Welcome back to the Joust About Careers podcast! I’m your host, Brian Bratt, and this week’s guest is 2010 VB graduate Silver Viera. In this episode, Silver shares how her education at The Ohio Academy helped her start in the cosmetology field, how it took time to build her customer base, why she values having her salon, Silver’s, in downtown Findlay, and much more. Whether you are interested in a career in cosmetology, want to own your own business, or are still exploring your options, I hope that what Silver shares today will help all of you make better career decisions and have fulfilling career journeys. Enjoy the show!1:12 - A typical day for Silver as a cosmetologist and entrepreneur1:48 - Silver’s typical hours2:32 - Silver provides a variety of cosmetology services, including for weddings.3:56 - The interest in a cosmetology career has always been there for Silver.5:00 - The decision to gain her education at The Ohio Academy.7:04 - Program options at The Ohio Academy7:48 - 1,500 hours were the minimum for Silver to become a licensed cosmetologist.8:51 - There are quite a few cosmetology schools in Ohio.10:40 - Moving to Cleveland after graduating from The Ohio Academy was a bit of a struggle.12:40 - Trust is a huge factor in this career because customers care about their hair.14:02 - Supporting downtown Findlay businesses is important to Silver because it is her community.15:49 - Silver is part of a retail association of downtown businesses.16:56 - Being her own boss is a great aspect of Silver’s career, but it does create a lot of responsibility.18:22 - There was limited business training at The Ohio Academy.19:11 - Salon owners must have licensure in addition to being a licensed cosmetologist.20:11 - Salon owners and cosmetologists need to have and exhibit confidence.21:50 - Creating a business plan is essential to anyone wanting to start a business, especially since there are over 50 salons in Findlay.Questions?Connect with Silver on Facebook or Instagram (@SilversFindlay). Connect with Brian on LinkedIn (linkedin.com/in/brian-bratt/) or e-mail ([email protected]).

Welcome back to the Joust About Careers podcast! I’m your host, Brian Bratt, and this week’s guest is former member of the VB Class of 2020 Karis Brown. In this episode, Karis shares how the multiple positions she holds at IMG Academy lead to plenty of variety on a daily basis, how adding a minor to her major in college helped when applying for jobs, how her experiences led to career opportunities, and much more. Whether you are interested in a career in education or still exploring your options, I hope that what Karis shares today will help all of you make better career decisions and have fulfilling career journeys. Enjoy the show!1:16 - Karis holds a variety of positions at IMG Academy (Assistant Head of House, Special Project Manager for Learning and Development, and Special Project Manager for Recruiting and Development, Assistant Head of Summer Camps), so she experiences variety every day.5:16 - IMG Academy is structured like a college, but it is a high school.6:58 - Karis’s post-high school plans did not include her current career, but she is still working with students.9:00 - Experiences have played a key role in Karis’s career journey, from a summer camp in Maine to teaching in Colorado.14:16 - A minor is usually not too much extra work beyond a major in college.16:08 - A sport management minor didn’t hurt when Karis was looking for a job at IMG.17:48 - There are challenges in Karis’s position–work/life balance can be difficult–but she appreciates the relationships she has been able to develop.20:02 - Characteristics of people who are successful in Karis’s position21:49 - A good personality, drive, and an ability to communicate open many opportunities for people to grow.Questions?Connect with Karis on LinkedIn (linkedin.com/in/karissa-karis-brown-b688831a5/) or reach out to me for her email.Connect with Brian on LinkedIn (linkedin.com/in/brian-bratt/) or e-mail ([email protected]).

Welcome back to the Joust About Careers podcast! I’m your host, Brian Bratt, and this week’s guest is medical assistant and 2010 Van Buren graduate Katelyn DeVore. In this episode, Katelyn shares how she became a medical assistant after working for ten years in another field, how perseverance has been invaluable on her journey to becoming a medical assistant, what she values most about her career, and much more. Whether you are interested in a career as a medical assistant or still exploring your options, I hope that what Katelyn shares today will help all of you make better career decisions and have fulfilling career journeys. Enjoy the show!1:08 - How a typical day looks for a medical assistant.3:50 - Katelyn works in a hospital.4:50 - When Katelyn graduated, she spent one year at BGSU but received her medical assisting certification through Blanchard Valley Health Center.5:58 - Working in housekeeping at the hospital for six months led to this opportunity.6:55 - Becoming a medical assistant required learning, but it was worth it.7:36 - Medical assistants are in high demand.7:55 - The training requires both classroom work and hands-on training.10:00 - Care coordinators, medical assisting, and other career opportunities are available, and Blanchard Valley offers many growth opportunities.11:40 - Certification vs. On-the-Job Training12:55 - Opportunities for advancement and tuition reimbursement13:30 - Katelyn felt she was in over her head when she started, but she is more comfortable now.14:40 - Katelyn works with multiple healthcare professionals daily.16:39 - The best parts of being a medical assistant.18:37 - The challenges of being a medical assistant.23:14 - Katelyn’s advice - take school seriously.Questions?Connect with Katelyn on LinkedIn (linkedin.com/in/katelyn-devore-37640a344/) or reach out to me for her email.Connect with Brian on LinkedIn (linkedin.com/in/brian-bratt/) or e-mail ([email protected]).

Welcome back to the Joust About Careers podcast! I’m your host, Brian Bratt, and this week’s guest is 1998 Van Buren graduate Jason Wagner, who is an art educator, entrepreneur, and musician. In this episode, Jason shares how working at a summer camp led to amazing career opportunities, including backpacking across Europe; how he sometimes looks at his career as a compilation of side hustles; how success requires hard work going hand in hand with talent; and much more. Whether you are interested in a career as a teacher, entrepreneur, artist, or still exploring your options, I hope that what Jason shares today will help all of you make better career decisions and have fulfilling career journeys. Enjoy the show!1:10 - A typical day for Jason as a teacher and entrepreneur2:15 - TimberFork Studio is more of a seasonal job employing former students.3:10 - The business side of being a musician takes time.3:40 - Jason is where he thought he would be at this point in his life when he graduated from high school.5:10 - Opening Molten Mud Studios came immediately upon graduating from Columbus6:37 - Having to sell a business was humbling.7:11 - Working at Camp Chateaugay - taking a leap.10:20 - Losing his house in the 2007 flood led to a sabbatical from teaching to travel12:04 - Backpacking through Europe and blogging along the way13:45 - The Simpsons, a universal language15:38 - Working at a summer camp - a great start for networking for both college students and young teachers looking for an adventure.17:35 - Music - career or side hustle?18:33 - Music has allowed him to have experiences with his son.19:37 - Other VB grads are part of Jason’s music experience.21:03 - Advice for student artists - there is money to be made as a creative person22:57 - Design careers are very competitive23:40 - Talent and hard work go hand in hand.24:22 - Jason was in choir, band, show choir, and more while at VB.26:20 - What Jason knows now about careers that he wishes he had known when he was in high school - the impact he can have on students and the impact they have on him are profound.Questions?Connect with Jason on LinkedIn (linkedin.com/in/jason-wagner-a104965/) or reach out to me for his email.Connect with Brian on LinkedIn (linkedin.com/in/brian-bratt/) or e-mail ([email protected]).

Welcome back to the Joust About Careers podcast! We’ve been on a break for a couple months, but we are back in the new year with more stories of VB graduates. I’m your host, Brian Bratt, and this week’s guest is 2004 Van Buren graduate Caleb Etzler, who is a bank operations manager. In this episode, Caleb shares how a college job led to his career, the “unexpected” careers in the banking industry, the importance of typing and using Excel in his career, and much more. Whether you are interested in a career in banking or still exploring your options, I hope that what Caleb shares today will help all of you make better career decisions and have fulfilling career journeys. Enjoy the show!1:07 - How a typical day looks as a bank operations manager3:09 - Computers, banking, and cyber security4:05 - Caleb entered the banking field as a travel teller to make extra money for college, but that led him to his career.6:10 - Originally considered counseling and education careers7:49 - How banks are similar and different from each other.8:55 - “We’ve always done it this way….”9:58 - Internships - not always readily available in banking10:31 - A mission trip in college acted as an internship.12:54 - Other careers in the banking industry14:48 - Banks are in business to make money, not just hold money for patrons.16:11 - Positives and challenges of a career in banking18:15 - A willingness to learn is essential to starting in the banking industry.18:54 - Learning to type and use Excel were the most useful topics Caleb learned in high school that he uses every day.20:51 - It all comes down to people - relationships matter.Questions?Connect with Brian on LinkedIn (linkedin.com/in/brian-bratt/) or e-mail ([email protected]).Connect with Caleb on LinkedIn (linkedin.com/in/caleb-etzler-6984a1114/) or reach out to me for his email.

Welcome back to the Joust About Careers podcast! This is the place to learn about careers from the people who are actually doing the work every day. I’m your host, Brian Bratt, and this week’s guest is 2018 Van Buren graduate Maria Trusty, who is a GLP Archivist. In this episode, Maria shares how a campus job at Ohio State led her to her career, the many places archivists can work, how her career goals have changed, and much more. Whether you are interested in a career as an archivist or still exploring your options, I hope that what Maria shares today will help all of you make better career decisions and have fulfilling career journeys. Enjoy the show!1:07 - A typical day as a GLP Archivist.2:57 - Maria is a specialized archivist.3:48 - Paper data is more difficult to maintain than electronic data.5:53 - Going to Ohio State and majoring in English - the only things Maria knew she wanted to do when she graduated from VB6:38 - A campus job at one of Ohio State’s libraries led her to this career.6:57 - The move away from journalism8:39 - Changing career direction as a senior in college9:45 - At least a bachelor’s degree is needed, but a master’s degree is often needed to become an archivist.11:20 - The things archivists get to see and explore13:03 - Libraries do have some strange non-book items.14:53 - Legal offices and large companies value the skills of archivists for records management.16:13 - The positive and difficult parts of a career of an archivist20:25 - Interested in this career? Get experience and don’t be afraid to take a chance.22:39 - Kent State is the only school in Ohio which offers a master’s degree in library science.23:25 - The job market for archivists is a bit tight, but specializations matter.25:00 - Pay attention to how to make a resume when in high school!Questions?Connect with Brian on LinkedIn (linkedin.com/in/brian-bratt/) or e-mail ([email protected]).Connect with Maria on LinkedIn (linkedin.com/in/maria-trusty-3ab46a267/) or reach out to me for her email.

Welcome back to the Joust About Careers podcast! This is the place to learn about careers from the people who are actually doing the work every day. I’m your host, Brian Bratt, and this week’s guest is 1998 Van Buren graduate Lee Salisbury, who is the founder and Chief Creative Officer for UnitOneNine, a boutique creative agency. In this episode, Lee shares how his life looks much different today from how it looked when he started his business, how he experienced the reality of “fake it until you make it,” the opportunity people have today to start a business with low risk , and much more. Whether you are interested in a career as a founder or designer or still exploring your options, I hope that what Lee shares today will help all of you make better career decisions and have fulfilling career journeys. Enjoy the show!

1:11 - How Lee’s daily routine has changed as his career has evolved.2:09 - Lee originally thought he would pursue either a music or engineering career.3:34 - Making the transition from engineering to visual design6:08 - A visual designer today with no formal art training before attending Ohio State8:38 - Experiences helped learn to deal with people, determine what people want in designs, and see how big businesses work.10:35 - Fake it until you make it is real11:57 - Participating in the Forbes Agency Council has pushed Lee out of his comfort zone.13:40 - Lee’s advice for those starting businesses - leveraging AI is a no-brainer.15:30 - “Continuous improvement beats delayed perfection every time.”17:30 - Difficult aspects of owning a business18:44 - Testing a product has never been easier than it is now, so people can test businesses before jumping in with both feet.19:53 - Lee has faced people questioning his future success.21:49 - What Lee wishes he had known about careers when he was in high school.23:10 - Find out what you are passionate about - that’s the goal.Questions?Connect with Brian on LinkedIn (linkedin.com/in/brian-bratt/) or e-mail ([email protected]).Connect with Lee on LinkedIn (linkedin.com/in/eldoublee/) or reach out to me for his email.

Welcome back to the Joust About Careers podcast! This is the place to learn about careers from the people who are actually doing the work every day. I’m your host, Brian Bratt, and this week’s guest is 2007 Van Buren graduate Katherine Wilkins, who works as a Senior Computational Biologist. In this episode, Katherine shares advice for students looking to attend a highly selective university, how she ended up earning her PhD from Cornell, the positives and challenges of her career, and much more. Whether you are interested in a career as a computational biologist or still exploring your options, I hope that what Katherine shares today will help all of you make better career decisions and have fulfilling career journeys. Enjoy the show!1:10 - A typical day for a senior computational biologist2:47 - Katherine didn’t know this career existed when she was in high school.3:20 - Important to her to be helping others3:45 - Case Western Reserve played a big part in Katherine’s career journey.4:55 - Advice for students wanting to attend a highly selective university6:00 - Katherine doesn’t hire a person based on the university attended - there’s more to it.8:57 - Advice to students who have high academic goals, such as a master’s degree or PhD11:30 - National Science Foundation Research Experience14:02 - Success Katherine has had at Agilent Technologies16:28 - The positives and challenges of a career as a computational biologist.19:14 - Other career options related to computational biology21:45 - The pathway to a career in computational biology23:27 - What Katherine knows now about careers that she wishes she had known in high schoolQuestions?Connect with Brian on LinkedIn (linkedin.com/in/brian-bratt/) or e-mail ([email protected]).Connect with Katherine on LinkedIn (linkedin.com/in/katherine-wilkins-b2884b10/) or reach out to me for her email.

This week's guest is 2015 Van Buren graduate Brooke Klausing, who works as a nuclear medicine and PET/CT technologist. In this episode, Brooke shares how she ended up in nuclear medicine when that wasn’t even on her career radar in high school, the positives and challenges of her career, the importance of high school science classes, and much more. Whether you are interested in a career in nuclear medicine or still exploring your options, I hope that what Brooke shares today will help all of you make better career decisions and have fulfilling career journeys. Enjoy the show!1:10 - A typical day for a nuclear medicine technologist2:23 - What a nuclear medicine technologist does3:07 - A radioactive “pig”3:51 - The differences between nuclear medicine and X-rays5:05 - Finance was the first career choice, but one class changed that.6:36 - Also considered physical therapy, but six years of education seemed intimidating7:13 - Nuclear medicine requires a bachelor’s degree.8:08 - Earning a master’s degree - good but not necessary for someone in nuclear medicine9:26 - The job outlook for nuclear medicine is good in 2025.11:28 - The radiology “umbrella” is very broad.12:06 - Working at a mobile PET/CT clinic part-time - not all jobs are in hospitals12:52 - The challenges and positives of a nuclear medicine career.14:05 - The nuclear med tech doesn’t have to deliver bad news.14:26 - Advice for people pursuing a career in nuclear medicine15:09 - Physics, chemistry, and anatomy all play a role in this career.16:01 - You never know where your education will take you.Questions?Connect with Brian on LinkedIn (linkedin.com/in/brian-bratt/) or e-mail ([email protected]).Connect with Thomas on LinkedIn (linkedin.com/in/brookeklausing/) or by e-mail ([email protected]).

This week’s guest is 2015 Van Buren graduate Thomas Wolford, who works as an airline captain. In this episode, Thomas shares how he decided to become a pilot, the various paths a person can take to become a pilot, the benefits and challenges of this career, and much more. Whether you are interested in a career as a pilot or still exploring your options, I hope that what Thomas shares today will help all of you make better career decisions and have fulfilling career journeys. Enjoy the show!1:07 - A typical day as an airline captain2:29 - Guidelines pilots have to follow3:39 - Difference between a captain and first officer3:58 - A common misperception4:44 - Requirements to be hired and become a first officer and captain5:32 - Originally planned to become an aeronautical engineer6:40 - University of North Dakota is the cream of the crop for people who want to become pilots7:29 - Attending a Part 141-registered program leads to a smoother path to becoming a pilot8:50 - The University of North Dakota and BGSU’s aviation programs - similar but different9:23 - The effects of hypoxia11:31 - Being hired before even finishing an aviation program11:55 - High demand for pilots - bachelor’s degree no longer required13:00 - Piloting drones and airplanes - similarities and differences13:55 - Still demand for drone pilots14:40 - Stepping from regional to major carriers16:05 - International flights are a goal, but seniority matters18:35 - Planes are planes, but size and age impact the piloting experience19:55 - Mach, knots, and how speed works in the air21:25 - Benefits of being a pilot for a regional or major carrier22:57 - Challenges of being a pilot25:00 - Earning a private pilot’s license is a great first step toward becoming a pilot.26:00 - Cadet programs are very valuable.26:47 - There will be ups and downs on every career journeyQuestions?Connect with Brian on LinkedIn (linkedin.com/in/brian-bratt/) or e-mail ([email protected]).Connect with Thomas on LinkedIn (linkedin.com/in/thomas-wolford-b0535a12a/) or by e-mail ([email protected]).