One of the great moments in education for those of us who teach comes long after the student leaves the classroom, sometimes years later when out of the blue the student contacts you to thank
youfor what he learned in your class and how he used it to further his career.
That’s what happened to me when Jason White (MBA 2003) contacted me all the way from Saudi Arabia. It seems that for the past 3 years he has been building an entrepreneurship program in Riyadh under the auspices of Kent State University in the U.S. and King Saud University in Saudi Arabia. I'm sure when he signed up to take on this exciting adventure, he never dreamed he would find himself in the midst of the greatest turmoil the Middle East has seen in decades.
Yet, despite the uprisings that surround their country, about 1,200 Saudi students are now learning how to find opportunity and create all kinds of businesses, from simple service businesses like home PC repair to new inventions like the whimsical plasma screen hub caps that flash digital images – a bit over the top to my way of thinking but it’s definitely creative! The students are learning the basics of markets and customer needs, and, according to Jason, “Many of these students come to class excited about school for the first time in their lives.” Proof is that on the very day that Osama bin Laden was killed, the students were fully engaged in a midterm exam. They wanted to do well. After all, these classes, more than many others they take, are about their future.
Jason posted an article about his experience. You can find it here. He's making his way back to the U.S. now and I look forward to gaining more insight from my former student about a culture and way of life most of us don't know. It's time for the student to teach the teacher!
