Season 1, Episode 21
This episode is part of a set of short interviews which were recorded during Alumni Reunion Week 2021. Be sure to listen to the other two Alumni Reunion Week episodes. Tamara Hughes ’16 joins host David Droogleever in the Owl's Nest.
This episode is part of a set of short interviews which were recorded during Alumni Reunion Week 2021. Be sure to listen to the other two Alumni Reunion Week episodes. Tamara Hughes '16 joins host David Droogleever in the Owl's Nest.
Subscribe to Owl Have You Know on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Youtube or wherever you find your favorite podcasts.
Season 5, Episode 10
Hear about Ramon’s career journey from his grandfather’s general store in Mexico to the C-suite of some of the biggest global retailers, as well as why he decided to pursue an MBA at Rice Business.
Season 5, Episode 9
Corey chats about her pivots from pre-med to English to her current role as an EdTech executive — as well as the importance of supporting AI literacy and how she's helping transform the education system.
Season 5, Episode 8
A seasoned entrepreneur, investor and mentor, Ben discusses his incredible career journey, approach to mentoring entrepreneurs, and the many lessons he's learned over the past 50 years.
Meet Tohfe Beidas, Professional MBA Class of 2022, who was featured in Metro MBA's Real Human features.
Houston, Texas
University of Houston
I have been working in supply chain/operations in the chemical industry for the past five years at LyondellBasell. However, I have shifted towards talent management (still supporting supply chain) at the same company in the past year.
Ever since I graduated in 2015, I always knew I wanted to pursue my MBA to continue my growth and learning. A mentor had told me “the longer you wait, the more valuable the MBA is.” At the time, I didn’t fully comprehend the importance of that advice but now it fully makes sense! I waited about five years before deciding to go back to school. With having multiple years of experience under my belt, I am able to better understand the coursework and contribute more effectively in the classroom. Timing is different for everyone, but, for me, the current timing was right. Although 2020 was a whirlwind, I thought what better time than now to get this started.
I was born and raised in Houston and knew I wanted to stay local to be able to continue working throughout my MBA. Rice has always been on my radar, but once I started digging into the different offerings, I realized that this was the best choice for me. I was interested in a program that had a full campus. I also wanted to have flexibility with the courses in my second year, which Rice has a wide variety of electives to choose from. I was looking for a school that had student organizations and other extracurricular activities that align with my interests. I knew I wanted to be academically challenged and to be surrounded by such bright individuals. Diversity, equity and inclusion was also extremely important to be, and I was fortunate to attend Rice at a time where these initiatives have grown immensely. Throughout the recruiting process, I heard the phrase “You Belong Here” multiple times. I instantly felt welcomed from the very first interactions that I had with the Rice community. Just like choosing a company whose values and culture interest you, you should have the same mindset when choosing a school.
Each student brings something unique to the table and to our class, which makes it so interesting to learn about each person’s experiences and background. I believe that I bring a unique, diverse perspective, leadership experience, and knowledge. I have a passion of volunteering and giving back, and am dedicated to furthering growth and development. Nonetheless, I truly appreciate the cohesiveness despite the uniqueness of each individual.
During the pandemic, I spent a lot of time in the kitchen baking and cooking exploring new recipes and cuisines. However, I specifically found my love for baking traditional Arabic desserts, it sparked an idea and I think I can turn into a small business one day! Here’s another fact: when I was a senior in High School in around 2009-2010, we had to write our final research paper and were required to pull resources from the Fondren Library at Rice. That was actually the last time I stepped foot on campus until my first day of class of my MBA, it almost felt like a full circle with my education. I was familiar with the area around the campus, but I had forgotten how beautiful the campus itself was.
Starting an MBA in the midst of a global pandemic is quite a unique experience, but I was able to experience the Rice culture early on. They quickly adapted to virtual learning to allow a safe environment for us to continue with in-person classes. Seeing various other universities in Houston remain online, we were very fortunate to have the opportunity to continue the learning in a somewhat “normal” environment given the situation with COVID-19. However, we are excited that the conditions are improving so we can engage in more in-person activities with much lighter restrictions for our second year. Even with the restrictions, our class has been fortunate to build great connections and friendships. With that being said, it has been a wonderful experience, and I am thankful to be a Rice Owl!
Tohfe Beidas is a Professional MBA student in the Class of 2022.
Discover why Rice Business stands out as the top MBA program for entrepreneurship in the U.S.
Aquib Yacoob is an entrepreneur, community organizer, strategist and a Rice MBA.
Students and faculty reflect on the lessons learned, the challenges overcome, and the lifelong connections made.
Meet Keri Sprung, Executive MBA Class of 2022, who was featured in Metro MBA's Real Human features.
The Woodlands, Texas
University of Texas at Austin, BA Biology
I have 25 years of work experience primarily in medical research and innovation for-profit and non-profit sectors. After graduating from the University of Texas at Austin’s College of Natural Sciences, I worked for Pfizer Pharmaceuticals, Inc. across several Texas Medical Center healthcare institutions. I served as vice president of marketing for an Austin-based biotech firm. I later co-founded two medical device companies that provided surgical services to hospital systems across the southwest region. Since 2012, I have worked at the Texas Heart Institute in the Texas Medical Center and volunteered with several non-profit advocacy organizations, including the American Heart Association, Texans for Stem Cell Research, Breakthrough Houston, Genetics Policy Institute, and Elnita McClain Women’s Center. I currently serve as a Rice Business Board Fellow for Children at Risk.
I have 25 years of work experience primarily in medical research and innovation for-profit and non-profit sectors. After graduating from the University of Texas at Austin’s College of Natural Sciences, I worked for Pfizer Pharmaceuticals, Inc. across several Texas Medical Center healthcare institutions. I served as vice president of marketing for an Austin-based biotech firm. I later co-founded two medical device companies that provided surgical services to hospital systems across the southwest region. Since 2012, I have worked at the Texas Heart Institute in the Texas Medical Center and volunteered with several non-profit advocacy organizations, including the American Heart Association, Texans for Stem Cell Research, Breakthrough Houston, Genetics Policy Institute, and Elnita McClain Women’s Center. I currently serve as a Rice Business Board Fellow for Children at Risk.
Adding value to my institution, family, and community – both personally and professionally – was my primary goal when choosing an MBA program. I chose Rice Business because I wanted not only to complete a rigorous curriculum but engage with a diverse and progressive alumni community after graduation to expand my network for professional, philanthropic and personal goals.
We started our program during a global pandemic on Zoom — not exactly conducive to building relationships with your classmates. I knew that networking was one of the significant reasons many executives seek an MBA, so I decided to be brave and reach out personally to connect with as many of my classmates as possible in the first few weeks. Our cohort of 63 brilliant professionals is exceptionally close today, and I am honored to be in this program with every one of them.
In 2015, I recognized the need to submerge myself into a rigorous graduate program and decided to take a few courses at the Rice Glasscock Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership. I was concerned that my ability to inspire others would soon hit a plateau if I did not seek formal training. I took 4 or 5 courses at night, and they were enlightening. Taking these continued learning courses solidified my decision to apply to the Rice MBA program.
My goal is to continue to advance my career in the non-profit sector and engage in additional opportunities with entrepreneurial individuals, companies and institutions in the future that are pursuing impactful business ideas that will benefit from my breadth of experience and new knowledge.
When evaluating the commitment, don’t be apprehensive about the time commitment. If you sit down and assess a 22-month program and break it down into weeks, it does not look so daunting. It is always possible to find time in your schedule. With solid scheduling discipline and support from your family, friends and co-workers the program is entirely manageable — and exhilarating.
Inspiring and engaging with boundless optimism.
Keri Sprung is an Executive MBA student in the Class of 2022.
Discover why Rice Business stands out as the top MBA program for entrepreneurship in the U.S.
Aquib Yacoob is an entrepreneur, community organizer, strategist and a Rice MBA.
Students and faculty reflect on the lessons learned, the challenges overcome, and the lifelong connections made.
MBA grads from these business schools have at least a 160% average return, U.S. News data shows.
Meet Chelsea Rose, Professional MBA Class of 2022, who was featured in Metro MBA's Real Human features.
Missouri City, Texas
The Ohio State University, Sociology
One of my long-term goals is to reimagine the way that we, as a society, experience the workplace. In my time as an educator, I’ve noticed that negative workplace dynamics can be huge barriers in achieving the level of success and impact that we’d like to have. Turnover, unproductive interpersonal conflict, and poor communication skills are just some of the common barriers that I have experienced. Right now, amidst a global pandemic and social unrest, it’s even more important that our business leaders are aware of workplace dynamics and work to actively change systems and structures that allow employees to be fully human. In order to change these systems, one needs a deep historical knowledge of how these systems were created and what forces continue to perpetuate them. I seek to create change at multiple levels and achieve impact in the long-term.
I chose Rice Business because of its commitment to diversity and inclusion. It was important to me that I learn both from and with people who think differently than I do, and as a result I have gained new perspectives. I had the opportunity to join the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) council for the Jones Student Association for Professionals (JSAP), and learned about how difficult it can be to both bring people along with you on the DEI journey as well as create a strong and compelling map for the journey. I gained insight about what students felt needed to change in regards to DEI at Jones and hope to continue moving this work forward as I start my second year.
During class, I make it a point to “run back” more of the complex topics that are discussed. This check for understanding (as we know it in education) helps me to solidify the learning, cement it in my brain, and build conceptual understanding of some of the more complicated topics that are covered. While in class, it’s very easy to not want to participate because you may feel like the question you have is a dumb question, but every dumb question I’ve had someone else has also had, and I’m happy to be the one to ask those questions.
I have run 9 half marathons and 1 full marathon.
I’m interested in pursuing a career in consulting. I’m lucky enough to have the opportunity to intern at Accenture Strategy this summer and am looking forward to learning and growing as a strategic thinker and problem solver.
This sounds really corny, but be yourself. Others can tell when you’re not being authentic and it’s hard to continue with a façade. In essays and interviews, be honest and tell your story in a way that’s compelling and allows people to really get to know you. At the end of the day we’re all people ultimately wanting to connect with other like-minded people.
I have really enjoyed my time at Rice Business. I have built some really great relationships with my classmates and view them as some of the smartest people I have ever and probably will ever know. Starting business school in the heart of a global pandemic has been really tough, but I can say with confidence that Rice Business tries its very best to ensure that students feel connected and part of a community by allowing us to come on campus and hosting events so that we can continue to build that community.
Chelsea Rose is a Professional MBA student in the Class of 2022.
Discover why Rice Business stands out as the top MBA program for entrepreneurship in the U.S.
Aquib Yacoob is an entrepreneur, community organizer, strategist and a Rice MBA.
Students and faculty reflect on the lessons learned, the challenges overcome, and the lifelong connections made.
At Rice Business, our clubs, organizations and conferences give students the opportunity to cultivate their leadership and business skills and to network with experts in different industries.
At Rice Business, our clubs, organizations and conferences give students the opportunity to cultivate their leadership and business skills and to network with experts in different industries. Julianne Katz was president of the 21st annual Women In Leadership Conference, Authentic Voices: Defining and Expressing Your True Identity, and this was her experience.
Initially, it was my very generous scholarship opportunity that opened my eyes up to Rice. But the real decision maker was the community. In my two visits to campus for Rice Business Admit Weekends, I already felt that I had built lifelong relationships with my future classmates. I also felt like the faculty and staff really believed in my potential and would support me. Other “pros” that influenced my decision were the small class size, the opportunity to network in the large and vibrant city of Houston, and the strong Entrepreneurship program, to name a few.
Running the Women in Leadership Conference (WILC) during the peak of Covid-19 was an exercise in innovation. We had the opportunity, and the support from Rice, to make bold changes to the usual format and line-up.
The greatest takeaways for me were: (1) trust your gut when taking chances on new ideas, (2) surround yourself with a passionate and capable team who you know you can count on, (3) lead with joy, and the rest will follow.
I began my career as a theater performer (my first job was performing a principal role on a Broadway National Tour), and then as a Director/Choreographer. I had countless side-hustles, which ultimately led me to co-found an arts education company called Broadway Kids Auditions (BKA) in New York City. Running my business for six years sparked a new desire in me… fast forward to the MBA. I am excited to start my new chapter, post-MBA, with Zx Ventures, the innovation/new venture arm of beverage giant, ABInBev.
I believe that success during your MBA experience is dependent on making choices that work for you. Say yes to things. But also learn how to say no. You cannot do everything, you cannot be everything. Listen to your intuition when navigating your journey, and give 100% to the opportunities that you do accept.
…and ENJOY! It goes quickly!
Julianne Katz was a Full-Time MBA student in the Class of 2021. She was the President of the 2021 Women in Leadership Conference.
Discover why Rice Business stands out as the top MBA program for entrepreneurship in the U.S.
Aquib Yacoob is an entrepreneur, community organizer, strategist and a Rice MBA.
Students and faculty reflect on the lessons learned, the challenges overcome, and the lifelong connections made.
How Unauthorized Markets Can Sometimes Actually Help Business
Based on research by Amit Pazgal
How Unauthorized Markets Can Sometimes Actually Help Business
A camera store in Taiwan buys Nikon cameras from an electronics shop in the Philippines, where photo equipment is cheaper. Then the store sells them to consumers in Taiwan at a lower price. The camera comes without a warranty and instructions are in Filipino – the buyers in Taiwan are happy to have a real Nikon for a lower cost.
The sellers and customers are operating in the so-called gray market – where genuine products are sold through unauthorized channels. Gray marketers buy goods in markets with lower prices, then ship them to a market with higher prices, where they will likely sell for a profit. Though the products are identical, consumers typically see gray market goods as inferior since they often lack benefits like after-sale services or warranty coverage.
For years, gray markets have posed a significant threat to both manufacturers and retailers, depriving both of customers and profits. It’s estimated that around $7 billion to $10 billion in goods enter the U.S. market through gray market channels every year. The IT industry, for one, loses approximately $5 billion a year due to gray market activities.
No specific laws in the U.S. ban this practice outright, however. As a result, in recent years, retailers are increasingly taking advantage of potentially cheaper prices abroad, personally importing or using third parties to buy original goods not meant for direct sale in the United States – and then selling them here for less. Alibaba, China’s most extensive online shopping site, offers its hundreds of millions of shoppers a large array of gray market goods to peruse.
Manufacturers usually respond to gray markets with knee-jerk hostility, urging customers to avoid gray market goods and even filing lawsuits against gray market peddlers. Nikon, for example, includes a website section to educate consumers on how to identify gray market products, to shun the gray market.
But is gray market commerce always destructive? Rice Business Professor Amit Pazgal joined then-Rice Business Ph.D. student Xueying Liu (now an assistant professor at Nankai University) to explore scenarios in which gray markets could be good for both manufacturers and retailers. Testing the theory in recent research, Pazgal and Liu found that there are indeed situations in which both manufacturers and retailers can profit thanks to gray markets, while the associated product also improves in quality.
To reach these conclusions, the researchers started by recruiting 118 participants between the ages of 25 and 45 to complete a gray market product survey. They found the majority had no problem buying gray market goods. Only 3% of consumers wouldn’t consider buying cosmetics from a gray marketer, while 6-7% wouldn’t buy electronics. Despite this, more than 90% of participants who were willing to buy required a price discount of 20-30%, showing the goods were seen as slightly inferior.
The researchers then tested responses to a model of a manufacturer selling a single product to two markets – or countries – that differed in size and in customer willingness to pay for the product. Consumers in one market would pay more, on average, for quality. For example, the Nikon D500 camera is sold for a 7.5% premium in Taiwan versus Thailand and a 10% price premium in Taiwan versus the Philippines.
Pazgal and Liu found that when the manufacturer sells their product directly to consumers in both markets when there is also a gray market, both the manufacturer’s profit and product quality decrease. But when the same manufacturer sells their product indirectly to a retailer in at least one of these markets, both the manufacturer’s and the retailer’s profits can increase. So can the product’s quality.
This occurs for several reasons. First, gray marketers increase total demand and profit for the retailer in the lower-priced market, or in the market where the gray marketer buys their goods. The manufacturer can set a higher wholesale price for the better quality product in a market where consumers pay more, and increase sales in both markets as consumers compare the regular, high-quality product to the gray market one. In fact, by offering a lower-priced, lower quality (that is, gray market) alternative to its own high-quality product, the manufacturer can better segment consumers in the higher-priced market.
Finally, the retailer in the higher-priced market becomes more profitable even though they lose some customers to the gray market. This is because increased product quality and price more than make up for lost sales. Researchers found that the results hold regardless of whether the gray marketer buys from the manufacturer or a retailer.
The bottom line: in certain situations, gray markets can improve profitability for both manufacturers and retailers (and, of course, the gray marketers). Counterintuitive though it is, manufacturers that sell through retailers shouldn’t automatically see gray markets as an obstacle to their profits, rushing to demand that governments and courts shut them down. Instead, in some cases, companies could do well to embrace these gray markets, because they lead to overall improved profits.
Manufacturers can use this information to their advantage, Pazgal noted. Nikon, for example, could introduce a higher quality camera to the market, allowing it to set even higher wholesale prices and increase sales in both markets, far exceeding the cost of the higher quality product.
For consumers, meanwhile, gray markets are always beneficial because of lower prices. If companies heed Pazgal’s findings, however, customers could also benefit from more innovative and higher quality cameras and other merchandise, as manufacturers hurry to create better products to bump up their profits.
Amit Pazgal is the Friedkin Professor of Management – Marketing at the Jones Graduate School of Business.
To learn more, please see: Liu, X., & Pazgal, A. (2020). The Impact of Gray Markets on Product Quality and Profitability. Customer Needs and Solutions, 7(3-4), 62–73. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40547-020-00105-6.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission updated its guidelines recently to address this specific question—but there are still some exceptions to the rule. Rice Business adjunct professor Larry Stuart weighs in: "It is not illegal to require employees to get a vaccine as a condition of employment."
Check out Full-Time MBA '21 Katie Chung's advice about the importance of refusing to let preconceptions and labels define you on your journey to reach your full potential.
This blog post was originally featured in Poets & Quants.
Non-Traditional: New and different from an established norm, custom or method.
Sounds like an advantage. But why did I feel this label – Non-Traditional MBA student – held me back?
Let’s back up. Three years ago – and it’s crazy how much the world has changed since then – I was beginning the recruiting process for business school. I was a woman with a BFA who had danced her way through New York City. I was also a woman ready to be challenged in a different way. With my degree, there wasn’t a clear transitional path to another career. I couldn’t see where I could go. And honestly, not a lot of hiring managers could either.
I knew I could learn quickly, work really hard, and eventually excel in whatever was put in front of me. But it quickly became clear: without more formal education in business, I would likely be spending my entire day proving myself to my team. I knew I needed more education and a bit of credibility. So, I went for an MBA.
Going into the recruiting process, I already knew I was different from most other applicants. I am a woman. I am half-Asian. I am a performing artist who took one Econ class in undergrad. I was taking a risk. Even though I knew I had had a track record of doing what I set out to do, I found myself asking others to take a risk on me. In so many conversations, I heard these exact same sentences: "You will bring such out-of-the-box ideas to the table," or "You would think it's the finance people who go so far but it's always the artists who surprise everyone." Before I even began my education, slight justifications were already being made for my differences, as if I had to be the exception to the rule to succeed. From day one of recruiting, there was a little crutch being built underneath me.
I was inspired to think about this subject after reading a recent quote from Elon Musk. Many of you may know the quote, but here’s a recap if you don’t. Elon said: “I think there might be too many MBAs running companies.” My first thought was, YES! We are future leaders of business. But then I thought about it a little deeper. What does he mean? The article goes on to talk about how Elon wants more business leaders out of the board room and on the factory floors. It made me think about the MBA I was receiving. What was I getting from my education?
I can’t speak to what an MBA used to be. As a recent graduate, I can attest to the well-rounded education I received. I learned about the importance and necessity of customer engagement. I was trained how to think like an entrepreneur and the steps that go into acquiring a business. I was immersed in the history of ESG, and how companies are positively and actively moving forward in our ever-changing world. I also learned the importance of a balance sheet, how to calculate WACC (although that was almost two years ago), and the history of major financial crises. As someone who stepped into the MBA program knowing that my path was going to look a little different than the norm, I left with an education that will equip me with the tools I need – no matter the direction of my future endeavors.
Most importantly – and I can only speak for myself here – I learned not only from the professors but I learned from my classmates. I learned from my finance-focused classmates, veteran classmates, and artist classmates alike. I drilled in some hard skills (shoutout to my classmates who tutored during core finals)! I also practiced soft skills. And I didn’t categorize my classmates into traditional and non-traditional boxes, either.
One of the biggest lessons I learned was from my core teammate, Yiming. He was an engineer before b-school. Yiming taught me the importance of asking questions. It can be hard in a room full of really smart people to stick your neck out and ask your question – especially if it’s a subject that is new to you. But Yiming was never afraid to ask and keep asking. He was not afraid to speak up or go back a step, to really understand what was being taught. As my core teammate, this quality kept our team on our toes. I learned so much from his questions and sometimes I was even able to answer one – which helped my learning even more!
Once we got into the classroom the professors didn’t divide us up either. They didn’t know our backgrounds and they did not have our resumes. We all entered on a level playing field. Our tough finance professor showed no mercy to those who didn’t have finance backgrounds. He just expected us to study harder. We took all the same tests and did the same case write-ups – some of us just had to study a couple dozen hours longer. From my class alone, we have future tech leaders, future people officers, finance wizards, and clean energy experts all with ‘non-traditional’ backgrounds.
So, who is this “non-traditional” label for? In the classroom, we were all students – students taking time to grow and learn. Outside of the classroom, I was still constantly defending my background. In interviews, coffee chats, and conversations with alumni, I found myself defending my diverse background. But, why?
Just look at some MBA class profile statistics for insight into what’s really going on. 44% of Stanford’s Class of 2022 have undergraduate degrees from Humanities and Social Sciences. Kenan-Flagler’s Class has 57% non-business background in its class. At Rice, roughly 40% of my graduating class came from non-business backgrounds.
In other words, being a non-traditional student is the norm in business school, not the exception.
So here is my ask in 2021 and beyond: Let’s drop the labels. We are all business students, period. We all bring unique experiences and stories to the table. The ‘non-traditional’ label only says, ‘You did great…for a performer or a non-business person.’ In reality, it says the same thing as everyone else: ‘You worked really hard and succeeded because of the work, time, and commitment you put in.’ As classes continue to diversify and more people are introduced to the business world, let’s welcome them. Let’s welcome our newcomers with open arms and simply start by learning about who they are and what inspired them to come to the table. Let’s show the MBA naysayers like Elon Musk what an MBA truly is.
For me, the MBA helped me look at the world in a new way: an eyes-wide-open, 360-degree, open-minded view. It’s with this view that we will grow with our teams, innovate, continue to learn, and become the leaders of the future.
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If you're considering an MBA, but are worried about fitting into the traditional mold, we invite you to explore our inclusive programs. From admission to graduation, non-traditional MBA students at Rice are provided with the tools and opportunities necessary to succeed. Begin your journey by requesting more information today.
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How the science of possessions can help foster care kids
Essay by Rice Business Wisdom contributor Deborah Lynn Blumberg with commentary from Jaeyeon (Jae) Chung
How the science of possessions can help foster care kids
This article originally appeared in The Houston Chronicle as "Essay: Foster children face a tough journey - but one simple, household item can make it better"
In his nearly 17 years in foster care in Houston, David Daniels never had a suitcase, even though he lived in eight homes and three shelters.
Daniels entered foster care after parting with his biological parents who struggled with substance abuse. During the many moves that followed, he remembers placing his pajamas, underwear, a Yolanda Adams gospel CD and a Harry Potter journal in two black trash bags, cinching them shut, then slinging them over his shoulder.
That lack of luggage “made me feel unstable,” says Daniels, who happens to be a successful flight attendant now, interacting with his and other people’s luggage daily. “You feel like the throw-away kid, unwanted. Quality luggage is essential to a person’s life journey. It says: I matter, I’m important.”
Across the country, children in foster care often transfer their clothes and personal items like Daniels did, in big trash bags or even flimsy plastic grocery sacks. The problem isn’t trivial, even considering the other, monumental challenges these children face. The impact of this seemingly small indignity can be profound. It can exacerbate, or confirm in a child’s mind, the feelings of instability, powerlessness and even worthlessness.
Those feelings are especially concerning these days. During COVID, the number of children without placement across Texas reached an all-time high of 200, Lisa Bourgoyne, program director for The Children’s Assessment Center, says. Many children spend days in CPS office spaces with their caseworkers and nights in temporary placements until a suitable foster care home can be found. Each time they move between these temporary spaces, they have to pack up their belongings. The crisis has only sharpened the need for individual, decent luggage to help ground them emotionally.
“The commonly occurring moves from place to place are difficult enough for children,” Bourgoyne says. “Kids often come to us broken, and we want to bring hope and healing so that they can grow up to live healthy, productive lives.”
In fact, research has shown that the simple routine of being forced to transport worldly belongings in a trash bag can have far-reaching implications for foster youth, from their development, interpersonal relationships and even future success in life. On the other hand, research has shown that the simple act of supplying a child with a $20 suitcase sends the message that the child and his or her belongings have value in this world.
People often link their self-value to their possessions, particularly young children, who still see their cherished possessions as a representation of the self, says Rice Business professor Jaeyeon Chung. In a recent paper, Chung found possessions not only affect how we see ourselves, but also how we end up performing across various tasks.
The symbolism of the trash bag might lead children to wonder, “Am I a person of a less value? Or, is my cherished doll or toy just trash?”
Business owner Aprili Amani, now 33 years old, grew up in foster care both with family and non-family in Indiana. The one move to a relative’s home in which she had to use a trash bag still haunts her. She describes it as “one of the most embarrassing moments of my youth.”
“It did strike me, even in my youth, that we didn’t have the basic needs fit for moving — as were seen in commercials on TV, or what we would see around us,” Amani says. “It felt like people were looking at us and judging our worth based on what we used to move in to the next place. This is pretty sad for me to recall.”
Those types of thoughts and feelings only add to the number of challenges the country’s some 424,000 children in foster care each day already face as they enter the system. The average age of children entering care is eight, and many come from homes marked by domestic violence or drug use. One third of kids entering U.S. foster care in 2019 were young people of color.
Of Texas’ some 32,000 youth currently in foster care, nearly 6,000 live in the Houston area. Houston kids spend more time in care and have more placements than other kids in the state, says Arnold Valdez, director of family care services at Houston’s DePelchin Children’s Center. The distinction, he says, stems from the urban make-up of the area and the high number of custody cases languishing in court.
Moves for these children are often fraught with both emotional and developmental challenges. Departures from unsafe homes are many times rushed, and they can be dramatic. Children may have just five minutes to grab a few of their belongings before rushing off with an investigator from Child Protective Services.
“They’ve just lost everything that they know, sometimes even their siblings,” Valdez says. “It’s incredibly traumatic. That transition is something that a child never, ever forgets and that will affect them for the rest of their lives.”
Subsequent moves to different foster care homes due to space constraints take an even greater toll. Each time a child moves, they’re set back an estimated four to six months both academically and developmentally. “The move triggers previous trauma,” Valdez says, “and it becomes increasingly difficult for them with each subsequent move.”
In this environment, a trash bag sends a terrible message to children already at a low point that, “your whole life is trash,” Valdez says. DePelchin sources donations to make sure every child they place leaves with their own new suitcase or duffel bag. This small gesture ultimately has a huge impact.
Luggage, and essentials like deodorant or toothpaste, boost children’s sense of self-worth and self-esteem. “And it’s incredibly important for them to establish their self-worth,” Valdez says, “because there’s a stigma with being in foster care.”
For foster care kids, knowing they have value is far more than a state of mind. While it can help them establish healthy relationships later in life, it helps fortify them more immediately against bullying.
Without a positive sense of self-worth, foster kids are at deep risk of experiences such as those of Daniels, the flight attendant: “I was suicidal at 15 because I felt unloved and unwanted,” he says. “With this cycle of bouncing around from group homes to shelters, it’s hard for us foster kids to know who really cares about us.”
Though the challenges of Houston’s foster children can seem overwhelming, city residents can actually have an important impact “resetting the tone” for them by donating luggage at a difficult time. “It is possible that these kind gestures can make a positive impact on how children see themselves and how they perform in life,” Rice University’s Chung says.
After a major luggage drive last year, DePelchin received an outpouring of new suitcases. But they still need help during National Foster Care Month this month, and beyond. And while replacing a garbage bag with a decent suitcase may have the starkest symbolism, new children’s clothing, including pajamas and underwear also are in high demand, DePelchin officials say.
Gift cards — evanescent as they are — are also a powerful form of donation. That’s because it’s profoundly empowering for foster kids simply to be able to choose their own luggage or clothing, Valdez says. “Choices help give them a sense of power and control.”
For former foster child Daniels, with a job that takes him all over the world, every day is a reminder of the way physical objects can represent a feeling of home. A simple suitcase with one’s name on a luggage tag resonates emotionally over a lifetime, says Daniels, who now advocates for other children.
“It’s symbolic,” Daniel says. “It’s these small things that really do matter.”
Jaeyeon (Jae) Chung is an Assistant Professor of Marketing with the Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Business at Rice University.
Blumberg is co-president of the Texas chapter of the American Society of Journalists and Authors.
