How to turn a conservative into a liberal without really trying...

Or how I turned into one.  This probably won't work on any hard-core conservatives.  But if you can find a moderate, like I was circa 2007, you may have a winner.

When I made the decision to move to South Florida in 2007, I never once thought how my mediocre college grades would have landed me there.  I had always been a firm believer in work over thought, even though I always thought I was smarter than everyone else.  I graduated from college with a 2.56 GPA, never thought much of it.  I had the job I always wanted at age 24!  Some people work for 10 years before they get the title I got.  But I was desperate when I accepted the position.  My original job had fallen through, I had moved in with my parents again, and this was the first offer I got.  There was a 0% chance I wanted to back to Florida.  None.  I didn't even have a car.  I lived on two different peoples' couches for six weeks before I had a place to live.  I didn't even know how I was going to back to Florida to begin working until when, as I was in the airport flying home after my interview, I heard a call for my flight say it was overbooked and Airtran was offering free flights for those who would give up their seats.  I did, and I did.

And I started work.

And I rather liked it, for the most part.

I'm not going to delve into every instance of what went wrong or right at XY University. (XY because I signed a severance agreement, and who knows if this is "defamatory" or not.  I'm not taking any chances.)

But I did notice, almost upon beginning, a very "company" routine, if you will.  A X>Y>Z power chain, that I was a part of, that did not deviate from protocol, a very soulless part of a machine used to suck dollars from student's wallets while feeding them an education based on a very conservative dogma of free trade and enterprise.

Little hint that I knew they were conservative:  Something about their intolerance of big government.  Stunning.

They propagated this cogs in the wheel mantra by hiring plenty of their own alumni.  At one point, the following people in the organization were educated by that same institution:

The Director of Human Resources
The Director of Alumni Relations
The Director of Public Relations
The Assistant Director of Public Relations
The Registrar
The Assistant Business Manager
One Academic Advisor

Now I will admit, my experience is higher education is slim.  I've worked there for three years.  I don't have a Ph.D (yet), and have never taught a class.  But I did grow up in the shadow of an Ivy League school (freaking DARTMOUTH, for crying out loud).  I did attend a pretty fine liberal arts school (although as noted, I didn't really apply myself) that actually did hire the occasional alum (though not this one.  Still love ya, KSC.  Someday I will donate.)  I still, somehow, doubt, that when an institution has seen enrollment plummet for five straight years, would consistently hire people educated in that same system.  Does that make sense?  Let me put it another way.  When students are leaving your institution at a rapid pace, I wouldn't hurry to scramble up the ones that do stay and put them in important positions at the school.  Just me.

Back to politics.

The more and more I became disgusted at my work environment, the more and more I realized that XY was doing nothing but taking money from kids and not giving them an education, the more I realized that some thing was very wrong.  This was not what education was.  This was the Wal-mart of education.  OK, BJs.  Expensively priced but utterly worthless.  Decisions made at the highest level were not ever fully explained to the specific persons on the respective campuses.  People with far reaching levels of celebrity were championed over those who thirsted for common sense and respectable marketing decisions.  People without educations at all were hired in critical spots because they were friends.  Exceptions were made for student athletes not even on account of their talent, but because of who their coache(s) were.  Student-athletes who could not keep a 2.0, or even a 1.0 were kept eligible, while others who saw their GPA dip from a 3.75 to a 3.5 were cast aside.

It soured my very spirit.  It was so disheartening to watch children, some brought from across the globe, be so poorly treated on their studies.

I changed political ideologies because of this.  I changed it because I know that this cannot be the way that education is headed in this country.  I know this is but a small example, but I am forever changed by it.  I want to dedicate my life to teaching and education in a proper manner.  To truly touch a young person's life.  To ensure they exit college with a proper blend of educational, competitive, and life experiences.  Not to promote an embarrassment of financial riches, but to make an honest effort to change the world.

Thank you, XY.  You have made me see the light - truly.