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It’s All About the People

September 19th, 2022 by Kenneth Abrahams

During one of our recent weekly sales staff meetings, someone posed the question “who is your favorite client and why?” You could only pick one. This is a question that I am often asked when I am on college campuses. Usually, it’s not phrased exactly as a question, but more like a statement, sort of, “we are your favorite school, right?” It is a question that I usually give a non-answer to. I never want to disappoint as I have made many lasting connections over the years and truthfully, I really don’t have a favorite. Some will say that can’t be, while others say it is simple political correctness stopping me from identifying one school as my favorite. Are there a number of clients that I enjoy working with? Now, that is a very different question, and is a resounding yes. Keep in mind that, to me, clients and events are 2 very distinct things. Having worked with some clients for years, I have grown very fond of them, and in many cases, their institutions. Even good clients can have events that are challenging to work at, but what I genuinely enjoy are the people I meet along the way. I’d say that is, by far, my favorite part of the job.

Honestly, I am not a “people person,” a phrase, by the way, I loathe. Being thrown into a large group of strangers to mix and mingle with is my idea of a nightmare. Unlike my wife, I am not that naturally gregarious, outgoing, get to know your life story in 10 minutes kind of an individual. Talking one on one to people that I meet and work with at events is a very different story. Those conversations fascinate me, and I am always amazed at what people tell me. Most of these conversations leave me uplifted and hopeful for the future of our little planet.

Just recently, I have met some fascinating people. For example, I met a student at a college in New England that I worked at recently who had travelled all the way from Colorado to go to school in Boston. When she was applying to schools, she and her parents had flown to Boston and visited 11 colleges in 12 days while travelling to 8 states. She explained that was an advantage of being an only child. Her long-range goal is to be an attorney. Of course, I had to interject not my favorite profession, but she went on to explain that she wanted to be a defense attorney and work on things like the Innocence Project. She was moving back home and was going to take a gap year working for an organization that provided Pro Bono legal services for people that were truly in need. Pretty hard to argue with that.

At another event I worked recently, they were serving food which looked and smelled amazing. Even though it was offered, I declined. It is difficult to work and eat at the same time and not a great look. It didn’t stop me from wandering over to several students working the registration table and getting the 411 on the food. Mac and cheese was on the menu and I had gotten several different reports on it throughout the night. Several people said it was mediocre or worse, while others raved about it. One of the students said she loved it and had for 4 years. She went on to say that she was a vegetarian, and it was one of her favorites at the school. She then told me that she had been a vegetarian her whole life. Her parents believed it was a healthier lifestyle and had raised her and her brother as vegetarians. She said she had tried meat but didn’t enjoy it. Her brother was also still a vegetarian “because he was too lazy to learn how to cook meat.” As often happens during these conversations, her friend looked at her and said, “I didn’t realize you had always been a vegetarian, I thought that started when you got to school.”

At a recent event at the John D. O’Bryant African American Institute at Northeastern University in Boston, they had me set up in a corner taking pictures next to a large 2 story photo of a woman. It was clear that the photo was older and showing years of exposure to the elements, despite it’s being encased in plexiglass. Just as the event was beginning, a gentleman wandered into the area and stood looking at the picture for a few minutes. I wasn’t sure if he was admiring the photo or wanted one of the Boothless Photo Booth Strips that we were doing that day. He asked me what I was doing as I had my camera around my neck, so I quickly explained the program and how it worked. He thanked me and then turned back to the picture on the wall. He then proudly told me that he had taken the photo, back in the 1970’s in Africa. There was a tinge of sadness in his voice as he looked at its current condition. We chatted about the photo for a few minutes and photography in “the good old days.” He had set up photography programs at several schools in the Boston area and had taught photography for years. That giant photo on the wall had been shot with film in full color. It must have been magnificent when printed in color as the woman’s dress clearly had some vibrant shades of yellow in it. He was both charming and fascinating.

Over the last month or so, I have met a number of students who are studying to be doctors, teachers, social workers, art therapists, as well as several students that want to eventually go into politics, either as a candidate or as a staff member for someone else. Many have talked with real concern about the environment and what they are doing to change it. They are enthusiastic and hopeful; qualities that people don’t often attribute to this generation.

It isn’t just the people that I have encountered recently that make me love what I do. It is the generations of people that I have interacted with over the past 33 years. For some, the interactions are fleeting, a mere moment here or there. For others, it is a friendship that has lasted decades. I have been invited to weddings of people that I have known since they were students. I have followed some amazing careers, both in person and through social media. I have watched as former program board members have gone on to become Deans, VP’s and into the corporate world where they have left an incredible mark as well. Yep, all and all, it is the people that make this job special.

About the Author

For almost 40 years Ken Abrahams has worked with college students and on college campuses. For many, it looks like he is just providing programs, but to others he is helping build community. If you ask him, he will tell you that he is very lucky to have the job that he has and the clients that he gets to work with.

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