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.

ABOUT MINDFUL MONEY:
Do you struggle with money? You’re not alone.

Money is a means, not an end. It’s a necessity of life for sure, but more money does not always guarantee a “good life”. Money enables many aspects of modern life, but as a dominant consideration, it becomes destructive.

The paradox is that more time and energy spent on personal finance does NOT create better outcomes. Unlike many other parts of life, we can’t create better outcomes by being smarter, spending more time, or putting in more effort.

Join Mindful Money author and experienced 40-year investor Jonathan DeYoe as he shares stories from artists, authors, entrepreneurs, and other advisors about how they mindfully minimize their need to think about money and get more out of life.

If you aren’t happy with your finances, feel like money takes more time than it should, or want to place your financial decisions into the broader context of your life, this show is for you.

Each episode will draw the line between the “enough” activities that the academics tell us are additive to family outcomes, and those “little bit more” efforts that take time and sap energy but do NOT improve outcomes.

CONNECT WITH MELISSA:
Website: https://www.melissaosborne.net/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissa-osborne-phd/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/mosbornesoc.bsky.social

MINDFUL MONEY RESOURCES:
Website: https://mindful.money
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🎙️Podcast Production by Turncast: https://turncast.com.