Sixth & Daniel

Mina joined our psychology program with the intent of pursuing the clinical path. When an exciting part time job opportunity entered her life, she was met with a choice to continue that path, or move toward a career in research for a large name brand company...

We also talked about the most recent Homecoming celebration, emojis, and a surprising find in the "horror" genre.

Mina became a guest on the show through networking on our GroupMe platform. If you are interested in checking it out, register through this link https://groupme.com/join_group/112018511/w7DfKiku

I work with a lot of alumni in my position, and one of the phrases I hear most often is, "Is Gary still with the department?"

I'm not looking forward to answering, "no," going forward...

We are all happy that Gary is finally taking a much needed break after 26+ years leading up our talented advising team. Even if we will miss his presence in the building.

We got together over Zoom one more time for an unedited, unfiltered, and awkward audio laden chat.

Enjoy these ten questions with Gary.

Jimena was kind enough pause her studies during finals week to chat.

She is the sitting President of our Psychology Leaders group in the final year of her undergraduate degree.

We reviewed a productive and fun year of activities, presentations, workshops, and stress relievers...while also taking time to anticipate the upcoming summer break!

AI is THE hot topic in all walks of life these days. So, I found an alum who "empowers people to confidently champion AI technology."

Erica is a self starting entrepreneur who founded "Nerdette Ventures," a beacon of light for women who are underrepresented in tech.

Now she has 3 apps in development, strong opinions on chocolate chips, and nothing but love for Illini hoops.

Keep an eye out for "Warrior Walkup" in the app store to maximize your child's plate appearance.

This season, the plan is to expand the content of the podcast and feature more students, organizations, faculty, and staff.

I figured the perfect start would be to focus on UIUC's Undergraduate Psychology Journal, "Psych Bites."

We spoke with Jess Chen and Hannah Lamb about the creation, evolution, and focus of this exciting new project.

Listen to how you can consume and/or get involved!

*Spoiler Alert* Following on Instagram is the best first step. :)

https://www.instagram.com/psychbites.uiuc/

Sitting down with Brittany reminded me that a job doesn't have to be work. She is an accomplished keynote speaker, panelist, and frequent podcast guest. She could've steered the ship on her own.

I loved hearing about how she sculpted her path out of the gate. Collaborating with our amazing advising staff, Brittany knew exactly what she wanted to do and checked all the boxes to get them done. Using that same determination, she started her own LLC that offers the services that feature her greatest strengths.

All while self-publishing her book on the side, "The Things I Wish I Knew: A Millennial's Guide To Learning The Mental And Emotional Concepts The School System And Our Parents Didn’t Teach Us." https://www.amazon.com/Things-Wish-Knew-Millennials-Emotional/dp/B0997SN3CW

Brittany warned me at the beginning that she loves to talk. I had the pleasure of being invited to listen.

"Sometimes you gotta learn to roll..."

I had an enjoyable time talking with Eli, and when we finished on that quote, it really summed everything up perfectly.

Eli is one of those guys that rolls with it. He has accomplished so much in his career while balancing a lot on his plate, but the way he describes it all in such an easygoing manner, it almost seems effortless—and we all know it was anything but that.

Tune in to hear about finishing grad school while raising a family, then taking that plan halfway around the world and back again. Then, continuing to expand his thirst for psychology while pushing forward a thriving business, all while still trying to learn how to surf. :)

I may have also inadvertently scored a news scoop! Keep an eye on dedoose.com...

Katie Glaser is a Senior Innovation Manager with a well-established career in brand management with some powerhouse companies.

In this episode, we discuss how her interest in I/O psychology, specifically the Emotional Labor Lab, sculpted her interest in matching psychology with marketing.

Plus, the observations of the perfect sandwich, favorite emojis, and the complex nature of cereal mascots.

Amanda Fitts held a narrow focus when choosing where she went to college. Ultimately, it led to the UIUC Psych program and one course taught by Eva Pomerantz.

Now she is currently the College and Career Counselor of Oak Park High School in California, and opening a world of opportunities to her students.

Plus, giving our host a few playlist pointers during the "Fast Five"...

Tom Haig visited the University of Illinois to consider joining the diving team and stayed because of the educational opportunity.

After graduation, Tom and his brother took a unique trip to Italy, and they made "The Bridge to Venice Rule." The focus is on taking the more difficult route in life to live it to the fullest. After traveling the world as a professional diver, Tom was in an unfortunate biking accident that left him paralyzed from the waist down.

In this episode, we discuss all of this and more because the rule is still in effect, and Tom has not slowed down while he still treks the globe as a public speaker, documentarian, and consultant.

Due to time constraints, I had to leave out some of his adventures, including his Mas Bravos Award while Cliff Diving in Acapulco, a brief "prison stint," and his tours in Dubai and Oman...

You'll find all of that goodness and then some in his book "Global Nomad."

https://wsupress.wsu.edu/product/global-nomad/

Recently, our Master of Science in Psychological Science (MSPS) program introduced a Psych Peer Mentoring service.

Expanding the range of guests on the podcast, I scheduled some of the students to come on and discuss the origin of the service, some advice from the topics they specialize in sharing, getting over the hump of seeking and contacting a mentor, and plans for the future...plus some cooking skills and theme music...because this is Sixth & Daniel.

There are tentative plans to keep the program running, so I will definitely check back soon!

Check out the homepage for reference. They are doing excellent work.

https://sites.google.com/illinois.edu/psychpeermentors/home

I officially checked off another "first" on the podcast guest list. Nikki is my first psychology alum who also works at UIUC!

I met Nikki years back during my previous career, and it was a pleasure to cross her path again.

We discussed her college days and figuring out where her career would lead. During the interview, she introduced me to the term "wandering student." I feel that is a WONDERFUL way to describe the experience of finding one's place in the world.

That journey led her to a perfect fit of using that expertise and perspective while helping out current students at The Career Center.

The Career Center is an amazing resource that both students and alumni can benefit from. I've wanted to learn more about it myself, so I'm glad this opportunity came up—after we talked about Candyland, four-day work weeks, and the benefits of spoons, of course.

I am thrilled to be joined by rockstar Communicator and Change Analyst Amisha Shah.

We dig deeper into some of the unique responsibilities from various Human Resources angles.

Right before we hit our record date, Amisha learned that her company was downsizing its workforce by over one thousand employees.

We dive into that lifestyle change and still have time to lighten the mood chatting about personal theme music, feel-good movies, and...chores?

We are staying warm in the new year with a fresh episode featuring Jocelyn Nelson LCPC.

Jocelyn joined us as a guest in a previous Alumni Career Panel and really made a splash, so it was natural to have her back to expand her thoughts and experiences.

On this episode we discuss...the pros and cons of private practice and telehealth, plus selecting a masters program and the UIUC Study Abroad Program...and as always, in S&D fashion...we break down Super Bowl snacks and creating a beach zen vibe while it is snowing out.

If you are on Instagram please follow Jocelyn @therapist_in_chicago

You'll be glad you did.

I am excited to have Bryan finally on the podcast. He was one of our highly insightful guests in our Virtual Alumni Panel Series.

I learned about his plans to attend the UIUC Psych program since middle school!

This level of planning and preparation spilled into his other career choices, including acquiring a PsyD as opposed to a more traditional PhD route and his selection of Rehabilitation Psychology as a focus.

Per usual, we do go a bit off-topic and hit the Thanksgiving table while sporting the most formal mullet.

If any current students are curious about any of the topics we discussed today, Dr. Kolberg has made himself available to chat via email BryanKolbergPsyD@gmail.com.

Jacob Triplett graduated in 2021, so this was my first time speaking with a NEW member of our alumni family.

He is a Senior HR Manager for Proctor and Gamble and is eager to establish a psych grad pipeline to that well-established company.

We talked about recruiting on the campus, what it is like working for such a huge place of business, his time working for the UIUC Career Center and the services they provide, RomComs, being a student during COVID, and the most powerful dinner party of all time.

We packed a lot in. Enjoy!

If you are a current student and wish to reach out to Jacob about anything we discussed, email him at triplett.j.1@pg.com

Amy Charvat pops by Sixth & Daniel to give insight into the world of Occupational Therapy.

We discuss her decision to step out of her comfort zone in choosing a bigger university than initially planned, plus how she overcame her struggles to find a sense of family and routine in a new place.

Through the "Fast Five," we also cover aromatics, summer trips, and the balance of honesty vs. kindness.

Keeping it close to home once again with our latest guest, Matt Difanis. After leaving the halls of Sixth & Daniel, Matt pursued his law degree while becoming a practicing Realtor. We delve into how his work in real estate has evolved since then, especially his work with teaching courses on implicit bias and his role in eliminating housing discrimination.

Plus, we get into a local lesser-known ice cream treat, recreating "The Never Ending Story" and the transformation of campus into a micro-urban setting.

Be sure to follow us on your favorite social media channel @psychillinois.

It is time to kick off the new year with new guests! Dr. Dohleman joined me to discuss her career path from UIUC to huge groundbreaking companies like Nike and AbbVie...spoiler alert...it all started at a job fair on campus!

We tap into her upcoming talk discussing how industry trends are defining the workplace of the future.

Plus, a Fast Five section filled with the Harry Potter universe, football's Birthday, and the American songbook.

Please leave a 5-star rating on the service you are listening to if you like what you hear. It will continue to help the show grow. Thanks!

My first "townie" guest! I had the pleasure of talking with Lisa Sullivan, the Director of Marketing and Communication for "Salt & Light."

We kick things off in a "normal" fashion...discussing scary movies, the pains of menu planning, and famous lunch guests.

We then settled into what it is like to return to the workforce after taking time off to raise a family, the depths of how Salt & Light serves the community, and her unique perspective of campus life as a student, townie, and mother.