Shifting Mindsets

**As my last posting indicates, a student in the Spoken English was offered a retail job but was forced to refuse it because his parents objected to him joining.

Very recently (within the last few hours), the student informed me that he convinced his parents to allow him to start. Unfortunately, the company at which he declined the offer filled the position but he has been able to secure a phone interview at a different company today.

When asked why his parents initially refused to let him join, he responded that they didn’t think he could pursue his last year of college and work simultaneously. Additionally, because the starting salary is not as high as his parents would have liked, they didn’t see any benefit in him working there. However, he persuaded his parents by bringing up his cousins who have been working and studying at the same time and by conveying that the experience he would gain on the job would prepare him well for an MBA. Additionally, while the initial salary is low, the possibility for promotion is high.

This shift in this students’ parents’ mindsets proved that if we are able to convey our message to one or a few people and it leaves an impression on them, they will carry on what they’ve learned to others. Sometimes these messages are taken to parents or elderly members of communities whose ways have proven the most difficult to change. This experience has shown me that word-of-mouth, youth, and investing in people are influential factors that play into ‘development’.