...an unexpected inspiration!

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Welcome to امريكا (Amriika)

Over the past 4 weeks, I have been working on a panel selecting 20 young Jordanian professionals for a semester long scholarship to the Thunderbird School of Global Management. In the beginning, I simply attended the interviews and graded the applicants, but over time I felt the need to improve the professionalism of the interviews and develop questions that required thought and sought to test for behavioral traits and cultural adaptability. For many of the second round candidates, I think it was the hardest interview that they ever encountered. Many of them noticeably lost all confidence, but what was inspiring was watching the hand full that struggled and would not give up. The questions were not necessarily difficult, but we challenged the applicants to go beyond the traditional regurgitation taught in Jordanian schools to creative thinking and application of ideas in the real world. Here are some sample questions and a couple common, not necessarily the best, answers:

Thunderbird’s motto is “borders frequented by trade seldom need soldiers.” Why might this be the case? - Only 3 candidates could properly explain what this meant

Name a trait/characteristic of Jordanians (or Arabs) that you feel is beneficial to their image worldwide? Why is this important? Generosity & Loyalty

What do you think your generations’ legacy to Jordan should be?
The most common answer was a blank stare or "I have never thought about that."

What is a social value that you feel passionately about? Why?
Honesty...however they had trouble explaining why honesty is important to society and its affect on society.

Give a specific example of how globalization affects your life.
Increased access to information or the closing of family business to cheap imports

The Developing World's Biggest Untapped Resource

In the end, the entire management of the selection process became mine and I think as a panel we ended up picking 20 fantastic candidates. Today, after interviewing over 160 candidates, we finally sent out the final decision letters. I am very proud of the 20 candidates we chose and think that they will do a fantastic job representing Jordan and Arabs. We selected more women than men, more than 4 religious belief systems, and people of all types of dress, as if this should matter anyways. In addition, we tried to reward individuals who may not be from the best tribes or had the advantages of living in Amman and attending private schools. We strove to reward individuals that demonstrated self-initiative, motivation, vision, and a recognition of interdependence. If there was any bias in the process, it was my push to reward individuals for recognizing the complex worldly interdependence that I believe will accelerate throughout the 21st century and to which Jordanian's future, and past, is inextricably linked.

However, the most unexpected outcome of the entire process was truly being inspired by young Jordanians with a drive to be respected by the rest of the world through their actions. For a small relatively resource poor country in the middle of a very bad neighborhood, these individuals have pieced together their dreams and tried to improve themselves against the odds. Particularly inspiring are many of the young females who literally have had to persuade their families at every step in their lives for more freewill and more trust. It's not that their families don't love them, but their families come from other times when the best a woman could do was to create her own family. (To be fair, there are plenty of "modern" families in Jordan in which the expectations for women are the same as in the West, but on average society is more traditional and more tribally focused.) My only wish is that while these young professionals (22-24 years old) are in the U.S., young Americans with similar drive but lacking opportunity to reach outside the U.S. could come to Jordan and experience a people, place, and culture that might surprise them as: safe, generous, loyal, educated (at least in some parts of Amman), and most of all shares very, very similar values.

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Comments

[Diana]

What a fantastic opportunity!
From one T-Bird to another...what a blessing to have played such a huge role in this selection process! I can't imagine anyone else out there more perfect for this role...I'm sure the candidates you helped select will not only have a amazing experience at Thunderbird, but will hopefully serve as the great leaders for the future of Jordan! I look forward to hearing about some of those responses! You should be proud of yourself and your candidates!

[Rev.R. T. Byrne]

Assertive in Service
As a theologian it is wonderful to read remarks framed in assertiveness for the purpose of serving. Serving neighbor or in the text of Scripture loving neighbor through serving neighbor is the essence of the great commandment to love God. This plays out in daily lives in a variety of ways. In yours I am reading it through your service to young Jordanian students. Keep up your faithful stewardship of your abundant talents.