Melissa Osborne — The Hidden Cost of Social Mobility with Melissa Osborne
Melissa Osborne is an Associate Professor of Sociology at Western Washington University and an education and organizational consultant. Her primary research centers on social mobility, inequality, and the role that organizations play in shaping individuals’ pathways and experiences.
In this episode, I talk with Melissa about her powerful book, Polished: College, Class, and the Burdens of Social Mobility. Melissa shares her own journey from rural Oregon to academia and explores how first-generation, low-income students face deep identity shifts when entering elite colleges. We dig into the emotional and cultural challenges of upward mobility, the unseen pressures of fitting in, and the role institutions play in reshaping individuals. It’s a deeply personal, eye-opening conversation about how money, class, and identity collide on the path to opportunity—and what we can do to better support that journey.
In this episode:
- (00:00) - Intro
- (01:22) - Meet Melissa Osborne
- (02:57) - Growing up in a working-class household
- (04:51) - Lessons on money and prioritization
- (06:41) - Melissa’s journey to higher education
- (12:27) - The impact of mentorship and scholarships
- (14:26) - Challenges of social mobility in higher education
- (16:50) - What it means to be “polished”
- (18:45) - Feeling trapped between two worlds
- (23:46) - When class change feels like betrayal
- (26:57) - Economic and social capital in education
- (30:37) - Cultural capital and belonging
- (34:34) - The unspoken cost of social mobility
- (40:16) - Advice for families and institutions
Get full show notes and links at https://mindful.money.
Watch the episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MindfulMoney.
