Episode 167 Debunked by Student: College is About Experiences, Not Just Content Part 1

Welcome to Digication Scholars Conversations. I'm your host, Jeff Yan. In this episode, you will hear part one of my conversation with Dami Akingbade, a junior at Boston University's Questrom School of Business, pursuing a degree in Business Administration. More links and information about today's conversation can be found in the description below. Can be found on Digication's Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

Full episodes of Digication Scholars Conversations can be found on YouTube or your favorite podcast app. Welcome to Digication Scholars Conversations. I'm your host, Jeff Yan. My guest today is Dami Akingbade, a junior at Boston University's Questrom School of Business. She's pursuing a degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Business Analytics and Marketing. Welcome Dami. Thank you so much, Jeff. Thank you so much for having me.

Dami, you and I met a couple years ago when you actually participated at a presentation with Natalie McKnight, who's the Dean of the College of General Studies

at Boston University, and Professor John Regan, um, both of which, by the way, are, um, Pre prior Digication Scholars Conversations, um, uh, uh, guests as well. Right. Um, what would make you participated in giving a presentation on the work that you did and the department did, or the school, the College of General Studies did, um, And I was a, I was a, an attendee of that conference and I saw your work and I was just amazed by it. Thank you.

And I always thought I need to go in and talk to Dami at some point. Thank you so much. And, uh, a few months ago I was, Talking to John at a con at yeah, another conference. And I said, oh, what happened to dmi? And he said, oh, she's doing great. And you know, she just finished at the College of General Studies and now she's on to, you know, pursuing her degree, um, at, at uh, at bu. Um, and so I thought. You know, I must really get a hold of you before, before you graduate.

Yeah. Um, so, um, thank you for, for, for being here today. Yeah, thank you so much for having me. So, Dami, why don't you just tell us a little bit about yourself? Where are you from? Where did you grow up? What brought you here? Okay, so I, my name is Dami, like you said. Thank you for the introduction. Um, I grew up in Lagos, Nigeria and I came to America around when I was 16 to do like a few years of high school. And then I started at BU College of General Studies.

Um, so yeah, just been there in Nigeria. Family is still there. Um, it's a huge part of my identity. So, so what was it like, um, coming to the US um, sounds like, were you by yourself? You said your family is still in Nigeria. Oh, I have, I have family here. So it was easy to adjust. Um, my aunt lives here. I have cousins here. Some of my siblings were already here as well. Like they went to college here as well.

So. And I'm the youngest out of four, so I I So you're following the footstep of Yeah. I already knew the, I already knew the process. Kind of, they kind of created the path for you. Exactly. Um, so it was kind of easy. And was there a, um, any sort of cultural shock or what is the difference that you noticed? You know, um, yeah, coming to the US I, I would say there was a cultural shock. I think one of the things that was like shocking was maybe.

People say things differently, like I don't, I don't call a trunk a trunk. I call it a boot. Um, just like things like little things like that and something I noticed was Americans are very very nice.

That's not to say that Nigerians aren't nice, but I feel like We're kind of just, you know, on our own and mind our business as we go about our days, but Americans are a lot more friendly and will like, you know, say hi to you as you walk past, even if they don't know you, which was something I noticed. And I was like, wow, like, are these people being fake or are they really just this nice? That was a shock too. No, that's, that's great.

And I think that we'll later learn a little bit more about, you know, you, not only, you know, being here, but you're traveling around in different parts of the world as well. And it seems to be a theme that, you know, going from one place and I will share, um, to you as well, that. Um, I also, uh, I'm not a native here. I have, uh, uh, I grew up in, uh, when I was a kid in Hong Kong and I moved to the UK and then I moved here.

So, you know, seeing some of these, uh, um, these, uh, you know, the, the cultural differences sometimes is, you know, quite, um, it creates a really sort of interesting sort of perspectives.

It's true. Yeah. It, it made me look at things like very differently. Seeing how things are so different from like, how things were back home, how people think about things, how people value things was interesting to see as well. So, and that's where sometimes I think this idea of different perspectives and diversity mm-hmm Can bring about things that you just won't know. Yeah. You won't know. You know, you don't, you don't know what you don't know because.

Actually, a lot of these things, I should have said it differently, it's tacit. These are things that you know, but you don't know you know, until someone shows you how they do it differently. Right? They unlock and they go, Oh, I know this, but I know it in a different way. Right? And, um, and it's, uh, it's, it's, uh, um, it's almost like, In order to learn about yourself, you have to look through it through a lens that is different than you.

It really helps you learn more about yourself, how you view things, and, like, it helps you be self aware, but also socially aware. You see how other people view things, you understand how to approach situations differently because people aren't like you. And yeah, like you said, it unlocks, like, a different Part of you. And so you're able to learn so much more about yourself and like how the world works and you're able to work better with people as well in the end.

So I wanted to, um, if you don't mind, I wanted to, um, maybe focus a little bit now on some of your journey at Boston university, um, I mean, you, you just. Join or, you know, join the, the, the School of Business. Yeah. Uh, but for two years, um, you were at College of General Studies. Mm hmm. For folks who don't know what that means, um, we would have, uh, listeners could be Other students could be potential, you know, high school students thinking about college.

Yeah. Could be parents, could be other teachers or professors and, and so on. Um, people don't really know what a college of General Studies is. Yeah. In fact, they don't know what General Studies is. Why that? And if you want to be a business major, shouldn't you be Taking business classes, you know, from the get go, why it took you two years to get there, right? So why don't you tell us a little bit about that?

Like what, tell us a little bit about, you know, so it's pretty unique by the way, to BU as well, the way it's worked. Uh, but tell us a little bit about that from your perspective as a student. Of course. Um, so I found out about the college of General Studies as I was applying. It's A question that's asked as you apply, do you want to be considered for the College of General Studies? And so I did my personal research to figure out what that was. And it really is like a liberal studies program.

It's very interdisciplinary. There's so many different courses that you take for two years before you go into what your intended major is for college. So basically everyone who's in the College of General Studies doesn't actually graduate from the College of General Studies after four years. It's a two year program that kind of helps you figure out what your interests are and just be able to learn about different things alongside learning about what your major is.

So I was still taking classes like Econ. and accounting and finance, but I had a good balance of, you know, having History classes, Rhetoric, Humanities, things like that, um, just to be able to learn more about the world and just be more diverse as well. And then of course the best part of the College of General Studies program that prompts most people to apply is that we get to study abroad, um, which is nice and it's It's paid for too.

Um, I think other study abroad programs you do have to pay, but for the College of General Studies, it's paid for. It's really integrated into the program and a lot of the learning we do while we are in London. is very specific to London. For other study abroad programs that BU offers, you're going to be taking classes that are for your intended major and not necessarily centered around the location that you're in. So that was something that was really unique about it too, but it's nice.

It's also nice to have a tight knit community. Almost everyone in the College of General Studies knows each other and it's nice to have that community in a school that's so large as BU, so. Yeah, that's what it is. I, I, uh, I've always loved, um, the structure of the, you know, what's called CGS at BU.

Um, and, um, I've always learned about it from, you know, Um, Professor Regan or, or Natalie and, and, and the professors and the, and the administrators of this school, whom of course they love it, and because they designed it, but it's nice to be able to hear from the student's standpoint too, in the receiving end of all of this. Yeah. Um, I, I want to maybe for a moment talk a little bit about something that is

in the mind of a lot of, um, folks who, who might either be considering college or even in college right now, right? And maybe, may not be at BU or at, you know, have the opportunity to be part of this, you know, very well designed sort of General Studies program. But I wanted to talk about sort of in concept because I think it's going to be really, um, Useful for, for someone who has that experience to, to be able to talk about it immediately.

I've heard a lot of students questioning the value of a Liberal Arts education. Like you said, it's kind of this Liberal Artsy thing, right? Why take an Art History class? Why take a Rhetoric class? Is it just so that you can sound like you went to college? So you can use big words? Or is there something more to it? I think a Liberal Arts. Um, degree, study, class is really more so important for you to, like what we were saying, have different perspectives.

I think if you go straight into just learning about business or being pre med and not having those experiences of learning history, understanding how people work, I just feel like having a Liberal Arts study mindset really opens up your mind to a lot of different perspectives, a lot of different thinking, and just a new way of looking at things. I think it's also important to be, it helps you to connect with people. Um, you understand how people work.

It, yeah, you understand how people work and, you know, I feel like that's what's the most important part of it as well is it helps you feel connected. At the end of the day, we are all like very social. We're social human beings.

Um, and what's the point of, you know, having such a, you know, big degree that could be considered more important, if you're not able to connect with people and understand the history behind things, why things work the way they work, and being able to have rhetoric, for example, being able to convince people, being able to be a good writer, those things are so important in any space. And I agree, you know, I mean, I'm a big fan.

I think that it's, it's, um, but I mean, I, I can also see the perspective of why people are questioning, right? Because they go, Hey, if I want to just learn about business, why don't you just give me the business course I need, let me get it, get out like quickly, as quick as possible so I can do the work.

And sometimes I kind of feel like when I talk to people who have been through this, this This, um, you know, this process of going through a Liberal Arts program or sort of a General Studies, you know, program. What certainly one that is well designed like yours is.

um, what I sometimes get the feeling and some people had told me, you know, so I'm paraphrasing is that you certainly could just go in and take those business class or pre med class or whatever your, you know, area of study is, right? Engineering, etc. You can just take those classes. You'll get the technical skills. You know, to perform those, those, those related, um, tasks that, that's expected of you.

Yeah. But even in the short time span of that four years, or two years, three years, four years, having that Liberal Arts sort of foundation actually allows you to go further in each of those classes. So each of these skills that you develop comes with almost like a booster because you have that Liberal Arts sort of, you open up your mind to something that you go, Oh, hold on a minute.

It's almost like one of those, like, once you make sense of one thing, that one thing can be applicable to a lot of other things. And these are things that make actually just the very practical part of learning the skills to be, you know, in marketing and business analytics to be, you'll be more effective. In other words, if you spend 4 years just learning marketing and, and,

and business analytics and, and, and business administration in general versus, actually spending some of that in, in, in the Liberal Arts areas, like in rhetoric, like you said, or in writing, et cetera, it actually makes you stronger, um, as a, as a graduate. Yeah. I, I, so it's almost like you, you get your, you, you get it, you get your value back quickly enough. It's not like it doesn't take 20 years for it to show up. It's, it's not, it's not wasted at all. I feel like I'm already seeing.

The impact that it's had on me with now that I'm focusing on purely business classes, for example, the class I took with Professor Regan my first year, even though it's compared to the typical writing one on one class, it's so much more than that.

It's more than just writing essays we're really aiming to be persuasive and we also do presentations and Professor Regan was the first person that told me about the power of doing a superhero pose before you do a presentation and the impact that has on you and now this year, my third year. And I have a class where I have to give a presentation.

My professor mentioned the same thing, but people are learning that in their third year, whereas I already knew these tips and tricks from my first, my freshman year, because I had a class that wasn't just only a writing class. It was a writing class with presentation skills, embedded research skills. It like you learn so much more and I've had so many classes like this. That there's a social science class requirement where we have to learn about mercantilism and trade wars.

And that's, that shows up in Econ. and, you know, any other finance class, for example, it's, it's so applicable to so many areas that you truly see the value just even two years after doing the program. So, yeah. And I think that there is also something really interesting, especially in today's world where, you know, we get a huge amount of resources. That is thrown at us through our phones and social media apps and, and so on that, that, um, the ability to.

Interact with the world and with people, like you said, is. Tremendously important because we now have to filter everything. Even when, when it's something that was published by a, let's say, let's say known source, we still need to go in and look at it critically and being able to understand it and, and, and, and decipher what, what it is that they are trying to say. Right. And so for me, there is.

A big part of just, you know, in some sense, because of that advance in communication, right, in our world, like the digital communication using social media apps and video, short videos, TikToks, et cetera, that, that we actually need to be even more critical, have more skills to deal with all of that. Just to be, uh, A productive everyday person and it didn't matter whether you were becoming a doctor or going into business or becoming an engineer or a nurse, right?

It's almost like you need that today. Um, it's, it's become a critical skill. It's so important and It's not as easy to learn it if you go straight into those fields. You don't, you don't get those soft skills, the social skills as much if you go into those fields straight on.

Can you tell me a little bit about um, the So I, I had said before that we promised that we're going to talk a little bit about London because that's such a, it's such an amazing, um, program that, you know, such an amazing part of the program that you get to go to London and it's during the summer, am I right? Yeah, it's the summer, summer school. And it's for, and how, for how many weeks that you were there? Six weeks. Six weeks.

So I know a little bit about this, this, this program and I'm going to, um, just Contextualize this for, for folks. Um, at BU, they have this really innovative hub, um, concept where there are, you know, these different units, um, that students will, will take. And, um, one of these units, um, uh, And, um, you know, um, is, it happens in London, am I right? And they, they all address, you know, um, you know, sort of different things.

And, um, and, but a really amazing part of this, and perhaps that's because I love London, I used to live in the UK, like I said. Uh, but I also love food.

And, and I know this is like one of those like famous, you know, Assignments that students get, um, from, from Professor Regan and that, um, is called Food in London. Um, and, and it's probably one of those assignments that everyone in the world is just jealous. Wait, hold on a minute, you gotta go to London, eat. And get credit for it. Come on.

So tell us a little bit about this and, um, and we want to hear a little bit more about, like, this whole concept of going there, what it was like, you know, and what was asked of you. Why is it so good? Why is, I mean, aside from the obvious, like, you got to go eat, um, Like, you know, what, what is so effective about this, this kind of assignment? It seems a lot like how, how in the world is that going to translate to a business degree, right?

Well, it really does translate because first of all, you learn. How to be a social person. I think the business world, you know, you need to be sociable. You need to be able to speak to people. You need to be persuasive. And that's really what the assignment targets. You get to pick any restaurant of your choice. It really requires you to dig deep, figure out what is important to you, what food you want to try, and you basically just get to be a food critic.

And we had spent, like, classes beforehand reading food critic websites and seeing how they speak to these things, and we were really able to tailor it in that way. We also did some research to find statistics about You know, food, find some famous food bloggers. So it required a lot. It required research, but it also required us to step out of our comfort zone and really explore London. Professor Regan really emphasized that he wanted us to leave the little bubble that we were in.

We stayed in, um, South Kensington and he was like, I would really love if you guys would go far out and really try to explore. I mean, it pushes you to try new things, Step out of your comfort zone and then you get to critique it. You, you get to give your opinion and it shapes how you give your opinion as well. So, I mean, the assignment was great. Almost all the assignments that we did in London were great as well. If you want me to speak about those two. Oh, I certainly would.

But I wanted to learn a little bit more about, so what did you do? What did you choose? Where did you go? So what was the food like? Tell us. Of course. So, like I said earlier, I grew up in Nigeria and I've been to London quite a few times. I've also been to America a few times growing up as well, but. Staying in Boston, I had never really found like a Nigerian restaurant that was able to replicate home cooking or even elevate it.

Um, so I knew that I wanted to find a restaurant in London that represented Nigerian culture and Nigerian food. And I know that the Nigerian community is huge there. So I had A lot of options to choose from. And that's also part of the project is doing your research, figuring out what has high ratings. And so I found this restaurant called the Flygerians, like 'Fly Nigerians.' Um, and. I looked them up and they had, I think like 4.5 stars out of five, and they, it just seemed amazing.

The food seemed great. I looked them up on TikTok, great reviews on there as well. Everyone loved the food, so I knew I had to try it, and so I called one of my friends that lived in London to, he hadn't tried it yet, and so we both went over. It was honestly pretty far out from where I was staying. Um, I believe it was in Peckham and the food was amazing. It elevated Nigerian food so much, but in a way that it was still comforting. It didn't take away from what the real food is.

Um, it was, it was great. Um, The food tasted great. The ambience was amazing. And that was part of what we had to do for the project as well was describe, like, he said we need to use the five senses. He said describe what you're seeing, describe what you're hearing, how it tastes. Like, the music that was playing was amazing. The ambience was amazing. It was such a, like, cozy restaurant. It had couches, colorful couches.

It really just felt like home, and I think that was what I was looking for.

when I was looking for a restaurant was I wanted somewhere that felt like home and really brought those comforting tastes and like made me feel like I was back home in Nigeria and that's exactly how I felt with still having that vibe of I'm in a restaurant and I'm still eating and you know it was a great experience and I love that me getting to go out and eat was my homework and I got to just write about it so yeah it's amazing and I love that and I Like I said, I grew up in Hong Kong, and

you know, every once in a while, I'll find places in my travels, you know, that That would sell home, have, like, they would serve, like, certain, certain, like, Cantonese cuisines or street food that you're like, oh, yes, that reminds, it brings you all the way back to your childhood or to certain parts, you know, of your life that you might have forgotten or, you know, had left behind.

Um, And I think that there is something about that, that, and I don't know what I'm overreaching a little bit, but there's something about it that helps, you know, using the senses to help create that sense of belonging, a sense of groundedness, a sense of, you know, identity and culture.

And to be honest, I think those are some of those things that sometimes we talk about in the abstract, belonging, for example, you know, it's one of those things that you go, well, you know, when you know it, when, when, when you, when you feel it, but it's hard to describe those things sometimes. And this, this is the type of things that almost force you. It's almost like visually, but also, you know, like you said, by the smell, by the sounds. Um, right?

And certainly there's a lot more nuance in, I'm sure, the language that was spoken, the way that they treated you, and so on, you know, all sort of things. Brings all of that back, right? So to me, it's one of those things that I'm sure, like, and I felt this way when I remember when I used to visit once I moved and visit home and quickly you kind of forgot, Oh yeah, that's just what life is like.

But actually when you put it like transplanted into a whole different area, when you don't expect it, you start to see all of the little nuance. You really start to value it too. Like the very little things, like there was like. Like, African print, Nigerian print on some of the couches and it was like, that was something that I never valued. I would see these type of print styles all over back home and then seeing it on a couch, I'm like, wow, like that was something I never appreciated.

Or they had some pictures of famous artists that came from Nigeria as well. And I was like, this is, these are things I not think of. I don't think about these things on a day to day. But seeing it was like, wow. I think that is, I think that's, that's beautiful. Here's a preview of what's coming up next in part two of my conversation with Dami Akinbadi, a junior at Boston University's Questrom School of Business.

How you manage yourself, how you feel about yourself, how you feel about your life, you'll be more satisfied with life and you'll be More able to self accept and have a better psychological well being when you understand who you are as a person, understand what your weaknesses are, and you're able to work towards those as well.