I had been brought up with a "hard workers" mentality. Learning that all-hard work would be paid off in the "long-run". I had worked hard and tried to earn my position as lead Intern at the radio station. Even as the youngest intern there I was still overseeing all tasks at hand. Finally I had felt like my achievements meant something. Then I received a slap in the face when I learned of the term Affirmative Action, and experienced an example of it. I had always seen others for who they are, and the type of work they could offer. This mode of thinking came to be challenged with the new intern that was hired.

The intern was a local African-American; we will call him Mike. I had started to oversee his progress, and even though it was not as productive as the other interns were, it was taken into consideration that he was new to the routines already set into everyone else. I monitored him over the next several months and was not very impressed. He would go very slowly when setting up events, not volunteer for future events or even be very productive when he showed up. Granted this was a non-paid internship, he was the one that volunteered his time, and to be a part of the "team". One example I use when discussing this is an event that involved a "Tail-gate Party" at the University of Illinois football game. We all had setup the event early and time had finally allowed for individual breaks. When Mike’s turn for a break came up I notified him he had thirty minutes till he had to return. After approximately one hour had lapsed he finally came back to the event. I then told him to just go home, and the rest of us would finish.

The other interns I monitored were in college, or within the same age group. Their worked was well done, and aptitudes of initiative and motivation were beneficial to the promotions department. Several of the interns had also come to me with concern for Mike’s intentions for his responsibilities.

There were interns from various ethnic backgrounds: Polish, German, Italian, and Hispanic that may have even stumbled upon problems due to their ethnicity in the past, but I could not tell. I had never had one from the African-American background until then. I never looked at them as a different ethnicity; I looked at them for the type and quantity of work they could contribute.

When I discussed Mike’s content of work, or lack of, to my boss Gina she said she would make a "note" of it, but did not want to take action until it was necessary. I inquired why she thought this way, after all the examples I had given her. She told me it looked good for the radio station to have an African-American working there. It shows equal opportunity employment and Affirmative Action at work. After this comment I was upset, I felt as though I had worked for nothing and all I needed to get by in this world was a minority status.

I never felt different than anyone, or saw myself as a majority that I evidently am considered. I started to get sick of all the minorities that I had come across, and felt disgusted that some had obtained their job to fill a political quota. I am sure if you looked through Mike’s eyes, he had no concept of securing this job based on his color, or any existing quota. He would possibly have felt a little worthless to have a job on this basis.

I had left this event sitting in the back of my mind, and that is where I wanted to leave it. My father, however, brought to my attention not long after that, that he lost out on a job opportunity not because of his lack of qualifications, but because the other was an African-American, and a female. This added to the old frustration and I have developed a mindset to never allow people to work for me, if I was to have my own business, based on their minority status. These events made me feel as though I was wasting my time with hard work.

I could be given the view that I possibly was over-reacting to the incident, or even looking further into it than necessary. I now realize minorities are not hired solely for their minority status, but it is primarily due to their skills. After this incident occurred I honestly felt more like a separate entity, a different feeling that I had never felt before.

Then there is the event like this one that makes you feel like that different person. I learned that as a "growing up" measure.

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