Courtney Spence on How to Affect Social Change Using Documentary Media

In Chapter 9 of 15 of her 2010 Capture Your Flag interview, non-profit executive and Students of the World founder Courtney Spence answers "What inspired you to create Students of the World and what has you most hopeful about the legacy the organization can build over time?" Spence shares how she formed her organization after doing a travel abroad experience and working with the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University. There she learned how to apply storytelling and documentary media as a tool to impact social change.

By connecting her international community immersion with her desire to help college student program participants apply creative and technical tools to showcase impactful stories, Spence founds her non-profit Students of the World to help students engage in projects where they learn and affect positive change through their actions.

Transcript:

Erik Michielsen: What inspired you to create Students of the World and what has you most hopeful about the legacy the organization can build over time?

Courtney Spence: It was my international experiences to date as a sophomore and it was also the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke, it’s a fantastic organization full of people who are so dedicated to this idea of storytelling but not just for the sake of storytelling but for having it go somewhere, they really believe in using documentary media as a tool for social activism and social change, that idea just blew me away.

I’m familiar with storytelling in media formats but the idea that you can use it for good was just -- it got me really excited. So it was could I find a way to marry those two ideas, one immersing yourself in international communities, challenging yourself as an individual, as a young person but also taking innate skills that you have at the time and really taking them and translating them into something that can make a difference. Young people can tell stories, young people know – especially now, I mean gosh, ten years later our students learned Final Cut when they were in sixth grade! I mean they speak through media, multimedia platforms, this is how they communicate so in many ways we were really lucky because technology and trends sort of followed this idea to date where I’m just blown away with the creativity that comes from these young people and there’s a real sense among so many of our students to give back.

So I think, for me that it is something that is really encouraging and when you talk about this legacy of Students of the World, I really – I hope that it becomes a way for young people to realize that they can make an impact now, you don’t have to take leadership courses to make a difference when you’re forty five, you can be a leader, you can be a change maker, you can be an influencer in your twenty, twenty-one, twenty-two years. But, you know as twenty-one year-old, twenty-two year-old but at the same time you have so much to learn so this concept of going in and saying ‘ We’re not going to tell you how to do this, I’m not here to teach you English, I’m here to just – tell me your story, let me learn from you and let me recognize that you’ve had infinite more experiences than I’ve had’, you know battling HIV on the ground, caring for orphaned children, dealing with human trafficking in Northern Thailand I mean these are issues that people at every age face day in day out and I think that if we can show young people that they can be involved but they also still have a lot to learn I think that that would be a good thing.

Courtney Spence on How Duke History Classes Fostered Openness to Foreign Culture

In Chapter 10 of 15 of her 2010 Capture Your Flag interview, non-profit executive and Students of the World founder Courtney Spence answers "How has your Duke education history degree helped you be more open and accepting of foreign cultures?" Spence shares how while studying history at Duke University she learned to be more open-minded when engaging foreign cultures. Duke's history department contributed to Spence's holistic collegiate experience by teaching her multiple viewpoints on world history. The process taught Spence and her classmates to appreciate the differences and go out and experience the cultures and explore the world to form their own opinions.

Transcript:

Erik Michielsen: How has your Duke education history degree helped you be more open and accepting of foreign cultures?

Courtney Spence: My experience at Duke was incredibly positive, it was a community that was very supportive of students, of big ideas, crazy ideas, dedicated themselves really to I think providing a holistic collegiate experience for their undergraduates. Every year that goes by I am more and more thankful for that opportunity. Particularly within the history department it was very… it was again like, everything that I had known, you know all of my education in American history, world history growing up I just had to sort of throw out of the window because I got there and I was taking Russian history and Intro to Latin American history and the African American Slave Trade and really things that were opening my eyes to the world was not as how I thought it had been, the history that I had built up in my head of ‘this is how the world worked’ wasn’t necessarily true and learning that within the framework of studying history you – there are different versions or different theories of historical study, so you can view history through a feminist lens you can, you know and seeing that – appreciating that there are so many different lenses through which we tell the story of our world and our community and our time.

It really has impacted me in the way that I go about my job because again I may think the situation in Northern Thailand is one thing but when I get there and you’re on the ground, it’s completely different and it’s not necessarily better or worse, it’s just not what you thought and so being open that and not being scared by that I think is an important thing that I’ve taken away.

Courtney Spence on How Rejection Can Strengthen Fundraising Resolve

In Chapter 15 of 15 of her 2010 Capture Your Flag interview, non-profit executive Courtney Spence answers "How did the Duke University Administration help your organization get started?" Spence shares how she secured school administration financing to launch what would eventually become her non-profit Students of the World. Spence pitches the idea to several Duke University administration officials. Early rejection pushes Spence to refine her pitch and continue presenting it to potential investors. Ultimately, Spence connects with the Vice President of Student Affairs, receives financing, and goes back to those who had rejected the idea and ultimately finance the project.

Transcript:

Erik Michielsen: How did the Duke University Administration help your organization get started?

Courtney Spence:  I wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for the Duke Administration, both for the people that said yes and for the people that said no.  I think I went on this journey my sophomore year and I tried to take a meeting with any person at Duke that would sit down and talk with me. Even if I didn’t think they were necessarily directly related to international documentary work and student activism and organizations.  I would take a meeting just to say, “Hey, let me tell you about this idea I have.  What do you think?”  And if it made sense for me to say, “Hey, would you – your office – would this be something you would invest in?” Or approach people for money, or who else should I speak to, or just for advice.  And we got a lot of “No’s” at the beginning and a lot of people were, I think sometimes, I think rightly so, administrations are a little bit hesitate to start up student organizations because they happen so frequently and because of turnover you see them die out once the founder graduates.  So, there is a hesitancy to invest heavily in sort of the crazier ideas initially, but I think by the people saying “No” it challenges you to go back and be like, “Do I really want to keep doing this? So, yes I do and yes I can.” 

And it also challenges you – “Well, what’s not quite right about this?  Why am I getting so many ‘No’s’ on this front?”  And then for us, it was a woman, Janet Dickerson, she was the Vice-President of Student Affairs at Duke at the time.  An incredible woman and I’ll never forget, we walked into her office – it was me and another student that was sort of co-founding the organization at that point.  We walked into Janet Dickerson’s office, told her what we wanted to do, had our little presentation and she said, “Yes.” When she said, “Yes.” She said, “Five thousand dollars.” “I’m going to set up a lunch meeting other related administrators and faculty members and sort of put their feet to the fire because I think this concept is new and kind of exciting.”  But what was really the most rewarding was there was a gentleman who had said, “No” you know that fall, so and you know, as we were trying to start the organization.  So, I went to him and he was like, “I think this is a great idea, but not one I think my office can invest in.”  I went back the following year and said, “Hey, so here’s what we did and this year we’re going to Cuba and is this something you want to be invested in?”  And he said, “Yes.”

Why Daydreaming is Important When Choosing a Career - Richard Moross

In Chapter 17 of 17 of his 2010 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, entrepreneur, innovator and Moo.com founder Richard Moross reflects on his many days staring out the window in class, daydreaming about things other than his college philosophy, art, and politics classes. Moross looks to finds comfort defining his own systems and agenda, which pushes him to be an entrepreneur and start a company. In effect, Moross creates his own path and career ladder. He cites Malcolm Gladwell's writing on "Meaningful Work" as a way to develop career options in line with career ambitions.  Moross is founder and CEO of Moo.com.  Before starting Moo.com, an award-winning online print business, Moross was a senior design strategist at Imagination, the world's largest independent design company.  He graduated from the University of Sussex, where he majored in philosophy and politics.

How Catholic Priest and D-Day Veteran Inspires Citizenship - Matt Curtis

In Chapter 12 of 17, public affairs and communications strategist Matt Curtis recalls Father Joseph Frieze and his role teaching him about being a good citizen and community participant. Frieze, a D-Day veteran, teaches Curtis that honesty is the best, though not always the easiest, policy.

How Press Secretary and Journalism Teacher Bob Mann Leaves a Legacy - Matt Curtis

In Chapter 5 of 17, public affairs and communications strategist Matt Curtis shares the story of Bob Mann, a Democratic Party Press Secretary for Ted Kennedy, a Carter Administration official, and an inspiration to generations of students, including Bush press secretary Karen Hughes. Mann, a career newspaperman, immerses himself into politics and, over time, education, teaching journalism at several Texas schools, including Huston Tillotson University of Texas, Texas State, and SMU. At the sunset of his career, Mann has not only left a legacy across his Democratic political party work as legislative aide and press secretary, but more importantly as that one teacher who made the greatest difference to so many aspiring communications professionals.

How Sharing and Reciprocation Improve Learning - Nina Godiwalla

In Chapter 2 of 14 of her 2010 Capture Your Flag interview, author Nina Godiwalla answers "Why are sharing and reciprocation essential to how you learn?" Godiwalla highlights human nature to compare and contrast oneself with others.  Sharing and reciprocation highlight how there is so much to learn from others.  Using this approach enables improved personal growth.  Godiwalla notes how sharing and reciprocation have allowed her to be progressively more open-minded as an adult.

Nina Godiwalla is the author of "Suits: A Woman on Wall Street" and the founder and CEO of Mindworks, a provider of leadership, stress management, and diversity training programs. Before starting her business and writing her book, Godiwalla worked at Johnson & Johnson and Oxygen Media and investment banking at Morgan Stanley. Godiwalla earned an MBA from Wharton, a MA from Dartmouth and a BBA from the University of Texas.

Transcript:

Erik Michielsen: Why are sharing and reciprocation so essential to how you learn?

Nina Godiwalla: I definitely look to other people to learn about myself, I think we define ourselves through other people, we’re constantly… when we’re with people we decide how we’re going to be like that person and how we’re not going to be like that person, it’s just our nature of comparing and contrasting and I think that sharing and reciprocating is just critical in doing that because you’re taking things to a different level, you’re not just saying ‘this is the way it is’, you’re saying ‘ how can I, how can we learn from each other’ and for me I think that’s just a critical way of, again, going back to growth, growing as a person.

Erik Michielsen: And how as that approach kinda changed as you’ve gotten older?

Nina Godiwalla: I think when I was younger I thought I knew everything and there’s moments where I still think I know everything but really I definitely see it as… I definitely think I’ve transformed quite a bit in that I realize there’s so much I can learn from other people and I was definitely one of those kids that didn’t always see the world that way.

How Female Investment Banker Confronts Stereotyping - Nina Godiwalla

In Chapter 5 of 14 of her 2010 Capture Your Flag interview, author Nina Godiwalla answers "How have you embraced being a fish out of water in your education, career and travels and what have you enjoyed most about the challenges they present?" Godiwalla shares how she finds herself a fish out of water in New York City upon graduating college.  Coming from Texas, public schools, and Parsi education into Wall Street as a female investment banker teaches Godiwalla about outsider status firsthand.  Godiwalla makes the most from an oft uncomfortable experience by turning lessons learned into education opportunities for other women considering an investment banking career.

Nina Godiwalla is the author of "Suits: A Woman on Wall Street" and the founder and CEO of Mindworks, a provider of leadership, stress management, and diversity training programs. Before starting her business and writing her book, Godiwalla worked at Johnson & Johnson and Oxygen Media and investment banking at Morgan Stanley. Godiwalla earned an MBA from Wharton, a MA from Dartmouth and a BBA from the University of Texas.

Transcript:

Erik Michielsen: How have you embraced being a fish out of water in your education, career and travels and what have you enjoyed most about the challenges it presents?

Nina Godiwalla: When I went to New York I felt like I went to a different country and in a lot of ways I did, I mean I was going into a completely, the people I was with were a completely different socioeconomic class, not all of them but a lot of them, a lot of, they were all Ivy League, I was a kid, I was a public school kid coming from UT and there were other public school kids, it was just coming from Texas, it just the everything put together. I didn’t know people perceived Texas as so different in the US, that was probably one of the most startling things for me is that I didn’t know I was supposed to be living on a ranch.

There’s always been a sense of an outsider because I was an immigrant so I know I can be like other people but at the same, I mean I can be like the average American if I need to be, but I know that when I walk into my parents’ house, there’s a completely different environment that I walk into. And so that… going into that investment banking I think it was just startling for me, I didn’t know how different I was, I mean it made my childhood experience of growing up in a suburb as an immigrant look like nothing and then again, like I said, being a woman I didn’t even know that was going to be such a big deal, it’s just all of a sudden all these different aspects of my life that were everyday to me became suddenly they were outsider status and… that was very, to have all those different things happen all at once was, was challenging for me. That’s what I try and do for my book is look back at it and say ‘What can I learn from this?’ and that’s all I can do and I can help share the experience for other people that might be going through the same thing and after that, there it is.

How Dartmouth Program Enables Creative Career in Business - Nina Godiwalla

In Chapter 9 of 14 of her 2010 Capture Your Flag interview, "Suits: A Woman on Wall Street" author Nina Godiwalla answers "Why did you decide to leave business temporarily to study liberal arts and pursue a master’s degree at Dartmouth?"  After spending two years working in investment banking, Godiwalla decides to attend a Masters of Arts in Liberal Studies (MALS) at Dartmouth University to explore her creative side. Godiwalla makes this decision after taking a Myers-Briggs personality test to identify undeveloped interests. There she learns about relationships, people and understanding before deciding to move on to her MBA at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School.

Transcript:

Erik Michielsen: Why did you decide to leave business temporarily to study liberal arts and pursue a master’s degree at Dartmouth?

Nina Godiwalla: As an undergrad I studied finance, I went straight into investment banking, I worked in finance after that for a while and there was something about the business world that wasn’t completely fulfilling me and I couldn’t put my finger on it and, this is so hokey, but I actually, I did a personality test and I love the Myers-Briggs and I did a personality test and I was trying to figure out -- all my friends were going to business school a few years out of you work in -- you do investment banking especially and it’s like a two year program, it’s a feeder into business school.  And I was, you know I could’ve just filled out the application and I could’ve just gone but I felt like something was missing.

And so I was doing all these personality tests and trying to figure what is it that’s missing and oddly enough the personality tests were – I found what really resonated for me and a lot of the people their careers were completely different, they were psychologists, they were writers, they were -- there was something creative about what they were doing or it was something based off of people and a lot of the finance I was doing didn’t have that whole element of people and relationships and understanding and I knew that had to be integrated into my business world. I had a sense that I was going to business school afterwards but I wanted the option to say ‘Let me explore what I’m doing, let me explore this liberal arts that I looked into and if it ends up that I go to business school afterwards, great. If it ends up I have this completely different career and I find this dream, you know that’s great too.’

What to Consider Before Investing in an MBA Education - Nina Godiwalla

In Chapter 10 of 14 of her 2010 Capture Your Flag interview, "Suits: A Woman on Wall Street" author and Wharton MBA graduate Nina Godiwalla answers "What questions should early career professionals ask themselves before applying for an MBA program?" Godiwalla reflects on her experience researching and then attending the Wharton MBA program at the University of Pennsylvania. There, she learns the importance of preparation and research going into school. While in school, Godiwalla encourages students be open to possibilities while also maintaining a clear purpose on larger picture investment returns. These may be building a network or developing expertise in a particular business field. Godiwalla cautions against planning the future too far and overlooking the often randomly occurring opportunities that pop up. For her, it was creating a meditation program for MBAs, which then helped her start a business years after graduation.

Transcript:

Erik Michielsen: What questions should early career professionals ask themselves before applying for an MBA program?

Nina Godiwalla: I think the whole business school experience is pretty – it can be transformational if you allow it to be so I don’t think they have to know exactly what they’re doing but think they should have a sense of what they’re going there, what they’re going there for. I don’t think it has to be laid out the way we do lay out our business school applications and I think a lot of people say ‘I just laid it out because that’s what I was supposed to do.’ But I think you should have a sense of what you’re going in there for and I also think a lot of people when I was in business school, especially entrepreneurs, felt this was a very stifling environment and there were a lot of people that were a little bitter that they were there. There was a group of people that thought ‘This wasn’t the right experience for me’ and a lot of them had wished that they had researched it a little bit more.

Business school is an animal of its own and just going in to go to business school to get the letters, I just don’t think it makes sense and especially when you’re putting – you’re investing in it in that kind of a way. So you have to, I think you should have to have a clear picture of what it is, if it’s ‘These two things I’m trying to get, I’m trying to really create that network for myself and I’m trying to find something that really resonates for me in the business world and I want this broad exposure’. I think that makes more sense than saying ‘I know for sure I’m going to be a management consultant specifically in the health care industry’ because if you completely define what you’re doing after that you can put blinders on.

And one of the things that was a little surprising to me, I never thought I would ever use this in the business world, is when I -- I did something I was really passionate about while I was in business school, I was involved with a lot of different things, but I started the meditation program there and who would have ever thought like later on I would’ve actually used that in the business world, I did it because I wanted to, I wanted to expose business school students to something that I felt was very valuable and then later in my life I’ve actually used it to create my own business. There’s no way me or anyone else that was sitting there would’ve thought that that’s something I would’ve used in the future in terms of business and I think that was a good example of taking that opportunity to do things that you’re really – you’re excited about because you’re going to learn something about yourself through that experience.

How Meditation Program Helps MBAs Overcome Fear Culture - Nina Godiwalla

In Chapter 11 of 14 of her 2010 Capture Your Flag interview, Wharton MBA graduate and "Suits: A Woman on Wall Street" author Nina Godiwalla answers "What prompted you to create Leadership at Lunch and expose MBA students to the benefits of meditation?" Godiwalla shares how she overcame the business school fear culture and peer pressure by using meditation. Godiwalla goes on to create a six-week "Leadership at Lunch" meditation program to help classmates find clarity in their ambitions and actions while earning their respective MBA degrees.

Transcript:

Erik Michielsen: What prompted you to create Leadership at Lunch and expose MBA students to the benefits of meditation?

Nina Godiwalla: So before I went to business school, I had been exposed to meditation probably maybe it was about five years before I went to business school and my exposure to meditation was really crazy. I was visiting my parents and I always like to try new things and they were going away for the weekend and I had my sister drop me off at a meditation retreat not realizing it was a very, very intensive retreat for advanced people which means you couldn’t talk to anyone, you couldn’t do anything for the entire weekend, you couldn’t look at a word, you couldn’t make eye contact, I literally took my contacts off and just walked around in like this blur. And I found it very frustrating because I’m a go, go, go person, let’s get something done.

My first few days was just quite miserable to be honest and by the third day I just found -- I didn’t find like peace and happiness in the whole world but there was something I just felt like there’s something to this. I found a sense, a little bit more sense of clarity, a sense of clarity and then from that experience when I went into business school I felt like it was the exact, there was a bit of craziness to it, there was like I said people put on their resume ‘this is what I’m going to do’, not on their resume their application, it’s almost like the first day we got there people were moving towards that goal, I mean it was a very, very fast pace and I felt I was losing my sense of clarity while I was in business school.

I wanted to just step back and just say ‘Are we clear about this? Are we clear about what we’re all so anxiously trying to go towards?’ and what amazed me is and it’s not just me, research has shown that there’s a lot of fear culture in that world, in business school, at times. And a lot of it is, you know, that person coming up to you is like ‘did you go to that meeting? Did you catch? Did you see that company that was here? Cause if you missed that meeting they’re not going to invite you to the next interview.’ And I feel like there was just a lot of that going on constantly, you know, ‘Did you get this on the exam, did you see the previews?’ and that mentality started to -- I got sucked into it and I was coming from a place where, I was coming from a liberal arts masters degree where it wasn’t necessarily that way.

And for me, I just thought ‘Can I expose people to something that I’ve found valuable’ and I created a program, it was a six week program where we lead a meditation and we brought in some experts from the area as well and a lot of people had never tried it, they didn’t know what it was but people, some people had that curiosity of ‘Huh, I wonder what it is’ and that’s exactly how I started when I got exposed to it and if someone got something out of it, beautiful, that’s all I could ask for.

Why MBA Students Should Consider Meditation - Nina Godiwalla

In Chapter 12 of 14, Wharton MBA graduate and "Suits: A Woman on Wall Street" author Nina Godiwalla highlights how MBA students can benefit from meditation. Godiwalla notes how external factors, including family and job, motivate our career ambitions. She shares how external factors, including television, movies, and sports, also relieve us of stress from our external ambitions. By teaching meditation, Godiwalla has found the internal awareness to be especially comforting to MBA students who are in high peer pressure environments where unnecessary urgency is often associated with decison making. The internal focus alleviates stress and provides a calming awareness and clarity to longer term focused decisions.

Transcript:

Erik Michielsen: Why should an MBA student consider meditation?

Nina Godiwalla: I think there’s just this universal feature within us that we have a way within ourselves to ground ourselves. I think often we look to external sources to find happiness, our spouse, children, our family, jobs, careers what ever it is, we look, that’s what we look through too often and then we find things that constantly distract us when we’re not – when those things aren’t working for us, TV, movies just, you know, what ever it is we find our own little distractions and instead of doing that there’s something inside that you can actually change the way you feel, the way you think and even understand, it’s just that initial awareness of what it is. So for me for MBA students there were people there who were very grounded and knew exactly what they wanted to do and I don’t know if they necessarily, if they probably had a way that they were doing that themselves, I think MBA students should consider it because it gives them a sense to feel comfortable with what they’re doing and step back and maybe operate in a way that in the long term is really going to pay them off and not necessarily just right now this looks like the right thing to be doing because everyone else is doing it.

How Energy Efficiency Programs Save Schools Money - Audrey Parker

In Chapter 6 of 15, energy efficiency consultant Audrey Parker helps schools save money by creating and implementing energy efficiency policy, communications, and programs to Texas schools. Parker begins by supporting a bill that clearly designates energy efficiency school programs. She increases school participation by lowering barriers to entry and effectively communicating investment options and expected results-related return on investment (ROI).

How Energy Efficiency Policy Helps Schools in Crisis - Audrey Parker

In Chapter 7 of 15, energy efficiency consultant Audrey Parker learns to be resourceful after her New Orleans energy efficiency project is halted by Hurricane Katrina. Parker and her colleague reset and apply energy efficiency solutions to help Texas schools, burdened by unexpected hurricane refugees, cut energy costs and shift funding to support students.

How Entrepreneur Approaches High Risk Decision Making - Dan Street

In Chapter 14 of 20 of his 2010 Capture Your Flag interview, Rice University graduate and entrepreneur Dan Street shares his approach when taking risks not likely to work out. First, he sets aside his ego in the situation. Second, he focuses on the process rather than the outcome. As a college student, Street walks on the basketball team and, through the process, realizes he enjoys music and academics more. This approach, setting self aside and prioritizing the process, lead Street to start his company Loku.com (previously BorrowedSugar.com).

How Student Athlete Opera Singer Defines a College Life - Dan Street

In Chapter 13 of 20 of his 2010 Capture Your Flag interview, Rice University graduate and entrepreneur Dan Street shares his approach to balancing opera singing, full courseloads, and sports while attending Rice University. After pushing himself to his limits with a full courseload, basketball, baseball, and opera singing, Street retreats to focus on school and singing. 

How Singing Opera Teaches Pursuit of Excellence - Dan Street

In Chapter 12 of 20 of his 2010 Capture Your Flag interview, entrepreneur and Loku.com (previously BorrowedSugar.com) founder Dan Street shares how singing opera teaches him foreign language, culture and political history. Training to perform opera teaches Street how to apply necessary dedication, preparation, and sacrifice in his pursuit of excellence.

Why Entrepreneur Measures Twice Before Cutting Once - Dan Street

In Chapter 11 of 20 of his 2010 Capture Your Flag interview, entrepreneur and Loku.com (previously BorrowedSugar.com) founder Dan Street learns a "seek to understand" mentality from his parents. From his mother's inquisitive questioning to his father's fungus research career, Street learns an attentive approach to understanding the world. Street defines this as a measure twice, cut once approach. While this sometimes leads to over-thinking, Street finds that his well-researched approach opens unexpected growth experiences.