video series: Real People Real Jobs
A unique and authentic video series of interviews I have done that showcase different individuals in every day careers helping to expose youth to the many possibilities out there
I had the opportunity to have a candid and informal interview with Percy McGee, Senior Financial Advisor at Merrill Lynch Wealth Management. He explains the pathway to his career and shares his passion and excitement for the field. He emphasizes that this career can be attainable for anyone who likes interacting with people.
In this interview, I speak with Chris, a Structural Engineer and Architect, who works for the City Planning Department. We learn how a hobby led him to pursue engineering at Cal Poly. He shares the pros and cons of his career and recommends it for anyone who is interested in how buildings are put together.
Dr. Truhe shares with me his unconventional path to Dentistry. He encourages students who are detail oriented, enjoy interacting with people and like to work with their hands to pursue the career. There are no real internships in the field. If interested, he suggests shadowing a dentist to get an idea if the career is the right one for you. Even though dental school may be expensive, his advise would be to go through the military scholarship program which would allow good experience in the early part of ones career.
Informative videos
High school students and even kids of ages as young as 8 can benefit from exposure to financial literacy. Olivia Raymond is one such student who feels that taking financial literacy courses will allow her to better manage her finance goals for college and beyond! Students who live in states that have not yet passed legislation for requiring financial literacy, such as Maryland, feel they are missing out on truly valuable information that could help their future.
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Financial Literacy is an extremely important topic, if not the most important topic that makes us successful, but is barely taught in our school system. The reporter mentions that Black Americans significantly lack knowledge of important finance topics like saving, investing, earning, borrowing.lagging behind the knowledge that whites know. In addition, only 4% of low income students are required to take a financial literacy class in school, which means that people have to do their own research in order to learn Financial Literacy. The reporter also gives free online resources, for example, Council for Economic Education and Next Gen Personal Finance, to help provide more importance into understanding Financial Literacy. Thus, it is crucial to be able to advocate for yourself and fight for what you need, as leaning how to control your finances is a skill that everyone needs to survive and be successful in life.
Mr. Chanthanouvong explains the need for financial awareness and education in immigrant communities. We learn how members of the Lao community progressed from government assistance to holding 1-2 jobs per adult family member thus improving socioeconomically and affording a home, cars etc. However they did not plan or save and when the 2008 recession caused them to lose their jobs, they were unprepared.