Skip to Main Content
HBS Online
  • Courses
    Open Courses Mega Menu
    • Business Essentials
      • Credential of Readiness (CORe)
      • Business Analytics
      • Economics for Managers
      • Financial Accounting
    • Leadership & Management
      • Leadership Principles
      • Management Essentials
      • Negotiation Mastery
      • Organizational Leadership
      • Strategy Execution
      • Power and Influence for Positive Impact
    • Entrepreneurship & Innovation
      • Entrepreneurship Essentials
      • Disruptive Strategy
      • Negotiation Mastery
      • Design Thinking and Innovation
    • Strategy
      • Strategy Execution
      • Business Strategy
      • Economics for Managers
      • Disruptive Strategy
      • Global Business
      • Sustainable Business Strategy
    • Finance & Accounting
      • Financial Accounting
      • Leading with Finance
      • Alternative Investments
      • Sustainable Investing
    • Business in Society
      • Sustainable Business Strategy
      • Global Business
      • Sustainable Investing
      • Power and Influence for Positive Impact
    • All Courses
  • For Organizations
    Open For Organizations Mega Menu
    • Corporate Learning
      Help your employees master essential business concepts, improve effectiveness, and expand leadership capabilities.
    • Academic Solutions
      Integrate HBS Online courses into your curriculum to support programs and create unique educational opportunities.
    • Need Help?
      • Frequently Asked Questions
      • Contact Us
  • Insights
    Open Insights Mega Menu
    • Business Insights Blog
      • Career Development
      • Communication
      • Decision-Making
      • Earning Your MBA
      • Entrepreneurship & Innovation
      • Finance
      • Leadership
      • Management
      • Negotiation
      • Strategy
    • All Topics
    • Free Business Lessons and E-Books

      Gain actionable skills and insights to advance your career.

    • Free Guide

      Learn how to formulate a successful business strategy.

  • More Info
    Open More Info Mega Menu
    • Learning Experience
      Master real-world business skills with our immersive platform and engaged community.
    • Certificates, Credentials, & Credits
      Learn how completing courses can boost your resume and move your career forward.
    • Learning Tracks
      Take your career to the next level with this specialization.
    • Financing & Policies
      • Employer Reimbursement
      • Payment & Financial Aid
      • Policies
    • Connect
      • Student Stories
      • Community
    • Need Help?
      • Frequently Asked Questions
      • Request Information
    • Apply Now
Login
My Courses
Access your courses and engage with your peers
My Account
Manage your account, applications, and payments.
HBS Home
  • About HBS
  • Academic Programs
  • Alumni
  • Faculty & Research
  • Baker Library
  • Giving
  • Harvard Business Review
  • Initiatives
  • News
  • Recruit
  • Map / Directions
HBS Online
  • Courses
  • Business Essentials
  • Leadership & Management
  • Entrepreneurship & Innovation
  • Strategy
  • Finance & Accounting
  • Business in Society
  • For Organizations
  • Insights
  • More Info
  • About
  • Media Coverage
  • Founding Donors
  • Leadership Team
  • Careers
  • My Courses
  • My Account
  • Apply Now
  • …→
  • Harvard Business School→
  • HBS Online→
  • Business Insights→

Business Insights

Harvard Business School Online's Business Insights Blog provides the career insights you need to achieve your goals and gain confidence in your business skills.

 
Filter Results Arrow Down Arrow Up

Topics

Topics

  • Accounting
  • Analytics
  • Business Essentials
  • Business in Society
  • Career Development
  • Communication
  • Community
  • ConneXt
  • Decision-Making
  • Earning Your MBA
  • Entrepreneurship & Innovation
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Management
  • Marketing
  • Negotiation
  • News & Events
  • Productivity
  • Staff Spotlight
  • Strategy
  • Student Profiles
  • Technology
  • Work-Life Balance

Courses

Courses

  • Alternative Investments
  • Business Analytics
  • Business Strategy
  • CORe
  • Design Thinking and Innovation
  • Disruptive Strategy
  • Economics for Managers
  • Entrepreneurship Essentials
  • Financial Accounting
  • Global Business
  • Leadership Principles
  • Leading with Finance
  • Management Essentials
  • Negotiation Mastery
  • Organizational Leadership
  • Power and Influence for Positive Impact
  • Strategy Execution
  • Sustainable Business Strategy
  • Sustainable Investing
Subscribe to the Blog
RSS feed

Topics

Topics

  • Accounting
  • Analytics
  • Business Essentials
  • Business in Society
  • Career Development
  • Communication
  • Community
  • ConneXt
  • Decision-Making
  • Earning Your MBA
  • Entrepreneurship & Innovation
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Management
  • Marketing
  • Negotiation
  • News & Events
  • Productivity
  • Staff Spotlight
  • Strategy
  • Student Profiles
  • Technology
  • Work-Life Balance

Courses

Courses

  • Alternative Investments
  • Business Analytics
  • Business Strategy
  • CORe
  • Design Thinking and Innovation
  • Disruptive Strategy
  • Economics for Managers
  • Entrepreneurship Essentials
  • Financial Accounting
  • Global Business
  • Leadership Principles
  • Leading with Finance
  • Management Essentials
  • Negotiation Mastery
  • Organizational Leadership
  • Power and Influence for Positive Impact
  • Strategy Execution
  • Sustainable Business Strategy
  • Sustainable Investing
Subscribe to the Blog
RSS feed

Learning the Language of Business Gave This Star Runner the Confidence to Sprint Ahead in His Career

HBS Online Participant Carlvin Sylvain Dorvilier holding his certificate
  • 21 May 2020
Michele Reynolds Author Staff
tag
  • CORe
  • Career Development
  • Student Profiles

Meeting him, you’d never guess Carlvin Sylvain Dorvilier was a shy child. The outgoing LinkedIn client solutions manager is the youngest of three boys born to Haitian parents, who spent his first 12 years of life close to home in southern Florida. According to him, meals, school, and church were the staples of life, and his only friends were his immediate family.

Self-conscious because of a speech impediment, Dorvilier says he lived in the shadows and struggled to find his place until he accidentally discovered a love for football in middle school.

“It was the last day of sixth grade, and a classmate called me over to play football because the team was short a guy,” he says. “I wasn’t an athlete, so I found myself starting to sweat. I walked over to the quarterback and asked him politely not to throw the ball to me.”

The score was tied at 14, and it was the final play. As the quarterback yelled, “Hike,” Dorvilier ran down the field to suddenly find the football spiraling toward him.

“It slammed into my body,” he says. “I hugged that pigskin for dear life and ran as fast as I could. I, miraculously, scored the winning touchdown.”

View Video

That touchdown was a turning point for Dorvilier. As he developed his football skills and his confidence grew, he dreamed of being like his idol Randy Moss and playing for the National Football League one day.

His teen years brought new challenges, as his parents split up and his mother and brothers moved around a lot. When he was 16, he got a devastating blow when his mother passed away within months of being diagnosed with AIDS. Dorvilier and his older brother, Richard, were determined to keep their three-bedroom apartment, so he mowed lawns and got jobs at the local movie theater and a nearby nursing home to contribute to household expenses and start saving for college.

In 11th grade, he gave up football and switched to running.

“I stopped playing football when, one day, a classmate blurted out, ‘Black people can't run cross country, especially those on the football team.’”

The comment ignited his competitive spirit, and he vowed to beat that classmate’s track records. He became a key contributor on the cross-country team, and he and his teammates set the school record in the 4 x 800 meters relay.

After achieving athletic success, confronting his fears became a way of life for Dorvilier. He set out to overcome his speech impediment by enrolling in a public speaking class. Remarkably, it became his favorite subject, and he started to think about college and pursuing a customer-facing career.

Challenging himself again, Dorvilier chose a college in a state where he knew no one—Ferris State University in Big Rapids, Michigan—where he ran track and majored in advertising and integrated marketing communications. He self-funded his college education and participated in a study abroad program in South Korea, encouraged by his adviser and mentor, Ferris Chief Diversity Officer Dr. David Pilgrim, a public speaker and expert on multiculturalism, diversity, and race relations.

“Dr. Pilgrim encouraged me to travel abroad to experience different cultures and force me out of my comfort zone,” he says. “His department offered to fund my trip, and it was an experience of a lifetime.”

After college, Dorvilier began his career in advertising sales and client service in New York City with sports publisher, Rodale. After nearly three years, he realized he wanted to transition his career to the technology industry. To help him make the change, he searched for a suitable business program and discovered Harvard Business School Online’s CORe program and enrolled in 2015.

Access Your Free E-Book | Download Now

“CORe gave me the confidence and the network to help me make that leap from publishing to tech,” he says. “Having the massive network from my CORe classmates and the Harvard name on my resume opened doors and helped me find positions I was interested in pursuing.”

He adds, “CORe, and specifically the case method, allowed me to develop the problem-solving skills tech companies look for. It taught me there isn’t a formula for solving real-world issues, but there’s a foundational framework that can be backed by data to help form an intelligent conclusion.”

After a stint at blogging and social networking site Tumblr, he returned to Rodale to take a national account manager role for Runner’s World magazine. Less than a year later, Dorvilier landed a client solutions manager role at LinkedIn and has since moved into a technology-specific position.

Other than his satisfying job at LinkedIn, Dorvilier continues to run and stay in shape, partly motivated by meeting Usain Bolt and other world-famous athletes when he served as a volunteer at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

With a successful career well underway, Dorvilier says he may go to graduate school, but he’s happy now where he is.

“CORe has changed the trajectory of my career,” he says. “If you had asked me where I would see myself in five years, five years ago, I couldn’t even imagine working alongside some of the brightest minds in the industry.”

If you’re interested in evolving your career and are seeking a foundation in business, explore CORe and other learner stories to discover how the program can help you advance your career.

Dorvilier was previously featured in a student story. His story was updated on May 21, 2020, to capture his career since completing CORe in 2015.

About the Author

Michele Reynolds handles brand marketing and PR for Harvard Business School Online. Prior to HBS Online, she led communications for TripAdvisor and Gazelle and has been widely quoted in national media outlets, including CBS News, Reuters, and The New York Times. Michele earned her bachelor’s degree from St. Bonaventure University. Outside work, she spends time with her teenage daughter, plays tennis, and visits her enormous extended family.
 
All FAQs

Top FAQs

How are HBS Online courses delivered?

+–

We offer self-paced programs (with weekly deadlines) on the HBS Online course platform.

Our platform features short, highly produced videos of HBS faculty and guest business experts, interactive graphs and exercises, cold calls to keep you engaged, and opportunities to contribute to a vibrant online community.

Do I need to come to campus to participate in HBS Online programs?

+–

No, all of our programs are 100 percent online, and available to participants regardless of their location.

How do I enroll in a course?

+–

All programs require the completion of a brief application. The applications vary slightly from program to program, but all ask for some personal background information. You can apply for and enroll in programs here. If you are new to HBS Online, you will be required to set up an account before starting an application for the program of your choice.

Our easy online application is free, and no special documentation is required. All applicants must be at least 18 years of age, proficient in English, and committed to learning and engaging with fellow participants throughout the program.

After submitting your application, you should receive an email confirmation from HBS Online. If you do not receive this email, please check your junk email folders and double-check your account to make sure the application was successfully submitted.

Updates to your application and enrollment status will be shown on your Dashboard. We confirm enrollment eligibility within one week of your application.

Does Harvard Business School Online offer an online MBA?

+–

No, Harvard Business School Online offers business certificate programs.

What are my payment options?

+–

We accept payments via credit card, Western Union, and (when available) bank loan. Some candidates may qualify for scholarships or financial aid, which will be credited against the Program Fee once eligibility is determined. Please refer to the Payment & Financial Aid page for further information.

We also allow you to split your payment across 2 separate credit card transactions or send a payment link email to another person on your behalf. If splitting your payment into 2 transactions, a minimum payment of $350 is required for the first transaction.

In all cases, net Program Fees must be paid in full (in US Dollars) to complete registration.

What are the policies for refunds and deferrals?

+–

After enrolling in a program, you may request a withdrawal with refund (minus a $100 nonrefundable enrollment fee) up until 24 hours after the start of your program. Please review the Program Policies page for more details on refunds and deferrals. If your employer has contracted with HBS Online for participation in a program, or if you elect to enroll in the undergraduate credit option of the Credential of Readiness (CORe) program, note that policies for these options may differ.

 

Sign up for News & Announcements

Subject Areas

  • Business Essentials
  • Leadership & Management
  • Entrepreneurship & Innovation
  • Strategy
  • Finance & Accounting
  • Business & Society

Quick Links

  • FAQs
  • Contact Us
  • Request Info
  • Apply Now

About

  • About Us
  • Media Coverage
  • Founding Donors
  • Leadership Team
  • Careers @ HBS Online

Legal

  • Legal
  • Policies
Harvard Business School
Copyright © President & Fellows of Harvard College
  • Site Map
  • Trademark Notice
  • Digital Accessibility