August 7: A reflection on this summer and my Mountaintop experience

By: Lucy Zhou

Ten weeks up at Mountaintop was over before I knew it.

I honestly didn’t know what to expect going into the summer, but I knew this project would give me the opportunity to utilize and combine my skills and journalism and business backgrounds. When I first applied for the Inclusive Economies team, I didn’t even expect to be selected because I applied late. However, when I was granted an interview, I had a feeling that I would be a good fit while talking to the advisors about the project. My writing and communication skills as well as my studies in economics and business would be ideal in researching about inclusive economies. I had experience with conducting interviews, using surveys to draw conclusions, creating websites and editing videos, and collecting and analyzing data. I also love using my creativity to support and enhance my work. Knowing that I had a lot of freedom and would only be working with one other person on the project made me both excited and anxious. I was used to a plan and clear steps laid out for me, but I was also independent and had a creative, problem-solving side that I wanted to explore.

Mericel Mirabal, ’22, and Lucy Zhou, ’20, showcase the poster that they presented at the Lehigh Summer Expo. Besides other Mountaintop Summer Experience teams, BDSI and RARE students were also at the expo presenting their work.

When I found out my teammate was Mericel Mirabal, I was at first apprehensive to learn she was just a freshman. I wondered if we would have anything to talk about or what the work relationship dynamic would be like. We didn’t even know what each other looked like. The first day I met her, I knew we would get along. It turned out we became good friends throughout the summer. We were both on the same page in the beginning—overwhelmed by how vast our topic was and unsure of which direction to go. Our advisors gave us full freedom to do whatever we wanted because the project was brand new, and we were responsible for starting the research. Though we thought of looking into more of the policies in place and the economics side of inclusivity, we ultimately decided in order to introduce the topic and gain a better understanding, we should start with stories and experiences of business owners who are directly affected by the extent of inclusivity within the economy. We didn’t want to focus too much on the negative aspects such as challenges and discrimination in the workplace, though we did do a lot of research to provide context because discrimination is the main factor for the lack of inclusivity. We were more focused on the best practices of local business owners and entrepreneurs to see how we can successfully integrate and implement inclusivity.

Through interviewing local businesses and entrepreneurs, we discovered that most believed South Bethlehem specifically was relatively inclusive because they defined inclusivity as a welcoming place, a sense of belonging and collaboration. They worked together rather than competing against each other. We also found gender discrimination wasn’t as common in the Lehigh Valley, but racial discrimination was still prevalent. A few entrepreneurs of color shared their stories and concerns that racism continues to be the root cause of the divide between people and within businesses. In order to truly reach inclusivity or encourage inclusivity, we need to have the necessary and uncomfortable conversations. We need to first address that these issues exist and work toward alleviating them through willingness to listen and talk to each other, open mindedness, respect, understanding, compassion, education and training. Change will not happen in a day, a week, a month or even a year. Reaching inclusivity will take decades and generations of gradual change and a combined effort by all to develop and implement an inclusive way of thinking.

This first recipe is how to create an inclusive economy for small businesses. I wanted to make it seem like an actual recipe while having it apply to what we found works best for the local businesses we interviewed.

I’m so grateful and excited that I was able to be a part of the Mountaintop Summer Experience this year and work with a variety of intelligent and passionate people from my teammate to my advisors to other Mountaintop teams to entrepreneurs to the Iacocca Global Village for Future Leaders. This was not what I expected to be doing over the summer, but it was one of the best experiences I’ve had because of the social and business relationships I formed, the important and influential work that I accomplished and the change in myself that I realized. Knowing that I’m able to express myself creatively through multiple mediums while researching and presenting significant and relevant findings has made me a more confident person and student. I want to help people and make an impact in my community and the world through my passion for writing and fostering an inclusive society. I truly can’t wait for what the future holds.

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