Work Life

Sorry for no post yesterday, I was traveling for work. For those who don't know, I work for university, doing several things like, recruiting students. Yesterday, I visited a school and I noticed a few things that bothered me.

The military was there to recruit, like they always have throughout the years. But I noticed a lot of students of color were crowded around their tables. BTW the marine recruiter was very hot. Anyway, it really bothered me to see the students of color only going to their tables. Mostly all of the white students came to the college tables, but the minority students did not.

After a while, I got up and start talking to the students about why they were stoked about the military. They told me that they could make a lot of money and take care of their families In fact, most of the military recruiters talked about money most of the time. It was like they were recruiting them to make money and live a fabulous life, however they didn't talk about possibly being in a war, or dying. I know that's extreme, but it was just weird to see them hovering at their table like they were receiving a free Apple iTunes card.

I spent most of my time convincing the students that there are other ways to be successful. Military is one choice, and college is another. Student laugh about college being a good choice. They told me it was basically ridiculous to go broke for education. And I understand that, but to jump into the military should not be the only choice.

I felt like I needed to put hope in these students. I felt like I needed to convince them that there are other ways to make it in this world. I just felt so disheartened by what I was seeing. However, it reminded me that I have this position for reason. If I can help a student of color see the possibilities, then I'm doing something good. So, here's to me trying to change the world.