Christelle ALLE (TBS 2021) - Optimistic, Pragmatic, Resilient

19 April 2021 Portraits / Podcasts

My name is Christelle ALLE. I come from the South, and to quote Michel SARDOU and Pierre DELANOË for those who know them, I will take every road it takes to come back. My friends would describe me as genuine and funny.

My academic path

I chose the Expert in Internal Audit and Management Audit MS (I finish in 2021) for a career change, to improve my confidence and express my full potential in a very interesting sector.

Are you a member of a student association ? If so, what do you do and why did you choose it ?

I am a committed citizen and I am very involved in problems in society. When I was younger, I was a member of an association that fights against discrimination. I was the "health coordinator" and that once led me to starting and leading a campaign to fight against discrimination which resounded all over the region. It was a very emotional experience. It even led to me making a speech in front of 20000 people on the main square in Toulouse (place du Capitole). That was an enormous personal experience. This year, I have been doing a little volunteering by proposing to facilitate workshops on stress management. I am very interested in the management of emotions, so I spontaneously offered to share my knowledge with all my year. It's true that after the first lockdown at the beginning of the year, I felt there was a real need. So, in line with my proactive-pragrammatic character trait (very personal word), I proposed a solution.

What are you passionate about that you would like to share with Alumni ?

I am fascinated by words, their usefulness, their power and sometimes, their elusive nature. I like to write. When I was 24, I had a very serious road traffic accident and I had to overcome my difficulties. When the ordeal was over, I felt the need to share my experience, so I wrote a guidebook, "Guidebook for people who have had accidents and their families". That is the title of my book, it is available on Amazon. Its aim was to help victims of road accidents and their families in the appeal process. Indeed, I didn't want my experience to be in vain but to serve others. After all, that is the essence of Resilience : turn drama into something positive. There was, of course, more to the approach than what appears on the surface. My greatest ambition was to show to people that is it possible, that we can get through it ! In my book, I give a few keys and provide some concrete solutions but above all, I modestly try to instill courage and hope in the reader.

How does your passion influence your life ?

It's obvious that writing was therapy for me. It helped me through my healing process. At first, I wrote for myself. (Besides, I wouldn't suggest anyone read my journals that I wrote during my convalescence! They wouldn't make any sense anyway and they would'nt mean much because they were too first degree.) After I got better, I started to write for other people. Yet it is a very different approach than writing, for example, a personal diary. It creates a certain distance, and in my opinion, helps win the battle over the traumas, thus allowing one to become resilient.

In this scope, did you need help or support to succeed ? Tell us how you cope with difficulties in the past or now !

I would like to increase visibility on this book so that my experience can benefit as many people as possible. Up until now, I have not done anything about promoting it. I wasn't ready yet. Today, thanks to my year at TBS, I have met some wonderful people and I have got my confidence back. I signed up to this degree to learn new skills and get back into the workplace. That means a great deal to me. I am proud and thankful that I can count on TBS Alumni !

What would you like to do later on and how are you going to go about it ?

"Tomorrow is far away" in the words of famous rappers from Marseille, but yes, I do think about tomorrow. Indeed, the adventure isn't over ! I have a project to write an autobiographic account of my experience as a victim but on a much less serious and detailed level than the guide book for people who have had accidents. Something funny ! Indeed, I believe that humour helps pass on profound and deep messages. I also draw a little (but if you calculate in terms of from the first day I had a pencil in my hand, that starts to add up). I would like to write a book with illustrations !

Since you have access to the TBS Alumni network, how would you like to be supported by it ?

TBS network is a great opportunity to present my book to the world. If it creates some useful human connections by spreading the word, then that would be great ! I am also planning to write about my lifepath. I don't know anything about the publishing world, so advice (or contacts) would be much appreciated. You never now, a mistake can become a success...

What made you decide to come to TBS apart from its reputation in the rankings ?

Without doubt, it is the community spirit ! I could never have got into the Army (rightly so) so TBS was the next best step. No, seriously, what I really liked at TBS was the feeling of belonging. It's true, I felt that I would feel at home in this school and I wasn't wrong ! Also, I have made some very interesting friends, and despite this context and the health crisis, with classes at a distance, there is a great atmosphere in our year. (We really are great !).

Do you accept for Alumni, students and post-graduates, to contact you directly ?
Yes!