Entrepreneurs in Lehigh

Entrepreneurs in the Lehigh Community

I was floored with all of the successful entrepreneurs that presented, I could not believe that the individuals that were presenting their business's to me are my peers! It was truly inspiring and eye opening to think that they have had visions just as I have and instead of marking them off as "maybe I'll pursue ya in the future" as I always have- they executed them! Hearing two girls who have made a business out of jewelry they have designed was especially intriguing because my friends and I in high school used to make really spectacular beaded headbands, bracelets, etc. Yet, despite our friends and family urging us to sell them never did because we did not think we could and yet with a little more positive thinking and motivation we too could have a up-in coming business similar to that of EK (their jewelry business). Additionally, I love planning parties and despite my parents dismay often throw them when they are out of town and without tooting my own horn to too much they are always quite successful! I have always raved about pursuing an career with event planning just because I do not believe it would be a job that I would ever dread a day at work! Thus, I found the Carter3productions presentation to be very enlightening on all of the advantages and disadvantages of that specific career that I was before not knowledgeable on. Lastly, the presentation on good semester absolutely BLEW MY MIND!! I STILL can not get over that I was in a room with a individual who will one day be incredibly famous, mark my words Jason Rappapor will be a household name! The technology he created is absolutely ground breaking and the way he spoke about good semester with such passion and excitement was incredible! He was not excited because of the money and fame he was going to have, instead he was genuinely excited about having changed the way of learning to cater a more desirable experience and shape towards the fundamentals of making learning an enjoyable experience- the way it should be!

Everything about Jason- as an person (with the way he interacted with fellow entrepreneurs, seriously interested with what they had to say - providing feedback, questions, ideas and compliments) to his creation and success of good semester and the caliber of intelligence he clearly has in order to even think of  let alone create good semester was truly amazing! And yet, he spoke with such excitement despite the amount of arrogance he could have because of his creation, established his presentation as one of, if not the best,  presentation I have ever been fortunate enough to see. I can only hope that with his success he gives more presentations at Lehigh so that my peers can know what I am talking about and can become as equally inspired to follow their own dreams and visions as I am now.

for now, here is a link to Jason's blog where you can see one of his presentations live!

The Organizational Age

The Organizational Age is described by Florida as the great transition in the late 1800s and early 1900's in the shift to an modern, highly organized economy and society founded on large scale institutions and functional specialization and bureaucracy. Florida states that the two basic principles of the organizational age are: he breaking down of tasks into their most elemental components and the transformation of human productive activity into stable and predictable routines. further stating that the organizational age required a  "work don't think" mentality, "even if you had a high-order thinking job, you were paid to think only about certain things in certain ways." Florida goes on to continue about how things have evolved since then into the creative transformation, stating "it came to full bloom in the 1980's and 1990s. during this time we have seen the emergence of new economic systems explicitly designed to foster and harness human creativity, and the emergence of a new social milieu that supports it." (pg 66) 

Although I can agree with Florida for a number of reasons I can also find myself playing devils advocate. I can list multiple examples of different individuals daily routines that can fall under the category of a predictable, in addition to people also having their lives based on the mentality of work don't think. I can even find examples within my own life that I believe directly relate to this concept. For example, professors although they are allegedly "not biased" can be found to give poor marks based on an student (such as myself) arguing their opinion or belief. correlating to the organizational age in the aspect of having to think about things in a certain way- I have had my own ideas shaped and shifted based on the way the material is being presented and with what I am being told to focus on, despite any topics I may find interesting- because in the end, we are not getting graded on with what each individual with their own mind, opinion, individuality as a whole finds interesting. Rather what the teacher has decided is interesting! Determining those will be the specific areas shaping their assignments, tests, papers, etc that ultimately determine what our grade will be in the course. Consequently, learning has become a routine, looking at the syllabus to see what we will and will not be graded on - class participation, attendance, what materials we do and do not need to read, papers, tests, etc! and applying ourselves to those specific areas rather then applying ourselves and dedicating ourselves as students to learning! It saddens me to recall the number of courses I have taken where instead of genuinely learning and understanding concepts, and forming my own opinions, I have memorized things I do not understand in order to be able to eliminate answers on a multiple choice question or recite information in an essay question I do not even really understand! Moreover, there are a number of teachers who are allegedly biased but in contrary give poor remarks to those students who argue their own beliefs. Specifically within political classes where the topics are controversial, constraining within each party and generally sensitive towards each individuals varying belief system. Thus, directly highlighting the aspect of being told how to think about things in an certain way- if writing about point y will get you an A but you agree with point z you are still more inclined to write about the point that will get you a higher grade! 

On another note, do you think that Alice Gast would honestly sit down with one of the fraternity or sorority cooks, janitors or even just an average Joe student of Lehigh University and listen to suggestions that can be made to this campus? Alice Gast will hardly conduct meetings with entrepreneurs, and business owners of Bethlehem! Regardless of the fact that those people and those business's are specifically affecting Lehigh University as a whole, providing or attempting at providing the campus with a town, and an community. Yet, instead of trying to create new opportunities for students to have things to do outside of the Greek system (which you would think she was trying to do by busting every single party and providing a larger budget to pay police men to make extra rounds- forcing students to unsafe off campus environments) Instead, she will not even allow a "Lehigh art's weekly" email to be sent to those students who are not enrolled in the arts and science's college! Establishing that although one may think that we are told to think about things outside of the box, to express our individuality it is clear that although we may have the mindset that it is okay to "think" that way- is it really okay to express it? If I were to begin riots outside of Taylor gym because we don't have towels and 3 of the treadmills (on our already astonishingly disgusting lack of work out machines in general) are ALWAYS broken! Or If I were to riot outside of the freshman dorms because every single one of them does not have air conditioning and proper utilities (some of the BASIC necessities that ALL of my friends at varying colleges have and are not paying nearly the same sky rocketing tuition that I am) - what would happen? These are just some of the MANY ideas I have thought about regarding some of the MANY changes that need to be made to Lehigh University, and yet I am sure that a number of the professors, janitors, cooks, nurses, etc all of the people in different jobs, positions and just all of the people that occupy Lehigh University as a whole have thought of, without being told to think them! and yet, where do we get the opportunity to express them if the people that need to hear them in order to make the changes that need to be made wont listen? Therefore, has society really changed? There is a minority of people that think outside of the box, follow their vision and find a way to express themselves but then there is a majority that are confined to their routines, simplicity and are "afraid to rock the boat". I for one plan on expressing myself and plan on implementing a change...over time- as for now, I need to think about HOW to do this, HOW to express the ideas I have thought of on my own ....because I think rioting might not end in my advantage, no matter how creative I make my signs : )

Thinking vs. Expressing - our society depends on finding the balance, this is an example of students who thought about what they wanted but negatively represented themselves!

Confidence

Margaret Boden writes that creativity "involves not only passionate interests but self-confidence too. A person needs a healthy self-respect to pursue novel ideas, and to make mistakes, despite criticisms from others. Self-doubt there may be, but it cannot always win the day. breaking generally accepted rules, or even stretching them, takes confidence. Continuing to do so, in the face of scepticism and scorn, takes even more. 
Margaret Boden exemplifies that the "creative" class is not just full of the stereotype that first comes to mind i.e. hippies, artists, etc. Rather, the creative class is the business men, the artists throughout the film, music and design industries, the inventors and scientists- the creative class is essentially full of anyone with individuality and ideas who are willing to express themselves despite "criticism" from others. Moreover, I plan to use Boden's words and apply them directly to an situation in my own life. I am currently enrolled in an international security course and a big part of the grade is based on class participation and yet, although I usually have a lot I could contribute to the class discussion I remain silent because of my self doubt and the fear of criticism from my peers. I want to make the change into the creative class in this specific aspect of my life and start sharing what I have to say- not only will this benefit my grade but if I am wrong I have nothing to lose but the knowledge of what is actually right. Not to mention I have the potential on starting an intriguing conversation as many of my thoughts revolve around interesting political concepts, theories and ideas that have the resources to spark debate and create an interesting class discussion.
Lastly, in the words of Marilyn Monroe “If I'd observed all the rules I'd never have got anywhere.” 

Institutionalized Individuals

“Where I grew up, we were conditioned to play the roles that we were dealt. We were not encouraged to create and build our visions, but rather to fit into the visions of a select few. I like to say that we were institutionalized individuals- because institutions defined our lives.” (pg.23)

Florida referred to this quote from an interview he conducted as chilling and I couldn’t agree more. To be in a society where your own vision is not respected and you are “conditioned” to play the roles that you were dealt sounds like a society that is underdeveloped and clearly not progressive. Just from being present in my creative entrepreneurship class I have become aware of all of the job opportunities, community events, etc that have been established just because of the young visions of a few talented people that took the time and found the resources to execute what was once an vision in the distance and create a business or organization. For example, there are two young men within the Bethlehem community that genuinely enjoy making others laugh. Together the two of them have established their own stand up comedy act at the steel stacks as well as an weekly stand up comedy show at a local restaurant, brew works. Here, not only can customers enjoy the jokes of the two men that run it but they are also invited to share their own through an open mic opportunity. This example alone brings to light the danger of not allowing individuals to express themselves through their own visions. Imagine if everyone was meant to join the masses in the search for corporate jobs, “wall street”, etc. and do what they thought they were meant to do based on stereotypical judgments that have unfortunately infected our society- we would have a society that had 0 culture. Bethlehem itself is a perfect example of a community that was personally destructed due to this narrow minded viewpoint. Bethlehem used to be the home to a famous steel industry and a majority if not all of the people living here used to work for it or have some sort of roll within the factory. Consequently, when the factory went belly up so did the city- with people losing jobs, no job opportunities, resources, etc Bethlehem became a city that is today poverty stricken. If it were not for the creative entrepreneurs of Bethlehem then the city as a whole would have nothing but Lehigh University. It is because events like first Fridays, stores such as the skate shop, and galleries like the Banana Factory, that Bethlehem is still a place on the map! It is because of all the for-mentioned and more that Bethlehem is a city that is considered an up-in-coming renaissance that is slowly progressing! 

Creativity in Society

Creativity in Society

Chapter 1: The transformation of Everyday Life offers a multitude of interesting key points concerning the economic and social changes within our culture, both on an individual aspect and how they correlate to one another. In specific I found the beginning of the chapter in the section; The Force Behind the Shift, to especially state key points about today’s creative world that I can both agree and disagree with. Florida states that creativity is in today’s society viewed as a commodity and that “creativity cannot be bought and sold, or turned on and off at will. This is why for instance, we see emergence of a new order in the workplace.” (Pg 5.) And while this may be true I do not believe the majority of people view creativity as a commodity, however I do believe a vast number of people view creativity as something they “wish” they had but do not need. In addition, I do not agree with Florida’s argument that creativity is asserting a new order in the workplace, rather I believe we see more workplace environments as aesthetically pleasing, surrounded by creative new pieces of art work and creative ideas in correlation the dictionary definition Florida quoted on pg.5”the ability to create meaningful new forms.” However, I believe Florida is a surrealist who takes the definition out of context, I believe in the workplace the order is changing in the aspect of creativity because the more “meaningful new forms” created is measured on the standard of how economically successful that form may be.

If I were to play devils advocate- Florida is correct by saying creativity is creating a new order in the workplace in relation to small companies, or artists- for instance, sculptor Virgina Abbot created two beautiful blue herons located on South Bethlehem’s Greenway. The Herons were created out of waste therefore not only symbolizing recycling but asserting yet another change and development in south Bethlehem’s community as a whole.  Alice Gast, the president of Lehigh University stated “The greenway is much more than a park; it is a thread that weaves through the fabric of our South Bethlehem community, binding the residents and visitors in a way that didn’t exist before,” Gast said. Thus, correlating back to Florida’s idea that meaningful new forms established in the workplace are beginning to alter the change in the workplace. Consequently, I believe this can be found both true and untrue depending on what workplace you are referring to.

Despite, Alice Gast stating the importance of a creative community such as Greenway’s park, I can first handedly state that I do not believe the art community is respected the way it should be at Lehigh University. In 2011 I was an freshman enrolled in a number of art courses- I found the courses to sadly be a waste of my time, after attending New Canaan High School where art was in the necessary creative environment stated by Florida as; “creativity must be motivated, nurtured in a multitude of ways, by employers, by people themselves and by the communities where they locate.” In specific, the course introduction to photography was an easy course for me as I had graduated high school taking AP photography, yet I got a D+ in the class. Not because the work I handed in received poor marks but because I became unmotivated by the environment and assignments, I felt as though the course was no longer stemmed from individual creativity but rather a math and science (who could edit a picture the best due to the standards of what was systematically said to be correct) it no longer mattered what emotions a photograph transpired and we were told what kind of photographs to be taken, tainting our individuality. In addition, not only was this class considered an “joke” to my peers and some professors but so was the drawing expression class I was taking as well- despite the 20 hours + work I was doing for each course. Thus, I agree with Florida in the aspect that creativity is dependent on a nurturing environment that motivates the creative individual.

            All in all, despite any hardships found within the sphere of creativity, “geography is not dead” and an creative individual (such as myself, see picture below) can not “turn it on and off at will”. Our generation is one of a creative nature, “a key fact of our age is that more of us than ever are doing creative work for a living.” (Pg. 8)

 I "doodle" all over my notes, notebooks, etc when I am in class or thinking- often times my professors think I am not paying attention, but in retrospect I am listening and this is my own way of not zoning out. On another note, I can not "turn it off" when a pen or pencil is in my hand and I am not engaged in an class conversation or have my computer to browse through social media and creative communities this is the result....