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From Biology to Tech: Sophie Estep's Journey, Career Insights, and Secret to Success
33 Plays6 months ago
In this episode, Sophie Estep '20 and Gabe Davila-Campos discuss career trajectories, interdisciplinary education, and adapting to changes in technology and communication. Sophie reflects on her shift from biology to public relations and information management, her experiences as an EY consultant, and the role of innovation in her work. They emphasize adaptability, communication as a "secret superpower," and the importance of leveraging diverse skills for professional growth and problem-solving in a digital age.
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Transcript
Sophie's Academic Journey
00:00:01
Speaker
a
00:00:08
Speaker
So I'm Gabe. I'm a senior, and I'm studying applied data analytics with a minor in computer engineering and innovation design and startups. um So I'm here with Sophie, an iSchool alum. And um yeah, I guess let's get this on the road. So I want to ask you the first question that I wrote down. um So when I was reading up on you, I noticed that you said you started off like um majoring in biology.
00:00:37
Speaker
and you ended up like switching to public relations and and information management. So i kind I wanted to know what inspired you to kind of make that big shift in your academic journey. Yeah, big shift indeed. um I think I applied to 13 schools, 12 for bio neuroscience and one was for communications. um When I visited Syracuse, I a fell in love with the area and I specifically read up on you know, just the academics of um Syracuse, so of Newhouse in particular, um and that that drove me to apply. And I think it opened up a whole new world of outside of where I always thought I would be or end up, um what else is there? And to me, communications opened a whole new area because it's so transferable, right? There's communications in biology, there's communications in tech, there's, you know, comms across the board.
00:01:37
Speaker
And I think I saw kind of the playing field widen. And I was like, wow, that's cool. Let me try it. And the same thing happened when I came to Syracuse and I was a dual with Newhouse in high school. And I knew nothing about technology. And I was like, oh, the playing field is wide open. Let me let me take ah take a stab. um And a you know sitting in IST 195 with Jeff Rubin and learning about the different ways you can take this very integral important part of our
00:02:12
Speaker
you know, daily life and and and learn about how it um affects us in every, you know, aspect. The playing field just seemed huge. So I think that speaks to me as a blue sky person, right? Like I love seeing, you know, the strategy and the big idea and it just felt so welcoming and opening to be able to see that within the iSchool, specifically in the technology landscape.
00:02:34
Speaker
um We had classes that double clicked into things, classes that I, you know, fell in love with song, could, you know, only do one semester of others, you know, didn't go down specific paths. But it just was so transferable and um evergreen, I think, is a good way to describe it. You know, I could see wherever I went in my future, these skills being applied. and And that's why I stayed here. Not that I didn't love, you know, aspects of biology or neuroscience or maybe one day I could see myself as a doctor, um but just the journey took a different path. And I think that helps us, you know, be all the more wiser and and diverse in our thoughts and actions as we kind of have all these bits and pieces of experiences that the change where we end up.
00:03:19
Speaker
Wow,
Navigating Uncertainty in Careers
00:03:20
Speaker
that's so powerful. i I really resonated with like theo not necessarily like kind of like the deviation of paths, because I think sometimes there's that feeling of being like the uncertainty feeling, right? Where you're just like, is this going to lead me to what I want? And I really resonated. As you know, I started off in psych. I thought, I'm going to be so honest, I was a ah high schooler watching criminal minds and bones. And I was like, I'm going to be the next BAU agent. I think I thought about that too. Like, I love it. so I'm gonna understand everything about human behavior. And I was like, I got to my first psych class. And I was like, this is not, this is not it. Especially because I think it was just like false advertisement. Like I told my I from like the way that media portrays like all these different career roles. I was just like, wow, you know, being young and naive, you're kind of just like figuring everything out. I'm also first gen. So I was just like, I was just going with the flow. I was figuring everything out.
00:04:17
Speaker
But, you know, something that also stood out to me when I was like doing a little bit of work research on you. um was how you described your degree as a secret superpower. I think this is a cool way to award it, right? And I just want to know what it was like for you to combine, like, in my opinion, such different fields, right? And how, like, that has shaped your career, right? And, like, how do you navigate spaces, right? Because the new house and the tech is yeah they're kind of parallel, but I feel like they're so different in so many different ways. Yeah. um Agree with the idea that they're parallel and different.
00:04:52
Speaker
um I think, again, as a blue sky person, I was like, I i want to know everything about everything, like how I'd soak it all in. And to me, um information is communications, right? Communication is information. Like you have to have both to have the other. ah So it felt really natural. I think the decision to focus on public relations was in an effort to keep that overarching, right? If I am teaching you about something. If I am you know being the the public relations person for a company or you know writing a press release or a social media post, I'm sharing my information with you. So it it felt really natural to do both. um I think it was a balancing act that I didn't know I was ready for, but I really needed right to be able to not only
00:05:47
Speaker
consume and understand knowledge in both areas, both technical and theoretical knowledge, but be able to combine them and then produce something totally new that was that was a space I felt like I could claim. So from there, I think it unlocked and maybe this is where that phrase secret superpower came from. But how do I look at technology from a communications lens? And how do I look at communications from a technology lens? um Does it make me a better communicator to understand um the technological background of something, right?
00:06:22
Speaker
um And I think it just broadened again that that viewpoint of like everything in the world is going to touch one or both of these things, right? So how can I soak that in and and ah combine them? um So that's the meaning behind the phrase, secret superpower.
00:06:39
Speaker
um you know You lean on on certain parts of it sometimes. There's situations I'm in where my web design class I took here is paramount. And that is what I'm leaning on. There's situations where I have to scrape up some coding skills. There's situations where I'm writing a press release. ah And again, I think if it makes me a more well-rounded professional to have kind of pieces from all of that.
00:07:07
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, I do like I see um when you when when I first was reading like your your article and like kind of like thinking about like this concept of like your degrees being like a power. I do think that there's so much weight behind it. And like even looking at like, you know, you discussed the parallel between them. i I found like, you know, on a personal level, like part of the reason why I want like pursue data science, I like to lead with, like i want to I'm an aspiring data scientist, right is because of like that whole communications factor. right like Being able to take complex data and make it digestible for everyday people, you know especially because like and from my perspective, I know that my parents will never understand anything that I'm doing. They barely speak the language. so i I know that like there's so much power in like communicating like and and spreading knowledge.
00:08:01
Speaker
And I think all of that falls within that realm. So I really did resonate with that because in my brain, I'm like, wow, it is a power, like it is powerful to be able to take things that are foreign to people and make it like digestible. So I was like, wow, this is super, super cool stuff. But I'm gonna get off my soapbox. So I also found that you were a founding member for Kappa Theta Pi. So I wanted to ask how like,
Building a Community at Syracuse
00:08:28
Speaker
How was that? Like building that type of fraternity and and kind of how that had your like how that impacted your time at Syracuse and your career, like what followed after and stuff. I guess there's a little entrepreneurial spirit in there. I'm so proud.
00:08:44
Speaker
of where that organization went. So it started as just a group of friends who realized that there was, you know, groups, professional groups related to every school but the iSchool. And we were like, hmm, why not? At that time, um and it still is, but the iSchool was such a hidden little gem. It was a small you know small class sizes and you know kind of a little niche area um and we just felt like why not you know we need it. um So we modeled it after some of the other professional fraternities on campus. um We partnered with another well-known iSchool in Michigan to kind of bring their program over and we were I believe the third
00:09:29
Speaker
Um, the third Kappa Theta Pi in the US, which was really awesome. So not only, you know, new to new to, um, Syracuse, but new to the, the realm as a whole. Um, it was like building a business with your, with your friends, which equally has its, uh, it's scary parts and it's tough parts and it's really awesome parts. Um, so it was an incredible learning opportunity as sophomores, right? Um, of.
00:09:58
Speaker
of essentially pitching, creating, and bringing to life something that we cared about deeply, just like launching a business or launching a product. So I'm really, really proud of it. and And it definitely fills me with joy just to see ah the relationships it's built here at the iSchool, but then new students and just connections, networking, and all the things we stand for as professionals. It gets to start so early because of a really cool ah organization. so Yeah, I think it's so cool like the, like, it's interesting because in a way like you you guys started off with your own community and now it's like become this thing so I have so many friends in the fraternity. yeah And I'm like, wow, like, there's such that that cluster of like, you know, I want to say like, yeah, community and but they're like so
00:10:42
Speaker
Familial like they look at each other and they support each other in different ways and you know when classes get tough They're there and from what I've like heard them share that i'm I'm sure they're all very close and stuff. So it's super powerful So earlier we were talking about data in society So I know that you credited professor Jennifer Stromer right for your data in society class as being like, you know what kind of created that eye opener and for you. I wanted to ask you if you could dive a little deeper into how this course influenced your approach to solving problems that you face on a day to day in your career. Yeah, definitely. um Well, like we were mentioning before, it's everywhere. And I think that course was really integral. And it was it was at a great time where I was in other very technical courses um in the same semester. And then I had this breath of fresh air that helped me
00:11:32
Speaker
I identify within myself like, whoa, I really love the strategy piece of this. or I love looking at things um from you know a 30,000 foot view. And I feel like that class offered the ability to ah read various texts and understand really broad um aspects of data in our society.
00:11:53
Speaker
um From a policy in a psychological standpoint and I think that unlocked something in me where um you know, we' we're students of practice. We are practicing our Python coding. We're practicing, you know, putting everything that we learn here in action, but then we have sometimes to step back and think about, oh, how did this influence me, right? How has this changed society for a whole? I think that it sparked a lot of my research curiosity that I also participated here in the iSchool and I've brought into my career ah working on kind of
00:12:28
Speaker
generational research and how different aspects of our world now is changing society, you know, for the better, for the worse. So I think that class was, um and the professor, Dr. Sturmer-Galley, incredible in opening my eyes to, again, the possibilities on like the theoretical side um that are purely rooted in like a deep technology.
00:12:51
Speaker
fifty That's so awesome. So okay, we're going to get into the nitty gritty. Oh, are we? Should I look at the questions? Yeah. So this is more about like your career at EY, right? So I wanted to kind of center this these questions just so so if so current students have an idea of like what a potential career can live like.
Career Path and Adaptability
00:13:11
Speaker
an iSchool student right so you start off your post-grad journey at UI right and you've been with them ever since yes cool so what do you think kept you there and what made it feel like this was what made you tell yourself yeah this is a place where i think i can grow and this is where i want to continue to grow yeah you know like what was it about it questions um I think the variability was an attraction early on. I and was a student of multiple backgrounds here on campus. I had so many different things I was interested in learning about and exploring. And a career in consulting offered a lot of what I was looking for, the variability of getting to work with different teams on different projects for different clients in different sectors and industries.
00:13:54
Speaker
um And then um the ability to kind of pull from our own secret superpowers, right? And that's going to become my new catchphrase. Yeah. And, you know, don't build better teams because of it, become, you know, better strategists because of it, but also being able to dig in when we need to.
00:14:13
Speaker
So um I've stayed you know with EY because of those multiple offerings. If I want to dig in really deep to UI-UX research and specifically do that for healthcare companies, I can do that. If I um want to stick with some large-scale strategies for well-known consumer brands and think about the generational approach of you know why we do something to influence Gen Z, to buy our products, right? You could do that. So there's so many different pivots of taking your background knowledge and just solving new problems. Every day is different. Every team is different. It's been really rewarding to get to grow through that process and not just grow in knowledge, but grow in soft skills, leading people, ah networking, being, you know,
00:15:04
Speaker
keeping relationships with clients. So there's so many different things to grow along the same you know, timeline that ah you're never bored, which is great. I think that answered your question. Yeah, it did. So actually, like, if I'm like, not mistaken, yeah you started your career, it was around the time of like the pandemic, right? yeah So I found I wanted to note that as well, because like, from from a student's perspective, right, I know that like,
00:15:33
Speaker
the pandemic brought a lot of challenges right but I also think that it also brought like it created new opportunities for innovation right and growth and I guess I wanted to know like how like if you had a moment where you had to rethink your approach to how you to public health communications and education and all that stuff because, you know, even through Zoom, like we kind of pivoted the way that we were educating students, right? Like teaching through Zoom. And even like there was like at the political moment too, where there was so many people in a Zoom to like support like, you know, politicians and stuff. Yeah. I mean, it totally changed the game. Yeah. ah Throwing it back to the iSchool though.
00:16:14
Speaker
We've been taught about what happens when you change the game and how to change the game for quite some time. That's a huge part of the innovation culture here at the high school. So um not only did I feel well prepared, but it felt not welcome. But um I think there was a pre-existing piece that was like, all right, we got this. We can do this. um Tough, tough times. um I would say starting a career. um That way, when I interned, it was the summer of 2019. And everything was different. We were flying, we were in person every day, we were with teams with clients. um And it was a
00:16:55
Speaker
fiscal culture, right? Like you're, you're there, you're doing your work. um What I found is that when we um went remote, and I started my career in October 2020,
00:17:08
Speaker
um those barriers that I looked to, to indicate, you know, what's going on? How should I operate in this environment? The soft skill piece was so different. yeah um So, you know, you're no longer sitting next to your manager in a meeting and taking notes and can work together and consolidate after everything was, ah everything was different. So I think again, that strengthened all of our communications point of view in terms of how ah do we talk to each other? How do I form a connection with somebody when we've never even met in person? um And the first couple of teams I've been on, I was on at EY, um we never met in person. ah And it's incredible that we were able to form those relationships, um even without ever um meeting each other this weekend. I'm actually going to a wedding of somebody that I worked with for years,
00:18:00
Speaker
but never been in person because we're on opposite sides of the US. So it's going to be incredible to actually meet that person in person um and still call them a friend, you know, um but in terms of like work and and you know, being able to bring technology and and communication services to folks. I mean, everything was
Pandemic Challenges and Growth
00:18:21
Speaker
so different. One of my first projects was worth working with a public health ah Department of Public Health on their COVID-19 strategy.
00:18:31
Speaker
How do we reach the community to teach them about what's going on with COVID, like what we expect of them? ah We got into vaccination, education, um and everything was digital. But when we found, what we found is when we brought in a community aspect, if we did in a community event, if we went to a public space and said, hey, we're here to answer your questions, um it felt a little bit more meaningful because for so long, you know everybody was wrapped up with online interactions that when we had that face-to-face contact,
00:19:00
Speaker
That was great. um In terms of working, though, I think it's giving me a new appreciation for the flexibility that's allotted to us for, you know, being hybrid or being able to be in person together when it's, when it is appropriate, and like we can really spend that time to collaborate and do things together, but also flexible in terms of you could do your own work when you're on your own time, in your own space, and your career has kind of a balance of both. So I think I'm more intentional when I'm together with teams now, together with my colleagues to spend that time together, being together, and not just, you know, the old meme of like, everybody's just on their phones, you know, at a party, like, you know, you want to be with everybody. So that was a mix of a lot of different things.
00:19:50
Speaker
Yeah, yeah. So I think like from, I really resonated with that as well, because I think like, at least from the student perspective, right? Like, during the time for me, I think it was, it was weird, because I was graduating during that point. And like,
00:20:06
Speaker
There were so many, it kind of felt like a disconnect at first. It was definitely foreign, the feeling, right? And not necessarily knowing how to effectively learn in this environment. But I think over time, like I think, at least for Gen Z, ah there was this kind of shift, right? Where we're kind of living in this world, like this digital world that kind of became reality for us, especially during this time. But also like in a way, it kind of,
00:20:36
Speaker
for me at least manifested itself as like a point in which I ah wanted to develop myself more as a person and learn as much as I can, like actually take time to you know be grounded with myself. Because like at such a young age or kind of especially when you're like in high school, you want to be around and everything and kind of dabble in a little bit of everything, right? Because you want to meet new people or learn new experiences, all that stuff. And there's rarely a moment where like you get to just be you and figure that out without the influences of everything else. So yeah, I think i think it's so so cool. So um anyways, I noticed right that you you moved from
00:21:19
Speaker
um business transformation to innovation and experience design, right? So how did you discover like this particular niche and like what excites you the most about it? So the interesting thing there is that we change our terminology every other day. Innovation experience design was actually a part of business transformation. So the way that I explain it though,
00:21:42
Speaker
um I mean, I'll take it back. I started my internship as a technology consultant um through the iSchool, right? you know You're taking tex um technology classes. That's a really great place for you. I was working in a group that was everything digital. um So we were doing online representation for a new product.
00:22:01
Speaker
ah You're working on anything that was touching the digital sphere. When I came back full time, October 2020, the pandemic had wiped all that out, right? It was no longer a cool and hip technology to be digital. It was a business need. So they transferred us all over to what was called business consulting. Under that was business transformation. And that was companies coming and saying,
00:22:24
Speaker
We need to make a switch. We got to switch something off. We got to try something new. um What should we do? And there was you know different realms within that. um But that strategic part of like a business as a whole um was was was key in there. Within that, the idea that innovation and experience design um is you know not a separate entity, but part of that whole journey is really important and definitely important to me.
00:22:52
Speaker
so what I think of, you know, the phrasing changes again every other day, but innovation experience design for me means um how, how do people experience this thing, there's a website, this product, this you know, company. um And within that, there's so many different aspects. So you're talking about accessibility, you're talking about, um you know, communications, making sure you have the right language, the copy, how's your brand, right? ah We're doing research to understand what people think about all these things. And then on top of that, we're knowing what's happening now, but we're innovating on top of that. um So that's a really interesting niche that I think I found a home
00:23:36
Speaker
with just, and it can go anywhere now, but being a people person, and thinking about the end user and being like, I do not want to make a product that's going to make your life more difficult. That's not fair. um So I think it put a fire under my um love of just being like, all right, this has to be humans first, we're all developing for people. And I think that's translated well to working on clients that are solving human problems, and just trying to, you know, make the world better. what
00:24:09
Speaker
whatever at a time. yeah so I just found that that was such a niche area that I felt really passionate about. and Again, it's changed now. I'm actually part of our marketing practice now, but I've dabbled in research. I've worked in branding content across a couple of different areas, but it all fits together. right We're just trying to make it make something that another human can recognize, understand, move forward with, work with.
00:24:35
Speaker
um So definitely helps to have that like human feel yeah underneath it all.
Personal Development and Mentorship
00:24:42
Speaker
So earlier you mentioned that like EY gave you the chance to like work with mentors, right? And how that allowed you to kind of do do your you do your thing, you know, shine, right? So I think what's the best piece of advice you've received from your mentor? And how do you think you've applied that to your your life, work? Yeah.
00:25:03
Speaker
So many. um I think I've learned most from many many a mentor, yeah how to be a real person in the professional world, um which sounds baseline.
00:25:20
Speaker
but um There's a lot that people give every single day to um whatever their profession is. And we all have to, you know, it's all so different based on where you are. um But I think specifically within professional services and consulting, I've kind of seen and learned from my mentors around the way, how to like flip that switch, how to be that personable person that um you know, thinks about the human first and maybe isn't so focused on um some of the other very important needs, but just like making sure that I know that, you know, the human is my baseline. Like, i I'm going to think about that first and foremost before other things.
00:26:02
Speaker
um I think that fits in, you know, what, what they've shared is being a real person in the working world is ah bringing your full self, being able to say, Hey, this is really important for me. So these are my boundaries or, you know, I'm i'm using this flexible working environment because I'm caring for an elderly loved one and this is important to me and I'm going to make it all happen and you know me, you trust me that I can do it. So this is this is how I want to live my life. I feel very empowered to um own my career in that way and I think it's been from those mentors who've shown me whether they're working parents, whether they are oh professionals with various interests interests that lie outside of just our day-to-day job, um
00:26:46
Speaker
even just talking about what you're doing on the weekend, you know family, things like that. I think it helped unlock you know what I'm seeing as a new professional world in which the whole self is much more welcome at the workplace, much more celebrated. and I do think EY as a whole really has shown that since my my very first days there. so um You know, we're talking, we're joking about Gen Z. I know transparency and honesty is very important to that generation as a whole. um And it makes me proud to kind of see that in action um and live that myself.
00:27:25
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, I think it's so relieving to hear because like I'm like at that point right now where I'm going to step into professionalism. Yeah. And it almost like, like, especially media, it convinces you that like, you know, like corporate like, like nine to five is like going into office, it's almost robotic like, so like, you're using the word humanity. soy It's relieving truly, because it's like this, there's so much anxiety with the unknown. know i mean And It's definitely something. Yeah. So I think the people really want to know. um So you're working on your master's degree, so you tell us what you're studying. And you know I'm also very curious because from what it sounds like, you you tend to be, you sound very, very like hyper accomplished and you know busy. right So how do you manage that at EY? How do you keep the balance between you know getting everything done and staying motivated to keep learning and also protecting your sanity, like like downtime? like What does that look like for you? hey
00:28:24
Speaker
Thanks for your questions. I've been thinking about them myself. So I always was a fan of a fan. I always supported and loved education. I always thought I would be a teacher. I always thought I would do something in the educational realm. And when I was at you know Syracuse that turned into me being a peer mentor, you know having conversations through KTP or you know having leadership opportunities through math or whatever I was i was doing. um And then at EY, you really have the chance to
00:29:09
Speaker
lead teams, work with teams, um you know, kind of be in our people side of leading new higher trainings. And I don't know, I really saw those like educational pieces filtered through. um to me, I always thought I would go back to school. And I had um a few opportunities here at Syracuse to do research and considered going on and decided to, in the midst of the pandemic, go with the full-time career opportunity. um But I i guess i'm I'm a person who just can't ah can't let any anything go to the wayside in terms of opportunities. So I made the decision to um
00:29:49
Speaker
at this point in my career where I felt comfortable, I felt like I had a grasp of what was expected of me. um And it felt like a ah good time to um pursue you know the next part of my education, which will never end. So I went through a lot of ah thinking, and I am currently studying educational psychology, which yeah which um was brand new to me. And and upon reading it,
00:30:16
Speaker
You know, I went down the line. Do I, do I focus more on information management technology? Do I focus on communications? Do I go to business school and have a managerial side that I can strengthen? And again, me, I'm the blue sky person. I was like, I haven't touched education, but I feel like I do it. Um, but also like psychology, like, what is that? Why are people thinking the way they're thinking what's going on? Um, and this,
00:30:43
Speaker
pretty niche major came, or area of city came, and I was kind of fascinated. And and something that resonated with me is, um you know, again, when we communicate, we're educating, right? So when I am being a marketer and working on marketing plans, we're trying to educate people. When I'm working in healthcare and talking to folks about some new XYZ, you know, we're educating them, we need them to know. um So on every level or every stage, you pivot how you're communicating, you pivot what technology you use to talk to those people directly. right um And I think the psychological part of that was really exciting and a piece that I was like, oh, that's a hidden piece of the puzzle. I don't know. So as a communicator, as a leader, if I'm teaching you something, how are you interpreting that? How are you understanding what I'm saying? Is it resonating?
00:31:36
Speaker
Um, so there was definitely macro and micro reasons of why I felt like this applied, but also built on something I was interested in. Um, what is really cool is that the emphasis on research. Um, so my current master is in, is educational psychology and methodology. So understanding being able to, um, you know, statistically show how how folks resonate with what we're communicating or technology we're using or just being able to blend that all together um has been really eye-opening. The other piece that stuck with me is um you don't need to be a teacher. You don't need to be an educator to impact others, right?
00:32:17
Speaker
so um The piece of developmentally, what I'm learning about you know cognition on all levels from birth through how do adults and college students and the elderly learn and understand and retain information is helpful in your own walk of life, right? Whether you be a parent, whether you're leading a team,
00:32:38
Speaker
um you know, wherever you decide to go, it does have like real world impact and emphasis that you can draw from it. So it felt very multidimensional to add to my repertoire. um And i'm I'm truly enjoying it. So I'm in the midst of a really cool research class right now. We're writing our own, um you know, completing a whole research project from beginning to end, getting, you know, IRB approval and And really, you know, getting to the heart of some of the psychological, educational theories and how they impact humans. So I have so many thoughts and it made me from the script. I but we need to go at any time it know i think i was supposed to actually like, um, I was so like interested in like you talking about opportunities as well, because I think one of the biggest things that I, um, I think people tend to, um,
00:33:35
Speaker
have conflict with is like knowing when you say no, like knowing when, in a figurative sense, when you need to close a door, yeah right?
Balancing Professional Growth
00:33:43
Speaker
It's like, how do you how do you figure that out? Because on a personal level, whenever I see an opportunity, and if even if it's foreign, I'm just gonna do it because I'm like, you never know what comes from it, yeah right? And like, there's always like, let's call it FOMO, right? If you're missing out, right? Like, I just, like,
00:34:00
Speaker
In my brain, I tell myself, if I don't do this, like I could be missing out on this potential connection or this potential opportunity, so why not do it? right But then there's also moments where like you know you stretch yourself in and you're kind of exhausted and you're burnt out. right So it's like seeing everything you're managing like is insane, like doing the research. like I'm on undergraduate research assistant right now.
00:34:23
Speaker
And I'm in two teams and I'm like figuring out everything, you know, working towards getting my master's, hopefully my PhD, so much stuff. And i yeah I find myself like struggling to kind of find downtime for myself, you know, struggling to figure out like,
00:34:39
Speaker
how i how to find that balance. Well, to go out on a limb, I don't think anybody does that perfectly because it's so personal to you. um And I think I've gone through a journey definitely recently to understand, sure, I've always liked to stay busy. Sure. I've always tried to do a million things and had, you know,
00:35:01
Speaker
a bunch of fires going on sometimes, but they're there's times in my life and I'm getting better at identifying that when it's time to switch that on and when it's time to switch that off. um And again, from a flexibility standpoint and a generational standpoint, I think that's a new expectation that we're all kind of coming to the agreement of ah Just because there's times I want to go slow and times I want to go fast doesn't mean that forever I want to, you know, do the bare minimum possible, right? Or forever try to burn myself out. yeah um I trust myself to kind of know when is when and it's not easy, right? There's times where last night I was, you know, going to drive here after my class and and class got out late and the series of events and I was like, okay, I'll get to Syracuse tomorrow. It's fine. We'll wake up early.
00:35:46
Speaker
yeah So, you know, again, definitely been on the journey to identify and work with myself to be like, all right, when is enough enough, when is that door shut? When is a one is a relationship not not, you know, kind of fit to keep moving with? That's one that a lot of people learn early on, and you know, high school, college, um when is a career not fitting for me anymore? And that's, you know, what we're all kind of getting into.
00:36:14
Speaker
Um, so it's part of the human experience. I think from my, my standpoint, and I really do think that anybody who seems to be doing it perfectly, there's no, there's no way because it's just such a personal intimate thing. Um, and again, that's why I think the the new worries of the world of flexibility and being able to advocate for yourself and what you need and push when you need to push and gas, when you need to gas, um, makes sense.
00:36:44
Speaker
Yeah. So from what I mean, maybe my friends will love me to fully develop because I've read that it happens around 24, 25. Yeah, you'll get there. I mean, you're just getting the tools to make those decisions. And if we don't have the times where we're like super stressed out versus the times where like, I can take on so much more, you know, I'm ready for it. You have to have a dichotomy to to recognize within yourself. um So I don't think it's fair to ever, you know, kind of close that part of yourself out and be like, Oh, I'll never get it. Or, you know, I'll never be able to find this balance, because because you will. And half of that is that self advocacy and being able to like check in with yourself. um Which again, everybody's still working on. I'm definitely still working on that. a And then, you know, how you bring those pieces of yourself to the different aspects of your family, your friends, your professional life.
00:37:39
Speaker
um I've found that being transparent has been working for me, you know, um so it's been good. I think that's it's very powerful in really being to hear.
00:37:52
Speaker
Yeah. So, um, you talked about bringing scrappy and alternative thinking. I love that because I think like that's literally the high school yeah from your time here at Syracuse to how you work now. And I guess I wanted to pick your brain on how you approach thinking outside of box and how, um, like how you use that when facing challenges in, you know, your work. Yeah. Um,
00:38:19
Speaker
Yeah, I think it's probably just built into why my professional journey and educational journey has been the way it is because I'm so interested in having like all those different pieces of the puzzle to help me make their best right decision. right And we always know when we're taught at the high school, like there's no best right decision. It's using the information you have and making the decision and moving on. That's the business world as well.
00:38:48
Speaker
um I think being able to pull on different experiences. And this is why one of my favorite things is like the teams that we get to work with, the diversity of people and experiences that we that I am now friends with and professional colleagues with. I don't even know half of the you know the majors of people that I work with. But the ones I do include you know being a second grade teacher, being a doctor, being an architect.
00:39:16
Speaker
And being able to have um be part of that mix of just diverse individuals, I think is is so powerful. And it teaches you when you're open to it, right? like um I have a really great friend and colleague who just made it big on TikTok, just wasn't trying, made it big on TikTok. And now that's taking over a lot of their professional and like personal space because this new thing has kind of kind of happened. um But, you know, being able to learn firsthand from people with different experiences from my own I think has been has been really um
00:39:59
Speaker
part of like, all right, I'm being scrappy here. Let me take a little bit from you. Oh, I know you have background here. Let's go here. um And I know that there is all always a time to dig deep and really get to the root of problems and solve them. But I've just identified that I'm like, I'm up here. I really want to be in that thinking outside the box area, which it's so hard to identify like, how do you do that? um But I think naturally, I um have been more exposed from high school and background and curriculum on that innovation piece, which helps you think with like, a how could this be better? What could be different yeah um mindset, which inherently is outside the box. So yeah, I may push it sometimes and be like a little too outside the box. Yeah. yeah
00:40:45
Speaker
So um earlier you were alluding to like your work and how it kind of is centered around human centered design, yeah right? So i I guess I wanted to you to explain what it means to you and like why it would have been to your work and why it's so crucial in consulting.
00:41:03
Speaker
um I know you kind of like spoke a about it briefly. but Yeah, I can keep it brief too. I know I'm just going on and on. yeah Please do. Okay. um I don't know if you have class or anything. I'm um So, I mean, I just think that our time on earth is about people. I mean, this would not be an earth without people. Right.
00:41:28
Speaker
esoteric. But um, so I just it just feels so natural when we're thinking about problem solving problems that like that's what we focus on. I don't know what else is important, you know. um So I think I approach a lot of things from the people first mindset because we want to leave the world better than we found it. I would never want to be part of something that um is hurtful or has a negative impact on earth and yeah humans that were being really hot in the sky. But um it's it's it's just paramount to me. So I think that like when we are in
00:42:05
Speaker
Specific careers like consulting where there's so many different aspects to focus on. Okay. We've got to look at the technology. We've got to look at the data. We've got to look at the people. I typically gravitate towards the people and that's definitely indicative of my educational pieces, but, um, I just, I, I, I don't think I could be in the room without that element ever being like brought up. So I'm more than happy to be like, all right, how's this going to, you know, impact, impact people. Um,
00:42:34
Speaker
trying to think day to day to day. It's just definitely where I focus ah in terms of solving problems, right? I would always start people first rather than kind of technology or business or financially first, um which I'm learning all the other aspects and those are equally important. I just know where my heart lies and where I i kind of start my journeys.
00:42:57
Speaker
Yeah, you reminded me of like this book that I'm reading right now. And it's kind of like, you know, talking about like without people, what, you know, what else? right I read this thing and it it was like these, I forgot the context, but they were talking, they're having a dialogue and they were saying how like, um we're environmentalists We're environmentalists. And then he responded and he's like, no, we're not environmentalists. We are the environment. you know And it's kind of like alluding that there's like this this and like this never ending connectioning connection between like place and us and people. you know i mean I really thought about when you you were talking about that. so So from what I've gathered, you seem very passionate about community building and whether that's through KTP or mentoring high school interns as a peer advisor and stuff, like all the work that you've done,
Community and Career Reflections
00:43:45
Speaker
right? um So why is community building so important to you, right? And how do you continue like fostering those connections? Yeah, good question. um I think without knowing it, we're all a product of community, even if we feel like we have it or we don't, we're either.
00:44:04
Speaker
you know, wishing for one we had or celebrating the one that we grew up with or searching for one online or making decisions based on, you know, what we hear from those in our community. um So it's incredibly powerful and I think an un unsung hero in like all of our all of our stories. um But What that means is like we look historically at you know where we came from, what we're doing, who who who our family and friends are. um But it's hard to think about it moving forward um sometimes because you just don't know right what's going to happen. um So I think there is there's an equal
00:44:46
Speaker
effort to low back, but also be present. I think that that was part of the building of KTP, right? Like, what do we need right now? What do people need right now? yeah ah And the community built itself, honestly, not without bumps in the road, but um it um came together. And that I mean, it's such a good question, because we were at that time being like, how do we build? How do you, how do you make people want to be together, right? And, you know, you just think about it from the emphasis of, you know,
00:45:18
Speaker
what we all mutually believe in and you know the friendships that could be built and the networking that could happen and that built KTP. I think um moving forward the community pieces that I focus on be it leading a training or leading a team or you know talking to my new classmates um is just an effort to make sure that Yeah, nobody feels like they don't have a community, right? Like I will always be there to ah share my LinkedIn or share a message or just, you know, see if anything I can say can resonate with issues you're having or things you want to solve in yourself. um So.
00:46:05
Speaker
Yeah, it's it's such a ah piece. We don't really talk about it as much, but I do really appreciate that question because it's just, again, from a people's standpoint, so we're in. And, you know, we would not be able to have what we have without that community.
00:46:22
Speaker
Yeah. And I think this like like translates very well and like transitions very well to the next question that I wanted to ask you because it's like really centered around like reflection. threat So I guess looking back on your Syracuse days, like was there a specific moment that released it out to you and kind of helped you? That was very pivotal for your career. Yeah.
00:46:44
Speaker
um I mean, we mentioned but building KTP from the ground up was every lesson all at once. It was how to lead. It was how to be led. It was how to build community. It was how to um build something new. It was how to be innovative.
00:47:03
Speaker
um And along the way was, you know again, a group of friends who just had a thought that we were going to make it better for people down the road. It wasn't so much for us. you know um So that those were all just incredibly powerful lessons all in a very short amount of time. And again, to look back now and see how the bumps in the road have smoothed, the friendships have continued to go on, like things that we thought about so would be cool to implement, you know, are still happening. Partnerships we had with like the most in downtown Syracuse, the Museum of Science and Technology, like that's still a partnership. So um that was a pivotal, I think, piece of at a young age in terms of college years, you know, having
00:47:54
Speaker
uh, those trials and tribulations under your belt of being like, I mean, it was not, it was not the easiest thing in the world. Um, and I, I don't, I've heard that you're not supposed to like go into business with your friends or family, yeah but it made it all the much, all the much better. I think now, um, being stronger. So that was incredible. Um,
00:48:15
Speaker
couple other things. I was also an undergrad research assistant, so I think getting those skills early on was incredible too. I didn't appreciate it at the time. The way I do now, which was, wow, I was exposed to so much. we Here, we have so much at our disposal. like If you want to do this, you can do it. If you want to do research, go for it. if you want to TA a class, you could TA a class, you know. um So I think, you know, in the spirit of trying everything, I i tried it and i I didn't realize how much I enjoyed it until it was time to define it later on. And I was like, wow, what an incredible experience. So I'm really thankful for that opportunity. And media presence online, I don't know if I'm going to buy from your brand. So there's just things that we need think about.
00:48:57
Speaker
first and foremost, that like never were on the forefront. And I think that's why young professionals break such a new fresh mindset and will continue to do so because technology is changing every day. Well, thank you so much, Sophie. I feel like I learned so much. like I just attended a lecture. Oh, goodness. This is awesome, though. i feel like um I think there's so much like wisdom in everything that you've said. And I think kind of every question that I was asked was connected to each other. So I'm a very like visual person. So I was kind of like seeing the threads, you know, so super cool for me. um But yeah, thank you so much. I really appreciate you coming here. And, you know, I know you're, you're very busy doing this. I'm sure a lot of the students would appreciate some of the the gems that you threw in today. I appreciate it. Yeah.
00:49:49
Speaker
so nice talking so connected yeah I'm definitely connecting on my day.