Social Capital and Me: Making Connections for Students of Color
It’s true that I ended up in this field because I was passionate about supporting diverse learners and wanted to make a difference in education, especially as it relates to equity. It’s also true that in some ways, I ended up in this field because I applied for an internship on a whim one winter night during my junior year of college that helped me make critical connections that would shape my trajectory.
This is part 3 of our “Social Capital and Me” series; click to read part 1 and part 2.
To this day, my family jokes about how it’s impossible (for better or for worse) for my parents to walk into a Korean restaurant in Queens, New York and not bump into someone they know. The community my family considers home is a deeply connected Korean immigrant faith community in New York, even if our geographic house wasn’t in the center of it. I grew up seeing social capital in action through our church’s mosaic of shared resources: different community members provided the church with flowers or bagels every week from their small businesses, others provided services like music or Korean dance lessons, while others offered social support services and English translations to those who needed SNAP assistance or other legal help. It was through this community that I really learned the value of supportive networks and came to appreciate the cultural richness and deep ties that drive communities, particularly communities of color.
For most of my college experience, I had no set career plan. I knew that I wanted to do something that was related to supporting students, but exactly how I wanted to make that impact remained a mystery to me. Working in policy was something that lingered at the back of my mind, but it was an unfamiliar career path to me, leaving me unsure and apprehensive about any career decisions. While my community is rich in its own forms of social capital, knowledge about careers in policy, or in education outside of the classroom, was not one of them. Most of the adults and professionals I was surrounded by didn’t work in policy or in government; many didn’t work in your typical 9-to-5 corporate job or were working class immigrants or small business owners. This meant that I didn’t know that a career in policy or education was something I could do, let alone that networking was something I needed to do to get there.
One night as I was figuring out how I should spend my last summer of college, on a whim I decided that I should just go to Washington, D.C. for the summer and try policy. I wanted to dive right in and see if it was the right fit for me, even if I knew nothing about the field. After many internship applications and hours of research into organizations I had never heard of before, I was accepted into a scholarship and internship program organized by a Korean American non-profit organization that led to an internship at an education organization in D.C.
That summer gave me the single most formative experience in my career, shaping my professional goals and helping me develop the professional skills that I lacked. The internship experience certainly provided me with the confirmation and confidence I needed to pursue a career in education policy, but the social capital I gained through the Korean American organization’s program was even more pivotal. The program organized panels and networking events that allowed me to connect, for the first time, with Korean and Asian American professionals working in policy and government. Through these curated experiences, I learned what it meant to network and build professional (and personal) relationships. What made it even more meaningful and effective was the fact that these mentors looked like me and were able to understand my background and culture. It exposed me to representation at this level that I didn’t even know existed in policy and government (although not enough).
Through navigating these connections with peers and mentors, I began to build the networking skills and practices that weren’t commonplace within my family or community, but are highly valued in this field. I learned the practice of sending cold emails and introducing myself, of conducting informational interviews and sending thank you notes. I also learned the immense value of having professional and personal mentors and made a few myself. It was then that I realized these are skills and practices that have to be made explicit and even taught. These skills, most importantly, helped me build and maintain relationships with mentors and peers that I still have to this day.
I’m in my current position, and in this field, thanks to that internship program and the snowballing effect of social capital. I landed my first full-time job in D.C. after graduating college through the network I built during my internship. The professional connections I made there then helped me get my foot in the door at ESG a year ago. The network, relationships, and social capital skills I gained through the program built the support and knowledge I needed to eventually start my own career in education policy, inspired in large part by the representation I saw in the field.
Unfortunately, not all students are afforded the opportunity to learn these networking skills or tap into social capital assets that may exist outside of their immediate community, even while research has shown that social capital, and the resources and connections it provides, is an important factor for economic mobility. ESG is working to make building social capital a greater priority in the work to prepare students for college and career success, particularly for those populations that have been historically underrepresented, overlooked, or excluded from opportunities in high-wage, high-demand fields. ESG’s Cultivating Connections resource lays out a framework to help education leaders map out the implementation of social capital strategies, a key component of which is “centering equity and asset-based strategies.”
Social capital does not always have to be a big, complex, shiny new initiative. In fact, a landscape scan we conducted earlier this year found that many education leaders in the college and career pathways space want more resources and support to develop students’ social capital but worry that social capital will become another “add-on” to the already busy plates of educators and practitioners. Aligning and integrating social capital into communities’ existing programs, systems, and frameworks in ways that are sustainable and student-centered can help scale social capital to be more accessible for all students. My internship program recognized social capital as one of the most important drivers to achieving their main mission of supporting Korean American students’ careers in policy and public service. To do this, they incorporated networking and social capital skills (in a culturally representative way) in all elements of their discussions and programming, as well as in their messaging with community partners and stakeholders. Social capital was a core tenant of their model and mission, not an optional piece.
My social capital journey was not just about learning the skills and walking the talk. It was about meeting with and learning from mentors who looked like me and shared my background that made my journey complete. The intentional scaffolding of my internship experience bolstered the social capital I gained from my community in New York and connected me to networks outside of it. All of these networks are important and students need all of these types of opportunities to be successful. Identifying the ways that social capital can fit into diverse communities’ existing programs and systems will ensure that all students, particularly low-income, first generation college-going students, those with diverse learning needs, and English language learners, have the additional support they need to expand their social capital in support of their college and career goals.
