Welcome to Students Incorporated. I'm your host,
Mr. Jason. Join me weekly as my team and I produce
content that's informative, positive, fun and
uplifting. This podcast is created and produced
with the help of students from the International
Community School of Bangkok. Hello and welcome
back to the show. We have an exciting and informative
episode for you again. In the first segment,
I'm joined by Mia, Frank, Premi, and Joseph,
and they'll be diving into a topic that can completely
change the way you think about work. So, what's
your work style? Are you an I -shaped, T -shaped,
V -shaped, or an M -shaped style of worker? We'll
break down these four work style types and hopefully
help you discover where you fit and how you can
maximize your strengths. Then don't go anywhere
because part four of Legends of the Yucatan is
here. The stakes are higher than ever as our
heroes uncover shocking secrets and face unexpected
dangers. Will they crack the mystery in time?
Stick around to find out. But first, let's hear
our quote of the day and get some headline news.
Our quote of the day comes from Stephen R. Covey,
an American author and an educator. He famously
stated, Strength lies in differences, not similarities.
The quote itself is as self -explanatory as diversity
is the base of all nations, and as diverse perspectives
come together, they make communities stronger
and more dynamic. Different cultures, experiences,
and ways of thinking bring fresh ideas and help
us grow. Without diversity, things can get stuck
in the same old patterns. This quote is a great
reminder that real strength comes from embracing
what makes us unique, whether it's in school,
work, or everyday life. Learning from different
people helps us see new perspectives and find
better solutions. At the end of the day, it's
our differences that pushes us forward and makes
the world a more interesting and connected place.
And that's our quote of the day. Now on to some
headline news with Mia. Thank you for our quote
of the day, Frank. Now, as for the news today,
let's talk about three new ways a person can
work instead of a traditional take on employment.
Our first method would be job crafting. Now,
this self -initiated process allows employees
to reshape their job roles to better align with
personal strengths and interests. Now, by proactively
adjusting tasks, relationships, and perceptions
of their work, individuals can enhance job satisfaction
and performance. take on additional responsibilities
that match their skills or collaborate with different
teams to diversify their experience. Our next
one is entrepreneurship. Encouraging employees
to act as entrepreneurs within the organization
fosters innovation and creativity. Entrepreneurs
take the initiative to develop new products,
services, or processes, driving the company forward
while operating within its framework. Companies
like 3M have successfully implemented this approach,
leading to groundbreaking products like the post
-it note. Finally, we have activity -based working,
or ABW. ABW is a strategic framework that provides
employees with a variety of work settings tailored
to different tasks and activities. Instead of
assigning fixed desks, organizations offer spaces
designed for collaboration, focused work, or
meetings, allowing employees to choose environments
that best suit their current activities. This
approach enhances productivity and engagement
by catering to diverse work styles and promoting
flexibility. And that ends our headline news
for this episode. Thank you for the quote and
headline news. Now let's jump into the topic
of work styles and shapes. Each of these represents
a different approach to skills, expertise and
collaboration in the workplace. There are actually
multiple shapes. But we are only going to focus
on the four main types, which are I, T, V, and
M. However, if you do your own research, you
may discover pie shape and E shape as well. To
help break it all down, I've got Mia, Frank,
Premi, and Joseph in the studio. Mia, go ahead
and get us started. really excited about today's
topic because i feel like we hear a lot about
what kind of worker companies want we don't always
think about hey how do we work best and what
our individual work styles are and it's never
too early to really start figuring this out especially
with some of us going to university in five months
yeah i totally agree like we all have strengths
but understanding these different styles can
help us figure out what we're good at and how
we can improve I love that. And also, I feel
like knowing our work style can also help us
work better with others as well. And if we understand
our own strengths and how our teammates operate,
we can build stronger and more effective teams.
And let's be honest, some of these shapes fit
us better than others. I don't have a work style,
but I wonder if I might be a mix of couple. That's
a great point, Joseph. People aren't just one
single shape for the rest of their life. They
can evolve or even have traits from multiple
styles. So let's get into it and explore what
these styles mean, their strengths and weaknesses,
and how to make the most of them. First up, let's
talk about the eye -shaped working style. Premi,
can you take this one? Yes, I can. So eye -shaped
employees are those who are highly specialized
in one. area think of the letter i like the shape
and the structure of the letter i it is just
this one vertical straight line and so just like
their expertise um this area of expertise that
they have is very in -depth but there is very
little breadth yeah so i shaved people they spend
you know a lot of years mastering one specific
skill like for example an engineer who only works
on aerospace technology or say a lawyer who only
deals with intellectual property law That level
of expertise is so valuable. I mean, when you
need a brain surgeon, you want someone who has
focused only on brain surgery, not someone who's
done a little bit of everything, right? Totally.
But I think the downside is that I -shaped people
or employees can sometimes struggle with flexibility.
Like if there are few changes or their job requires
new skill, they might find it difficult to adapt.
That's a key challenge. So what's some advice
for I -shaped people who want to stay relevant
and adaptable? Premi, what do you think? that's
a really good point i would say that keep your
expertise strong keep developing it keep honing
it but make sure not to overlook or not to ignore
other skills even if you're specialized learning
basic soft skills like teamwork communication
where leadership can also help you stand out
and i think soft skills in general too i feel
like should be given emphasis and focus on because
within whether Whatever area of work you are
in, I think it is absolutely important. And one
aspect of those soft skills is definitely networking.
If you're an I -shaped employee, surround yourself
with people from different fields can also give
you exposure to new ideas. And again, not to
be afraid to reach out. Okay, next up we have
a T -shaped employee. Mia, why don't you take
this one? Yeah, sure. So a T -shaped employee
is someone who has deep expertise in one area,
just like the I -shaped employee, but also has
a broad knowledge in other areas as well. So
like the top of the T represents the broad knowledge,
while the vertical line is their specialization.
This sounds like the kind of person who's great
at collaboration. Like they can be an expert
in marketing, but also know enough about finance
and design to work well with those teams or individuals
as well. Exactly. And T -shaped employees are
super valuable because they can communicate between
different teams instead of just staying in the
bubble. They understand other fields well enough
to connect ideas and bring people together. And
that's why a lot of companies love hiring T -shaped
employees. But what's a potential weakness? What
do you guys think? I think one risk is that they
might not be as deeply specialized as an R -shaped
employee or not have that much debt because if
they like the different times dedicated to certain
areas, so they might not have that kind of debt
in terms of specialization. Like if they're strong
in one area, but they aren't. maybe not the best
at that one thing. True. So I think the best
advice for T -shaped employees is to keep deepening
their expertise while also maintaining their
broad knowledge. Stay curious, keep learning,
and really keep building those connections. Okay,
now moving on to V -shaped employees. Frank,
what's your take on this one? A V -shaped employee
is like a T -shaped employee, but instead of
having just one area of deep expertise, they
have two. So picture this letter V. It has two
strong vertical lines instead of one. So instead
of just knowing marketing and a little bit of
other things, they might be experts in both marketing
and data analytics, as an example. Right, and
that makes them super valuable because they can
connect ideas across two different disciplines
and bring unique insights and contributions to
the team. However, the challenge for V -shaped
employees is that developing two areas of deep...
Expertise takes time and effort, and they have
to make sure they don't get overwhelmed or burnt
out. Yeah, exactly. So our advice would be to
prioritize and don't rush. Master one area first,
then build expertise in a second. I guess you
could say a slow and steady wins the race. Okay,
and finally, we have M -shaped employees. Joseph,
what's this shape all about? An M -shaped employee
is like a V -shaped employee, but with multiple
deep specializations. They're highly adaptable
and can make on different roles. Think of an
entrepreneur who's an expert in finance, business,
business strategy, and product development as
an example. Yeah, it's impressive and also very
exhausting all at the same time. Yeah, I would
agree. And it probably is both at the same time,
honestly. I think the biggest challenge for M
-shaped employees would be that they feel...
too stretched or they feel stretched maybe too
thin or struggle with where to focus your energy
especially if they are really good at more than
two areas of expertise. So the best advice for
this shaped employee would probably be to learn
to prioritize and delegate. You can't do everything
alone even if you have multiple expertise areas.
Okay great discussion everybody. As we end this
first segment let's do a quick summary. I -shaped
employees are deep specialists. T -shaped employees
have a specialty plus Brock knowledge. V -shaped
employees have two areas of deep expertise. M
-shaped employees are multi -skilled powerhouses.
Understanding these work styles can help you
grow in your current situation and your future
career, even if you're still just a student.
Also, understanding this about yourself can help
you work better with others. Now, as we end this
first segment, I'll leave you all with this ending
question you can ponder and think about. So which
shape do you think you are now and which do you
desire to be in the future? And don't go away.
Next up, we continue Legends of the Yucatan Part
4. Stay tuned after this short PSA. For this
PSA, we want to give a shout out to the ICS Human
Resources or HR Department. This department plays
a crucial role in ensuring that educators, staff,
and students have the support that they need
to succeed. More than just hiring teachers, HR
helps shape school culture, manage faculty and
staff relations, and provide essential training
and development programs. They help ensure schools
maintain a positive and professional environment
where all stakeholders feel valued and motivated
with the overall goal. Now finally, a strong
HR team is essential for building a thriving
school community, helping to attract and retain
talented teachers and other essential staff while
reducing high turnover and burnout. And we are
back with our second segment, and we'll continue
with part four of our story, Legends of the Yucatan.
Part four is titled The Incident. If you missed
parts one through three, you can get caught up
by listening to episodes 87, 88, and 89. Legends
of the Yucatan is a sequel to our season two
story, The Secrets of El Dorado. We released
last year during episodes 55 through 64 in audio
narration. It's also available in book form as
a downloadable PDF from our website, or in paperback
version on Amazon .com. Just visit studentsincorporated
.com to find out more. Now, moving on, Camden
will give us a quick recap of Part 3 before we
jump into Part 4. Recapping Part 3, The Museum.
The students excitedly get ready for the big
gala event at the museum, of which the planned
unveiling of two special artifacts would be happening.
The event was going great until chaos suddenly
erupted, leaving everyone in shock. In the midst
of the confusion, the story takes an unexpected
turn with the introduction of the bad guys. And
without further ado, let's jump back into our
story, where we join our eclectic group of characters
in their continuing adventure. Hawthorne, still
somewhat stunned and confused, keeps his eyes
on the row of students who are now laying down
on the ground by the chairs they were just sitting
in. The students are all intently looking right
back at the professor as if to say, what should
we do? Run? Stay? It's only been a few moments
since the loud bangs and flashes of light went
off in the hall, and at this point the majority
of the guests had already funneled out of the
main hall through one of the two main entrances
towards the back. The professor got up on his
knees and peeked up over the chairs and noticed
that much of the smoke that was created by the
dry ice machines had almost all dissipated. The
room was somewhat clear and empty of just about
everyone. Chairs were scattered all over the
place and some had been turned over as the guests
had left in a panic. There was an eerie silence
to the place. Papers and the occasional high
heel shoe were scattered around the floor. The
students started to get up off the floor as well,
talking to each other and trying to comprehend
what had just happened. As the professor was
now standing up and looking around the room,
he noticed Ava walking toward them. She was visibly
shook up as she was standing closer to the stage
area. She was also yawning in an attempt to get
her ears adjusted to the silence after the shock
of the loud bangs. Professor, professor, Liddy
yelled out. What should we do? As Lily was finishing
asking Professor Harthorn that question, there
were several dozen security personnel with guns
thrown entering the room and moving tactically
around the room, followed by several museum staff
who still had very panicked looks on their faces.
By this time, Ava had reached her professor and
the others who were now all standing and watching
the security team move around the room with slow
and deliberate movements. Her hair was somewhat
messed up and the lanyard with her press credentials,
which had been hanging on her front, was now
hanging on her back. The concussion of the bang
and flash had visibly affected her. As the group
started to move out from the row they were standing
in, Lily embraced Ava and said, Are you okay?
Yeah, I'm okay. My ears are still ringing and
I have a headache, but I'm not hurt. I'm not
sure what happened, though. Ava responded with
an expression of relief on her face. Tommy and
one of the museum staff members walk up to Hawthorne
and his group right as Ava reaches them. Their
faces also showed disbelief and shock, yet concern
for the professor and his students. Before Tommy
could say anything, Hawthorne asked in a worried
tone, Anthony was on the stage. Did you see what
happened to him? Shaking his head. Tommy responds,
he's still down on the stage and the museum's
medical team is up there looking after him. We
think someone ran up to the stage and hit him
on the back of the head right after the flashbang
grenades detonated. Tommy continues, he's awake
and talking but the medical team doesn't want
him to move until they finish assessing his conditions.
They'll be taking him to the hospital soon. Wow,
flashbang grenades. That explains everyone's
panic. I'm still feeling the effects, and I really
hope Anthony's okay. Ava says this as she rubs
her ears in the temples on her forehead. By this
time, all the students had gathered around Prof.
Tommy and Hawthorne, and were all trying to figure
out what had just happened. All of a sudden,
Isabel, one of the shy students who doesn't talk
a lot, bursts out. Are we still in danger? Max
turns to her and says quietly, I think we're
okay now. The security guys are here. and they've
got a lot of firepower with them. I mean, look
at those guns. Joe, somewhat excited by all the
activities and action, then says, Looks like
Mexico's version of an American SWAT team. I
think we're safe now with these guys around.
While the students were talking amongst themselves,
Hawthorne and Ava started asking Tommy questions
about what had happened. So was this a heist?
Hawthorne asked point blank. Did they steal the
artifacts? From what we can tell, it looks that
way. I mean, both artifacts, the gold mask and
the J -Jar were temporarily being held by two
museum security team members behind the stage.
Tommy continues, the security guys were about
to bring out the two artifacts onto the stage
as Anthony was making his announcement. That's
when the flashbang went off. I heard the medical
team talking about the museum security team members.
They're also injured and being attended to behind
the stage right now. I think their injuries are
more severe. At that moment, Ava gets a thought
and then says out loud, hey, I may have captured
something on my camera at that moment, actually.
Ava continues as she looks at the small screen
on the back of her camera and starts cycling
through all the photos right up to and during
the incident. I had my camera pointed at the
stage and was using my rapid capture function.
My camera was taking a photo every half second
automatically. Anyway, ah, oh, look at this.
Ava turns her camera around so Hawthorne and
Tommy can see the viewing screen. There was a
sequence of shots that captured the very moment.
The photos had captured the flashbangs were almost
all washed out and white. But there was a sequence
of three photos right after the bright white
flashes. These photos seem to have captured two
figures in all black holding something. The two
figures somewhat blurring. We're exiting out
the side door next to the stage, the same door
the dancers left from earlier in the program.
We should probably get one of the police officers
over here and show him the images, Hawthorne
says. No, Thomas says abruptly. We don't want
to do that. Let's get you all out of here and
back to the dorms. I'm sure the lead investigators
will be here soon, now that the site is secure.
I don't really want to be here all night, as
there are already enough witnesses they can talk
to. Tommy then motioned for the group to follow
him out of the large room and then exit out of
the museum the same way they came in, the front
door. After they get back outside, Tommy walks
the group down the block a few meters so they're
not blocking the front entrance of the museum.
There are several police cars and trucks parked
along the street now. Most of the guests who
were inside then ran outside had mostly dispersed
and were in the process of leaving. Some were
getting picked up by the drivers and others were
finding their parked cars and driving off. Tommy
says to Hawthorne, Ava and the group, the van
is on the way to pick you up and take you guys
to the dorm. He then leads over to Hawthorne
and Ava and says quietly, don't show those images
to anyone else just yet. Trust is a rare commodity
in Mexico, especially among the police. He continues,
I'm going back inside to check on Anthony. I'll
contact you tomorrow morning. and give you an
update. So, hold tight this evening, and we'll
connect in the morning. And with that, tell me
to walk back towards the museum. The van ride
back to the university dorms has been eerily
silent. The students had barely said a word.
They were probably still in shock at what had
just occurred. Now back at the dorms and after
room checks were complete for both the boys and
girls, Hawthorne thought to himself about the
remainder of the trip schedule and the other
activities that had been meticulously planned.
He had spent about a half hour with the guys
debriefing the evening's events and he had asked
Ava and Lily to do the same with the girls. The
guys had a lot to say, mostly questions that
Hawthorne didn't have the answers to. Eventually,
the professor made it back to his own room. As
he entered the dark and quiet dorm room, he started
contemplating what they should do as a group.
Should they just return home and count the trip
as a loss, only having been there a couple days?
Or should they just wait a day or two to see
how things shake out? These were questions he
couldn't answer as he dropped down on the dorm's
flimsily mattress still dressed in his evening
suit, his eyes closed slowly. What a day it had
been. Maria was pacing back and forth in the
dimly lit interior room. The old broom factory
had many different interior small rooms that
used to be used for storage. This particular
one was temporarily being used as a rendezvous
point. By this time, it was getting late in the
evening. She had listened carefully for too long,
waiting and wondering when Renata and Carlos
would suddenly appear. She knew that eventually
the police would be making their way over to
the factory to do a security sweep, especially
after what had just happened at the museum next
door. Fearing the worst had happened, Maria was
about to make a phone call that could seal her
fate. One way or another, when all of a sudden,
she heard some noise from outside the room. The
door swung open quickly, and there stood Renata
and Carlos sporting very large smiles. We got
them! We got them both! Renata yelled out. Shut
up, Ren, Carlos whispers. They may hear us. The
police are all over the place out there, and
I'm sure they'll be searching this place soon.
Maria looked them both in the eyes and said,
Where are the pieces? By the side door in black
bags. Renata responds with a softer voice. Good.
Let's go. Wipe the doorknob and anything else
you touch with your fingers on our way out. No
one can know we were here. Maria says this as
she exits the small room and starts walking toward
the side door where the two black bags are resting
on the floor. The gold mask is super heavy and
larger than what we expected. It doesn't really
fit in the bag either. It's quite awkward to
carry. Carlos says as he picks up the heavy,
larger bag. Renata responds with a snarky comment.
And that's why you're carrying that one and not
me. At least you're good at something. She continues
with another snide remark. You weren't supposed
to leave any witnesses behind the stage. Now
we may have two security guards to deal with.
They're nobodies. Why didn't you just follow
the plan? The three sneak out the side door,
walk down the alley and get into a waiting black
car. Police sirens and patrol car lights can
be seen and heard off in the distance. Maria
gets in the front passenger seat, looks over
at the driver and nods her head as Carlos and
Renata get into the backseat with the black bags.
As the car pulls out into the main road and then
drives toward the highway, Maria turns around
and looks back at Renata and Carlos and asks,
Do we have any witnesses to worry about? Tell
me all about the incident. Don't leave out any
details. We've got a long drive ahead of us.
Hawthorne's phone goes off. It's loud and annoying,
especially when it's unexpected. He looks over
at the small digital clock that sits on the small
desk in the corner of the room. 7 .34 a .m. The
professor is surprised he was able to sleep this
long. He's usually wide awake by 6 a .m. every
morning. Oh man, the professor says to himself
as he rolls out of bed, looking for his phone.
That annoying ringtone, I've got to get that
changed. He finds his phone and sees that it's
Amanda calling. He takes a deep breath and then
hits the accept button. As soon as the phone
connects, Amanda blurts out, Are you all okay?
I just saw the news up here. There was some incident
at the museum. Hey Amanda, Hawthorne responds
with a low and tired voice. Yeah, set your mind
at ease. We're all okay, Hawthorne continues.
The students are fine, probably still sleeping.
We're going to take this day and regroup a bit.
We'll wait to connect with Professor Tommy again
to discuss our agenda and what's next. Things
may shift on our end depending on what he recommends.
The professor hangs up with Amanda, hoping that
she sets her mind at ease and doesn't worry too
much. He's been in sticky situations before.
However, the responsibility of having this many
students in his group does add another element
of complexity. While he's thinking about it,
he sends off a quick message to both Ava and
Lily, and it reads, Let's hang tight this morning
around here. I'll try to connect with Tommy about
our next options. Once I hear from him, we can
make a plan. Maybe I'll see you over at breakfast.
It's almost noon and the group has just been
hanging out around the dorm rooms and the Student
Union Center most of the morning. Professor Hawthorne
is currently sitting at a small table in the
Student Union with Ava and talking about last
evening's events. In the middle of their conversation,
Hawthorne gets a message on his phone. It's from
Prof. Tommy. Professor Hawthorne says, It's Tommy.
Let's see what he has to say. He reads the message
out loud so Ava can hear. It reads, Hope you
are all doing okay this morning. I'm heading
to the hospital to check on Anthony. He's awake
and seems to be doing better. Wondering if you'd
like to come. Ava doesn't hesitate, then says
yes. I mean, I know he sent that text to you
and I want to go as well, if he's okay with that.
Ava holds up her laptop and points to the story
she was working on all morning. Hawthorne replies,
I'm sure he'll be fine if you go. You'll just
need to ask permission from Anthony if he wants
to be included in your report. Professor Hawthorne
types back. I'm here with Ava and she's wondering
if she could accompany us as well. Might be good
PR for the museum. You know, spread word of what
happened. A few seconds later, Tommy's reply
text come through. It reads, sure, I'll pick
you up in front of the dorm in 30 minutes. See
you then. Tommy Cars pulls up outside the dorm
where Professor Hawthorne and Eva are standing
and waiting. He rolls down the window and says,
Alright, let's go. Sorry I'm a few minutes late.
I had to answer a flurry of emails and calls
this morning about last night. As Hawthorne and
Eva get into Tommy's very small car, Tommy continues,
Hey, this is way off -topic and kind of random,
but do you mind if we stop by one of my favorite
food vendors on the way? They make the best carne
asada torta in Mexico City. Hands down and believe
me, I've tried them all. He continues, I haven't
had lunch yet and I really wanted you to try
this place before you all leave to go back. And
I think this is probably the only time we can
do this. Hawthorne cracks a smile and looks back
at Ava and then says, one thing you've got to
understand about my friend Tommy here is he never
passes up an opportunity for a carne asada torta.
Professor Hawthorne then looks over at Tommy
and continues, well, if you ever make your way
up to Coloma, I'll take you to my favorite spot
now. Ethan's Cafe. I'll introduce you to their
famous pastrami sandwich. It'll change your life.
Ava is sitting in the current backseat, shaking
her head and rolling her eyes as she listens
to these old friends compare their favorite local
sandwich joints. She also misses Ethan's Cafe.
He jumps in the conversation and says, Prof.
Tommy, you've got me intrigued about this high
-protein sandwich you're talking about. I've
never had one, but there's a first time for everything,
right? I mean, maybe I should include this detail
in my story as well. You've got it, Ava. That's
the spirit. I just hope Anthony is up for it
because we'll bring him a torta as well. It will
show him up after what happened last night, Tommy
replies. Good idea. You know, talking about food
can really lighten up a dreadful situation. I'm
in a much better mood now. Thanks, Tommy. And
I'm hungry, Hawthorne says as he looks out the
car window. Meanwhile, Miranda sits quietly in
the waiting area on the third floor of the hospital.
She's brought a few small things to hopefully
brighten up Anthony's day. A nurse walks up to
her and tells her she can go in and see Anthony
now that the doctor is done with that morning's
assessment. Miranda walks into the room and says,
Hello, Mr. Garcia. It's so good to see you are
doing well. You sure gave us a scare last night.
Just at that moment, David walks in the door,
looks at Miranda with a surprised look on his
face, and then over at Anthony, who is sitting
in a chair next to his hospital bed. He says,
oh hey, I didn't know you had company, Mr. Garcia,
but this is a nice surprise. David said this
with a smile as he looked at Miranda. He continues,
it looks like Miranda and I had the same idea.
Anthony sits up straighter in the chair and responds,
wow, thanks for thinking about me, and I appreciate
the flowers and gifts you brought. Anthony continues,
the doctor was just here and - Just at that moment,
Prof Tummy, Harpon, and Ava walk into the room,
which is now quite crowded. Tommy enters the
room first while holding a large wrapped carne
asada torta and saying, here you go big guy,
we thought this would show you up. Tommy then
says, oh so sorry, didn't you had visitors already?
He continues as he gestures towards Miranda and
David who are standing inside the room. Well
hello Miranda and David, looks like you had the
same idea we had. Looks like our good buddy Tony
has lots of fans. Tommy often called Anthony
by his shorter name sometimes. Tommy then looks
over at Anthony to Tony, who is now looking a
little uncomfortable and shy with all these visits
packed inside his very small hospital room. Tommy
then says, it's good to see you up and alert.
So, what's the doctor's order? Well, they want
to keep me for at least two more nights, maybe
three. There's a small hairline fracture on the
back of my head, and with my concussion, they
don't want to take any chances the next few days.
He continues as he eyes the sandwich Tommy put
down on the table next to his bed. Well, you
know how to cheer a guy up. After about 15 minutes
of small talk and after watching Anthony devour
his sandwich, the five visitors, Prof Tommy,
Professor Hawthorne, Ava, Miranda and David leaves
Anthony's hospital room, walk back out to the
waiting area. As they were all awkwardly standing
there, wondering what was next and what should
be said, Tommy speaks up first. Hey, you know,
we still have this schedule for Professor Hawthorne's
group and I'd like to propose a few changes and
see what you all think. Go on, Professor Hawthorne
says. Tommy continues as the other four listens
to his idea. The schedule had your group going
all the way down to Calakmul, starting tomorrow
and then staying there for two days. Miranda
was going to accompany us down there. Miranda
jumps in. Right, but I assume that trip is cancelled
after what happened last night. Hawthorne then
adds, my colleague Amanda back in Coloma did
receive a notification from the U .S. Embassy
about the travel alert being raised. What if
instead we go to Chichen Itza? it's a close that
not as remote maybe we should go and enjoy our
cultural trip to one of yucatan's most famous
archaeological destinations he continues we all
know david can't reveal the location of the cenote
where the mass was found but maybe he could accompany
us as our resident treasure hunter or treasure
finder and miranda would love for you to go as
well david looks around the others who are looking
at him he then responds Well, I'm technically
on the clock with the university and the museum
for a few more days. I know it's a change of
plans for you all, but I'm okay with it. Miranda
then responds, I think it's a good idea. I wouldn't
- feel comfortable going to Kalakmal now anyway,
not after what happened last night, that location
can be a little risky even in the best of times.
And I'd be up for going with you and David to
Chichen Itza. There's plenty to see and do there
from an academic point of view as well. Well,
Tommy, you know me. I'm along for the ride, and
if we can salvage the remainder of this trip
this way, then I'm all for it. Hawthorne says
as he glances over at Ava. He then continues,
what about you? Would you be up for that, changing
the destination of our field expedition? tradition.
Ava fires back without hesitation. Of course
I'm in. I go where the story leads and right
now that sounds like the place Professor Tommy
is suggesting. So what next then? Alright, don't
worry about the travel changes. The university
will rearrange the travel plans for all of us
and get that sorted out by tomorrow's morning.
They can make it happen pretty quickly. You'll
all just be ready to fly out tomorrow morning,
sometimes before 9am. Once I get an exact time,
I'll let you know. Tommy looks at Miranda and
David. And then it says, you can just meet us
at the airport after you hear back from me about
our time of the departure. I'll send that information
later this evening to you. Renata could hear
her aunt arguing with two guys in the next room.
The four of them, Aunt Maria, her brother Carlos,
the driver, and her have been hiding out in a
dirty old run -down safe house outside the city
of Merida for the better part of the morning.
They were all tired from the long drive through
the night and were a little cranky as to why
the cartel members showed up late and were now
changing some of the details about their previously
agreed upon deal. She could hear it in her aunt's
voice from the next room that things were not
going very well. Renata looks at Carlos and mumbles,
Man, I knew Aunt Maria shouldn't have trusted
these guys. They're a bunch of losers. They never
do their own dirty work. Carlos, who hadn't really
been paying attention to the loud arguing from
the next room, looks over at Renata and responds,
I hate doing this type of work anyway. Why can't
we just find something different to do? Something
honest. Renata snaps back. Something honest?
She laughs and continues. Are you kidding me?
That train has left the station, little brother,
and ain't coming back. This is our family's line
of work and nothing we do can change that. So
don't be naive and stupid. Just do what we say
and maybe someday you can be rich and then just
disappear. At least that's what I'm hoping for.
Carlos mumbles back a response. Well, it didn't
work out for mom, did it? Renata responds. You
didn't even really know her anyway. You were
too young. Renata continues. I watched Mom struggle
to make ends meet, and she was just trying to
take care of us the best she knew how to. I suppose,
but she'd probably still be with us today if
she had found a different type of work, honest
work. Carlos continues, I'm just saying, if Aunt
Maria keeps making deals with the cartel and
then things go bad, like they did for Mom, they'll
just erase us like they did her. At that moment,
Maria bursts through the door and into the room
where Renata and Carlos were sitting and says,
I hate working with a cartel, she continues.
They're only going to pay us half of what they
said earlier unless we give them something more.
Renata then says, what do you mean something
more? We got them both artifacts. Keep your voice
down. They're on the phone with the big boss
in the other room. Maria says to Renata. She
continues. They want to know the location where
the golden mask was found because they believe
there's more there. Maybe gold or whatever. Then
once they know the location and it's confirmed,
we get paid the remainder of what they owe us.
That's not fair, and Carlos says. Well, they're
the ones holding the guns and our payout. If
you want to be done with this lifestyle, then
we need to do this. Otherwise, we're stuck, Maria
says. She continues, we've got to give up the
only leverage we have left now to make this happen.
Maria says this as she looks out the small half
-broken window that's behind where Renata and
Carlos are sitting. She lifts up her hand and
points her finger at the man who is calmly sitting
in the driver's side seat of the car they came
here last night in. She then says, that guy there,
our driver, well, there's more to him than you
know. Meanwhile, the plane that Professor Hawthorne
and the others are on has landed at Merida's
regional airport. It was a short flight from
Mexico City and it was already mid -morning.
Merida is a larger city as compared to others
in this part of the Yucatan. The famous Chichen
Itza ruins are only an hour and a half car ride
from the city center. The incident at the gala
event two nights ago feels like it happened a
week ago. Having the extra day yesterday to rest,
debrief, and then go see Anthony at the hospital
helped ease the professor's mind in regards to
changing the schedule and bringing along the
students. They were now all here, all the students,
Ava, Lily, Prof. Tommy, and their very own special
field guides, Miranda and David. It felt good
to be out of Mexico City, and the group was quite
excited to have celebrity guests Miranda and
David with them. Hawthorne thought to himself
as they were all exiting the small Merida airport
together, and in good spirits, All right, this
is like a big, fun field trip. What could go
wrong? The worst is behind us. And that ends
part four. Stay tuned for next week as we bring
part five in our continuing story called The
Legends of the Yucatan. As we end this episode,
let's not forget to answer the question, what
shape is your working style? I, T, V, or M? And
stay tuned for our next episode as we look at
the power of good design with a local artist
who knows a thing or two about good design. We'll
also be continuing our adventure story. And as
always, this podcast would not be possible without
the hard work and support of our international
student production team. All music and sound
effects are courtesy of Pixabay .com. a vibrant
community of creatives sharing copyright -free
images, videos, and music. And we are signing
off until next time. We are Students Incorporated,
because your voice matters.