Culture in the Blender

In addition to getting my PhD in materials science and engineering and doing various academic-type things, I work part-time for the largest student-run consulting organization in the US.

Once a business brat, perhaps always a business brat - I feel very alive in business casual clothes giving presentations to clients or cracking a problem with my team. It feels real in a way even my own research doesn’t. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy my research - but perhaps because I have seen my parents and their friends crack business problems across time zones and borders since as far back as I can remember, when I get to dig my teeth into a business problem or need to make a recommendation, I get excited like I’m about to take a ride on my favorite roller coaster.

Even today when I consciously know better, somehow what adults do is travel a lot, call a lot of people, get called about problems, wear suits, ties and trenchcoats and Loden coats and carry briefcases. I feel different in my white ironed blouses and my pinstriped skirt than I think most people around me do - I feel ready to play and ready to win.