Luis, a 16-year-old first-generation immigrant, is under immense pressure from his parents, who sacrificed everything for him to succeed in the U.S. They expect him to excel in school, maintain straight A's, and be a role model for his siblings, while also juggling varsity soccer and a part-time job to help with family expenses. When he gets a D on a history exam, his parents are disappointed, grounding him and reminding him of their sacrifices. Luis is exhausted, anxious, and struggling to balance everything, feeling torn between meeting his parents' high expectations and protecting his own mental health. Should he continue pushing himself to meet their standards, or confront them about how overwhelmed he feels, risking their disappointment?
Selling the Gift
Sofia, a 34 year old Mexican woman living in Nicaragua, runs a social program on emotional education. As the head of her program, she has faced many challenging decisions. In difficult times, she is compelled to reflect on her personal values of “integrity, honesty, responsibility, resilience, growth mindset, and spirituality”. Sofia describes a time when she was approached with a business deal to sell expensive equipment--which had been given away as donations--to local hospitals. The deal was lucrative, but in sharp contrast to her stated values. Sofia ultimately turned down the offer and held steady in her convictions.
Money Troubles
Felicia is the twenty-eight-year-old founder of a national nonprofit organization that works with schools, families, and volunteers to help create safe schools and communities. Some years ago, Felicia needed to raise money quickly. She talked with a potential funder about doing a challenge grant: if Felicia could raise $20,000 from other sources, this funder would give her an additional $20,000 Felicia and her coworkers at the nonprofit sent in a proposal, and then raised $20,000 from other sources under the premise of the challenge grant. Then the funder who had offered the challenge grant called to say that she had “changed her mind.” Felicia was faced with an ethical decision: should she tell the other funders the challenge grant had been reneged on, or should she keep quiet and keep the money?
All The World’s A Stage
Gwen is a senior at a performing arts high school, where she studies drama. As a senior, she faces a difficult decision. Gwen is eighteen, which means she’s old enough to work, but she has also been accepted to the drama program at one of her top-choice schools. Should she enroll in college and continue to learn the art of theater? Or should she start acting professionally, learn from real-life experiences, and draw on the many connections she currently has? To complicate matters even more, Gwen’s parents are not in a financial position to cover all of the expenses of her education, and she has not been offered a scholarship anywhere. If she chooses to continue her education, it will clearly involve a great deal of expense.
Money Matters
William is a high school junior at a science and technology school. He has always loved science, and his interest in science led him to pursue research in high school. He is currently a student researcher at a nearby college, where he has had a chance to work independently on biology experiments. He says he chose to take the research position because of his “love of research.” However, William says that after he earned first place in a science competition, he became more interested in participating in research projects for the prize money. He says that some of the competitions he wants to enter do not allow research projects involving live animals, so he is willing to forgo the projects that most interest him in hopes of winning.