Within your business like,
 2
00:00:02.102 --> 00:00:05.839 I know you'd have like rough days, you said like it wasn't always, like, booming.
 3
00:00:06.206 --> 00:00:08.842 How'd you like, push through and actually like,
 4
00:00:08.842 --> 00:00:10.977 motivate yourself to keep going?
 5
00:00:10.977 --> 00:00:13.313 Prayer.
 6
00:00:13.313 --> 00:00:17.017 Prayer and I had this little sign from One Spark,
 7
00:00:17.117 --> 00:00:19.919 it was an event in Jacksonville that, you know, I participated in.
 8
00:00:19.919 --> 00:00:24.090 And this, this one marketing person she was there trying to get money for her
 9
00:00:24.090 --> 00:00:27.927 business just starting a marketing firm, and she had this little plaque
 10
00:00:27.927 --> 00:00:29.229 that she would give out
 11
00:00:29.229 --> 00:00:32.632 to a lot of the other entrepreneurs that were also participating.
 12
00:00:33.033 --> 00:00:37.437 And I kept that in, right near the cash register in my spa.
 13
00:00:37.737 --> 00:00:40.006 And It said, remember why you started.
 14
00:00:40.006 --> 00:00:42.909 So on those most difficult days it was that and
 15
00:00:42.909 --> 00:00:46.379 and to answer your question definitely as a black woman and even today
 16
00:00:46.379 --> 00:00:49.916 as you know I look at market research and just the numbers all the time.
 17
00:00:50.083 --> 00:00:53.253 Still less than 3% of black businesses
 18
00:00:53.253 --> 00:00:57.891 get investors, and make it to, you know, that next level mid level.
 19
00:00:57.891 --> 00:00:59.225 Some don't even make it to the top.
 20
00:00:59.225 --> 00:01:01.895 I just knew that there was a space for me.
 21
00:01:01.895 --> 00:01:04.230 But I also knew, to your point it was going to be difficult.
 22
00:01:04.230 --> 00:01:05.298 It's going to be challenging.
 23
00:01:05.298 --> 00:01:06.966 And it's still is somewhat challenging
 24
00:01:06.966 --> 00:01:09.369 because even when I was doing the Sam's Club roadshows,
 25
00:01:09.369 --> 00:01:12.272 I got into Sam's Club at the time that I did
 26
00:01:12.572 --> 00:01:15.575 because the CEO at the time was Rosalind Brewer.
 27
00:01:15.675 --> 00:01:17.944 So it's a black woman. But the timing was right.
 28
00:01:17.944 --> 00:01:22.115 So everything is about timing, And also creating your own opportunity.
 29
00:01:22.415 --> 00:01:26.252 You know people will say you can't do it but you got to take opposition
 30
00:01:26.319 --> 00:01:28.121 and make it into an opportunity.
 31
00:01:28.121 --> 00:01:31.891 And when people say you can't do you got show them can.
 32
00:01:32.192 --> 00:01:33.059 There you go.
 

I'd recommend first getting an associate degree in nursing. After gaining some work experience as an RN, consider going back to school to obtain certifications or a business degree because these programs will teach you how to run a business, lead a team, and turn your ideas into a real company.

I had a stroke in 2021. I couldn't walk and ended up losing a lot of my hair. I thank my husband, God, and my health that I survived. After recovering, I rebuilt my health and my business to find success again.

As a healthcare entrepreneur and president, I manage business operations, product distribution, and strategic partnerships. My focus is on marketing, customer relations, and product innovation to expand my brand’s impact.

Founder & President

We won't invest in your company unless you change the company's name.

Trust & Hope

Perseverance

Staying Motivated To Succeed As An Entrepreneur

This sounds like a
 2
00:00:00.900 --> 00:00:03.436 a potentially very stressful job, and you're literally dealing
 3
00:00:03.436 --> 00:00:04.471 with life and death.
 4
00:00:04.471 --> 00:00:07.807 How do you persevere through those failures?
 5
00:00:07.807 --> 00:00:10.010 Or even just the day to day struggles?
 6
00:00:10.010 --> 00:00:11.378 Like, how do you cope with that?
 7
00:00:11.378 --> 00:00:15.115 It's been a long career and there's definitely been times
 8
00:00:15.382 --> 00:00:18.752 where you're, you feel like
 9
00:00:18.752 --> 00:00:21.755 you're heading towards burnout or complacency.
 10
00:00:21.788 --> 00:00:26.788 And to me the best thing for that is to fight to be self-aware.
 11
00:00:26.993 --> 00:00:31.698 Really understand yourself, your body, your situation.
 12
00:00:31.698 --> 00:00:34.734 and find things you want to do along the way
 13
00:00:34.734 --> 00:00:36.936 and don't wait till the end of your career to do things.
 14
00:00:36.936 --> 00:00:39.005 Whether it's some sporting,
 15
00:00:39.005 --> 00:00:42.342 painting, anything that you say, well, this is what I can do
 16
00:00:42.342 --> 00:00:44.811 after my career is over, something that I can continue.
 17
00:00:44.811 --> 00:00:48.615 Take advantage of every single day your off because another thing you really
 18
00:00:48.615 --> 00:00:53.019 crystal clear know, from my job is that you're not guaranteed the next day.
 

To be a flight nurse, you'll need your nursing degree and then you'll need to have five years of level one trauma critical care experience.

After coming into work, briefing with on-duty crews, and checking out the aircraft, we are ready for the unknown, as we never know where we're going and who we're going to take care of during our duty day. I do both inter-facility flights, which are typically flights from a rural ER back to a major hospital, and scene flights, which could be things like car accidents, shootings, stabbings, and falls.

Chief Flight Nurse

Interests & Hobbies

Self-Reflection

Persevering In A High Stress Career

How did you scale the project and impact so many people?
 2
00:00:05.005 --> 00:00:07.674 The startup survival rate is super, super low.
 3
00:00:07.674 --> 00:00:09.009 Like, what? Less than 1%.
 4
00:00:09.009 --> 00:00:14.009 I sincerely believe, a lot of entrepreneurs
 5
00:00:14.347 --> 00:00:18.852 have great ideas and often times it's a mental,
 6
00:00:18.852 --> 00:00:22.956 you know, stamina issue where you just can no longer
 7
00:00:23.123 --> 00:00:27.961 sustain the negatives of an entrepreneurial journey
 8
00:00:27.961 --> 00:00:31.998 and too many failures and too much negativity.
 9
00:00:32.232 --> 00:00:32.499 Right.
 10
00:00:32.499 --> 00:00:37.499 But if you persist through all of that consistently trying to find a new angle
 11
00:00:38.605 --> 00:00:43.209 to solve your problem, and I think that's how our organization scaled, right.
 12
00:00:43.309 --> 00:00:47.714 When we were starting in the industry, there are so many incumbents and,
 13
00:00:47.814 --> 00:00:49.182 they're way bigger.
 14
00:00:49.182 --> 00:00:52.619 No one thought we could make it just because, you know, in
 15
00:00:52.619 --> 00:00:56.823 education, change management and, it's hard to start something.
 16
00:00:56.923 --> 00:00:58.391 But, we didn't give up.
 17
00:00:58.391 --> 00:01:01.494 And I think all good things, don't come easily.
 18
00:01:01.661 --> 00:01:01.995 Right.
 19
00:01:01.995 --> 00:01:06.995 And you have to, try your best and try your hardest and be innovative.
 20
00:01:07.300 --> 00:01:10.870 And that's from execution to the way
 21
00:01:10.870 --> 00:01:14.607 you think about the problem and not just to live up to a status quo.
 22
00:01:14.941 --> 00:01:18.078 And how do you see the future of schooling,
 23
00:01:18.278 --> 00:01:21.414 like with the growth of AI, for instance?
 24
00:01:21.948 --> 00:01:26.219 How do you plan to implement that and change maybe change I don't know.
 25
00:01:26.219 --> 00:01:26.619 Yeah.
 26
00:01:26.619 --> 00:01:29.289 We actually started using AI long time ago.
 27
00:01:29.289 --> 00:01:33.526 We care about productivity because we believe if we run our organization
 28
00:01:33.793 --> 00:01:37.564 really, really well, that means we can impact more students
 29
00:01:37.564 --> 00:01:40.967 and support more of our school counselors
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00:01:40.967 --> 00:01:44.003 and, our teachers and our CTE coordinators.
 31
00:01:44.003 --> 00:01:46.339 So that's really, really important to us.
 32
00:01:46.339 --> 00:01:48.108 And then the second thing is,
 33
00:01:48.108 --> 00:01:51.578 from an application level, like from a platform level,
 34
00:01:51.845 --> 00:01:56.845 thinking about finding use cases ensuring, can we increase our counselors
 35
00:01:57.217 --> 00:02:01.421 capacity, our students navigation personalization ability.
 36
00:02:01.421 --> 00:02:01.588 Right.
 37
00:02:01.588 --> 00:02:02.755 Those are some of the things
 38
00:02:02.755 --> 00:02:06.359 that we've been implementing and will continue to invest in.
 

To start a company, you need to have a strong passion for the thing you want to create. You also need to have a clear vision for how you're going to achieve the goal. And finally, you need to possess the skills to accomplish each step along the way.

No two days look the same. I bounce between leading strategy, problem-solving across departments, and advocating for our mission. I work closely with districts and volunteer in schools, helping students see their futures. It’s demanding, but I love tackling big challenges and building tools that empower others.

Founder & CEO

Starting And Scaling A Company Takes Persistence

You've got to have a can't stop won't stop attitude.
 2
00:00:02.669 --> 00:00:05.672 I applied to NASA maybe three or four times
 3
00:00:05.939 --> 00:00:09.275 kind of in my career, you know, as a student trying to get interns,
 4
00:00:09.442 --> 00:00:13.747 for two other postdoc positions, didn't get them. But ironically,
 5
00:00:14.280 --> 00:00:17.684 the one position that I landed at NASA was the one that I didn't apply for.
 6
00:00:17.784 --> 00:00:20.787 So I got my position here at NASA because I sent a cold email.
 7
00:00:20.787 --> 00:00:23.757 So in that interview, I prepared 31 slides
 8
00:00:23.757 --> 00:00:27.727 on all the research that I was doing unfunded by myself solo.
 9
00:00:27.727 --> 00:00:30.330 In that interview, I said, Well, do you want to see some more work?
 10
00:00:30.330 --> 00:00:34.300 I got slides and they said, Yeah, like, okay, cool.
 11
00:00:34.300 --> 00:00:37.170 Well, so we stayed there an extra hour.
 12
00:00:37.170 --> 00:00:39.039 The interview was supposed to last 30 minutes.
 13
00:00:39.039 --> 00:00:40.273 It lasted like an hour and a half.
 14
00:00:40.273 --> 00:00:42.108 And so you've got to be prepared.
 15
00:00:42.108 --> 00:00:44.010 There's always somebody watching you.
 16
00:00:44.010 --> 00:00:46.746 There's always somebody waiting for you to
 17
00:00:46.746 --> 00:00:49.349 to get to a certain level in your confidence,
 18
00:00:49.349 --> 00:00:52.152 to be able to reach out to them, to put yourself out there
 19
00:00:52.152 --> 00:00:53.853 so that they can pull you in right.
 20
00:00:53.853 --> 00:00:57.557 And a lot of the times you don't even know these opportunities exist.
 21
00:00:57.991 --> 00:00:59.993 They're saving them for the right person.
 22
00:00:59.993 --> 00:01:03.229 But that's one of the things you're combining that resiliency
 23
00:01:03.496 --> 00:01:04.998 with preparation, right?
 24
00:01:04.998 --> 00:01:07.000 With confidence, And that can't stop.
 25
00:01:07.000 --> 00:01:09.102 That can't stop, won't stop attitude.
 26
00:01:09.102 --> 00:01:10.203 You can't lose with that.
 27
00:01:10.203 --> 00:01:14.207 And so I knew one day I would get to NASA.
 28
00:01:14.207 --> 00:01:16.743 And so it's again, it's a full circle moment.
 29
00:01:16.743 --> 00:01:19.212 That's that's what I would say to anybody trying to get to NASA,
 30
00:01:19.212 --> 00:01:20.680 do that math coding.
 31
00:01:20.680 --> 00:01:22.348 Of course, You got to be prepared.
 

In this field, you need to have a "can't stop, won't stop" attitude. I applied to NASA multiple times before I was finally offered a position—and it wasn't even one I applied for! I sent a cold email and went the extra mile to prepare a slide presentation of my work. Be prepared. There's always somebody watching you. A lot of the times, you won't even know an opportunity exists because it's being saved for the right person. You can be the right person. Be confident, persistent, and resilient.

I spend my time diving into the mysteries of black holes as a theoretical astrophysicist at NASA. My work balances cutting-edge research on relativistic jet emissions with mentoring early-career scientists through the Cosmic Pathfinders program. Whether I’m analyzing data, speaking at conferences, or guiding students toward careers in space science, my goal is to expand our understanding of the universe while inspiring the next generation​.

Theoretical Astrophysicist

Support & Encouragement

Be Prepared And Don’t Quit

I'm really interested in like your perspective,
 2
00:00:02.969 --> 00:00:05.472 especially being a black man in a leadership position, right?
 3
00:00:05.472 --> 00:00:08.274 That comes with its own sort of baggage sometimes,
 4
00:00:08.274 --> 00:00:12.145 but then also having this responsibility for one's community to kind of say like
 5
00:00:13.046 --> 00:00:15.382 people like me typically haven't been in these spaces.
 6
00:00:15.382 --> 00:00:17.350 And so now and there's that extra sort of weight.
 7
00:00:17.350 --> 00:00:18.418 How do you work through that?
 8
00:00:18.418 --> 00:00:19.419 And how have you kind of learned
 9
00:00:19.419 --> 00:00:22.722 throughout your process in your career to kind of deal with things like that?
 10
00:00:22.956 --> 00:00:24.524 There are two things that I think about.
 11
00:00:24.524 --> 00:00:26.426 We run the Martin Luther King Day of service.
 12
00:00:26.426 --> 00:00:28.928 Dr. King said one of the most famous lines about service.
 13
00:00:28.928 --> 00:00:31.097 Anybody can be great because anybody can serve.
 14
00:00:31.097 --> 00:00:34.868 And I think when I have tough days, let me talk about the tough days that Dr.
 15
00:00:34.868 --> 00:00:35.702 King had.
 16
00:00:35.702 --> 00:00:37.404 When I think about John Lewis,
 17
00:00:37.404 --> 00:00:40.607 I remember him speaking a few years back before he passed away,
 18
00:00:40.673 --> 00:00:43.143 and he said, you know, people tell me things aren't getting any better.
 19
00:00:43.143 --> 00:00:44.511 He's like, you want to look at that footage of me
 20
00:00:44.511 --> 00:00:47.013 on the bridge with the dogs and the hoses and the police.
 21
00:00:47.013 --> 00:00:48.114 Things are getting better.
 22
00:00:48.114 --> 00:00:50.016 This idea that the arc of the moral
 23
00:00:50.016 --> 00:00:52.419 universe is long, but it bends toward justice is so true.
 24
00:00:52.419 --> 00:00:54.521 And I've seen that in my own life.
 25
00:00:54.521 --> 00:00:57.657 I think about Sister Harriet, who Governor Moore just named
 26
00:00:57.657 --> 00:01:01.027 a one star general posthumously in the Maryland National Guard.
 27
00:01:01.027 --> 00:01:04.064 I think about my grandmother, who grew up in a little shack
 28
00:01:04.064 --> 00:01:06.766 where they had to go outside to get water because there was no plumbing.
 29
00:01:06.766 --> 00:01:09.302 And I got to take her to the Oval Office to meet my boss.
 30
00:01:09.302 --> 00:01:12.806 And so when when I think about hard days, I look about where we've come from.
 31
00:01:12.806 --> 00:01:16.376 I look on the shoulders on which I stand, and it makes it a little easier.
 32
00:01:16.443 --> 00:01:20.413 I would say the other thing is incumbent upon us that are black and brown
 33
00:01:20.447 --> 00:01:24.050 and women and other folks that didn't expect to get into certain rooms.
 34
00:01:24.050 --> 00:01:26.386 If you get into a room and there's no one that looks like you,
 35
00:01:26.386 --> 00:01:27.654 that's somebody else's fault.
 36
00:01:27.654 --> 00:01:30.457 If you leave that room and there's no one that looks like you, that's your fault.
 37
00:01:30.457 --> 00:01:33.993 And so we have a responsibility to cultivate pipelines to make sure that
 38
00:01:33.993 --> 00:01:37.897 the people closest to the pain are closest to the power and are in seats of decision
 39
00:01:37.897 --> 00:01:40.900 so that they are making decisions about the challenges in their community.
 40
00:01:41.034 --> 00:01:45.672 And you all know that the data shows up when boardrooms, when c-suites
 41
00:01:45.672 --> 00:01:49.275 look like America, they actually outperform their peers.
 42
00:01:49.409 --> 00:01:51.878 And so that's something that I focus on all the time.
 

My path worked out for me but my original goal was to be a journalist. I did a lot of internships and part-time jobs, and learned that I loved working on Capitol Hill and with nonprofits. The most important thing is to have a clear north star of how you want to leave the world a better place. Then get the education, skills, and training you need to achieve your goals. You also have to be willing to course correct, try new things, and always be open to education in formal and informal settings.

I lost a brother to gun violence, which has helped propel my mission to help young Black men. I ended up leading My Brother's Keeper for the Obama administration, where I helped to build safe and supportive communities for boys young men of color.

The best part of my job is spending time with our members, volunteers, grantees, partners, and alumni. In my visits, I often join with Members of Congress to celebrate new investments and to learn what’s working, what’s not, and how we can improve. The rest of my time is spent working with our staff to develop and implement strategic plans, ensuring we are good stewards of taxpayers resources, monitoring our financial and operational reform, forming new partnerships, and reporting on progress.

Goals

Inclusion And Progress

So from my experience, government
 2
00:00:02.168 --> 00:00:04.504 sometimes it takes a while to adapt to things.
 3
00:00:04.504 --> 00:00:07.974 So when you were starting to set up this program, what were like the obstacles
 4
00:00:07.974 --> 00:00:10.710 you were facing in like putting technologists
 5
00:00:10.710 --> 00:00:11.878 into these different agencies?
 6
00:00:11.878 --> 00:00:13.747 Yeah, it's a great question.
 7
00:00:13.747 --> 00:00:17.751 And I think about it that we're really lucky to be standing
 8
00:00:17.751 --> 00:00:21.087 on the shoulders of people who have been doing this work already, right?
 9
00:00:21.087 --> 00:00:24.991 The digital corps has only been around for three years, but programs
 10
00:00:25.392 --> 00:00:29.062 that are very similar that we've learned from Presidential Innovation Fellows,
 11
00:00:29.162 --> 00:00:30.830 the United States Digital Service,
 12
00:00:30.830 --> 00:00:33.233 and they all recently celebrated their 10th anniversary.
 13
00:00:33.233 --> 00:00:37.003 So they've been around and their teams were really wonderful
 14
00:00:37.003 --> 00:00:41.408 and lovely and helping us think about what we were trying to build.
 15
00:00:41.641 --> 00:00:45.545 And they were also helpful I'm like, Hey, these were the mistakes that we made.
 16
00:00:45.912 --> 00:00:47.047 We would encourage you
 17
00:00:47.047 --> 00:00:51.151 not to make those same mistakes and so we could at least make new mistakes.
 18
00:00:51.151 --> 00:00:53.286 And I mean, we call this program the U.S.
 19
00:00:53.286 --> 00:00:54.154 Digital Corps.
 20
00:00:54.154 --> 00:00:56.856 They're other kind of Peace Corps, AmeriCorps.
 21
00:00:56.856 --> 00:00:58.525 They're other public service programs
 22
00:00:58.525 --> 00:01:00.994 that bring people who are early in their career
 23
00:01:00.994 --> 00:01:02.262 thinking about what they want to do.
 24
00:01:02.262 --> 00:01:04.597 And we've had conversation with folks in those programs as well.
 25
00:01:04.597 --> 00:01:08.134 So I think we see a lot of people
 26
00:01:08.134 --> 00:01:11.371 use the metaphor that government often is kind of a battleship, right?
 27
00:01:11.371 --> 00:01:14.374 It's really hard to change direction on a dime,
 28
00:01:14.808 --> 00:01:19.045 but there are certain levers that you can pull that in, opportunities
 29
00:01:19.045 --> 00:01:22.515 that you have to even just pivot slightly in kind of pivoting.
 30
00:01:22.515 --> 00:01:25.085 A big thing kind of can set a new course.
 31
00:01:25.085 --> 00:01:27.687 And so you got to find your people.
 32
00:01:27.687 --> 00:01:29.389 You got to find the people that care
 33
00:01:29.389 --> 00:01:33.226 and people who have had that experience and who
 34
00:01:34.227 --> 00:01:37.730 are okay hearing, no, we can't do this
 35
00:01:38.798 --> 00:01:41.668 not just once, not just twice, but to really be persistent.
 36
00:01:41.668 --> 00:01:46.239 And, that resilience and that ability to not take a no personally, but
 37
00:01:46.239 --> 00:01:51.111 really understand kind of why things are the way that they are is really valuable.
 

There is no one path to take. We are more effective when our cohorts embody the breadth of life experiences of people across the country. Especially in technology, we know that there are so many non-traditional educational paths. At the U.S. Digital Corps, we all have varied backgrounds. We have almost 100 colleges and universities represented among our fellows and even more fields of study. We have career changers and former military, as well as many people who joined right out of school.

These days, I spend a lot of time in meetings. We now have a team of 10-15 program staff supporting over 120 Fellows, and there's a lot to discuss. On any given day, it may be Fellow learning and development (i.e. what kinds of trainings and topics we should facilitate), recruitment and selection of our next cohort, and helping Fellows and agencies troubleshoot individual issues. It definitely keeps me on my toes and requires a lot of context switching. 

Co-Founder & Deputy Director

Inspiration

Working Through Obstacles In Technology And Government

I am really interested in trying to ensure that the skills that I have
 2
00:00:05.572 --> 00:00:09.376 and even the credentials that I gain are not, wasting away, collecting dust.
 3
00:00:09.376 --> 00:00:13.313 I came here because I understood that I have basically like two
 4
00:00:13.346 --> 00:00:15.215 strong skills in life which are that I'm good at reading
 5
00:00:15.215 --> 00:00:17.550 and I'm good at writing. And so I wanted to be able
 6
00:00:17.550 --> 00:00:21.955 to put those skills to use in ways that were helpful for people I care about.
 7
00:00:21.955 --> 00:00:26.126 And so even when the days are really hard, I try to remind myself
 8
00:00:26.126 --> 00:00:29.295 that this is me like putting myself to use.
 9
00:00:29.362 --> 00:00:31.498 You know, it's certainly hard for all of us,
 10
00:00:31.498 --> 00:00:34.234 but I'm very lucky and very many ways to be able to be here.
 11
00:00:34.234 --> 00:00:39.234 And there are also doors that, you know, having a degree like this can open
 12
00:00:39.973 --> 00:00:43.109 that I know are really important for,
 13
00:00:43.376 --> 00:00:46.579 you know, community organizers and advocates to be able to access.
 14
00:00:46.579 --> 00:00:51.017 So for me, you know, my motivation is like, you know, I was able to come here
 15
00:00:51.017 --> 00:00:55.855 because my community, my support network, you know, kept me alive and got me here.
 16
00:00:55.855 --> 00:00:56.923 And so, you know,
 17
00:00:56.923 --> 00:01:00.927 I really need to be able to give back. And also because the things that I study,
 18
00:01:00.927 --> 00:01:04.764 the topics that I study to me are ones that are really near and dear to my heart.
 19
00:01:04.831 --> 00:01:09.831 And so being able to do this research and the studies that I'm working on
 20
00:01:11.137 --> 00:01:15.408 really is important to me to be able to show, like
 21
00:01:15.408 --> 00:01:18.578 the general public, that these are issues that are real, I know that
 22
00:01:18.678 --> 00:01:22.615 if I'm able to present this information in a way that people are able to accept
 23
00:01:22.615 --> 00:01:26.486 and take with them, then maybe I can I can be helpful that way.
 

2024 VOHE Roadtrip
first-in-family
advanced-degree

I recommend attending a community college first and then working as a political practitioner either before, during, or after earning a four-year bachelor's degree before attending graduate school.

I come from an Asian refugee family and often felt othered by my peers in the affluent conservative community I grew up in.

In my higher education journey, there's rarely been a time where I wasn't working at least two jobs while going to school. I love academia but I'm not always able to focus completely on it because I have to supplement myself through other work.

As a Ph.D. candidate, I study immigrant and refugee communities and issues of poverty and immigration enforcement. My family is Vietnamese, so I'm really interested in examining how welfare programs, policing, and immigration enforcement systems impact our community. As a teaching assistant, I run discussion sections, where I help students understand class material, answer any questions, and prepare for assignments. I also hold office hours and spend a lot of time grading.

Teaching Assistant

Staying Motivated As A Ph.D. Candidate

I always encourage people who have lived experience, no matter what capacity.
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00:00:04.037 --> 00:00:08.375 to do a peer support training, become a certified peer support professional
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00:00:08.475 --> 00:00:12.145 because there is an expertise in lived experience.
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00:00:12.145 --> 00:00:17.145 There's some of the experiences that that is a career of itself.
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00:00:17.250 --> 00:00:20.687 so I came into working with the Minnesota Prison Doula Project
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00:00:20.687 --> 00:00:24.257 in 2016 after I was released from prison.
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00:00:24.257 --> 00:00:26.526 I always had a big mouth. Right.
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00:00:26.526 --> 00:00:31.526 And I've always been a person who is driven by equality and,
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00:00:31.965 --> 00:00:36.102 you know, humanity and some of the way they were treating people.
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00:00:36.202 --> 00:00:39.272 there was no need for the level of cruelty that I experienced.
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00:00:39.272 --> 00:00:43.576 And I was always telling myself, like, I can't wait to get on the other side.
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00:00:43.676 --> 00:00:45.979 I'm going to tell everybody how it is.
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00:00:45.979 --> 00:00:48.681 I'm going to make sure that nobody gets away with this stuff.
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00:00:48.681 --> 00:00:52.585 But I never really realized that just by stepping out on faith,
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00:00:52.685 --> 00:00:55.522 just by, you know, making sure that I was humble
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00:00:55.522 --> 00:00:59.125 and that I wanted to support people genuinely and wholeheartedly.
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00:00:59.125 --> 00:01:02.228 Like I've had other doors and opportunities open for me.
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00:01:02.362 --> 00:01:06.433 And so from, you know, like I said, my personal journey, my healing journey,
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00:01:06.433 --> 00:01:10.537 I was able to assume the role of being a program manager.
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00:01:10.537 --> 00:01:14.374 Now, with the Minnesota Prison Project, I was able to even
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00:01:14.607 --> 00:01:17.777 go back into Shakopee prison and do programing
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00:01:17.777 --> 00:01:21.681 and one on one peer support with women that are incarcerated there to work
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00:01:21.681 --> 00:01:26.019 directly with the correctional officers who were responsible for overseeing me,
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00:01:26.086 --> 00:01:29.322 and to also make sure that they saw the person
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00:01:29.389 --> 00:01:33.026 behind the OID number, you know, the person who they thought I was.
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00:01:33.026 --> 00:01:35.195 They limited to just my conviction.
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00:01:35.195 --> 00:01:38.565 And who would have thought that the person who was here ten years ago
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00:01:38.565 --> 00:01:41.568 that you almost shoveled under the prison,
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00:01:41.601 --> 00:01:43.937 you didn't care about the quality of my life,
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00:01:43.937 --> 00:01:46.940 but you not also didn't care about the quality of my child.
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00:01:47.107 --> 00:01:47.874 Who would have thought that
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00:01:47.874 --> 00:01:51.878 now you have to be held accountable by the task force that I oversee.
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00:01:51.945 --> 00:01:54.881 So Once you've overcome things, there are so many people
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00:01:54.881 --> 00:01:58.151 that struggle in the ways that we have overcome our struggles
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00:01:58.218 --> 00:02:03.218 that they need someone to help them mentor out of that life or out of that pathway.
 

To become a prison doula, the first step is to become a certified doula. I also recommend you participate in a peer support training because there is a very valuable expertise in lived experience.

At 27 years old, I was sentenced to two years in prison. I had two young children and was pregnant. Fortunately, my family lended their support with my two children and I was able to get support from the Minnesota Prison Doula Project while pregnant.

My days are filled with a unique blend of group facilitation, direct client support, and program management. A significant part of my role involves connecting with clients, sharing my journey of overcoming adversity, and empowering them to discover their own strengths. Peer support is vital, helping clients emotionally navigate their challenges and reintegrate into the community, reducing recidivism.

Perseverance

Staying Motivated To Succeed As An Entrepreneur

Staying Motivated To Succeed As An Entrepreneur

Sylvia Walker

422 videos on Perseverance: