WTF: Meet Mike
“We the Facilitators” (WTF) is a series presented by Link Global Solution (LGS) to shine the spotlight on our multilingual instructors. For those who have yet to take one of our workshops, WTF will give you the opportunity to get to know the members of our team, who deliver intercultural communication and business skills training that is educational, enlightening, entertaining, and always engaging.
In this installment of WTF, we are pleased to introduce Michael Corbett.
—— Mike, I feel a kinship with you as you’re from Southern California, which is where I lived for about 20 years from the age of 14. Before becoming a facilitator, you had established an office in California that provided legal, immigration, insurance, and real estate services. You even gave me some tax advice a while back. How did you transition to become a facilitator?
Mike: Well, before I set up that office, I was doing similar work as a college student. I was an international student adviser and my job was to help incoming university students from other countries adjust to life both inside and outside of the classroom. I later became involved in various types of cultural awareness and sensitivity training and facilitation that came about as a result of the racial and cultural challenges that Los Angeles faced in the 1990s.
The approach differed somewhat from what we offer here at LGS as we used a more multi-cultural perspective to try and address various issues on the campus of UCLA and the community at large.
Although we didn’t speak Spanish much at home, I wanted to. It became necessary for me to learn it better when I began producing Latin music concerts and albums.
After completing a legal studies certificate, I came to Japan on the JET (Japan Exchange and Teaching) Program from 1998 to 2001 to get a more international perspective of the world at large. I also used that time to complete my master’s thesis on Japanese sub-urban housing issues. When I returned to the United States, I used the skills I learned from the two graduate programs I completed to open a legal assistance office for low income residents in Oakland, California.
—— Wow, it sounds like you were really focused. Rumor has it that you also speak fluent Spanish, but I’ve never heard you habla Espa?ol.
Mike: I am, but my friends in Peru and Panama laugh at my gringo accent (laughs)! My mother is from Panama so I’ve always been interested in Spanish. Although we didn’t speak it much at home, I wanted to. It became necessary for me to learn it better when I began producing Latin music concerts and albums.
—— Wait … what? Hang on a minute. You mean you were also a music producer? This was after you opened the legal office, right?
Mike: Well, I started doing music concerts in college and never really stopped. My partner and I went from working with Cuban groups to Afro-Peruvian groups. As a result, when we went on tour, I would be with a group of 20 Peruvians who couldn’t speak a lick of English. I had to really sharpen my linguistic as well as intercultural communication skills. It must have worked for a while because we had a successful 10 year run of concerts and albums that culminated in four Grammy nominations.
It was that experience that laid the groundwork that enabled me to understand the difference between “multiculturalism” and “interculturalism.”
—— Four Grammy nominations? That’s incredible.
Mike: Thank you. It’s work I’m very proud of. But it was that experience that laid the groundwork that enabled me to understand the difference between “multiculturalism” and “interculturalism.”
—— Sorry, but you’re going to have to help me out here.
Mike: Well, a multiculturalist is someone who tries to learn as much about as many cultures as possible while also maintaining an outward view to understand the other person. It’s a great ideology and very open-minded, but ultimately, you can get lost in the overwhelming brilliance and abundance of world cultures, especially in a place like Los Angeles or Tokyo.
—— Okay … sounds to me like a kind of “all-inclusive” approach.
Mike: Yes, that’s one way of putting it. Now as for an interculturalist, I’ve learned from our team at LGS to try to look at myself first. If I can understand what I do and have some objectivity, then I will be able to see the situation more easily and adjust to the person that I’m working with or doing business with, no matter what culture they come from. That will enable me to successfully bridge any cultural gaps that there may be between us.
—— Yes, having observed our workshops, that makes perfect sense. So, what do you do when you’re not working?
Mike: I have a son and a daughter who consume most of that time. My daughter is about to embark on a new journey as a college freshman and she constantly taxes my communication skills. And I’m looking forward to my son living with me and helping him with his own intercultural challenges as he enters Japanese elementary school for the first time this summer.
—— It seems like you have your work cut out for you, Mike. And thank you for sharing your time with me today.