Abstract
This article introduces an exercise that helps students make connections among course content, social capital, and career aspirations. It puts the student in the role of a qualitative researcher planning for, conducting, and sharing an interview designed to explore the contemporaneous experience of a working professional with whom the student is already acquainted. Developed for a sociology class, I have translated and regularly used it in a business law and ethics class. Likewise, it is suitable for use in most management and entrepreneurship classes. I aim for students to (1) learn and practice the courtesies of business communication, (2) observe the prevalence of issues studied in relation to those encountered by working professionals, (3) appreciate the relevance of what they have studied throughout the course in context, (4) learn to recognize and build on their social capital, and (5) acquire and construct knowledge by sharing and comparing experiences.
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