You Mad? Part 2 of Many Open Letters To Come.

On the evening of June 11, 2020, I was talking with one of my mentees/friends and she shared information with me that I found so disturbing I wrote an open letter about it.

My intention is always rooted in love, care, and concern. 

Not everybody will get that or understand that. And that’s okay. Some people are going to be mad, and quite possibly rightfully so. Pushing for change is never going to be easy or comfortable. Speaking truth to power so boldly and unapologetically will not always be appreciated. Sometimes there are unintended consequences. 

Today though, I want to openly speak on two things as a follow up:

1. My experience at Indiana University, Kelley School of Business
2. Solutions

My Kelley Experience:

I loved it! I miss it! I would tell anyone interested in getting an MBA, "Don't Sleep On Kelley!"

I’m from a small racist Texas city called Victoria, Texas. In a lot of ways Bloomington, IN felt familiar. Now before you get up in arms about me calling Victoria racist, just understand that the Victoria Independent School District was ordered to desegregate by the Office of Civil Rights in the late 80’s, when I was in elementary school. You do the math. 

Bloomington, although small, felt more progressive, a little more welcoming and inviting in its nature. Still, though, a small town in a state that has its fair share of racist history. At 30 years old, I wasn’t na?ve, and I got the rules quick…. Don’t schedule flights out of Indianapolis making you drive through Martinsville at night. 

Like most of my life, I knew what it was. I adjusted to survive and just kept it pushing. 

I lived down the road, on 10th street from the business school building. I was in one of the two morning cohorts, the Green Cohort….always the best cohort. This makes me smile. As does the many great memories I have of my time at Kelley. 

As a Consortium student, I had to attend an Orientation Program at the beginning of June, before classes started in late August.  Affectionately called OP, this was four very long days and nights of networking and activities. We spent the 2 months prior to preparing ourselves to show up for the corporate recruiters that came to meet us and possibly interview us for summer internship offers…. before we even started school. It was a lot of work and effort for an unknown payoff.  Not knowing what to expect and feeling the pressure to be 10X as good was constantly on my shoulders... like normal…. except this was a situation I had never seen before and my country bumpkin self felt out of place.

I made it through OP, not with a summer internship offer, but an offer to interview at the National Black MBA Conference in September, a few weeks into the notorious Kelley Core- a grueling integrated course load where you get ONE grade your first semester…. No pressure though LOL. *Spoiler Alert- Everyone Makes It Through The Core*

The whispers started when we arrive on campus for Kelley’s 1st Year Orientation prior to classes starting. I was proud to be a Consortium Fellow; I didn’t think I had anything to hide…

"Felicia, hold that down, we don’t want our classmates to feel a certain way."


"Felicia, you need to be discrete about CGSM, your classmates don’t understand." 

"Felicia, don’t tell anyone you got an offer for an internship already, everyone else recruits in February."

As I write this, the same anger that coursed through my veins on June 11th is the same anger I feel now. 

I’m angry because I tried to do it “the right way,” bent over backward to help prep classmates for their interviews and connected classmates to recruiters of companies that did not come to campus. Because we are Kelley’s and that is what Kelley’s do! We win together…..

 “As a white male, I don’t have any opportunities. I don’t stand out. They don’t want to hire me. They want women and minorities. They are taking our jobs.”

During a diversity session in our first year, this was what one of my classmates said. I was so hurt. When I spoke up during the session, I was told I wasn’t being empathetic. So I shrunk myself and worked even harder to get along and prove my worth to my classmates.

I tried to find amicable solutions, explain how great the organization is, prove my worth to be in the class. When I think about it, it was quite f’ed up. I had worked hard to gain admission to a top business school. I should not have to prove my worth to anyone. I’m not taking someone else’s job or spot, IT IS MINE. If it was yours, you would have it.

I thought my class helped to solve this problem, by creating a culture where the CGSM students always help our fellow Kelley’s, but here we are 10 years later…

And the classes before and after me, the same thing… we all thought we had done the work to solve this ugly jealously and anger towards CGSM from some of our classmates.

And please understand, even with this, I would go to Kelley all over again, in a heartbeat. Kelley is not to blame for the problem. It’s not only Kelley where this is happening. It’s happening at all the CSGM schools. 

Now it’s time to call this out and put a stop to it once and for all. These are our future co-workers, and possibly managers. No more #AmyCoopers. No more silence.

The So What:

First, I am very proud of the Kelley CGSM Class of 2020. Led by Casey Bufford, these recent grads work hard to gather over 2500 signatures to petition our school to implement several diversity and inclusion initiatives including a more diverse curriculum. This will have a lasting impact for years to come. I’m proud of the Kelley Faculty and Administration for stepping up to the plate, leading the way for the other CGSM schools to follow in their footsteps. 

There is more work to be done though.  

Now here is where I get into trouble, but I’m cool with it.

Solution One: CGSM works with the Member Schools to prepare all students for this dialogue and discourse. 

A session during OP and A Session on Campus. We need to get this out in the open and facilitate the value of CGSM Students in these classes. 

This should not be shouldered by the students; this should be shouldered by the Faculty and Administration of the Member Schools. CGSM needs to help facilitate as well. 

It is no longer okay for the students to shoulder this on their own. 

Solution Two: Alumni, we must come back and show up, all of us.

And not just for OP as a company representative. We really need to stay in touch with our schools and new students. We need to help them navigate this as well and help them push for change.

There are some people that think the mission of the Consortium has nothing to do with alumni. I’m here to rebuke that thinking. We are the mission of the Consortium Actualized… We are in these companies, as junior and senior executives, fighting more now than ever for true diversity and inclusion of under-represented minorities. 

My call to action for ALUMS: 

1. Call or email your school, tell them that you want to help, if you don’t already. Ask them what their diversity and inclusion initiatives are and how you can help drive for change. 
2. Find out who the current CGSM Liaisons are for your school and connect with them. Let them know you are here to help.
3. Talk with whoever oversees diversity recruiting at your job and tell them about CGSM Talent. Help them put together a recruiting program to recruit at OP next year.

Now you may notice… I didn’t say anything about making monetary donations….

Well…. I have a strong POV on that… I need curse words to express this POV….too inflammatory for this medium…BUT… I will discuss this and all the rest of the tea I didn’t write about on the next episode of the Trill MBA Show- The Career Management Podcast For Black Women. 

That episode will be released Sunday, June 21, 2020 and can be found at TrillMBA.com or your favorite podcast app.

Until my next open letter,

#BlackLivesMatter, Arrest Breonna Taylor’s Murders, #SilenceIsNotAnOption

Happy Juneteenth!

Love,

Felicia Ann Rose Enuha

aka The Trillest MBA You Will Ever Know