By Lou Bortone

From a conference room on the 45th floor of Ziff Brothers Investments in midtown Manhattan, Skye Steele surveys the sweeping views of Central Park and the New York City skyline. The globetrotting Saint Anselm grad is—both figuratively and literally—on top of the world.

Recently married, this former history and politics major now enjoys working as a research analyst for Ziff Brothers Investments. The dynamic private investment firm of 180 employees offers Steele the opportunity to do something "different every day" and conduct a variety of research on companies ranging from retail to biotech.

While that may sound like a typical Wall Street job, her resume reads more like a script from a James Bond movie. Her studies and travels have taken this former United Nations employee to Russia, England, Nepal, Thailand, Cambodia, Latvia, Finland, and other exotic locations. The Russian-speaking Steele even lived on a boat for a year, teaching sailing and cruising from Connecticut to the Caribbean.

Perhaps such adventures are not unusual for the daughter of a British mom from Liverpool and a father from Nova Scotia. She remembers hearing about how her mom saw the Beatles at the Cavern in the early sixties. More U.K. influence can be found in Skye's name, which comes from the Isle of Skye off the coast of Scotland.

A native of Norwalk, Conn., Steele immersed herself in the college community, both inside and outside the classroom. Her activities ranged from rugby to Spring Break Alternative, but it was her interest in Russia that would ultimately play a greater role in her future.

With Professor John Windhausen as a mentor, Steele studied Russian language and history. Once bitten by the Slavic bug, she was hooked. While at Saint Anselm, she traveled to Russia and, upon graduating, Steele began postgraduate work at the state university in St. Petersberg. After two years in Russia, she continued her postgraduate studies at the University of Leeds in Britain, where she majored in international politics.

Following Steele's year "at sea," she landed a job at the United Nations as the assistant to the ambassador of South Korea. That nation was a member of the Security Council at the time, while Steele's varied duties included serving as a speechwriter for human rights and women's issues. Steele spent three memorable years at the U.N. before connecting with Ziff Brothers.

These days, Steele unwinds by running and marathon training with her husband, Terry. After a year of training, they ran the New York Marathon together and crossed the finish line in four hours.

Asked how a Saint Anselm education has served her, Steele credits the college for fostering the development of the whole person. This well-rounded approach has helped her to flourish in many areas, many countries, and many cultures. All of which invites the appropriate cliché...The sky's the limit.