NetworkNews, Fall 2017
I always turned my homework in on time.
So it is ironic that I turned this article in to our wonderful newsletter editor, Pamela Kalbfleisch, very late.
Ironic because, if I had turned it in on time, I would not have been able to tell you about Nadya Zhexembayeva.
Nadya Zhexembayeva is a native of Kazakhstan. Her great-grandfather was executed by the government for being a dissident, and her grandfather was persecuted for being the son of an enemy of the state. She has vivid memories of standing in line for food as a child. She made her way to Hartwick College (NY), graduated in 2001, went on to get her PhD in organizational behavior, and now owns and is the chief reinvention officer at WE EXIST Reinvention Agency. She assists companies and leaders across the world to recognize the importance and the timeliness of reinvention, which she insists is a much more sustainable paradigm for success than innovation. She held the rapt attention of over 100 Hartwick undergraduates at a lecture this past week because her message is relevant and vital and filled with hope at a time when the pressure to evolve is raining down upon us.
Nadya says that her childhood and family taught her the importance of reinvention. In her world you never knew what challenges you would next face or from where those challenges might come. Survival required adaptation and a constant process of reinvention.
My family did not face what Nadya’s did. Most of us have not stood in line for food. Many of us have not experienced the urgent and visceral need to adapt as Nadya has. She sees the world through her finely ground lens, and her promise starts there. She is one of a kind.
How fortunate that the answer was “yes” rather than “no” when Nadya wanted to come to the U.S. to study.
My Slovenian and Croatian ancestors came to the U.S. to work in the coal mines of Pennsylvania and Minnesota. How fortunate that the answer was “yes” rather than “no” when they wanted to come to the U.S. to work and live. If not for that “yes,” I would not be writing this note to you today.
Maybe you have traveled abroad, studied abroad, hosted an exchange student, have a physician who studied in another country, or had a student like Nadya in your class. Chances are your ancestors immigrated from one place to another. I am sure that you have your own stories of how influences from across the world have shaped your view, created your own finely ground lens, and influenced your evolving position on important social, economic, and political issues.
If you value and want to preserve and strengthen these permeable boundaries and international experiences for generations to come, it is very easy to call a member of the U.S. House of Representatives or Senate to share your view. I have been in congressional offices when the call comes in. A staffer will pick up the phone and will likely ask for your zip code, and you can tell her why you are calling. You don’t have to be an expert on the topic that you care about. The staffer will make notes on your comments and add this to the tally of the issues that people call about. No matter how you view Congress, its members represent us. They need to be able to say “the people I represent want. . .” If you care about the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy, or medical care in rural areas, or country specific travel bans, or the dwindling number of U.S. students who will fill our colleges, or the fact that U.S. companies need employees with international experience and cross-cultural understanding in order to thrive in a world where 95 percent of consumers live outside of the U.S., then call Congress. Uncle Sam needs you. We all do.
As I finish this article, I can hear the playing of “The Star-Spangled Banner” in the park below my home. There are so many citizens in this community who have family who once immigrated to this country. I am sure that they are all standing—or perhaps even kneeling—with respect below the flag.
Margaret L. Drugovich
President, Hartwick College
Chair, ACE Women’s Network Executive Council