Bruce didn’t see this coming

Bruce, a student at Oregon State, joined our Deep Dive on Free Speech & Hate Speech unsure of how it would go. Many students who participate in our Deep Dive and Unify Challenge programs are nervous beforehand. Who would they be paired with? Would their partner attack them or their views? What if they didn’t know enough about politics to hold their own?

Like almost every student who steps into these conversations, Bruce experienced something entirely different from what he’d imagined.

He and his partner talked. They listened. They made each other think. Bruce left with a deeper confidence in his ability to have a real conversation with another human being, even one who doesn’t share his views. 

A Story About What College Doesn’t Teach You

For years now, employers across every field—healthcare, business, education, government, you name it—have been saying the quiet part out loud: the skills they desperately need aren’t the ones being replaced by generative AI. They’re the ones no algorithm can do or teach.

Skills like:

• communicating clearly
• collaborating across differences
• navigating tough conversations
• problem-solving with people who see the world differently

But there’s a catch: it can be hard for students to routinely practice these skills on their own, even on college campuses.

It’s not because students lack interest. It’s because humans naturally cluster with people who think like they do. Friend groups, clubs, classes: they all tend to form around similarity.  

Then graduation hits. And suddenly they're working with people who have entirely different backgrounds, beliefs, and values…while still being expected to get the job done. 

Where These Conversations Fit In 

That’s why cross-campus conversations matter. Not just for the workplace, but for building a generation of citizens who are able to see people with different perspectives as part of “us,” not “them.” 

The Unify Challenge and Deep Dive are a couple of ways students get that practice: pairing college students from different campuses, lived experiences, and viewpoints for structured discussions on issues shaping the country.

And most students get a lot out of these hour-long conversations. Like Bruce, they report an increase in confidence discussing complex issues. They feel more interested in having conversations with people who might not agree with them. And 89% of students we survey after our programs tell us their conversations helped them build critical skills that will be valuable to them in future careers.

Whether these students go into nursing, finance, teaching, or tech, the ability to talk to and work with people who don’t see the world the same way will matter more than ever.

AI may transform the tasks of work. But the relationships of work, and the relationships that hold a society together, still belong to humans.

And Bruce?

As you saw in the video above, he seems to have left his conversation energized and more sure of his ability to talk with someone who sees the world differently. I suspect it’s not because he suddenly agreed with everything his partner said, but because he realized he could stay in the conversation with curiosity, respect, and confidence.

These are the skills that matter in workplaces, in communities, and in a healthy democracy.
We can’t predict the future of work or politics. But we can help prepare the people who will shape both.

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