How did you kind of choose which thing to do next? What led you to each of your different battles that you chose to fight, I guess, that you chose to fight? &gt;&gt; I've always said yes to things. And it's taking me into some very strange places. But when I look back on my life and ask your parents, ask your friends who are older, if they look back on their lives, was it the thing that they had a five-year plan for where they followed that plan? Was that the thing that brought them the most happiness, the most joy? Or was it serendipity? How do they weigh the effect of careful planning of a career? Versus those kinds of serendipitous synchronicity meetings that have occurred to them. And if it is the serendipity, then open yourself up for those things. So I would always be prepared for letting a little bit of magic in. 

2023 IMAG Roadtrip
Virtual Interview
advanced-degree
Interviewed in unknown but works in unknown (used Berkeley because it's the location of Seva Foundation).

Author & Technologist

Chance

Opportunities & Possibilities

Planning

Building A Career Path On Serendipitous Moments

Somebody asked me, hey, would you be interested in the curator of education position at the zoo, which is gonna be opening up? And I thought, that sounds like a really fantastic opportunity, but got talked out of it. The person that talked me out of it at the time, from applying for that position is now my husband, but he was like, you're making good money in the computer industry and you're not gonna get rich working at a zoo for sure. [LAUGH] And I think that he saw that this is where my passion was, I really enjoyed volunteering at the zoo, I really enjoyed being out in nature. So when the position opened up again, he was like you know what? There's something to this. And so if that's what makes you happy, and if that's what's gonna make you happy, then that's what you should do. And I never looked back. Somebody took a chance on me and I think it's important that I don't ever forget that. So when I'm interviewing folks here at the zoo for a job, I try to relate to them in the fact that I was in that seat once. And somebody took a chance on me and I will never forget that. And I have a couple of employees that I've hired and they're like, I can't believe you took a chance on me. It's like, well, you know what I saw something in you ,somebody took a chance on me too. And don't ever forget that and I hope one day you can get back with that too. 

Studying zoology or biology can open doors more quickly if you want to work with animals. However, I got my foot in the door by following my interest and volunteering at a zoo. If working with animals is your passion, don't write it off just because your background is in something else. People think zoos only have zookeepers and veterinarians—that's not true! We have many different departments—IT, finance, education, nutrition, etc—so you're likely to find something that can fit your background.

Director of Education

You shouldn't apply for that position. You already have a good job—just stay where you are.

Passion

Risk

Taking Chances

So I finished grad school at Villanova, my master's. And then I was asked to be a study abroad like a teaching assistant on the study abroad trip to Cadiz, Spain. And they were like, are you sure you wanna go and I'm like, wait free trip. You're paying me to go to Spain on the beach for 6 weeks? Yes, I'll do it. And I was there and I had nothing after, I had nothing planned. I had applied to PhD programs, I didn't get in anywhere, I had no income. I had nothing beyond that beautiful six weeks in Spain. And so I was kind of rock bottom. I moved back home I was like, I'm moving back home and I'm 25. But I just kinda powered through and I just like found joy. And I think there's nothing wrong with shooting for the stars, going somewhere else. It doesn't have to be I think like, all or nothing or if you move it's the end of the world. You have to just stay there and there's no failure, right? I know we can think if I move from home, and I come back then I'm a failure. It's not true. At the end of the day, even if you hate it, you won't hate it. But even if it's not ideal, you get this life experience that you wouldn't have had if you didn't take that chance. 

2020 TEACHERS
advanced-degree
death-and-loss

Be your authentic self. That's your best route to connecting with your students and feeling happy and confident in your career.

When I started teaching at my current school, I was burnt out and wasn't enjoying work at all. I started dancing and using social media to spark my energy and have fun. A few years later, I feel like I'm in the sweet spot of my career.

My dad passed away at the same time that I started teaching at Bellaire High School. The trauma only added to the dark place I was already in. It took me focusing on myself and choosing to have fun and be authentic in order to feel connected.

I'm a morning person so I'm usually productive early in the day. I try to go to the gym or get some writing done in the morning. Starting the day by doing something for me puts me in the right state of mind. At school, my day is all over the place in the best way! I teach five classes and will plan, attend meetings, or do trainings when I'm not in class. My room is a hot spot at lunch. This is my favorite part of the day because we can have deeper, meaningful conversations and make videos!

Spanish Teacher

Failure

Shoot For The Stars Because There's No Failure

You gotta figure out what it is you want then go after it but you might not figure out what you want for a while. And that's fine. &gt;&gt; If you take our model is, we were kind of, aimless wandering around. We made this DVD, we sent it to someone and they plucked us out and helped us to the next level. And I think that's the same in every business is you gotta find some guy that's going to mentor you. And use that networking to get you to the next level. &gt;&gt; There are three things I figured out. There's hard work, there's real talent, and there's luck and those three things work together in some, some way. They work together for us perfectly, we have ambition and hard work and all these things that you kind of have control over. But then there's real talent that you don't really have control over. You just kind of have it. It's like when you dream an idea or you just have the natural ability to do something. And then there's luck that you also don't have really control over, the fact that Bob watched the video. The fact that certain people worked in a way that make things happen. Those are the three things that I think, for somebody that doesn't believe in a higher power. That's the three things that work together for me. 

Getting out of college is only the first step into adulthood, so relax. It's okay to not have everything figured out or to take odd jobs that don't relate to what you're striving for yet. You have time to figure things out. I made short comedy films on the side as a hobby before they ever got any notice. However, I knew what my passion was. You can't just pursue passion in general—you need to know what you're passionate about. But know that it's okay if it takes a while to figure that out.

Comedian & Director

Making it in this industry is going to be really hard.

Determination & Hard Work

Talent

Finding Success Through Hard Work, Talent, and Luck

I was constantly told that college was the route that everyone should take to be successful. Went there for about a year, did not do very well. So after I came home, I was working my old high school job at Ben and Jerry's. An ice cream shop can only pay you so much. So there's a couple times I've gone without eating for three to four days. And that's when a friend of mine offered me this opportunity at a manufacturing career internship program. They offer an opportunity to learn how to apply yourself to other companies and apply yourself in the working world and kinda give you an idea what manufacturing really is. And at the time, I thought, might as well just give it a shot and see where it takes me. And it was one of the most life changing things I've ever gone through. They kind of opened my eyes what manufacturing was. Cuz in school all I really remembered studying about manufacturing was during the Industrial Revolution how horrible the work life was. And you think manufacturing, you think sweatshops and people are coming home with missing fingers or they're just, it's not a good scene. But unfortunately, they didn't tell you that modern manufacturing is a lot better now in terms of safety and how clean the shops are and just some of the work that they do is just kinda mind-blowing. So at the end of the program, they have this job fair, where a lot of the manufacturing companies will come out and that's where I found Eggemeyer. He was really chill and relaxed and he and I got along really great. He was just listing off all these benefits of working at Keats and it's funny looking back on it now. I don't think he really ever told me what I would be doing there. &gt;&gt; [LAUGH] &gt;&gt; I was hearing all these pluses that I have never had before. I was like, whatever it is, I'm down- &gt;&gt; Exactly. &gt;&gt; I want in. &gt;&gt; That's great. &gt;&gt; And so I made that my number one and I think Eggemeyer had me as number one and so that just kind of felt like a puzzle. 

Look into trade schools and certification programs. I've found that these options have a more direct delivery into careers than some other options.

My dad was diagnosed with cancer and passed away when I was young. It was a sad and stressful time for my family. I lost interest in everything—even school felt trivial to me. I was smart enough to get by but just didn't have the passion or interest.

I didn't do well in college because I couldn't find the drive or passion after the loss of my dad. I ended up dropping out of school and struggled to adapt to independent life. I eventually attended a vocational program and things turned around!

After dropping out of college, I was living on my own and took my old high school job back to try and pay the bills. However, it was difficult to get by. I was making less than minimum wage and would go days without eating.

I come into work, power up my machine, and go over what my day is going to look like and what I want to get done that day. I'm given projects but I do most of the start-to-finish planning on my own. This includes determining which tools I need, what the time window looks like, and planning all steps involved. I then get to work on the project. I have to constantly look over everything and make sure I'm double checking the work to prevent mistakes.

CNC Machinist

You have to go to college to be successful.

Choices

How I Got Into Manufacturing

What role do you think that, I don't wanna call it luck but coincidence, plays in any individual success? &gt;&gt; What do they say, fortune favours the prepared? Unfortunately no, its what, 90% hard work- &gt;&gt; Where opportunity meets skills? &gt;&gt; Yes, exactly, between having done land development work, and being a small business owner, and having worked in Washington, DC, and in the political environment where I understand the politics of that. Having the public civil engineering background, working at the city of Las Vegas, but then having served as president of ASC where it was all over the nation I did interviews for BBC, I did interviews for NBC News, I did interviews for CNN, all of that prepared me for this role. Now, could the timing have been different? if there wasn't a new administration, I mean, timing definitely played, that all of that lined up to the right timing. &gt;&gt; Do you think that'll happen naturally for everyone, if you're doing the right things to prepare? &gt;&gt; I think if you're prepared, you're going to have a much better chance of having alignment of success. All of these things led to me being able to be available and ready for the position when it was ready for me. 

Meet with an engineer and ask what they do and why. Then meet another and ask the same questions. Our career is very broad so while one area may not be interesting to you, another might exactly line up with your passion.

I think the key to work-life balance is realizing that you can do it all over time but you can't do it all at once. I've sacrificed relationships in order to pursue my interests, but that's a choice I made because I wanted to pursue those things.

My day includes a lot of meetings and preparation. The issues being discussed are largely big picture policy items and not the tactical day-to-day decisions, though some of those happen too. The focus is on how to best spend the limited resources we have (primarily human and funding) to ensure that the state's transportation system is best meeting the needs of everyone using it.

Director

You switch jobs too frequently. You're intimidating.

Experience

The Importance Of Being Prepared

This is the time to take chances in a really pretty safe and structured environment. Take a class that may be outside of your strength. If you're doing theater maybe you want to try an econ class cuz who knows, maybe there's that secret public policy person within you. If you're scared of taking an acting class, go take an interacting class, take a poetry class, put yourself out there, take chances, because this is your chance to really try that. And I think that college is, in its own way, an entrepreneurial environment. Once you get through some of your core course requirements, you're creating what you want your future and life to be. And I think taking those chances, testing things out, I'll be honest and say I don't think I did enough in terms of internships or things like that, like doing those moments. And this is obviously a great example. But immersing yourself in something deeply so that you can meet people and companies and get an experience to try things out so that you can say yeah, I know I like that or no, I don't like that. And I think we spent a lot of time saying, figure out what you love or follow that. I think it's actually almost as important figure out what you don't love, and learning about the things you don't want to do, cuz that's helpful, right? Taking something off the board. And if you feel like you have a lot of interest, life can feel like a Trivial Pursuit board and you don't know in which direction to go. And so in certain senses I would say don't be paralyzed by fear. Make some choices and take a chance, and you actually have a lot of time, so try those things out. But just enjoy it, I mean you're around people, you're around young people, your responsibility's your education and learning from other people. And so just soak that up and really take advantage of it. 

Everything counts, so start working hard now and try as many things out as possible. Make friends with your teachers, take internships, learn about things you are excited about, but know that your plans will change. And that's okay.

The Obama campaign was so stressful that I ended up developing alopecia and losing all of my hair. 

After Barack Obama won the presidency, I found out on election night that I had to move to Washington D.C. to work on the transition team. I had to sleep on a friends couch before I found somewhere to live.

I've had several career switches. I started out on a pre-med track in college, but then found my interest in education. Along the way, I've dabbled in market research, theater, law, and politics. Each transition has informed my next move.

I put together a lot of meetings; trying to bring people and organizations together towards a common purpose and hopefully we bring creativity to our cause around inspiring and empowering young people to take control of their lives through education.

Executive Director of Michelle Obama's Reach Higher Initiative

Fear

Take A Chance And Don't Let Fear Paralyze You

Tell me your perspective on luck, because I can imagine, you start your geo tech company to the level for prison has got to be the worst perspective of luck. &gt;&gt; I think there's a couple of things. And I forget the mantra, but when preparation preparation meets opportunity, but I think the world works in mysterious ways. And although the trauma of prison, and the things that I've seen, and I still sometimes have night terrors and remember people that I had compassion for be victims of some extreme terrible violence. But one of the things that that's given me, it's given me a perspective that other program managers that are working in criminal justice reform don't have. I think having that perspective, maybe it is luck that I went through that, because I get to bring that perspective to my team at CZI. I get to bring that perspective to other philanthropy and really share out with them my feelings and my experience, and help shape the value's on how we decarcerate America. While keeping our neighborhoods and communities safe, so it's a really crazy turn of events of where I've ended up in life. But I feel like I'm where I should be. 

formerly-incarcerated
entrepreneur
ASUxGSV 2019
video-profanity

Prepare yourself and take advantage of every opportunity. Study hard and dive deep into yourself in order to find your true passion.

I was convicted of assault and spent over 12 years in state prison. Once I got out, I was determined to change my life.

When I was young, I lacked impulse control and emotional intelligence, which led me to make some regrettable decisions. In prison, I witnessed more violence than I had ever seen in my life, which helped me reframe my bad decisions. 

I struggled heavily with my anger before and while in prison. There were many years of solitude and depression. Once I got to San Quentin and found a purpose, I started to overcome this. Survivor's guilt is a real thing and I use that to motivate me.

My daily work is dedicated to helping transform the practice of prosecution so that key decisions that are made quickly in the justice system, yet have long-lasting consequences, are enriched with insights from data analysis and are tied to outcomes like community health and safety. A lot of this is done through building relationships and allies in this fight. 

Chance

Building A Career Path On Serendipitous Moments

Building A Career Path On Serendipitous Moments

Larry Brilliant

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