Jean has just graduated from ESSEC. Very early in his schooling, he was attracted by the double degree offered by the Cergy business school with the Saint-Cyr military school. He takes us behind the scenes of this atypical training and talks about his commitment to the army.
Can you tell us about your background?
After my ES bac, I went to ECE prep at Madeleine Danielou high school. It was an extraordinary and very intellectually stimulating two years thanks to incredible and inspiring teachers. I then joined ESSEC where I got involved in several associations including BDS, but also Mission Potosi, which supports Bolivian children who are victims of child labor. I also completed several internships, including one in management control at Worldline and another as a strategy consultant at Corporate Value Associates, in London. I then applied for a double degree with Saint-Cyr.
What attracted you to this program offered by ESSEC and Saint-Cyr?
I learned about this double degree thanks to a first-year seminar on decision-making in stressful situations organized by officer cadets. I have always had this appetite for the army and I wanted to have this unique experience, different from what you do in business school. Certain values appealed to me a lot: surpassing oneself, esprit de corps, rusticity… This double degree was made for me! The objective of this ESSEC-Saint-Cyr double degree is also the opportunity to forge links between the nation and the army, between future executives and future military leaders.
Is it easy to integrate this double degree?
There are 5 places for 40 applications each year. ESSEC makes an initial selection based on application, CV and cover letter and reduces the number of candidates to around fifteen. Several members of Saint-Cyr, including a colonel, then come to conduct interviews for 30 minutes, at the end of which they select the five students who will complete the double degree. We then have to carry out a series of medical and physical tests, but they do not meet the physical demands expected by Saint-Cyr during training.
What is your best memory from this experience?
The first six months are marked by pure military training. For me, the highlight is the maneuver troops during which we command a section of 30 soldiers. To have the most realistic evaluation phase possible, several sections from different regiments come to Saint-Cyr to be commanded by cadets during mission simulations. For half a day, I had the honor of commanding a section of the Foreign Legion on a tactical exercise. It was a very powerful experience, because I was facing soldiers who had returned from Mali and who are used to being commanded by experienced leaders.
What did you like about this double degree?
It’s an incredible experience during which we meet quite different people who have often lived in a military world and who are not always confronted with the civilian world. It’s exciting to dismantle the stereotypes we have about the army. I also learned a lot about myself, about managing stress, fatigue, making decisions that will influence the success or failure of a mission… It’s surpassing oneself both physically and mental. It is not similar to management, but many links can be made between command and management.
Of course, before doing this double degree, you have to be prepared to crawl in the mud, sleep little for several nights or sleep under a simple tarpaulin, in the rain. You have to be ready to commit 100% for this year. But I recommend 300%.
After your diploma you continue your commitment, in particular with Le Bleuet de France. Can you tell us more about this organization?
Le Bleuet de France is a charitable organization placed under the authority of the national office for veterans and war victims. Its name is a tribute to the cornflowers which were the only flowers that grew in the trenches during the First World War. Through fundraisingits objective is to come to the aid of the wards of the nation, the war wounded, the war widows, but also the victims of terrorism. It’s a cause that I find very beautiful and which has a lot of meaning. We are living in a difficult period, particularly in terms of terrorist attacks and it is important to remember that there are always soldiers fighting for France. I am trying to give more visibility to Bleuet de France and I am working with other students from ESSEC as well as the École de Guerre to bring people together for this cause.
How do you see your future? Do you want to continue in the army?
This double degree does not allow you to pursue a military career, even if it is possible to join the reserve. I’m thinking about joining the reserve, but I see myself moving more into strategy consulting for the moment. This is a sector that attracts me, because it will always allow me to be very intellectually stimulated. I am currently preparing for the recruitment process.
