The Podcast Series is intended to guide new and recent graduates to become quality professionals in these troubling times as they seek their careers and adjust to the new realities outside the walls of college campuses. Employers and professionals from various industries will share experiences, guidance, information, instruction and recommendations for graduates. The hope is for graduates to strategically navigate new useful ideas to deal with realities never taught in college.

For this episode, we interviewed Dr. Philip Otienoburu.  Affectionately referred to as "Dr. O", he personifies the definition of a renaissance man. He is currently the Director of Food Systems Financing at Self-Help Credit Union, a leading U.S. community development financial institution headquartered in Durham, North Carolina that provided over $7 billion in financing to 146,000 families, individuals and businesses from 1980 through 2017. In this role, he works as part of a team dedicated to ensuring that business owners working across the food systems value chain, especially minority-owned businesses, have access to finance to support the growth of their enterprises. "Dr. O" is especially excited about the mission of Self-Help to promote ownership and economic opportunity for all. Prior to joining Self-Help, "Dr. O" was Associate Professor of Biology and founding Director of the Center for Renewable Energy & Sustainability at Johnson C. Smith University, a private university in Charlotte, North Carolina, U.S. At the university, "Dr. O" directed the “Sustainability Village” to address food insecurity in the community. The village is an innovative living-learning prototype – offering research, service-learning activities and study abroad and experiential education opportunities as coursework for students – to enhance student understanding of sustainable development, community food systems and alternative lifestyles that promote conservation. He has served in various capacities at the World Bank, the United Nations (UN), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) and served on multiple Boards in North Carolina.