A few days ago, we approached Betty Esperanza and Skateboards for Hope about sponsoring a scholarship on Atila.  We record all our sales presentations for use internally to see where we can improve. We originally had no intention of sharing this publicly.  

However, we were so inspired by Betty’s story and skateboard for Hope we asked if we could share her story publicly.  Enjoy :)  

To learn more about Skateboards for Hope visit: https://www.skateboardsforhope.com/ 

To start or contribute to a scholarship visit: https://atila.ca/ 

To read the interview: https://atila.ca/blog/tomiwa/betty-esperanza-skateboards-for-hope-and-atila/

Timestamps:  

Skateboard for Hope’s origin story - (1:00) 

Betty’s immigrant upbringing - (14:25) 

Atila’s Presentation - (16:50) 

“I like supporting the underdog” and importance of skateboarding - (25:40)

Betty’s questions for Atila - (29:30)

 How she got the idea for the Skateboards for Hope logo - (38:55)

Betty’s inspirational closing words - (41:27)

Come along on a journey with me through the past, present and future of education. As I talk about how we got here, where we are now, and my ideas for how we can create a better future for students, parents and educators.

Timestamps

The key parts are:  The Idea (9:50) and What you can do (23:50)

A brief history of universities – 1:40

What do universities do now? – 5:00

A solution to improve the education system – 7:40

The idea, Education Freedom Program – 9:50 (watch this part!)

Made up reasons why it won’t work – 20:00

What you can do -  23:50 (watch this part!)

Introduction

On January 29, 2020, I was in my final year of university. I had just received my first ever employment offer as a software engineer at a biotech company. In just three months, I would have graduated from university and be entering the next chapter of my life. So I did what any responsible “aspiring adult" would do: I put together a budget.

I created a Google Sheet called “Personal Finance Adulting Budget 2020” to help me figure out how I was going to pay for the next chapter of my life. I had everything in there, my starting salary, how much my taxes would be, my rent for my apartment, monthly gym membership, transit pass etc.

Me: “Okay, So I know how much money is coming and going out each month. how much money do I actually have right now”.

So I logged into my online banking account, clicked my banking details, opened my bank statement and saw a number that shocked me: $65,000.

Don’t worry, you don’t have to be jealous, that’s not how much money I had. That’s how much debt I had in my student loans. Okay, maybe you’re thinking: “Tomiwa it’s not all about you”. Okay, you’re right: it’s not about me. Take me out of it. The average student with loans has $28,000 in student loans. How did we create a society where a young person is about to enter adulthood and instead of at the very least, starting the game of life at $0, we’re starting $28,000 behind the starting line. A society where despite being the most educated generation, for the first time in modern history, there’s only a 50% chance that we’ll earn more than our parents (Stanford Center on Poverty and Inequality,Politifact) .

Come along on a journey with me through the past, present and future of education. As I talk about how we got here, where we are now, and my ideas for how we can create a better future for students, parents and educators.

Chris Egi (@chrisegi15) is the valedictorian of the Harvard University 2018 class and captain of the Men’s varsity basketball team. He is currently an investment banker at Goldman Sachs in the Special Situations Group - Private Capital Investing. He was also the captain of the Canadian Men's U-19 national basketball team. He is the founder of No More Names an organization committed to criminal justice reform and ending police Brutality.

In this episode we talk about how he got into Harvard University, why he is so passionate about criminal justice reform and ending police brutality. We also talked about how his father’s death impacted him, the importance of poetry and self-reflection and much more.

📺Full interview and video: https://atila.ca/blog/tomiwa/harvard-valedictorian-basketball-captain-goldman-sachs-co-founder-of-no-more-names-criminal-justice-reform-chris-egi-atila-tv-014/

📺 Watch on Youtube: https://bit.ly/atila-tv-chris-egi-youtube-2

🎧 Listen on Spotify: https://bit.ly/atila-tv-chris-egi-spotify

🎧 Listen on iTunes https://bit.ly/atila-tv-chris-egi-itunes

No More Names - 10,000 voices: https://10000voices.nomorenames.co

Finding Michael Brown at Harvard, Article by Chris Egi: https://www.theplayerstribune.com/en-us/articles/basketball-christopher-egi-michael-brown-harvard

Chris Egi (@chrisegi15) is the valedictorian of the Harvard University 2018 class and captain of the Men’s varsity basketball team. He is currently an investment banker at Goldman Sachs in the Special Situations Group - Private Capital Investing. He was also the captain of the Canadian Mens’ U-19 national basketball team. He is the founder of No More Names an organization committed to criminal justice reform and ending police Brutality.

Full interview and video: https://atila.ca/blog/tomiwa/harvard-valedictorian-basketball-captain-goldman-sachs-co-founder-of-no-more-names-criminal-justice-reform-chris-egi-atila-tv-014/

Watch on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRiwt-KFeVM

Listen On Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0m74ZmCPgjvp5WGOMg3P9C

Listen on Itunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-atila-podcast/id1440531021

No More Names - 10,000 voices: https://10000voices.nomorenames.co

Finding Michael Brown at Harvard, Article by Chris Egi: https://www.theplayerstribune.com/en-us/articles/basketball-christopher-egi-michael-brown-harvard

Chris’ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chrisegi24/

Chris’ Twitter: https://twitter.com/chrisegi15/

Atila Tech’s instagram: https://www.instagram.com/atilatech/

Del (Chinua Ofulue) is an RnB and alternative soul singer, rapper and writer. He recently graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Economics from Western University.

In this episode we talk about is Drake the smartest and greatest rapper alive, advice for breaking into the music industry.  How to market and grow your personal brand as a creative and much more. Why Del chose to go to university and wants to go to law school while wanting to be a music artist?

Links

Full interview and video: https://atila.ca/blog/tomiwa/singer-rapper-writer-delgotgame-chinua-ofulue-atila-tv-013

Watch on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2F-dp9Brgw

Listen On Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0m74ZmCPgjvp5WGOMg3P9C

Listen on Itunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-atila-podcast/id1440531021

Del’s Music: https://delmusic.net

Del’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/delgotgame/

Del’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/manlikedel

Rowan Makes Art: https://www.instagram.com/rowanmakesart/

Atila Tech’s instagram: https://www.instagram.com/atilatech/

Tomiwa’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tademidun/

Jacob’s Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacob-munene-4561a4153/

Atila LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/atila-tech/

Tomiwa’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tomiwa1a 

Tomiwa’s twitter: https://twitter.com/tomiwa1a

Jacob’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/munenejr

Will Richman is the founder of GrowthGenius and Bitmaker Labs. Before that he worked in Wealth management at BNY Mellon and spent 12 months backpacking through Asia and Europe. Will is also a graduate of the Honor’s Business Administration program at Ivey Business School.

GrowthGenius is a software service to help you get sales meetings with your ideal clients.

In this episode we talk about the pros and cons of working for a big company versus a startup, what the process of starting a company feels like and the effects on mental health. We talk about digital nomads and the importance of building a company to share success with others. We also bounce around ideas on how people can experiment and test with different jobs to see what career is best for them.

Full interview and video: https://bit.ly/atila-tv-will

Watch on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhFP5j6wtE8

Listen On Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0m74ZmCPgjvp5WGOMg3P9C

Listen on Itunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-atila-podcast/id1440531021

Growth Genius : https://www.growthgenius.com

Atila Tech’s instagram: https://www.instagram.com/atilatech/

Will’s Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/willrichman/

Will’s twitter: https://twitter.com/will_richman

Tomiwa’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tademidun/

Jacob’s Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacob-munene-4561a4153/

Chika is a medical school student at the University of Toronto Medical School. She graduated with a Bachelor of Health Science from McMaster University.

Chika is also a poet, writer and an advocate for gender and racial diversity in medicine. She helped grow a program called the BSAP, Black Students application process. Students still have to meet the same MCAT requirement for grades and they can also write an essay explaining why they chose the BSAP program.  Chika was the only student to identify as black in her first year of medical school among a class of 259 at the University of Toronto in 2016. After the BSAP was introduced, there are now 15 black students in the current first-year class.

In this episode we talk about balancing her creative passion for poetry and writing with medicine, systemic bias and discrimination in the medical industry, working hard without burning out and much more.

Full interview and video: https://atila.ca/blog/tomiwa/u-of-t-medical-school-mcat-for-black-students-poetry-and-womens-rights-chika-stacy-oriuwa-atila-tv-011

Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0m74ZmCPgjvp5WGOMg3P9C

Listen on iTunes:  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-atila-podcast/id1440531021

Watch on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rn_Hldc4qDg

U of T Medical School Black Student Application Program (BSAP): http://applymd.utoronto.ca/black-student-application-program

Articles by Chika:

https://www.flare.com/how-i-made-it/chika-stacy-oriuwa/

https://www.flare.com/identity/black-physicians-in-canada/

Atila Tech’s instagram: https://www.instagram.com/atilatech/

Laura Desimone is an elementary school teacher for the Peel District School Board and a Reiki master and founder of @illuminabodyandsoul. She is currently pursuing her PhD in Education at the University of Toronto.

In this episode we talk about the importance of self-love, ways to improve the education system and how Reiki and meditation can teach mindfulness. We also talk about her struggles with severe anxiety in her 20s and early 30s, which politician she thinks needs emotional healing and much more.

Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0m74ZmCPgjvp5WGOMg3P9C?fbclid=IwAR26eU5n3mrm_Budl3sRYnVouOfOrxsZhwLfZUUNmh2Ph97x-80E2uaJIf4

Listen on Itunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-atila-podcast

Watch on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCG2iWiYgJYkjBl4EdYGI5mw?view_as=subscriber

Full interview and transcript: https://bit.ly/atila-tv-laura

Atila Tech’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/atilatech/ 

Laura De Simone instagram: https://www.instagram.com/risemindbody/

Tomiwa’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tomiwa1a 

Tomiwa’s twitter: https://twitter.com/tomiwa1a 

Jacob’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/munenejr

Josh Tufinho (DJ Tuffy) is currently on a  scholarship at Niagara University to play NCAA DI Soccer, in the sports and entertainment marketing program. Josh is also a DJ and has opened for Tory Lanez and is getting his real estate license. Josh previously played for the Toronto FC academy.

We talk about how he got a scholarship to play soccer and was the opening act for Torey Lanez. What it’s like balancing DJing, playing soccer and school work, while balancing the pressures from friends, family and managing stress. We also talk about his thoughts on how to break into the sports and entertainment industry.

Full interview and video: https://bit.ly/atila-tv-dj-tuffy 

Josh’s Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/user-298409454 

Watch on Youtube: https://bit.ly/atila-tv-dj-tuffy-youtube

Listen On Spotify: https://bit.ly/atila-tv-dj-tuffy-spotify 

Listen on Itunes: https://bit.ly/atila-tv-dj-tuffy-itunes

Josh Tufino Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tufino_33/ 

Dj Tuffy Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/djtuffy_/ 

Atila Tech’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/atilatech/ 

Tomiwa’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tomiwa1a 

Tomiwa’s twitter: https://twitter.com/tomiwa1a 

Jacob’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/munenejr

Sefunmi Osinaike is currently a product manager at EcoBee. He  was previously a product manager intern at Microsoft and Apple, both within the same year and graduated from the prestigious Waterloo Electrical and Computer Engineering program. He also has a podcast called Doing a Thing to help other people get product manager roles.

In this episode we talk about how he got a product manager job at Apple and other companies, what it’s like working in the silicon valley in California. How he prepared for tough interviews, and his big plans to improve conditions in Nigeria. We also touch on his thoughts on social media and why he left Instagram (and came back!), his doing a thing podcast, and more. 

Full interview and video: https://atila.ca/blog/tomiwa/product-manager-at-apple-microsoft-and-ecobee-waterloo-engineering-sefunmi-osinaike-atila-tv-7 

LinkedIn: https://ca.linkedin.com/in/sefunmiosinaike 

Personal website: http://sefunmi.com/ 

“Doing A Thing” Blog: https://medium.com/doing-a-thing 

“Doing A Thing” Podcast links:

iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/doing-a-thing-with-sefunmi-and-helen/id1458999804 

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0Cuu24p95WT24HYj8bL3FY 

How he landed his internships: https://hackernoon.com/how-i-managed-to-intern-at-microsoft-and-apple-in-the-same-year-a13ebb58d1ea 

How he prepped for the PM interviews: http://www.crackingthepminterview.com/ 

Article on KoHo: https://medium.com/@sefunmioshy/youve-got-a-great-idea-now-what-6568be6ecef6 

Music by @delgotgame: https://delmusic.net/

1:29: What were you like at 16? 

6:27: Why didn’t your dad want you to go to MIT?

12:05: How did you get the job at Apple?

17:21: How did you prepare for the interview and perform well? 

20:32: What’s it actually like inside apple? What’s the culture like, the work ethic, the people? 

22:51: If Apple was so great, why didn’t you go back? 

27:05: When you were at Waterloo did you feel external pressure to go to California and get a job?

29:14: What kind of things were you doing for interview prep? 

29:51: How do you network? 

30:53: Wasn’t it risky neglecting school to focus on a job? 

34:11: Why were you set on Ecobee and how did you get that job? 

39:03: Why did you decide to take a break from social media and wy did you come back? 

44:44: Where do you see yourself a year from now, 5 years from now, and 25 years from now? 

49:28: What are some of the big problems you want to solve? 

55:00: What are you currently obsessed with? 

57:05: What’s some general advice you would give?