the road she took
I met J at a wedding in October. There was a lot of shrieking as the layers of our connectedness were revealed.
J and her doctor husband T live in our building and attend Redeemer. Like my husband, T went to Cornell, and so of course, attended the legendary CBS whose members I fear have permeated every major city on this planet.
T grew up in Toronto, about 0.08 kilometres from our house. He went to the same Catholic elementary school as I, can sing the 'Polka Dot Door' AND the 'Today’s Special' theme songs, and feels deep kinship with Tim Horton's.
But there’s more. J and T were married in Knox Chapel, and their first, post-married meal was at Swiss Chalet. Which is nearly exactly what we did, only three years afterwards.
But onwards we must proceed, to the real point of this post.
J is an eldest Asian child of three and I share her story in hopes of inspiring any career soul searchers out there. As an undergrad, she fell asleep in law classes but was intrigued by public policy and education reform. Internships and jobs in these areas led her to pursue a Masters in Public Policy at NYU (to the dismay of her parents whose aspirations for her were law school as it is one of the most respectable choices for any Asian whose forte is not math).
Smart girl that she was, J signed onto be an NYC Teaching Fellow, so as not to become an education reformer who has never actually taught in a classroom. But she was appalled and dismayed at the hostility she faced as an “outsider” to the school where she was placed. Six months of having the other teachers basically ignore her and she was outta there.
Her next stint was in non-profit management in a place that shall not be named. But I can name lack of professionality in her colleagues, lack of stimulation and learning on her job as reasons why she was restless. A totally unexpected opportunity arose when a totally unexpected contact at this troubled non-profit asked her to become an assistant in the fashion industry. Fashion! J continues to take VERY stimulating courses in design, and is now challenged and generally thrilled in her work.
Moral of this story as I see it: there’s no one way, especially not for the un-mainstream Asians who aren’t in engineering, finance etc. And this is totally not to disrespect all my beloved engineering friends out there because you CAN honour God with your career by doing what stimulates and challenges you--whether it's programming, saving the world or selling intimate apparel. But J would warn that it's hard to keep up with saving the world, on your own steam after awhile.
I know my insights are pretty basic stuff. Still, I'm excited to know J as I'm very into mentoring, and see that there's a lot potential to find mentors in more mainstream Asian careers like healthcare, engineering, education--but much less for those who aren't taking those paths. But whether mainstream or not, I think there's a big need for mentors out there. If you can--be one. If you want one, ask!
J and her doctor husband T live in our building and attend Redeemer. Like my husband, T went to Cornell, and so of course, attended the legendary CBS whose members I fear have permeated every major city on this planet.
T grew up in Toronto, about 0.08 kilometres from our house. He went to the same Catholic elementary school as I, can sing the 'Polka Dot Door' AND the 'Today’s Special' theme songs, and feels deep kinship with Tim Horton's.
But there’s more. J and T were married in Knox Chapel, and their first, post-married meal was at Swiss Chalet. Which is nearly exactly what we did, only three years afterwards.
But onwards we must proceed, to the real point of this post.
J is an eldest Asian child of three and I share her story in hopes of inspiring any career soul searchers out there. As an undergrad, she fell asleep in law classes but was intrigued by public policy and education reform. Internships and jobs in these areas led her to pursue a Masters in Public Policy at NYU (to the dismay of her parents whose aspirations for her were law school as it is one of the most respectable choices for any Asian whose forte is not math).
Smart girl that she was, J signed onto be an NYC Teaching Fellow, so as not to become an education reformer who has never actually taught in a classroom. But she was appalled and dismayed at the hostility she faced as an “outsider” to the school where she was placed. Six months of having the other teachers basically ignore her and she was outta there.
Her next stint was in non-profit management in a place that shall not be named. But I can name lack of professionality in her colleagues, lack of stimulation and learning on her job as reasons why she was restless. A totally unexpected opportunity arose when a totally unexpected contact at this troubled non-profit asked her to become an assistant in the fashion industry. Fashion! J continues to take VERY stimulating courses in design, and is now challenged and generally thrilled in her work.
Moral of this story as I see it: there’s no one way, especially not for the un-mainstream Asians who aren’t in engineering, finance etc. And this is totally not to disrespect all my beloved engineering friends out there because you CAN honour God with your career by doing what stimulates and challenges you--whether it's programming, saving the world or selling intimate apparel. But J would warn that it's hard to keep up with saving the world, on your own steam after awhile.
I know my insights are pretty basic stuff. Still, I'm excited to know J as I'm very into mentoring, and see that there's a lot potential to find mentors in more mainstream Asian careers like healthcare, engineering, education--but much less for those who aren't taking those paths. But whether mainstream or not, I think there's a big need for mentors out there. If you can--be one. If you want one, ask!
posted by Duncan and Jen | 5:30 PM
2 Comments:
thanks for the post.. balancing realism and idealism is really important... here's to the future!
But I want to save the world!
Thanks for sharing about your "twin" and how she was able to serve God on the road less travelled. It's easy for us to judge others' jobs when they don't measure up to our standard of a respectable Christian job. God can use us anywhere!
And I totally agree about mentoring. I have many informal mentors in my own life! Perhaps you should initiate a mentoring program somewhere? :)
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