“Don’t settle till you find your call” – the last message Grace left me as we concluded our conversation
A few weeks ago, I had a chance to talk with Grace, a former student of BCM 313 who has now graduated for half a year. Grace was one of a few international students pursuing her BCM degree in her batch, which was why I thought she would be a perfect person to interview since we share quite similar backgrounds. Besides, I am very interested in her life path as she brings forward narrative lessons and values from BCM 313 in her future of work.
For international students, to stay or to go back to our country is a pressing question that we sooner or later need to face with. Our conversation mentioned a lot about career decisions concerning cultural-fit factor and social prejudices about money and definition of success.
I must be honest that the interview was not so smooth at the beginning. Reflecting upon the experience, I feel like I was driving the conversation to meet my expected responses. I was partially guided by my personal values when approaching Grace that I was curious to relate more of those to her stories. However, I realised that the essence of narrative interview lied in the practice of listening rather than ticking off a list of questions. The more I discovered about Grace, I felt humbled by her open book of unexpected turns embedded with a strong foundation of values.
Grace does not accept stability.
She is currently in her lay-low period where she spends time trying new experiences before she starts her office job in Vietnam this December. Although she has designed in her mind a clear career path, she considers this six-month gap a chance to step out of her comfort zone. Besides a 9-to-5 job that keeps her finance healthy, she works as a content collaborator for magazine publishers in Vietnam. It comes as no surprise to me because I have known that Grace is a passionate learner who always seeks to improve herself since day one of working with her.
“To me, a successful person does not complain about obstacles and is willing to learn from failures. I want to become that person”.
Grace has an aura of a high achiever.
Her light-hearted sharing about her jobs naturally erases any traces of hardship she has encountered. I was soon charmed by her positive outlook on life and persuaded that any experience can transform into valuable lessons.
Speaking about her internship at Elle magazine in summer 2018, she told me that she used to feel frustrated with her assigned role because she felt that it was not relevant to her interest in Marketing and Communication. Instead of moaning about the situation, she decided to ask her leader for a chance to try another position, promising that she would be able to accomplish her current responsibilities as well. Grace realised that it was undeniably one of her best choices because she had achieved tremendous growth career-wise. Elle internship has made a great impact on her decision to return to Vietnam.
“It is all about the people you work with.” – she said.
Grace is hopeful that she can always meet excellent and inspiring people to learn from regardless of destinations. She is ready to go home. No matter where it takes her, I wish Grace all the best and I cannot wait to catch up with her in Vietnam.
Presenting about Grace in front of the class, I felt a sense of honour for having a permission to narrate her stories. At the same time, I was highly aware of not violating too much the fair line between objectivity and personal ideas.
To end this blog, I would like to quote Grace’s reply to one of her old blogs in BCM 313: “I don’t know who I am, but that’s ok”.
“Now I think that I know who I want to become. That might change, but that’s ok.”
As I was writing this blog, I felt appreciative of Grace’s honesty and openness in this conversation. If there is one thing I could carry into the future, I would choose Grace’s final advice to final year students and fresh graduates. Thank you Grace for your beautiful stories!
“Don’t settle till you find your call”
Attached below are my presentation slides, feel free to ask me anything, aye 🙂
I hope you enjoy this blog. See you soon!
Helly Pham
Helly Pham 