In this episode, we're joined by Hameed Bello. He is an IT professional with 10 years of experience in the Tech industry. He has previously worked for Fortune 500 companies and is now serving as the Chief Technology Officer for a startup known as Eventnoire which is an Event Discovery & Ticketing platform for Black & Cultured events. He majored in Technology Management and it was while he was in school he developed a skill & passion for building websites which he does part-time. He eventually created his own Web Services company, Webkube Studio. In his free time, Hameed enjoys traveling, playing & watching sports(Basketball and Soccer), spending time with family, and building wealth. A fun fact is that he has previously spent 6 years living abroad in Lagos, Nigeria.

Intro->0:50

Discovery->5:57

Finding your lane->10:20

Black Businesses and Building your Brand->14:00

Advice for Young Leaders->21:09

In today’s episode, we will be discussing going back to campus and ways to be successful this upcoming semester with student success specialist, Haro Wade. He’s currently a student success advisor for the Office of Minority Student Affairs and a Ph.D. candidate in Education Policy, Organization, and Leadership at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He works directly with first-generation underrepresented college students and loves serving as a resource to students during their academic journey. His research is grounded in the qualitative method where he looks at the experiences of students and administrators involved in the TRIO Upward Bound program.

Intros->0:07

Steps on navigating the university->2:15

Balancing building community and academics->4:56

The humbling and bounce back in academia->8:50

Building your class schedule->13:07

Avoiding Isolation and asking for help->17:00

Preparing for graduate school->20:20

Advice you wish you would’ve known->24:13

Roses->26:33

In today’s episode, we’ll be covering finance careers and steps to acquiring an MBA with Lonzyo Holcomb, Jr. Lonzyo is a Vice President in Investment Banking at Citigroup in Chicago. Since joining Citigroup, he has covered industrial companies broadly but recently focused on the Automotive sector. In his role, he partners with Managing Directors to help evaluate client problems and provide strategic advice and solutions, including capital raising and mergers & acquisitions (“M&A”) advisory services. He is active in Citigroup’s recruiting efforts and passionate about attracting the future diverse leaders of the organization.

Intros and maximizing organizational capital->0:23

Why an MBA and selecting your school->8:01

Caution for getting an MBA->21:50

Knowing when to apply for an MBA->25:51

Roses->30:04

Final Advice->32:37

Intro: 0:30

Mental Health, Summer, and Covid:1:10

Building Connections and Mentorship through Wellness: 4:18

Managing You and the Power of ‘No’: 7:25

Mental Health and the Workplace: 9:35

Prioritizing Mental Health as an Entrepreneur: 12:46

Protecting your Peace 15:37

Roses: 21:12

In this episode, Bryan will be building with Brian K. Thompson Jr. Brian is a Chicago native and Licensed Clinical Social Worker. He has filled a number of clinical roles in varying settings, including the emergency department, inpatient behavioral health, and public housing. He has spent much of his career responding to acute mental health crises and has also worked as an independent therapist. In addition to crisis response, Brian has established himself in education by building restorative, collaborative, and responsive mental health structures. He has spent the last five years with Chicago Public Schools where he's worked for the District's Crisis Response Unit, helped establish a first-of-its-kind K-12 office that responds to allegations of sexual misconduct, and now serves as the Manager of Behavioral Health Supports. In his current role, he oversees the District's mental health partnerships, training, and school-based behavioral health support structures.

Intro: 0:25

Demystifying Myths in STEM:5:15

Staying True to Self: 9:17

Becoming: 15:36

Confidence, Comparison, and Social Media: 21:46

Trend or Practice: 26:46

Embracing Change, Opportunity, and Sacrifice: 30:24

Skills to Elevate:35:42

Book Recommendations and Roses: 44:32

In this episode, Bryan will be connecting with Dr. Brent Obleton (He,Him,His). Dr. B a disrupter, D&I expert, and practitioner, is originally from Columbus, GA born into a family of educators and took an early interest in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts during his undergraduate studies at Kennesaw State University (KSU). Dr. Obleton went on to start his professional career at his Alma Mater by becoming a program coordinator for Multicultural Affairs and working his way up until he led DEI efforts for the student population by becoming the Assistant Director of Multicultural Affairs. His passion led him to become a part of the faculty in University college (KSU) and pursue a graduate degree in public administration in hopes to impact the community around him. After eight years leading student-facing DEI at Kennesaw State University, he transitioned to California to become the Assistant Dean of Students at Stanford University helping lead DEI efforts at the Black Community Services Center (BCSC) which is part of the Centers for Equity, Community, and Leadership. Dr. Obleton eventually became the Interim Associate Dean of Students (BCSC) before making a transition to the BioTech industry by becoming a Senior Diversity and Inclusion business partner at Genentech and supporting C-suite executives in formulating DEI strategy and implementation, also ensuring that everyone sees themselves in the work of DEI. In the spring of 2021, Dr. Obleton completed his doctoral studies at the University of Southern California in Organizational Change and Leadership in the Rossier School of Education.

In today’s episode, we will discuss the benefits of and challenges with pursuing a PhD in Engineering. Our guest for the day is Isaac Matthews, a graduate research student in the Space Environments and Satellite Systems (SESS) Group at Stanford University. He researches optical diagnostic methods to measure and simulate behavior of plasma in the space environment in ways that inform how spacecraft experience space domain hazards. Isaac has also engaged in decision and risk analysis studies, national security research topics, and has worked on several start-up ventures while in the Management Science and Engineering Dept. Prior to his time at Stanford, he has worked at NASA, JPL, and GE Aviation.

Interest in Engineering-0:40

Financing your graduate education-4:20

Resources to get prepared for graduate school-9:00

Exposure to career  opportunities pre-graduation-24:00

Managing your mental health in grad school30:00

Managing survivor's guilt-38:10

Who should the scholars know about and final advice-43:01

In this episode, K.T. Thompson Esq., Managing Partner at Thompson Law Group (TLG), Shares his experiences on navigating law school, starting his own legal practice, building trust with clients, and opportunities for students who are exploring law with STEM backgrounds. K.T.'s areas of practice are bankruptcy, business, and contracts. He was born and raised on the south side of Chicago.

1:05-Developing an interest in law

6:12-Finding you career path in law school

12:51-Areas of law to explore for people with STEM degrees

14:50-How to build trust with current and potential clients

24:33-Final advice