Mentorship at Scale….Global Recon

Where it all started…

When I got to university, I was one of the lucky few that knew what my major was going to be already when I stepped on campus. Having studied International Baccalaureate (IB) Economics in high school, I became fascinated by how immediately transferable our class studies were “in the wild.” I was blessed to have that realization because of a few key-differentiating factors:

· I went to high school in Paris, France before the euro was created. During sports trips, instead of going to different cities, we would travel to play in different countries throughout Europe and live with host families. Learning the impact of currency exchange on my per diem and the scarcity or abundance of cherished products (e.g. the new Biggie album, or snacks you could only get on the Brussels / US army base, etc)

· My IB Micro & Macroeconomics professors were visionaries! Rather than just teaching theory and making us take mindless memorization tests, they would use a form of real world case-study method. They would either bring in newspapers or bring-to-light key trends that were happening in various regions around the world. The textbook theory would be used to uncover learnings and lead discussions amongst the students.

All this being said, when I got to university, though I knew my major, I still didn’t know what I wanted to be when I grew up. I knew it would be something in business, but what wasn’t clear was what that equated to. I just hadn’t seen enough yet. I was on a quest to find the answer from the start though. Interning at JPMorgan every summer from freshman year, I gravitated toward investment banking. But at the same time, entrepreneurs and young business professionals would come in to speak about their experiences and I always found those talks to be the most fascinating. It was through these guest lectures where I would get a more holistic view of what the world had to offer…from people “in the wild.” During those talks, I was always “that kid” sitting in the front, asking tons of questions about their journey.

How did you get from university to where you are today?

What were some of the hurdles you faced?

What advise can you give us to be like you when we grow up?

Now that I’m 10yrs removed from university, I can start to see where these entrepreneurs and young professionals were coming from. I am one of them now. And so its only natural to want to give that gift of perspective to a student similar to whom I once was.

Taking a play out of my IB Macro & Microeconomics teachers’ book, I wanted to create a series of lectures that would use real world trends and current events to lead discussions on global business and entrepreneurship. That insight culminated in the lecture series, Global Recon.

Unfortunately, UCLA doesn’t have a specific global business major, so I felt I had something unique to share. Having lived and worked in the US, Europe, Asia, Africa, and South America, I know the value of being a global citizen and wanted to create a program that emphasized this. While most students now see Silicon Valley as the land of opportunity (and it definitely has its opportunities!), there is an entire world that could benefit from strong young leaders looking to make an impact.

The Recons…

Over the course of (5) lectures, which I called ‘Recons’, we discussed multiple industries and their global trends.

• Recon #1 — Global Expansion in Technology
• Recon #2 — The Democratization of Fashion
• Recon#3 — Creative Content and the Changing Media Landscape
• Recon #4 — The Evolution of Social Entrepreneurship
• Recon #5 — Graduation & Student Presentations

These were some pretty heavy topics to discuss each week at 7pm on a Wednesday night, but the students always came prepared and ready to rock. These were the more passionate and motivated students…not the ones that wanted to just party or #NetflixAndChill on a Wednesday night. The make-up of the class was super international as well. Students from the US, Dubai, China, Australia, and parts of Europe came to class with such varied perspectives and experiences they could all teach each other.

I was amazed by the intelligence and curiosity of the students and I ultimately learned a lot from them in the process. Walking them through heated discussions taught them to think critically and defend their arguments with facts and references to their peers. You should have seen it! At times I just sat back and watch them go at it!

At the end of the lecture series, I made it a point to ask for feedback. Just like any product or program, it can always be more impactful, connect better. Outside of the praise, which was much appreciated, students really liked when I brought in young professionals to talk about their own experiences on the “battlefield.”

In Recon #4, I brought Ann Wang from Enrou. She started her company while at UCLA (and actually spent the early days of the company camping out in the StartupUCLA offices). She went on to create a global social impact fashion platform that empowers communities and SMEs in the developing world. Her journey helped to humanize the students understanding of social entrepreneurship.