It is easy to be pulled into a constant state of racing to define what constitutes “right” versus “wrong” as political polarization persists and media turnout is only accelerating. With a constant stream of input it can be difficult to find space to sort through one’s own thoughts and perspectives. For high schoolers, an issue that increasingly demands this space to unpack nuances is the often controversial subject of professionalism.
Professionalism doesn’t just apply to places of employment, but also to interviews, classrooms, and extracurricular activities. For students approaching adulthood how do concepts of professionalism and expectations they experience shift? Of course, expectations naturally shift depending on factors like the purpose of the organization one joins. However, generally, millennials and Gen Z individuals are moving in the direction of professionalism defined by action and attitude and a decreased preoccupation with judgment that is fixed around external appearance.
At Campo, dress codes are relatively relaxed and students are generally free to express themselves through their physical presentations. Beyond the halls of a high school like ours things become more complicated. Understanding professional contexts is increasingly important in order to make the best impressions, to both garner and administer respect.
Junior Riya Shah believes basic dress code expectations including dress pants and shirts for interviews, corporate jobs, Model UN conferences, etc. are standard. Also, “using formal language and making sure your tone is appropriate are important,” said Shah. When expectations are applied to everyone equally she sees the value in them to maintain appropriate work and performance environments. On the other hand, when application is unfairly asymmetrical self-expression can be compromised and one may feel they must adjust for others’ backwards constructions of permissible and impermissible in professional spaces.
Acceptance of dyed hair and tattoos are also points of contention. Shah personally believes “bodily autonomy is really important.” Senior Adison Schoemehl recently dyed her hair hot pink as a way to have fun through creative expression. Soon after her mother voiced concern about how dyed hair might come across in her upcoming scholarship interview. Schoemehl took her mother’s concern into consideration especially because she knew her interviewers would be older. She thought her interviewers might associate dyed hair with punk rock and counterculture movements – she didn’t want her first impression to be tainted because of an implicit bias held by them. Schoemehl ended up dyeing her hair back to its original brown color.
However, prior to dyeing it back, having dyed hair was not something she believed she should have to be worried about or “fixing” in order to be deemed an appropriate candidate for a scholarship. She is looking towards the quickly changing norms around professionalism and is excited for a future with more openness and less judgement. As the baby boomers leave the workforce “we’re already seeing changing norms. You see in younger industries like tech where people are going into the office with colored hair and there’s more racial acceptance and more diversity,” said Schoemehl.
Schoemehl made another comparison between the current reality she observes, present workplace environments in different parts of the country, and past workplace environments. “Historically there were different cultural values and I think [professionalism] was used to oppress certain minorities…and there are still places in the U.S. that don’t allow for Black people to have natural hair,” she said.
Often what was considered professional was synonymous with ethnically white features, like straight, smooth hair, while features like naturally coily hair were labelled as distracting and inappropriate for work. Professionalism was, and as Schoemehl said, in some places still is another facet of the system meant to suppress and keep non-white races in an inferior position.
For Schoemehl, professionalism is about “how you treat other people, how you treat them as your equals and with respect…it’s much more rooted in your actions than your appearance…it is about having an awareness of yourself and others.” She believes self-awareness is not about “dressing for the job”, but instead about the necessity of thoughtful treatment as she described.
Junior Nikhel Gil defines professionalism as “the amount of effort you put into something and what you’re willing to learn…it’s also preparation, organization, and thoughtfulness.” These qualitative elements are not dictated or determined by external presentation, but rather internal constructions that a person has built over time.
This shift in defining professionalism marks a step forward, in the realm of social justice, towards a reality where self-expression and physical appearance aren’t shamed or inhibited – a reality where we don’t hide ourselves in attempts for pre-emptive avoidance of evoking irrational fears of “different.” Adhering to a uniform dress code at a nine to five office job is one thing. Confusing difference with impropriety and using it to justify covert forms of discrimination is another. Checking our own, and others’, biases is integral to improving any environment we are part of and is a skill that will continue to serve us through school, work, and beyond.
