S6E6. The Bootstrap Myth: Overcoming Financial Barriers to Higher Education w/ Mbe Agbor

In today's episode, we're focusing on the role of higher
education in creating lifelong economic opportunities. Research
shows that the average college graduate is 24% more likely to be
employed than their peers who have only completed a high school
degree. 





At the same time, college is not accessible to everyone.
According to the National Center for Education statistics, over
85% of college students receive some form of financial aid. Here
to talk about the role of scholarships in increasing college
access and lifetime economic opportunity is Mbe Agbor.





Mbe spent his career in the consumer packaged goods industry
where he worked for Unilever and Reckitt. Mbe now invests in real
estate and small start-ups. He also owns and operates Sosega
Nigeria FZE, a cashew farming and processing operation in
Nigeria.





MBE earned his BS in marketing and business management at the
David Eccles School of Business and earned an MBA from the Eccles
School in 2001.





Mbe and host Frances Johnson will delve into his personal journey
and how his family influenced his pursuit of higher education,
the added stress of overcoming financial barriers, and Mbe’s
belief that college is a great equalizer, providing students with
the confidence to pursue their ambitions.





Eccles Business Buzz is a production of the David Eccles School
of Business and is produced by University FM.



Episode Quotes:




The impact of meeting your scholarship donor





[11:55] When we talk about what kind of impact we could have in
the lives of young people, we could all give something. It might
not be money, right? It might be time and these resources, just
to the fact that we just have more road miles than these college
students and we've seen and maybe been through some pitfalls,
that we can give a little bit of advice and be a sounding board.





That was a part that I really enjoyed, even though I got to see
Jack once a year. It was great; he asked about how school was
going, and it was just great to talk to somebody that is directly
involved in and invested in my future and my success.





Real happiness comes from contributing





[24:05]: I think this whole thing comes down to being happy. I
think we substitute education for that and substitute money for
that. We substitute a whole bunch of things for that. But at the
end of the day, when we get to achieve the things that we set out
to achieve, yes, happiness is quantified by a certain income
level, but once we reach that, we don't have to worry about food
for shelter and safety and have a car that works and things like
that, and we're able to be happy, and not only happy, I want to
be happy, but also happiness also comes from contributing, and so
if that happiness can be shared by giving of themselves, whether
financially or their time to someone else that needs a boot, then
no matter where they go in life, no matter how successful they
are, if they're happy and are contributing, that's making it
right. That's being successful in life.





Mbe’s biggest takeaway from college 





[23:17]: College gave me the confidence to know that the only
limit is me, and that's probably the biggest takeaway I took from
the experience.





On pulling yourself up by your bootstraps





[09:05]: I think one thing that people don't realize is that
there are a lot of people who don't have boots. And everybody
just assumes that everybody has boots to pull themselves up by.
And really, I think what scholarships do is give everybody boots,
or bootstraps, I guess. I think once we get to the playing field,
people can show what they're capable of. But if we can't even
make it into the stadium, right? How is somebody going to get an
opportunity to perform?



Show Links:




Black History Month - The David Eccles School of Business

Mentoring Moments

First Ascent Scholars Program | Undergraduate Advising
Resources