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Creating change through entrepreneurship: Katy Arons '24 on following your passion through technology and startups
30 Plays4 months ago
This episode features an interview with Katy Arons, CEO and founder of Continual Consent, LLC. Hosted by Gabriel Davila, a major in applied data analytics, the conversation delves into Katy's journey from aspiring doctor to tech entrepreneur. Katy shares how her experiences in high school and her education at the iSchool inspired her to create a mobile app promoting safe conversations about consent and intimacy. She discusses her success in business competitions, support from mentors, and the transition to her current role at JPMorganChase.
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Transcript
Introduction and Speaker Introduction
00:00:01
Speaker
a Welcome to Infoversity, where information meets innovation, produced by Syracuse University School of Information Studies. Together, we'll explore the ever-evolving digital landscape, diving into cutting-edge topics like AI, robotics, and the future of work, one conversation at a time.
00:00:20
Speaker
This is Infoversity.
00:00:25
Speaker
So everyone, I'm here with Katie Ahrens today and we're gonna get to know Katie a little bit more. But first I wanna introduce myself, so my name is Gabriel Dabila. I'm an applied data analytics major here at the iSchool and I minor in computer engineering and innovation design in startups.
Katie Ahrens' Background and Inspiration
00:00:39
Speaker
um So yeah, I'm gonna read a quick bio about Katie just so the audience knows a little bit more about you and your story. So Katie is actually the CEO and founder of Continual Consent LLC. Katie created a mobile app dedicated to promoting safe and healthy conversations about consent and intimacy for young adults while she was here as a student in the iSchool. And in February 2024, she the first place she went first place at the ACC InVenture Prize campus qualifier at SCU, earning an expense paid trip to compete in the national fight and finals at Florida State University.
00:01:10
Speaker
And now, Katie currently works as an analyst in the Chase Leadership Development Program at JPMorgan and Chase, applying her entrepreneurial skills to the corporate world. So now that we've shared a little bit more about you, Katie, I wanna get into some of the questions that we have here for you today and to get you know to get a better understanding of who you are and your journey.
00:01:30
Speaker
So you created your own startup called Continual while you're here um as a student in the iSchool. I want to know a little bit more about what it is that inspired you to create this. Yeah, so first off, thank you so much for having me. i'm honored to be here.
00:01:45
Speaker
Love the high school. um So the idea behind Continual actually started all the way back in high school. So from the ages of around 12 till 20, my life goal and dream was to be a doctor.
00:01:57
Speaker
had the opportunity to do various programs within the healthcare fields, including the National Student Leadership Conference, Healthcare care and Medicine, and just understand from more of a provider's perspective that whole side of it. And in doing so, i worked a lot um with women and in kind of ah with midwives and OBGYNs shadowing them in various countries and that was such an incredible experience.
00:02:25
Speaker
Coming back to the States, I had the opportunity while in high school to do a couple of really cool projects in which I learned so much more about the healthcare care system in America but also the lack of support for and research and in general for women and ah especially women of color.
00:02:45
Speaker
So that kind of took me down the road by my junior year in high school. We had the opportunity to kind of build our own apps with software that we were learning.
00:02:56
Speaker
So my idea was Student Health Helper, bringing educational resources around sex education to students. Because I have recently learned only 26 only twenty six states in the United States ah plus DC require sexual education be taught in public schools and only 13 require consent to be taught.
00:03:16
Speaker
So that lack of information, even at a young age, is disparaging and does not set young adults up to have a productive future, especially without the proper knowledge to engage in adult situations.
00:03:31
Speaker
So I really wanted to bring that. Unfortunately, I didn't get to launch that app. But then coming to SU, I was a pre-med major and switched into the iSchool my sophomore year.
Development of Continual and SU Support
00:03:40
Speaker
And I believe it was the end of my sophomore spring, I took human-computer interaction.
00:03:44
Speaker
And we had the opportunity to kind of, I believe it was designing an app or solving a problem. And we dove into that idea a little bit more, that sexual health resources weren't really available for young adults.
00:04:00
Speaker
So building off of that, we kind of, me and a team, built out this idea. it Similar to Continual, but very, very different. It wasn't a consent app. It didn't have any of the features that Continual holds.
00:04:12
Speaker
um So once that idea was on paper, we did our presentation. i did a majority of the work.
00:04:19
Speaker
I feel like that's always a group project thing, though. I started my IDS minors fall of my junior year and that's really what kicked off Continual. Bruce Kingma, the incredible Bruce Kingma, I should say, was probably the reason I became a student entrepreneur. I could directly link him in that class. We got to explore our creativity, understand how to identify problems and create problems.
00:04:46
Speaker
find solutions really and create businesses out of those solutions. So he looks and he goes up at the students. He goes, okay, everybody come up with an idea for a company. And I kind of had continual in the back burner. So it's like, how about that?
00:04:59
Speaker
And yeah, so one thing led to another. He pointed me towards the launch pad and Continual took off from there and I really got to build out the company while in the IDS courses and put that together with what I was actively learning in class.
Gabriel and Katie's Parallel Journeys
00:05:16
Speaker
I think it was IDS 203 which focuses on the kind of back end of business, how to register an LLC, what you need for a business plan, all of like the background stuff that once you've understand how to create an idea you can use and apply and really build out your company. So it was really a supported experience by my education through the iSchool.
00:05:37
Speaker
Yeah, I really resonate with a lot of what you just shared. i actually started off um in forensic science and psychology and then I pivoted like I want to say yeah it was my sophomore spring semester so it was fairly like right in the middle of that and I remember like you know feeling that kind of uncertainty about like my path and and that kind of stuff so You shared a lot of things that i really resonated. And in fact, similarly, before I knew about the iSchool, I knew about the IDS minor.
00:06:06
Speaker
And my first ever iSchool class was technically Bruce's King, like like the big idea like idea. What's the big idea? IDS 301. Which I will say the name of that class. yeah ah like My friends would be like, oh, what class are you going to? I'd go, what's the big idea? Like, what's the big idea?
00:06:23
Speaker
I would love it to be called a little something a little bit more professional, but that class is so much about creativity. like it It does have to have a fun name. Yeah, it was super exciting because I think like for the first time in in like college, I was given the creative outlet to do and think about everything that came to mind.
00:06:42
Speaker
And I think one of the biggest things about the IDS program in comparison to some other entrepreneurship programs offered at the school is IDS not only like really focuses on tech, but hones in that idea of creativity and not just, okay, so you have an idea, let's build that out, but how how do you create an idea? How do you create a business? And I've really just brought that into like kind of everyday life as well.
00:07:08
Speaker
Yeah. And do you think that like you kind of always had this entrepreneurial spirit? Because I think like even you mentioned that you started this before like you got into the space. So like, what was it for you? Because in theory, like you already were ah kind of and involved in entrepreneurship, like it felt like it was your calling in a way. Yeah. So unfortunately, i have been an entrepreneur since I was a child. um Since my both, I should note, both of my parents are very successful entrepreneurs. My dad is in the food industry, started his First company doing imports and exports for restaurants.
00:07:42
Speaker
ah So it was actually really cool. He was like one of the first to bring in several things from Europe and he'd work with all these incredible chefs in New York, at a warehouse in Queens, but ended up selling that to Kraft, traveled the world and then started a grocery store called Gourmet Garage, which she owned and operated in Manhattan for around 30 years and sold that back in 2019.
00:08:01
Speaker
And then um my mom, my godparents, and another one of their close family friends founded Kate Spade back in 1993, believe. three i believe um And so I grew up around entrepreneurs. She ended up selling Kate Spade in 2006 and starting a new company in 2014 called Francis Valentine, which had the opportunity to work for them a couple of times, both in their brick and mortar stores and in their offices. but really seeing my parents, especially my mom, be such a powerful entrepreneurial figure.
00:08:34
Speaker
My parents were very surprised when I said I wanted to be a doctor. yeah I used to sell lemonade on the beach and walk up and down with a cooler water and like five bucks in singles and just, yeah, and sell water on the beach at like seven years old, donate some to the local animal shelter. but My dad always knew, like he always said to me growing growing up, like, I i know you're goingnna you're going to have your own company.
Early Entrepreneurial Challenges and Support
00:08:57
Speaker
You're going to your own business. I know for the pandemic, that did not help because I had way too many ideas and was trying to accomplish them, but didn't have that foundation.
00:09:05
Speaker
Like my first idea, like bigger app or platform was called Seasonal. And that allows um seasonal workers like college students or, you know, just people that want to work in large summer hubs where, you know, that's where you make your bang for the year for a lot of college students being able to go and work in very popular summer locations or for the winter season, et cetera, um and find housing with all of their friends and like work at local, restaurant like partnering with local restaurants and stuff to get them jobs and local housing.
00:09:38
Speaker
But yeah, unfortunately, I didn't have the backing or the knowledge to really support that. Hopefully, it comes to fruition in the future. I have a way too long list of ideas. Yeah, but that's so incredible. like You've been on this hustle for so long.
00:09:51
Speaker
and like I kind of want to pivot a little and shift gears to some of the things that you were saying, because earlier you were talking about ah resources specifically. And I guess I'm curious, like from your perspective, how do you think the iSchool supported you in starting your business?
00:10:07
Speaker
And do you think there were any like specific resources and mentors that helped along the way? like I know you mentioned the Launchpad, so I just want to know a little bit more about that specific journey. So like I said, my company I genuinely do not believe my company or any of the companies or ideas I've had would have gone to the extent that they did without the iSchool, without the IDS program.
00:10:29
Speaker
And I wouldn't have found out about the Launchpad without Bruce Kingma.
00:10:34
Speaker
he was ah He helped me through it so much. So did all of the IDS professors. They are incredible. I would say a lot of my iSchool classes really helped to prepare me for entrepreneurship and all of the professors I had were so incredibly supportive.
00:10:49
Speaker
It wo a still warms my heart when my professors would, like just thinking back on it, my professors like coming up to me in the hallway and going like, good job at the ACC. like Knowing that you have that support and that so many people are rooting for you, even as a student,
00:11:03
Speaker
like knowing that professors are rooting for you, because they really do. um But i would say Bruce Kingma, one of the best people here at the iSchool, very big support.
00:11:14
Speaker
As well as Peggy Tokich, the professor for IDS 344. I was her TA when I was a sophomore. But her class prepared me for life, i would say And very much so as an entrepreneur, I gained so much more confidence in her class, public speaking experience.
00:11:31
Speaker
ah I think all my schoolers should take that class. Everyone on campus really should, but highly, highly suggest. And then resource-wise, I would really say the Launchpad. ah lot but just sitting and talking with other iSchool students, I would say, is one of the biggest resources we offer. Just bouncing things off of each other, understanding ideas, concepts, and of you have your specialized knowledge areas, so do other people. So being able to go to a friend who knows a lot more about like hiring freelancers when I was looking to build out my wireframe, I would go to them and be like, hey, like any advice for this part of the process?
00:12:07
Speaker
So yeah, I would say the community here at the iSchool, Bruce Kingma, Peggy Tokich, the Launchpad, and especially Chasey Geiser over at the Launchpad. She was, I would say, one of the biggest champions and for all student entrepreneurs.
00:12:20
Speaker
Yeah. I'm like a little curious about like, like, you know, were there any moments where you felt like a lot of self doubt? I mean, like being a woman in STEM and also being in a business space, I imagine that it can it can be perhaps daunting and and a little limiting. hmm. And I guess I'm just curious because I know a lot of students probably like feel a lot of self-doubt, perhaps imposter syndrome.
00:12:48
Speaker
And like, what would you say and what did you tell yourself at the time when you felt those instances and kind of like, you know, to help you trailblaze through? Yeah, so I can speak. oh I'll talk about it this from like both an entrepreneurship standpoint and also being an analyst right now um because I am the youngest person on my team.
00:13:07
Speaker
So Look, pulling it out and looking at it from, ah do I deserve to be here? Like, I'm nervous, like all of that self-doubt in a bigger sense. Like, do I deserve this role? Do I deserve to be in Florida representing SU?
00:13:22
Speaker
Ultimately, you do. Everything that you have done to get to that point has supported you. From that math test in fifth grade that you were, like that poster, that book report, all of that to that really big test in college.
00:13:38
Speaker
has supported you to this point. Only you know how hard you have worked to gain your level of success. So every time I doubt myself or ah just be like, oh do I deserve this? Am I right for this? I i just try to think back. I think about all the times I was crying over math homework. I was struggling to write that book report or that group project or X, Y, Z. All of those really hard moments led me to where I am, so I deserve to be here. And just really telling yourself that you do deserve to be here is one of the biggest things.
00:14:11
Speaker
has You are your biggest non-supporter. You're your biggest hater. yeah And I think we all, like as entrepreneurs and as people, I don't think we really take into account how many people are genuinely rooting for us.
00:14:24
Speaker
Again, your professors, they don't want you to do poorly on that test. They don't they want to see you thrive. They want to see you achieve. And then when it comes down to little things, like when I'm writing reports as an analyst and I'm having self-doubt, I'm like, oh, are these the correct numbers? Did I put the formula in the right way?
00:14:43
Speaker
always go and ask. That's one great thing about being a young adult, being a young professional, especially here on campus. There are so many people willing to support you, willing to offer you that help and that, yeah, I guess general support and to see you succeed.
00:14:58
Speaker
And nobody will ever judge you for going to ask for help. you will get judged if you do something horrifically wrong without asking for help. yeah So really taking a break, taking a pause, being like, okay, I'm not a hundred percent confident on this.
00:15:12
Speaker
Who can I go to talk to? Okay, super. They said, I did this right, or I did this wrong. Let me present it or let me go ah like correct it And yeah. So looking for support when you feel like you need it, realizing that you always have support.
00:15:28
Speaker
It might not be the people you think, but, I know there's a couple of professors here. You can just walk into their office and be like, hey, so this major life thing is like my company. I have a question about this. You seem very knowledgeable. Can you help me?
00:15:42
Speaker
And yeah, realizing you've worked so hard and only you can value how hard you have worked. appreciate I think you seen like you just shared a lot of like powerful powerful things that I think a lot of students like really have a hard time like yeah like feeling and and resonating. I know that I can speak to my own experiences. There's definitely been moments where I carry a lot of self-doubt, especially because I transitioned from like a non-tech background. Yeah, and i like did the same. yeah So there was a lot of self-doubt, a lot of like fear that I wouldn't succeed. and
00:16:17
Speaker
and thrive in this environment. So I know that like the message that you just delivered to a lot of other students and a lot of like young professionals, like it resonates deeply. So I really appreciate you for sharing that. Of course.
00:16:28
Speaker
But I guess I always, I want to know, did you always know that like you wanted to pursue entrepreneurship?
Transition from Pre-med to Tech and InVenture Prize
00:16:35
Speaker
I know that you mentioned you were interested in med school, but it feels like you're like deeply ridden by curiosity and you're kind of like drawn everywhere. So I'm gar i'm curious, like was there a specific moment that like created that drive to create your own business?
00:16:50
Speaker
Yeah, so I've always had that entrepreneurship bug, I will say. And 12 to 20, where my like my dream was med school.
00:17:01
Speaker
um i I did know, like it was it was always in the back of my mind and during the pandemic, even before I came in still with a prema pre-med mindset, um i was coming up with ideas. Again, they weren't the best and I couldn't pursue them, but just coming up with ideas and putting things on paper. Wow.
00:17:22
Speaker
Sorry, I'm like trying to collect my thoughts. But yeah, that's actually one of the reasons I transitioned out of pre-med and came into the iSchool was to pursue entrepreneurship um with a tech focus because let's face it, tech is...
00:17:38
Speaker
yeah The best industry, but also the most rapid, the most growing, the room for most expansion and more ideas and just a thriving dynamic environment. So one, I love that. yeah But um two, and one of the primary reasons I switched pre-med, unfortunately, my high school didn't offer a AP classes. They AT, which is advanced topics.
00:17:59
Speaker
So we couldn't take the AP test. um So I couldn't bypass a whole bunch of the prereqs for pre-med. um And I realized I don't want to do this really the next four years kind of relearning, obviously learning new information, but I didn't want to focus on relearning stuff I had known. yeah um And I really just wanted to get to that point where i could help people. That's all.
00:18:20
Speaker
I feel like i I've been so incredibly privileged in my life and I really wanted, like, that's why I wanted to become a doctor. i wanted to work with refugees specifically, like, focusing on pediatric trauma. um But so my life goal has always been to help people. And I was at a point where I was like, how can I help people the quickest? How can I make the biggest impact?
00:18:39
Speaker
um And I realized switching to tech, I can not only be creative, be an entrepreneur, learn ah complete new area that is, again, rapid, dynamic, growing, innovative.
00:18:51
Speaker
um Like learn more about space I have very minimal knowledge about. um And so, yeah, i always knew I wanted to be an entrepreneur and definitely had it in the back of my mind.
00:19:02
Speaker
While I still have other dreams and passions, I would say um the iSchool really supported me in bringing all of that together. So, again, I wanted to just come into tech, make money, and help support ah women's research studies.
00:19:14
Speaker
Yeah, especially because, like you said, like, I think in tech specifically, like, there's a lot of horizontal movement. Like, you can really, like, depending on your field of study, right? But even, I think most of the the programs here allow you to kind of dabble in quite literally anything you're interested in.
00:19:28
Speaker
and Genuinely, I like to get goosebumps talking about it. High school is so incredible. Yeah. And it's, like, really a hidden gem, right? Like, it's insane. So stuff. Like when I found out about it yeah when I found out about it was like, wow, like where has this been? Cause coming from arts and science, I'm pretty sure bio is arts and science. right um I was in public, health i was a public health major on pre-med track. So I was in full.
00:19:50
Speaker
So I had very minimal knowledge about, also I kind of had minimal knowledge about Syracuse in general when I came here. I ED'd. yeah um i remember, had toured a whole bunch of schools, but I remember walking onto this campus and I looked at my dad and i go, this is where I want to spend the next four years of my life. Mind you, this was 2019 pre-COVID. I was a senior in high school. There were kids on the quad throwing the football. It was game day. And yeah.
00:20:14
Speaker
Yeah, sorry. You know me. I'm a yapper in a house. I relate heavily because when I came here, I immediately thought of Hogwarts. I was like, oh my God, this feels really magical. The women's building. It's such a beautiful campus. And I'm from Miami, so the buildings, even the architecture of the buildings is so distinct here, and I fell in love immediately. would love for the architecture of Byrd Library to change, but... Yeah.
00:20:37
Speaker
No, I agree. I agree. um So I guess pivoting here a little, I want to kind of like highlight winning first place in the 2024 campus qualifier competition.
00:20:48
Speaker
I know for you probably that must have been such a huge accomplishment. So how do you think that specific experience shaped your confidence as an entrepreneur, like getting like a firm that like even with the self-doubt that you carry that this like this tangible thing right here is like evidence that I can do whatever I you know yeah so i participated in multiple business competitions prior to that one I had won a few i had lost a lot more um And so going in, I really thought about it like it's it's another competition. This would be great.
00:21:21
Speaker
But my goal is to just be a better presenter. my goal is to be a better entrepreneur, to present my business as best as possible. And hopefully, hopefully I get it But.
00:21:32
Speaker
It's not the end of the world if I don't. ah What I've been really trying to focus on is that it's not that deep mentality. ah For everything from work to entrepreneurship to just little things in life, really just take a second. There are bigger things going on. It's not that deep.
00:21:48
Speaker
And say that now in hindsight. But... um but that I think one thing is I'm a very outgoing person. I'm very overly confident, if you cannot tell.
00:22:00
Speaker
um I will literally just go up to people and have a conversation on the street. So it's more so like my nerves around presenting and public speaking that kind of get in the way. um I ah i saw really saw it as kind of any other business competition. i really didn't think I was going to win that one.
00:22:17
Speaker
um I was like, oh, cool, it ship to Florida. I'll get my tan. yeah It wasn't that part of Florida. It was Tallahassee. yeah um It was still like such an incredible experience. And just the opportunity to pitch your company and get feedback is one of the most valuable things to young entrepreneurs. And something I think we really take for granted here on campus out in the real world It's hard to get people to listen to you.
00:22:41
Speaker
but But here, people are everybody's like, give me your idea. Let me give you feedback. Let me give you help. let me yeah They want to help you so much, and it's so incredible. um Yeah, I don't think I answered that question fully or properly. No, you did. It was very insightful. I really relate to that. like I think like here, there's like...
00:23:01
Speaker
sometimes I personally feel like they have such a large network that I don't know what to do with it yeah and don't know how to ask for help or don't know like you know where to look or where you need to start. And I've recently, like I'm a senior now, and like i've I've been having so many like like an epitomes where I'm like, damn, like I wish I did that. yeah it's so It's such a universal feeling because i remember being told by my upper classmate friends like when I was a freshman and sophomore, they're like, oh, like you're going to have so many moments like these. And i was just like, yeah,
00:23:30
Speaker
like And then here I am, like I'm thinking about, wow, I wish I got this done, I wish I did this, or looked into this opportunity. I mean, rumor has it the iSchool has an incredible grad program, so. Yeah, definitely. I'm definitely like excited about grad and all that kind of stuff, but also nervous, so we'll see what happens.
Corporate Role at JPMorgan and Entrepreneurial Balance
00:23:50
Speaker
But yeah, like um I guess like like following up on this, like the previous question, after your success in like the startup world, let's say, um like What led you to kind of transition to a role in JPMorgan and Chase? And how do you think like that this specific the specific background that you have influenced the decision to make this transition as analyst for JPMorgan?
00:24:11
Speaker
So um I actually, most financial firms recruit three years out. So I um interviewed and received my offer, I applied June ah going into my junior year.
00:24:27
Speaker
I applied a year in advance. Heard back that September or October um that I had gotten the role. That was such a great moment. um And I ended up interning for them summer going into my senior year, and I worked in the payments division and on the strategy and planning team. so I would say it's more managing these other product teams. So the team that works with Zelle, a whole bunch of our, yeah, I would say product teams within the payment space, um which was a really fun experience and really learning about the corporate world a little bit more.
00:25:02
Speaker
And then um came back here, really dove into Continual. Fun fact, with IDS, can take six credits um for your, yeah ah towards your business and just work on it So that's what I did senior fall. I took 23 credits.
00:25:22
Speaker
And let me tell you, I worked the bones out of those six credits. I was on my couch every night typing away learning, researching, just trying to grow myself as an entrepreneur and grow my business.
00:25:35
Speaker
By the end of my senior year, I had received the offer for full-time from JPMC um right after my rotation. And I took it because I wasn't sure if I was going to stay, apply out, or continue with Continual.
00:25:47
Speaker
And I would, thank God, but I was at this point in my company where I had my business plan done. I had investors lined up. I had my wireframe. I had my developers. I had really all of my ducks in a row. And it was, do I go to my two-year rotational program, I in which I work three different positions each for the course of eight months for the next two years?
00:26:11
Speaker
Or do i spend the next two years being an entrepreneur? And while I love entrepreneurship so much, I wanted to focus on my career and not just that.
00:26:24
Speaker
ah So sadly, had to just put a pause in it and hopefully i get to pick it back up soon. But I went to the program and it's been an incredible experience. Right now, I'm in wealth management.
00:26:37
Speaker
on in the marketing department on the digital sales team. So we work on our public website, our secure site, so when you're logged in to Chase, and on our mobile app. ah My role specifically focuses on acquisition strategy. So primarily running A-B b tests on our websites and mobile app,
00:26:55
Speaker
um to garner people towards our advisor services and self-directed investing. So right now we're running a test where they seem minor and sometimes I do struggle at work a little bit realizing the impact of what I'm doing because a lot of times it's making slides, making presentations that seem just so tedious and arduous and you're just like, ugh, really? Like, what am I doing?
00:27:19
Speaker
um and the test I'm running currently takes a button off of our homepage, that's it. um But my friend really put it in perspective for me, and I'll circle back to how entrepreneurship and the iSchool really prepared me for this, but my friend really put it perspective. She said, yes, while you're making a slide about this test, this test that you're running, ah even if it's just a button,
00:27:39
Speaker
helps determine a thousand people go to this page or 10,000 people go. Because that's ultimately like what we're testing. ah Like the if efficiency of buttons and nomenclature on them.
00:27:53
Speaker
That also like depends if the firm gets a million dollars or 50 million dollars. don't know. we don't know so really pulling that into perspective and seeing the change that i can bring to the firm but circling back to the classes the i school i feel i felt so incredibly prepared going into my position started in july and i still feel so incredibly prepared i just wrapped up uh the week before last um my interviews we had two weeks to interview this list of managers we were given and so
00:28:27
Speaker
Did the managers, did the follow up. have about 28 interviews in two weeks. and We have a lot of meetings every day. yeah um And I just, I knew how applicable and my skills are because I major, my major was information management technology. I did a minor in innovation design and startups and a concentration in data analytics.
00:28:45
Speaker
When I say these skills are so incredibly marketable, it's actually ridiculous. I did not realize it fully until I was interviewing with these managers and understanding like the needs and the positions and most of them weren't data focused roles or like I really want to go into a product role for my next one we find out tomorrow so fingers crossed. yeah um But how applicable the skills I learned here at the iSchool are from learning how to do Figma when I was building Continual to
00:29:18
Speaker
learning the just the fundamentals of how to identify patterns in data and um understand what it means and drive meaningful change, these managers were going crazy you over it. I shouldn't say that, but the skills are very valuable in the workplace regardless of what position I was applying for. like One was on the real estate team for branch expansion.
00:29:40
Speaker
And they were like, we could use that skill of data analysis. so yeah Long story short, the iSchool majors and minors give you such a breadth of information that you, I will fully say this like wholeheartedly, you as a student cannot fully comprehend how valuable they are from the management we learned, the organization,
00:30:02
Speaker
ah to learning how to do a Gantt chart with Professor Boyd. Like, all of that really are such incredibly useful skills. And I work alongside some incredible other analysts in my program, but a lot of them didn't do anything, or a lot of them don't have the background that an iSchool student does. Yeah.
00:30:22
Speaker
um And they have a wealth of knowledge in other areas. They are such smart people. But i think that's one thing that kind of sets me apart is having that like high school background and understanding the kind of the nuances within tech and especially within the role I currently work.
00:30:39
Speaker
Yeah. I definitely agree. like I think, like for at least for me, I'm very interested in the research sector of things. I'm thinking about like getting my PhD at some point. Very interesting in academics and and just research in general. Oh my gosh. So next time I come on here i'll be calling you doctor is what I'm hearing. Hopefully. Hopefully. That's the dream. yeah And I always tell people I always like like to lead that I'm an aspiring, equitable data scientist.
00:31:04
Speaker
um I'm very passionate. And I've been... like Through my journey here, like just just learning all the skills that I've learned in the ADA program, I've been able to kind of like use a very interdisciplinary way of like programming and thinking about data critically and working in critical data studies and things like that. like i've I've really found like all the skills that I've learned here are so applicable to so many things. And then I have friends that are also ADA and they're like in corporate and they're working for nonprofits or they're doing all these incredible things. I'm like, wow. It opens so many doors. yeah And I think that we were just talking about how like slept on the iSchool is and not knowing about it like when we applied here.
00:31:43
Speaker
it Everybody I meet, I say take a minor in the iSchool, or a concentration or a a major, like anything. you can do in the iSchool is, I think, one of the best things for your career.
00:31:57
Speaker
You learn so much, and ah firms appreciate it. I learned this during graduation, but we I think we're the first iSchool in the country to offer this program. It started about 50 years ago, or but to offer information management technology. Don't quote me on that. They just said that during graduation last year.
00:32:13
Speaker
But genuinely, I reflect on my time here, and the iSchool the best decision second best decision I ever made in my life. The first one was done by 18 year old who wanted to have a good time in college and learn a lot, obviously. And best decision, going to Syracuse. Second best decision, coming to the iSchool.
00:32:34
Speaker
Yeah, it's insane because like, and this just speaks volumes to like the iSchool because like have questions here and like through like one question, like you're answering all the other questions that I'm having.
00:32:45
Speaker
No, but it's like, it's such a phenomenal thing, right? Because like, it's so like deeply connected in parallel to a lot of the things that you like learn here. Literally, you can go into it. Anything. My g ah Gbag, she also was iSchool grad.
00:32:59
Speaker
um She's now working as a cloud engineer. Wow. That's insane. She's doing fantastic in her career, but you can really go into anything. I'm i'm in finance. Never thought that was going to happen. yeah But you can go into entrepreneurship, cloud computing, finance, healthcare. care Especially with the data piece that the iSchool teaches.
00:33:21
Speaker
so helpful and it really prepares you for your career especially in classes like um ist 344 information reporting and presentations while at my job right now we do a completely different style of presentation um just the skills you learn and how you develop as a young professional through the iSchool is unlike something I've ever seen. I always say it's the perfect mix of business and computer science.
00:33:44
Speaker
Yeah, I agree. i really resonate with that. I guess I'd to kind of like conclude our little session here today. I'm like, I have a burning question in mind. Yeah, Because like, I hear you talk so much about like your career, how much has evolved and the pivots and the changes and
Future Aspirations and Advice for Students
00:34:00
Speaker
all that stuff. And I guess like,
00:34:02
Speaker
Do you see your career changing anytime soon? Do you see it evolving more than what it is right now? And if so, do envision like do you envision that as it like a more corporate or a more entrepreneurial route or maybe a little bit of both? I guess I'm curious, like from your trajectory and i like just just getting to know your story right now, i can like it just feels like there's like a lot of like nice yeah yeah Yeah, but it's so exciting because like I feel like every single, like from what it sounds like, every single like turn has been an an an enlightening experience for you. So like what do you what do you think that future looks like for you? So um I finished my program in around a year and a half.
00:34:41
Speaker
um And we place out, so once we complete the program, we place out somewhere else in the firm we apply. So my hope is to stay with the firm once I graduate and and you sat to move abroad for a little bit um i think it's an incredible opportunity that the firm has um so staying with them for a little longer but ultimately i really want to get back to entrepreneurship there's another program that honestly i i think i'm too far along my journey to be applicable for but it's called entrepreneurship first at least suggest people look into it um so hopefully doing that just getting back to my company um
00:35:18
Speaker
a little later, I would say probably in my, don't want call my late twenties, but I'm so old already. I'm 23. Um, but with the twists and turns and I honestly, full transparency started doing this around three weeks ago and I saw it on Tik TOK.
00:35:33
Speaker
Um, and it's really helped cause I don't know if you know, it was all over the news, but JPMC went back full time. RTO returned to office. We used to be hybrid. Um, yeah, so that transition was not the most fun.
00:35:47
Speaker
Um, But yeah, so the mentality, I wake up every single day and I say, today's the best day of my life. I just don't know why yet. And so going throughout my day and just saying like, today's going to be the best day of my life. I just don't know why. You can meet the love of your life at a cafe or hit a new PR in the gym.
00:36:04
Speaker
Just thinking about everything with a positive lens. Because let me tell you, my 10-year plan hates to see me come in considering how many changes. Like I was set. I was like, I know what I'm going to do. I know who I'm going to be at 28. I'm just going to graduated med school. I'm going to in residency.
00:36:20
Speaker
So that all changed. And pretty much eight years of thinking kind of went down the drain. But yeah, I think life has so many opportunities. And I want to be able to do them all. I want to be able to travel. I've lived in New York City. I was born and raised there and Manhattan. I'm back there now.
00:36:38
Speaker
But kind of getting out of the city, seeing more of the world, experiencing more, even our country, experiencing more of that. Just continuing to learn and grow as a person is really what I want to do in the next five to ten years and really making every day the best day of my life. Because I'm i'm here. I'm on a podcast. like how is How could this not be the best day of my life so far? you know It's so cool.
00:36:59
Speaker
um like i recently like heard this saying, and I don't wear it, but it was... it's something along the lines of like it's not a matter of if, it's a matter of when. and it's like i'm like Just hearing your story, like I kind of see you kind of exuding that. I think it's such a such an exciting thing because as a young professional, like um to many high schoolers who perhaps like don't have everything figured out, which I don't think many people have anything I'm not going lie, the second I switched out of pre-med, I had nothing figured out. it's ah When you're in college, it's hard to know what you want to do. yeah I'd say the smartest thing you can be in the high school.
00:37:32
Speaker
tough Get Excel certified. Add to your knowledge area. Continue to learn, continue to grow. yeah But find the resources, find the mentors. Sorry, I keep interrupting. No, no, you're so good.
00:37:45
Speaker
i like i Basically, I'm a liar, and I said that that was the last question, but like this sparked another question that just came to my mind. um So yeah, I'm a liar, so sorry about that. It's okay, me too. but But I'm just like, I really want to know, and I'm sure the audience would really like to know, like, is there there one thing that perhaps was such a big lesson for you that you can share as a piece of advice for many students that are were in similar positions as you, or just also young professionals trying to figure figure the chaos around their lives out? Yeah.
00:38:16
Speaker
um I'll say two things instead of one big thing. um For people that are trying to figure their life out, no one has it. No one has it together. yeah You are not alone.
00:38:28
Speaker
bye understanding like where you might want to learn and where you might want to grow and continuing to do that is the biggest thing. I didn't really know that wanted to be in finance, and now I am. But in the meantime, like working at my company, it's a great experience just really trying to not focus on one thing, but trying to find a path that you might like, whether that's joining a fun club, trying something new.
00:38:54
Speaker
And I think we all try to do that a little bit every day, but especially when you're feeling lost, when you're feeling down, again, realize how far you've come, how successful you've been thus far. And that this isn't a stopping point.
00:39:07
Speaker
It's a chance to grow as a person. So like go to Launchpad. like like Look at that. Go have a conversation with another student. And then the last thing I would say, and the only reason I'm saying this now is because i've really wasn't made aware of this, the FOMO.
00:39:25
Speaker
And I think FOMO is probably the wrong word, but... Like having gone, we we've all gone to school since what, you kindergarten? In August, you're preparing. And I was just starting out my role, sitting in the office, watching online, watching a majority, like a whole bunch of my friends come back to campus, have that fun, feeling the kind of sadness that I'm not going back there, that me and all my friends have graduated, that my time is up, but also...
00:39:50
Speaker
the feeling that it's August, I should be going back to school. Why am I not? Why am I not packing up, heading on up? like That was one thing that I'm not gonna lie. I cried about it a lot.
00:40:02
Speaker
i Just because I had such a great experience here. I loved learning. I loved being close to my friends and having that recognition that I'm not coming back here. um That even if I did,
00:40:14
Speaker
While I still have some friends here, like the community, i mean ah majority of my friends that were my year have graduated or now across the country doing incredible things. I would say that's like one thing that nobody tells you, especially when you're transitioning immediately to a corporate job, that you have a sense of longing and loneliness and missing school, especially because i live on my own.
00:40:38
Speaker
I did get a cat. That helped. love cats. I have three. Yeah. Once we're done with this, we're going to get about cats. But just ah understanding that you are not alone in that feeling, that almost every graduate I've talked to feels that way and also talks about the fact that it's not talked about.
00:40:54
Speaker
ah I would say, like brace yourself for that. Understand that it's a natural part of life. And sometimes moving on takes a little bit longer. And those emotions kind of grip you.
00:41:06
Speaker
but campus is always here and I always love coming back and really supporting as an alum like the iSchool, can still watch games. I'm sorry to end it on such what feels like such a sad depressing note. No it's not. I think like, I don't know, I feel like throughout this whole thing I'm just like really grateful that I've been able to like listen to some of the wisdom that you have to offer ah even even though you're you're so young and you're you're also still figuring out. It's definitely like really inspiring. And I know that for most of the audience, like they will really resonate and yeah to take something out of this podcast today. Oh, I'm happy to hear that.
00:41:39
Speaker
So thank you so much for coming today. Thank you much for having me. And sharing your knowledge. I'm really appreciative. And I'm also really excited to learn more about your cats. Oh my gosh, yeah. Thank you guys for watching. Thank you. We really appreciate your time. Yeah, thank you. Feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn. Yeah, connect. K-A-T-Y-A-R-O-N-S. And follow the iSchool on all social media.
00:41:57
Speaker
Follow the iSchool. yeah. Thank all. Thank you.