I’ve been writing up a storm of guest blogs over at the Intern Matters blog regarding Hispanic culture and the Hispanic workforce. This post wraps up and summarizes my initial posts on Hispanic culture. Check it out when you get a chance. Enjoy!
Just for laughs – because we can all use one at the end of the week. Enjoy!
We’ve all heard the cliché that “the only constant in life is change.” Like many such maxims out there, we read them, understand them, but how often do we embrace them? Change is not something that gives us a chance to plan – real change usually strikes on some idle morning when we least expect it. Recently, I was given an unexpected opportunity to explore how much I know about change. Last week, I underwent emergency surgery for an intestinal condition I didn’t realize I had until it sent me to the hospital. Within hours of setting foot in the emergency room, I was being wheeled hurriedly into an operating room: scared, confused, uncertain, and anxious. Now, only a week later, those initial feelings of doubt have receded; replaced instead with confidence, understanding, assuredness, and optimism. And while the road to my full recovery is still months away, I realize this journey is not only about my health, it’s also about dealing with change.
As you can imagine, every aspect of my life has been touched by this unexpected experience: my wife, my kids, my job(s), my home, my family, my friendships, and so many other things that constitute “my life.” It’s also brought new things into my life like doctors, surgeons, specialists, healthcare agents, medical suppliers, and insurance representatives. And so with all this change, I got to thinking about what we can do to ready ourselves. Change, even in the most unexpected circumstances, can be a positive experience in thought as well as reality. Given that I’m at the crossroads between these two ideas, here are three thoughts that I think can be applied to any situation involving unexpected change: Read more…
Friends and readers: Unfortunately, due to an unexpected medical emergency last week, HTM posts will be a bit slow. I’m currently in the hospital recovering and should be home later this week with lots of R/R expected. As time permits, I will update you on why, what, and how of my situation. I look forward to blogging more as the days pass, but for now, please stay tuned. I appreciate your support. Miguel
Sometimes you just have days when the news isn’t always positive when it comes to Hispanics and other minorities. Two sobering but interesting articles point to the impact the current economic environment is taking on Hispanics. Life’s challenges teach us that any endeavor usually means that you often take two steps back in order to take one step forward. Of course, it’s easy to not always easy to see the forest beyond the trees on some days, but it’s important to do so. Once this environment runs its course like so many before, a lot of businesses and organizations will need more leaders and workers in the coming decades. So even on days like today when the news is not always so positive, it’s important to look beyond the trees and look forward the forest ahead.
The New York Times has an intriguing article regarding the challenges faced by the 2010 Census in which citizens may not actually be able to “classify” themselves correctly on a census form. With the number of inter-racial and inter-ethnic marriages occuring in the United States, I can see how it would be challenging to classify oneself. Here’s the money line from the article:
More than 1 in 50 Americans now identify themselves as “multiracial.” But the pattern of race reporting for foreign-born Americans, is markedly different than for native-born Americans. The foreign born are more likely to list their nation of origin when identifying race or ethnicity. For example, while 87 percent of Americans born in Cuba and 53 percent born in Mexico identified themselves as white, a majority born in the Dominican Republic and El Salvador, who are newer immigrants, described themselves as neither black nor white.
Just the other day, I met someone who is Hispanic in name and culture but is African American in appearance. I don’t think there’s a check box on the census form for him. I didn’t ask what he considered himself. Furthermore, you can just begin to imagine all different organizational dynamics that will come into play as more and more people fall under this ethnic, racial, and cultural trend. Really, really fascinating stuff.
I’ve tweeted about a lot this week but wanted to share some thoughts below (with associated links) since I think they highlight continued trends regarding the importance of the growing Hispanic workforce. Enjoy!
Hispanics in the South: The University of Alabama is hosting a one day conference on the growing presence of Hispanics in the South. This is growing trend with states such as GA, TN, and NC already experiencing significant growth over the last decade. I lived in Little Rock, AR. for two years and saw tremendous growth of the Hispanic population during my time there. Little Rock actually hosted the LULAC National Convention there a few years ago. It was a great convention!
Education Where It’s Needed: Teach for America is offering potential Hispanic teachers the opportunity to give back to their community by placing them in areas where they’re needed the most – they’re own communities. Teach for America salaries are just a bit higher if a candidate teaches in an urban or high need area. The organization recruits college graduates from all backgrounds, trains them, and places them where there is a high need. A great opportunity to give back, make a difference, and begin a career in education.
Intel Making a Difference: Intel is investing in providing K-8 teachers professional development on math content by taking an innovative approach. This Intel Math program is an intensive 80 hour course facilitated by a practicing mathematician and a math educator. The curriculum is available for free to any state in the US. Another organization making a difference is my alma mater – The University of Texas at El Paso. I worked at the career center there and it’s where I earned my BA and MA degrees. With more than 70% of its student body of Hispanic descent- it’s making a huge difference in graduating students into STEM careers .
Hispanic Trends for 2010: Jose Villa provides some excellent thoughts regarding Hispanic marketing trends for 2010. I’ve insisted that many of these same ideas can be applied to recruiting Hispanic professionals into the workplace. I particularly like his thoughts regarding generational differences and acculturation.
Demographic Trends: The NewYork Times shared an article on how seven states in the U.S. have seen a decrease in their 18 and under population. The list of states is provided in the article. Despite some of these contractions, the Hispanic population in these states is still growing.
Future Leadership: I’ve long advocated that organizations need to tap and exploit growing pools of talent for future leadership - especially as more Hispanics graduate from college. To this thought, Kevin Wheeler shares some ideas regarding the future of leadership. With baby-boomers and non-Hispanic whites decreasing in population, there will be a definite leadership gap in the coming decade.
As I review my leftover “to do” list from 2009, I’m excited to begin a new year and a new decade. It promises one to be filled with both excitement and challenges. Here at HTM, we’ll be introducing two new features. First, we’ll be incorporating podcasts starting later this month. Podcasts will follow the same theme that you’ve seen over the last few months, but with contributions from subject experts in a number of areas related to the Hispanic workforce. Although I anticipate some minor technological hic-cups along the way, I’m confident it will add a lot of value to the HTM site. Second, we’ll be adding some “vlog” (video post) content before Spring. Again, these posts will be geared at the same type of content with some local and regional guests appearing via HTM. We have some folks here in Cincinnati and the Tr-State area (OH, IN, KY) that are incredibly knowledgeable about the Hispanic workforce. Adding their perspectives can only improve what we’ve started here. Third, the first few weeks promise to be busy. I’m waiting to hear back regarding a manuscript I submitted to the Business Journal of Hispanic Studies, I’ve got an online presentation coming up this week, and a graduate class that begins next week. Finally, I’m working on my next study that will hopefully be completed by this Spring.
So it all begins again tomorrow – here’s to a great and prosperous 2010. See you soon.
Hard to believe the year and decade are coming to an end. For me, it’s a time of reflection and goal setting so posts will be relatively light until after the new year. I’ll be spending some quality time with the family and working on additional plans for the upcoming year. Hopefully, we’ll be introducing podcasts and vlog postings soon after 2010 is under way. Best wishes for a safe and happy new year! See you soon.
