Ethics ALWAYS Matters

In order to truly understand something, it is best to experience it for yourself. Reading and hearing stories can only get you so far and this trip confirmed this theory for me. Before leaving for this internship we were required to read a few articles and watch Ted Talks about breaking stereotypes-which was great! I thought "wow I am already much more open minded than I was before" but I had no idea how much more my mind could expand.

When I first met this little boy, he ran up to me with a notepad that was full of his drawings. He only had one page left and drew me a picture, tore it out for me to keep and then told me he did not have any more paper. The next time we came to see them I brought him this coloring book (pictured above) and I have never seen a kid so excited about a coloring book in my life! I took the picture above about five seconds after I had handed it to him. This was such a small event that had such a powerful impact on me. Observing his overwhelming appreciation left a lasting impression for the entire family.

Working with children in the past, I have learned that you can learn a lot about them once you meet the parents. Knowing Don Moises and Dona Zenaida past helped me understand their great success in helping raise such wonderful grand children. They had to work for everything they have and there were never any excuses.

When we first met them we asked about their hammock business and the way they explained that their consistent buyers were the people who buy in bulk and then sell them down in the plaza. Being a business major, I was very interested as to how they made sure that the sellers from the plaza were being loyal and not selling them for more than they are worth. I was stunned to discover that he had no idea how much they would sell them for I thought "they could be ripping you off and you have no idea" but he calmly said "as long as I am selling them for what I think is a fair price, then it is up to them to make the same decision". Ethics came to mind.

Sometimes I struggle with falling behind or losing an advantage to someone who is not ethical because even though I made a decision that sat well with me, it did not help me get to where I wanted to be as quickly as others. So far I have only really experienced this in school but it was great for me to see a business that thrives while remaining ethical. I learned that as long as you are content knowing you are making the right decisions, then you will be content.