Month: February 2019

My first public speaking engagement was a success! You can watch the whole event here. I come in after Jeff Deist’s speech around the 45 mark. This was a fun event and I’d definitely speak again.

Jeff Deist, the president of the Mises Institute invited me to speak at this event after he read my blog and saw what I was doing in Praxis, the business bootcamp and apprenticeship I’m currently in. It’s a pretty big deal getting invited to speak for Mises since they’re the leaders in Austrian economics research and they rarely invite students (and college opt-outs) to speak at events like this one.

One of the things I love about Mises seminars are the socials and networking, I got to meet some interesting people including Lew Rockwell’s (founder of the Mises Institute) sister, Deborah.

It’s a fantastic event to attend and if you get the chance to be involved with Mises, take it!

My big day is now 24 hours away. Am I excited? Hyped actually. Nervous? You bet.

This is the last preview before the official speech tomorrow. Enjoy!

Degrees devalued like fiat currency

It’s simple economics 101, the law of supply and demand comes into play here.

Since colleges have pushed every high schooler into earning a degree, there’s now a surplus of graduates but far fewer demand, of course, this depends on the degree, STEM would be in high demand compared to gender studies.

Bachelor’s degrees were once highly prized and very difficult to earn but now it’s turning into the high school diploma.

I’m giving you a sneak peek at what I’ll be discussing at the Mises Orlando event. I’m super excited to speak in front of a crowd for the first time!

Choose the less glamorous option

I find it ironic how many of my high school teachers and counselors looked down on community colleges, but at the same time they push everyone to earn a degree.

Community colleges were associated with high schoolers who flunked their classes. This supercilious attitude from my teachers created a false image of those who attended community colleges. I went to one for two years and anyone who knows me would say I worked hard for my grades.

The bottom line is, there’s no shame in saving money. Although community colleges aren’t a glamorous option it will make the transition from high school to college a bit easier.

Here is the third preview of my upcoming speech at the Mises Orlando event.

U Can’t Finish

The University of Central Florida (UCF) is affectionately nicknamed, U Can’t Finish.

It used to be a common problem where seniors couldn’t graduate on time because they were put on a waitlist for certain classes.

Other seniors have experienced last-minute changes in their degree requirements. I’ve heard a few horror stories where students already applied for graduating but two months before commencement their advisor tells them, “Oh by the way you need to take another elective.”

In my last post, I talked about the illusion of choice in regards to education. I’ll be posting a short series of posts about my upcoming speech at the Mises Orlando event this Saturday.

I don’t hate college.

I have to make this disclaimer before someone decides to take parts of my speech out of context.

College has its place in society and I’m not denying that we need people like doctors, lawyers, accountants, engineers, scientists, professors, and so forth.

I’d highly recommend staying in college if you truly want to be any of the professions I listed. I would want my doctors to attend medical school instead of learning from the internet.

We must also recognize that college, like anything else, has its limits. People attend for the wrong reasons, usually because they don’t want to be there but they’re doing it for their parents.

A few posts ago I mentioned how the Mises Institute invited me to speak at their Orlando event at the University of Central Florida. I’m hyped for this event because it’ll be my first time publicly speaking! Naturally, I’m a bit nervous but I see it as a good sign, it means I care.

This week, I’ll give you a very brief, super short preview of the topics I’ll cover in my speech.

The illusion of education choices

High school graduates are pushed into believing that they only have two career choices in life; earn a degree or flip burgers for the rest of your life.

But what happens when some students don’t thrive in a college environment? Should they continue to force themselves into a mold, into something they’re not? College is not for everyone especially those who see more value gained by working with their hands.

Colleges have betrayed students into thinking that their career and life depends on a piece of paper and other related credentials like internships.

Is it not authoritarian and un-libertarian to trap our fellow man and leave him without choices?