In Part I of his interview, Toby inspired us with his story about his background and his growth in college. In Part 2,secondary school and college students, universities and colleges, job
seekers and recruiters should copy and share Toby’s words .
Rarely will anyone find in one place so much pragmatic and useful advice about
how to succeed in education and in the world.
Did you find
a mentor while you were in school?
I considered
many teachers, Deans and members of the administration, and senior students my
mentors. I did not expect my mentors to know all the answers but I still found
them to be extremely informative, always additive and often thought provoking.
Months and years after graduation I can still remember, fondly, the impact they
had on my life and I continue to learn from those experiences.
Let me give you
one example. One of my mentors was a student from France who was two years
ahead of me. One evening I was walking back to my dormitory fairly stressed out
and somewhat frustrated, but by pure chance I ran into this student mentor.
She, out of a whim, asked me to sign up for a tryout to be a tour guide. All
the activities I mentioned in my previous response, the insight, everything
came from the fact that I joined this organization that I did not know and
would not have thought to join on my own. My mentor saw something in me that I
did not see myself. When I found out, through being a tour guide, the wider
possibilities available to all students there was no going back. It was a
watershed moment of my college career and in some sense its impact is still
felt in my life today.
That is what a great
mentor did for me.
Of course Parke,
I also consider you a great mentor! J
Did you go
see your professors? Were there classes or experiences that changed the way you
viewed yourself and viewed the world?
Many if not most
classes impacted me profoundly. A class on “Gender and Society” made me
appreciate western feminism. A seminar on “Science and Religion” informed my
views on faith and rationality. Classes in my major, Business, gave me great
understanding and grounding in Corporate America and the skills needed to
survive and thrive. Classes in acting, architecture, astro physics, bioethics,
political science, and neuroscience all opened my eyes to disciplines of human
inquiry and ingenuity that I previously only had a vague sense for. A class on
Chinese History and another on African Religion made me scurry back to
interpret my own life experiences in ways that I never considered before. Last
but not least, a writing class on “American Identity” has never strayed far
from my mind since the day I took it.
Along with those
great courses came great professors. I spoke to them often, I speak to some
still. It is one thing to attend a class, learn what is needed to be learnt,
and ace the exams – those are necessities. It is something entirely different
to be immersed in knowledge, to be fascinated by inquiry, to be led by
curiosity, and to be guided by experts – these are the gifts of a world-class
education. There is no better way to truly get a sense of the latter than
one-on-one or small-group time with professors, during office hours or other
forms of discussions. Many of my mentors are my professors.
What changes
would you like to see schools make in order to help international students
transition in?
1.
International
orientation needs to be more in-depth and more relevant to the experiences that
international students will have
2.
Orientation
needs to go both ways – there can be International Orientation for American
students as well. It is not just for the benefit and sensitivity of
International Students, but domestic students can also benefit more from their
interactions and relationships if they are given more guidance on mindfulness
and education on the opportunities of their international peers
3.
In
fact, International Student Affair Offices should be more integrated into the
administrations of student affairs. Right now, the primary resources of
International Student’s Offices are dedicated to keeping everyone in Legal
Status – that is, of course, very important. In addition, however, there should
probably be an International Students Experiences office directly underneath
the Dean of Students Offices, or, a Dean of International Students on par with
the Dean of African American Affairs etc. Basically, more administrative
advocacy so that from the standpoint of institutional bureaucracy within
Universities international students are better represented, with potentially
more resources and programs that help them thrive within their university
communities, in addition to remaining current in their legal-status
Parke: my
suggestion is basically for college to spend more money… haha… fat chance,
right? But hey, if these students are such a source of revenue, then why not
more resources to improve experiences? Of course, the reason is that there is
basically infinite supply of willing-to-pay students who themselves and their
parents do not advocate strongly (probably because they don’t know the need and
they don’t know how), and so the incentive to improve their particular
experiences is not high.
Can you
describe your job search and how you went about it?
I went to the
regular University recruiting season and that is how I got my first job. My
second job, however, came from networking. It is not an easy thing, even for
someone relatively outgoing like myself. Networking is a learned skill.
Strategy is important, and for me it always starts from self-awareness. I need
to know, for sure, what I am good at and what I am qualified for. I need to
know what I am not yet good at but am willing or planning to learn over time.
Then I look for the opportunities that meet most (though not necessarily all)
of my needs and ask what I can offer.
If a good
strategy is set then it becomes a numbers game – more outreach, more exposure,
more attempts, higher chances of success. Like many such things it needs to be
undertaken in a reasoned and deliberative manner, so even though I have to do a
lot of networking I also have to treat every opportunity seriously and
mindfully.
One has to be
proactive, but not pushy. One must be willing to ask for help but be
simultaneously expectation free. Most importantly, one does need to have a
relatively thick skin and be comfortable with failure. I can do everything
right and still not succeed for reasons out of my control for any given
opportunity. And that is okay. Like I said, in the end, it is also just a
numbers game. Finally, it is important to stay open-minded. If an opportunity
opens up and it is not an "ideal" choice, consider giving it a shot.
Sometimes it is really hard to predict how one's career develops, and an
employer that extends an invitation may have done so precisely because they saw
something in you that you may not see yourself.
Can you
describe what you are doing now?
I am a research
manager (senior manager) at a Marketing Research consultancy. Half of my time
is spent as a brand strategy consultant while the other half is spend as a
marketing scientist and statistics expert. My profession has put me in a
position to be involved in the Big Data revolution, which is engaging. This
despite the fact that statistics was my absolute worst class in college
Do you have
advice for international students, especially those from China, about how to
pursue the college search and then how to get the most out of their education?
I think students
and families from China and from Asia think very thoughtfully about all the
known criteria of colleges. Those
criteria are important and need to be properly considered. For my part, I would
just add that getting a “feel” for the place is also important. Try to
understand the culture from current students, and try to get a sense of what
community life is like on a daily basis. I think it is important to remember
that a college is not just a place to get a highly reputable diploma and a set
of skills to be successful at a career, it is also the place where young adults
spend their late teens and early twenties, a place to call home for four years.
In terms of
getting the most out of one’s education, my advice is to be open to new
experiences. Certainly keep a focus on one’s career interests and goals. But,
in addition to that, also take intro classes from disciplines you know nothing
about; participate in student activities that challenge you; have meaningful
dialogue with people vastly different from yourself.
 |
| Toby and friends |
Finally, enjoy
the experience and have fun, otherwise what is the point? But also watch your
diet if you go all-you-can-eat cafeteria food all four years. J
Part 1 of Toby’s
interview painted a picture of a student adjusting to a new life and new
culture in ways that all of us can learn from and should learn from. The advice
he shares here compares favorably with some of the experts in the world who
pontificate on how to do things from the lofty heights of academia or media.
Adherents of the
belief that a liberal arts education prepares people for life rather than just
a job should quote Toby’s advice to students about how to approach classes. His
advice to colleges about the best ways to incorporate international students
into the mix of the school should get some schools to call meetings about this
today. And his words about working and networking give concrete support to the
many articles and opinion pieces on how to move forward in the global
marketplace.
I would like to
thank Toby for sharing words that few students hear or read in the blitz of
orientation or in the blur of large group overviews or PowerPoint slides that
get put up on career days and fairs. I
think Toby has a very bright future ahead in his chosen field but I also think
he could make a great contribution to education should he decide to share his
words to students and schools as a motivational speaker.
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