When I Grow Up

Everything that is built in this world has to be supported by the Earth somehow. Someone needs to make sure that the ground that buildings, roadways, bridges, dams, utility lines, ect., are sitting on, is properly engineered. This is what my cousin, Alex Ham, does as a geotechnical engineer! In this episode, Alex talks about what it means to be a geotechnical engineer, the importance of a Professional Engineer (P.E.) license, and what led him to switch his major from Electrical Engineering to Civil Engineering.

This week’s guest and my friend, Hailey Henry, is the Global Marketing Lead at Ingram Micro. With over 33K employees, operations in 64 countries, partnerships with over 1700 vendors, and bringing in $50B in annual revenue, Ingram Micro is the world’s largest technology distributor. Tune in as Hailey elaborates on her job responsibilities and shares her journey of how she went from working in the entertainment industry to working in the tech world. We chat about everything from the importance of customizing your resume, the challenges of being a working mom, to the time she almost met Jennifer Aniston. I truly felt challenged by her work ethic and commitment to doing all that she does with integrity.

I really enjoyed having this conversation with @ihopetheyhearthis podcast host and friend, David Shin. As a husband, father, podcaster, author, and industrial engineer, David juggles a lot of different hats. On this week’s episode, he explains what industrial engineering is and what his job as a manager at a supply chain consulting firm entails. I learned a lot of new things about David, like how he initially imagined a future career in art, and how his introverted personality and his ability to think “outside the box” are some of the reasons he thrives in this field of work. If you find yourself always playing devil’s advocate or thinking of crazy scenarios, industrial engineering might be worth looking into!

What is a school social worker? Dr. Joseph Pak breaks it all down for us in this week’s episode! Listen in as he shares his wild journey and how all of his experiences have led him to where he is today. We chat about everything from his responsibilities as a school social worker, what types of situations and crises he faces on the day to day, the importance of mental health, and even touch on what it’s like to be a school counselor. If you enjoy psychology and like helping people, this might be a career to look into!

As the youngest of my dad’s side of the family, I have always looked up to my older cousins. But physical distance and the age gap between myself and my cousin,Tony, discouraged me from asking him details about what he does for a living. That’s why this interview was particularly exciting for me! Tune in as Dr. Anthony Ham tells his baby cousin what it’s like to be a biomedical engineer. We talk about why he chose the field of engineering, what the process of making drugs into medicine looks like, his work in finding solutions and treatments for diseases like AIDS, and even the current climate within the industry concerning COVID-19.

Have you ever thought about a career as an air traffic control specialist? On this week’s episode, I sit down with Jay Hyon who has been in the industry for over 4 years. My eyes were opened as he shared his insight about a career that I honestly haven't thought much about in my air travels. But knowing what I know now, I am extremely grateful for skilled professionals like Jay. It wasn’t an easy road to get to where he is today, but listen as he shares his journey of uncertainty, sacrifice, and perseverance, and how it all paid off at the end of the day.

Eric Lee is an Account Manager for Nvidia, a company well known for their graphic processing units (GPU’s). Uncertain about what he wanted to do in life, or what career he wanted to pursue, Eric and I talk about how he started his first year of college as a Pre-Dental major and how he ended up graduating with a degree in Business Management. So how does a Business Management major end up working at a major tech company like Nvidia? It was so motivating for me to hear about what steps he took to get where he is today, and I can’t wait for you to hear his story too!

An interview with Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA) and my cousin, Alicia Forbes, is packed with information, as I had so many questions and definitely not enough time to talk about everything I wanted to.  Listen in as I learn about what my cousin does every day, why she chose to be a criminal prosecutor, and the steps that she took in her journey to work as a federal attorney.

I've never really had a fascination with space, but after this interview, all bets were off. During this entire interview I couldn’t get over the fact that I was speaking with someone that works directly with NASA in building and operating spacecraft that are in space even as you read this caption (yes, the plural form of spacecraft is..spacecraft). Bernard Lee is a thermal engineer employed by Lockheed Martin and in this episode we chat about his current projects (2 martian spacecraft: InSight and MAVEN), what his day to day looks like, the thrills of the job, and the stress that comes with it.