St. Luke's Center for Leadership Lunch & Lead Speakers Series

A room full of students, faculty, and staff—including retired faculty—at St. Luke’s Center for Leadership’s Lunch & Lead were mesmerized as Ali Jaffe ‘10 shared the story of how she became a producer for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. When she left St. Luke’s School, where she had a significant impact as the editor of The Sentinel, the school newspaper, she was set on becoming a journalist. Some exciting internships and articles published in publications such as Rolling Stone Magazine and The New York Times encouraged her along that path, before a call to invite her to apply for a position at Colbert caused her to change course. After working her way through several promotions at Colbert, Ali now finds herself talking weekly with celebrities to help them prepare for their interviews.

After her presentation, students had many questions and were interested in anecdotes about the show’s guests. They listened with anticipation as she shared funny stories. While Ali still has an enormous interest in print media and continues to write freelance articles, she has developed a great appreciation for the journalistic opportunities with video.

Ali’s biggest piece of advice for the students? “You’re never too important to do any job that’s needed.” It was her hard work and willingness to pitch in, whether it was vacuuming the Green Room in anticipation of a guest or making sure everything was set up perfectly for a scene, that helped her earn her promotions.

Learn more about St. Luke's Lunch & Lead Speakers Series and check out additional photos from Ali’s visit.

St. Luke's is a secular (non-religious) private school in New Canaan, CT, for grades 5-12. St. Luke's mission is an exceptional education that inspires a deep love of learning, a strong moral compass, the commitment to serve, and the confidence to lead. St. Luke's Center for Leadership advances our mission by helping students develop exceptional leadership ability. Learn more.