Personally Speaking

my grad school admissions essay

“What a waste of white labor” said my boss, talking about me, as the waitress put a fresh basket of bread on the table between us. My fork hovered before my mouth as I looked down at my creamy pasta, not knowing what to say. I took a bite and pretended I didn’t hear her. She continued, “A young, educated white girl like you doing what you are doing. Imagine what you could get done if I could afford more employees and you didn’t have to spend your time filling packages every morning.” I looked up at her as she started to dig into her meal, sipped my water and silently let the moment pass. For a whole year, I had wanted her to acknowledge and praise my talent, skill and ability to do more than wrap and mail packages but this was not how I had envisioned her doing so. I continued to eat so as to seem too busy to reply but suddenly eating became a chore. I felt full. Not full of food but full of emotion. I felt guilty. Is my labor more valuable because I’m white? Do I pack and ship mail more efficiently because my skin lacks darker pigments than the majority of America? Would she think someone of a “minor” ethnicity would be more deserving to spend their time working on order fulfillment? I did go to college. I do have a Bachelor of Science degree. I am educated. What difference does any of that make when it comes to a simple task that needs to be done in order to keep a business running? My question is, why do we as white people born in America purposely or inadvertently hire and place people within our work-places based on their presumed education level, skin color or ethnicity and not by observed talent or skill? Why do we judge this way? How do we break away from ethnic stereotypes in the workplace so as to create one harmonious, productive team rather than an inner-rank of corporate hierarchy based upon who seemed more impressive on their resume or who did not have a “Spanish-sounding” name? My skin is “white”. This should not be a deciding factor in determining my place, level or rank in any kind of work environment and I look forward to working toward helping people understand someone should be hired for their ability and not representation of ethnic heritage.