented students who want to attend college but don’t have the resources.

Since graduation, Jannet has been honing her business acumen, first as a financial analyst at Boston’s Tufts Medical Center, an internationally-recognized academic medical center in the top 10 percent of independent institutions receiving federal research funding. She is currently putting those skills to work supporting key business decisions and strategic initiatives as a Jr. Strategy Analyst for Planet Fitness’ nationwide headquarters.