One Year Later - From Corporate Life to Academia

I'm not really a very brave person. Risks are calculated and made when I can talk myself into them (and after consulting my wise wife). A few weeks ago I finished my first year of teaching at BYUI after 22 years in Corporate America at Microsoft, Sprint, and Pfizer. This was a hard choice. We left a lot behind. However, because of it, this has been one of the most meaningful and remarkable years of my life. I'd like to share a few of the things I've observed/learned in the 12 months since we moved from Seattle to Rexburg, ID. Much of what I'll share is about the amazing students I get to interact with at the university. To my many corporate friends and colleagues - some of these observations may be important to you. My students and many like them will soon work in your organizations and will quickly become a key part of the future of your companies.

One huge disclaimer - I'm not a great professor yet. I work with dedicated and remarkable faculty. They inspire learning and action. Working around many of these folks lifts and humbles me. Certainly they may correct or expound on a lot of what I'll now share. That said, here's the list I'd like to share with you:

#1 - None of us are just one thing

"Prof. Pope, I'm not a Finance person, I'm a Marketing person." This was something I heard dozens of times as students were required to make an income statement and balance sheet in one of my courses. I watched the self-talk sometimes slow their progress. But so many times, as students bounced around to work on different subjects, they learned, through experience, that they aren't just one thing. None of us are. A marketing major can absolutely make a killer income statement and be proud of it. An Accounting wiz can totally make an engaging social media post. I loved watching those light bulbs turn on - it was inspiring to watch that learning turn into power. Too often organizations tend to "pigeon-hole" individuals, attaching specific skills to personal identity and not encouraging more exploration/learning. I wonder if, in our careers, we forget how broad our capabilities can be.

#2 - Exposure to diversity always makes us better

I teach International Business. In that course we highlight cultural differences that exist around the world. Inevitably, in that discussion, the students discover and explore differences that exist among the folks in our classroom. I've watched epiphanies occur as students discovered real differences in the backgrounds & lived experiences of other classmates and then learned from each other. Diversity tends to make groups stronger, but many of my students come from very "non-diverse" life experiences. This makes that learning absolutely electric when it happens. Note that I've had students from all over the world (Albania, Ukraine, Madagascar, Mexico, Germany, Uruguay, Scotland, Peru, Mexico, Japan, China, Singapore, even Texas) and nearly half of my students are female. Many of these students have continued to seek out learning from people different than themselves. The world needs more of this!

#3 Students are incredibly bright and share that light with my family

They laugh, they joke, they dance, and they know much better than me, how to have fun

I knew that being around students would be awesome. It's been even better than I hoped. I heard a suggestion early on about meeting with every student 1:1 at the start of the semester and have learned to LOVE those meetings. These young adults bring natural energy and sometimes an endearing naivety about the "real world." Some are very much already living as completely independent adults (sometimes with children), others are not that far removed from high school. They laugh, they joke, they dance, and they know much better than me, how to have fun. On many occasions they've come to our home and we just love that. There have been breakfasts, dinners, pickleball games, movie nights, and karaoke craziness - all at our house. We've even gone cross-country skiing with students. I can see that this job will keep us young. They've also mentored and helped my high school daughters - sometimes overtly and other times just through their examples. And they do all of this just because of who they are. My family loves these students.

#4 - Like all of us - Students need to feel a sense of Belonging

We simply all long to belong.

Simply being a university student can be devastatingly lonely. Sure, there are roommates, classmates, and other constructs that can provide connection. However, for so many students, those constructs can fail. Certainly, that can be the fault of the student herself, but it also means there's an opportunity for those who have found belonging to reach out to others. I've watched this happen and it is absolutely life-changing. Students who feel like they belong tend to do so much better academically as well. The same is true for all of us in our companies, churches, neighborhoods, and wherever we spend significant time. We simply all long to belong.

#5 - Moving from a Big City to a Small Town is a little jarring, and I'm sure the opposite is true as well

We genuinely love where we live now in a very small town in Eastern Idaho. There's been so much unexpected goodness here that wasn't factored into our decision at all. We were also certainly happy in big cities like Seattle. I could write a much longer article on the differences we've experienced, but this change has turned on a lot of light bulbs for me about why rural and urban America can't seem to communicate well. The lived experience is just so absolutely different. I'm glad that my family is getting to experience both and I do recommend spending real time in each.

#6 - It's ok to cry, like, every once in a while

I hope that my bit of embarrassing vulnerability communicated to them that I loved them and was here for them

On a morning last September I found myself in a room full of students for the first time. They sat there attentively looking to me to get us going. I looked back at those people. I'd never met them, but life had brought us into this classroom together. My family and I had walked away from some significant things that we valued so I could be there in that room. I knew this was what I wanted to do. As I started to introduce myself, something happened. I cried. Not like sobbing stuff, but some quivering jaw, wet-eyed awkwardness while I told them how happy I was to be with them. I didn't mean to do it. Quite the opposite. But that moment taught me that it's ok to be vulnerable and feel a bit. I hope that my bit of embarrassing vulnerability communicated to them that I felt love for them and was here for them. I think it does. And, I've learned that it's ok to shed a couple brief tears now and then. I wish that I had learned that lesson leading teams in the corporate world.

#7 - Students having real-world learnings in college is a game changer

Translating classroom learning to real-world application is tough. One course we have at BYUI that does just that is called IBC (Integrated Business Core). In this class, 15-18 students literally start an actual company from scratch and run it for the semester. Starting a company is something most of us will never do. They come up with a product, build business plans, go to a loan committee, present to a board of directors, run integrated marketing/operations/finance organizations, and measure results. My students have run a tie-dye clothing business ("Groovy Mama"), a scavenger hunt business ("The Hunt"), and a branded clothing company ("Grungy Goat"). Two of the three ran production in my garage. They struggle and often confront failures as they intentionally rotate through different roles in the organization. And this is where awesome learning happens. At the core of it they learn the critical importance of a healthy company culture. This is the most impactful learning experience I've ever observed. (I'll write more about this in the future) These students finish much more prepared for real-world scenarios than many of their peers because they've "been there." Two of the three businesses were purchased at the end of the semester and are still being run outside of the university. So cool!

#8 - These students absolutely inspire me to be more

I want to be a better professor because I genuinely think they deserve that.

You know how going to bed on Sunday night and thinking about getting up Monday morning isn't always a positive thought? Well, that has changed for me. I go to bed looking forward to getting up on Monday because I know that at 8AM there's a group of students who I get to spend time with. These people have so much light and energy. They have engaged minds and ask real questions. They make excellent jokes. They see "real-life" dead ahead and are humble enough to ask for help in navigating it. Sure, some have bad days, poor attitudes, or are there for the wrong reasons. But that's the exception, not the rule. After only a year, my office has a bunch of thank-you notes, posters, other small gifts of appreciation, and even a tie-dyed blanket from kind students. I'm lucky to get to be around these future leaders. I want to be a better professor because I genuinely think they deserve that.

Reflecting now, this article certainly benefited me more than it will any of you, but still, Thank You for reading it! Wherever you are and whatever you're doing, I really hope that you're finding some growth and inspiration. As for me - here's to Fall Semester!!