December 5, 2024 • 37 mins
My Focolare Path
What if you could align your professional journey with your deepest values and make a genuine impact on society? Loretta Rauschuber's story offers insights into this possibility. With a background in software engineering, Loretta embarked on a transformative journey that led her from the bustling tech scene of Rome to a leadership role in the Economy of Communion. Her logical mindset and passion for fostering community relationships have driven her to collaborate with over 800 businesses worldwide, each contributing to the integration of business with social responsibility. Loretta's narrative is one of career shifts, personal growth, and fulfillment, as she shares her involvement with the Focolare Movement and the decision to embrace a life of unity and service to others.
Throughout the episode, we explore Loretta's multifaceted career path, highlighting unexpected opportunities and the profound impact of aligning one's career with personal values. From her early days as a director of IT at a young age to her pivotal role at Osram Corporation and eventual commitment to the Focolare Movement, Loretta's journey is inspiring. She discusses the inner struggles and the clarity found through faith and reasoning, which led her to a life dedicated to community service. Her story emphasizes the importance of unity and the profound freedom that comes with committing to a collective purpose.
Listeners are encouraged to reflect on their potential beyond formal education and job titles, exploring passions that extend beyond their professions. Loretta's passion for illustrating art, inspired by a courageous young girl battling bone cancer, also adds depth to her story, showcasing how creativity and empathy can enrich both personal and professional endeavors. Her work with the Economy of Communion underscores a commitment to transforming businesses through communal and altruistic principles, offering a blueprint for those seeking personal fulfillment and broader societal impact. This episode is a rich tapestry of insights for anyone looking to align their career with their values and make a meaningful contribution.
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Episode Transcript
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Loretta Rauschuber (00:00):
You know it was actually I guess it was my
logical software engineer mindthat was saying hey, wait a
minute, this doesn't logicallymake sense.
What are you doing?
And I questioned it in thereverse and in that question I
just said, oh, this reallydoesn't make sense, this is not.
(00:20):
And so I said I'm leaving.
And I really literally startedpacking my bags and was ready to
leave and I couldn't put myfoot out that door and that's.
It was like that's when I said,oh, then this must really be a
call.
So it became very logicallyclear that this was my vocation.
Yeah.
Daniel Koo (00:43):
Welcome back to my Perfect Path, the podcast where
we talk to people with uniquecareers to uncover the lessons
that shape their journeys.
I'm your host, daniel Koo, andtoday's episode is called my
Folkloric Path.
The word folkloric comes fromItalian meaning hearth or family
, and it's the name of a globalmovement dedicated to building
unity and fostering dialogueacross communities, cultures and
professions.
It's also been a centralinfluence in the life of today's
(01:05):
guest, loretta Rauscherber.
Loretta is an accountant and aleader in the Economy of
Communion, a global initiativeinspired by the principles of
Folkloric that focuses onaligning business with social
impact.
Her story is remarkable, fromgrowing up in a small Texas town
to having a 17-year softwareengineering career in Rome and
now balancing her work with adeep commitment to community and
(01:29):
service.
In this episode, loretta shareshow she made bold decisions to
follow her passions, navigatebig career shifts and find
meaning and happiness in herlife.
If you've ever wondered how totake risks, embrace change or
align your career with yourvalues, loretta's story will
inspire you.
Hope you enjoy the episode.
Welcome to my Perfect Path.
(01:49):
I'm thrilled to have you hereJust to kick us off.
What is your current role andwhat is kind of like the current
state of your career?
Loretta Rauschuber (01:58):
Right now, my day job I'm working as an
accountant for an elementaryschool in Pacific Palisades,
california, and one thing thatI'm very passionate about is my
work with an organization calledthe Economy of Communion.
It's entrepreneur-based, butit's actually for everyone
Everyone who's—we all somehoware associated with business, so
(02:22):
it's how business can have avery close relationship with
those who are vulnerable, and Ijust love that.
And then also, one thing that Ipicked up during the pandemic
was illustrating art.
Yeah, illustrating books.
So, yeah, it's something Ireally enjoy.
Daniel Koo (02:40):
So you recently published something, is that
right?
Loretta Rauschuber (02:43):
Yeah, I did.
I was inspired by the story ofa young girl in Italy she was 19
years old when she died of bonecancer and the way she lived
her illness at the time of herdeath.
It went viral on the Internetand it was very attractive and I
said I want to illustrate herlife.
And there were so many verywarm, sincere moments that were
(03:06):
very meaningful in her life thatthere were no photos for.
So I chose those and I said Iwant to illustrate that.
I want to illustrate so peoplecan see what that moment looked
like.
Daniel Koo (03:16):
Yeah, Wow, that's beautiful.
Tell us more about the Economyof Communion and tell us about
the scale of that organizationand how it operates.
Like what kind of businesses doyou connect with?
Loretta Rauschuber (03:30):
Yeah, and a lot of them were interested in
working with startups.
Because the economy ofcommunion, we say it starts with
a gift, Like there's a gift ora mechanism of giving in
business.
That's one thing that weembrace, Like what is the gift
going to be?
And so we also practice it asan organization and we feel like
(03:50):
with startups, there's so muchwe can help them with, like
getting their branding done,their logos, helping them get
into the market.
So we work a lot with startups.
But also the vast majority aremedium and small entrepreneurs
and there again it's people thatare looking for meaning.
They're looking for somethingbeyond even social
(04:13):
entrepreneurship.
They're looking for thoserelationships, and so it's very
people-oriented.
Every decision you make, it'sthe person's at the center of
the decision and it seems to bethat missing piece, like that
relationship.
It's not just making a lot ofmoney and then giving away some
of it to the poor.
Well, do you know that person?
(04:33):
Do they come to your house?
Are they your friend?
One entrepreneur he only hireshomeless men.
That's his giving, hismechanism of giving.
He only hires homeless men.
That's his giving, hismechanism of giving.
And the very first homeless manthat he hired after 15 years of
business, did hospice on hisliving room couch, Like this was
(04:54):
his friend, this was his closefriend, and so, entering into
that messiness and I thinkthat's something that's very
attractive Like are we willingto be there by the person in
that time of vulnerability?
And yeah, so it's somethingthat is very key to the economy
of communion and what wepractice.
Daniel Koo (05:13):
So you're kind of in charge of the entire
organization, is that right?
Loretta Rauschuber (05:16):
You could say that, yeah, I'm the
president of the organizationcurrently in the United States
and Canada, and we are basicallyall over the world, so in Asia,
in Africa it's big in Africaand South America big in South
America and we're all connectedtoo.
It's like one family, it reallyis a sense of family, and there
(05:39):
again, it's because it's allabout relationships, so even
relationships among us, andeverything we decide, everything
we do.
It's like when I make thatdecision, am I basing it off of
the people that are around me?
Even like a competitor?
My competitor is my friend.
Daniel Koo (06:01):
It's not you know.
It's about how big is theorganization right now.
Loretta Rauschuber (06:04):
Like worldwide, I would say maybe 800
to 900 businesses that work,that actually embrace this, all
the practices and, you know, theprinciples of the economy of
community, about 800 maybe.
Daniel Koo (06:19):
Wow.
Loretta Rauschuber (06:19):
It's hard to count because it's so fluctual
and also with the pandemicthings shifted so much so we're
still trying to catch up withnumbers, but yeah.
Daniel Koo (06:29):
How do you manage that with the day job that you
have?
Loretta Rauschuber (06:32):
I think it's driven by passion.
Yeah, like passion, you findtime.
You find time to do what youreally love.
Yeah.
Daniel Koo (06:41):
Could you tell us a little bit about where you grew
up and what kind of upbringingyou had?
Loretta Rauschuber (06:46):
I grew up in a very small town, a farm
community in Central Texas,where agriculture we raised
cotton and corn.
Basically, both of mygrandparents were farmers.
They had big farms.
So we grew up, yeah, with fruitand vegetables and farms and
yeah, so in a very small town.
(07:07):
So I never, ever thought I wasgoing to leave my hometown.
You grow up there, you getmarried there and you already
know where you're going to beburied, and so I just yeah,
that's small town mentality also, so that's kind of what I
thought my life was going to be.
Daniel Koo (07:24):
Yeah, I think through this episode we're going
to reveal how you kind of wentto Europe, came back to the
United States.
It's really incredible how youwere able to kind of break out
of that mentality of staying atyour hometown and go as far as
you know Europe to have asoftware engineering career and
coming back, going through allthese transitions to become who
(07:45):
you are right now.
So I'm really excited to kindof dig into that.
So right now you're anaccountant at a elementary
school.
How did you kind of get there?
What was the stage right beforethat?
Loretta Rauschuber (07:56):
So right before my career as an
accountant it was a career shift.
You could say Most of my adultprofessional life I did software
engineering.
I was a software engineer atUSC and before that in Rome I
worked 17 years for aninternational headquarters as a
(08:19):
software engineer and, kind oflike, laid a foundation, put
together the whole foundationfor an IT shop.
You would say, yeah.
Daniel Koo (08:27):
Did you have any sort of experience with
accounting before?
Was there any education ortraining?
Loretta Rauschuber (08:33):
Yeah, so I have a degree in accounting and
a degree in computer science,and so that's where a lot of my,
even a lot of the software thatI wrote was often financial
software accounting softwarebecause I had that business
background.
Daniel Koo (08:50):
also, how did you decide to transition into
becoming an accountant?
I feel like if you've alreadybeen in software so long, it
would be very difficult to evenimagine doing a career shift.
Loretta Rauschuber (09:01):
Actually, I loved software engineering.
You're also a software engineerand I think you might identify
with this, especially like thevery first years in my 20s.
You create something fromnothing.
You're creating something fromnothing, and so it's very
powerful.
Also, it's exponential becauseyou're dealing with technology
(09:24):
and so it creates like thispassion and this drive, and if
you're not careful you can getcarried away with it, and I
think that's a little bit ofwhat I loved about software.
I think one thing that a commondenominator in everything in the
different careers I've had, Iwas always very attracted to
finding a way to help the personnext to me, Like, for example,
(09:47):
at USC I always did thefinancial.
So in the payroll departmentthey were struggling with
something.
I said let me help you figureout and let me help you do this
quicker and better and with lesseffort, and let's solve the
problem.
You know, also in softwareengineering you have to be
careful.
If you're good at it, youreduce the workload, and if you
(10:11):
can't figure that out, you canactually create more work for
people with your software.
And so you have to know that,and I think I was driven by I
want to help them with theirneeds.
Daniel Koo (10:22):
Let's talk about where you started and the
education background that youhad to help them with their
needs.
Yeah, let's talk about you knowwhere you started and kind of
the education background thatyou had.
So you mentioned that you havethe two degrees.
Where was that and when wasthat?
Loretta Rauschuber (10:34):
So they're both associate degrees at a
simple small community collegein Waco, texas.
Daniel Koo (10:42):
Were those like two-year.
Loretta Rauschuber (10:44):
They were two-year programs and I don't
think I had a lot of self-esteem, like you know.
I thought that's all I can do,and all my siblings went to
universities and I didn't.
And then, little by little, Istarted discovering my potential
.
And one thing that became verymeaningful in that whole
(11:05):
discovery was it's not so muchthe degree and the title that I
had, but how I was able to fullyuse it to its full potential
and go beyond even peopleperhaps that studied a lot more
and were not able to hone somuch out of it.
You know like I felt, like Ireally used it to the fullest,
(11:26):
yeah.
Daniel Koo (11:26):
Did you have this kind of thought when you were
getting that degree, or was thiskind of later?
Loretta Rauschuber (11:32):
No, actually I was dating the person I felt
I was going to live the rest ofmy life with.
I was in love and my firstdegree I was very focused on
getting it, but the seconddegree was I was basically just
waiting for him to finish school.
So I said, well, I'm at it,I'll get another degree.
So the whole concept.
Now, looking back on it, thereis much more because I'm using
(11:55):
it right now and I love what I'mdoing as an accountant also,
and so it was a gift.
It was an extra gift that maybethe reasoning behind it was
very simple you would say, butnow I'm very happy that I had
that and again I felt like Iused it fully.
Daniel Koo (12:15):
So, right after you got those degrees, what was your
first job?
What did you do to kick offyour career?
Loretta Rauschuber (12:21):
The very first job I had actually was
while I was still in school.
I was still getting my degreeand I worked.
I wrote software for a turkeyproduction plant.
They produced turkey yeah.
In Central Texas.
It was a huge plant and I did Iwrote software for them.
Daniel Koo (12:39):
How was working for them?
Was it like a very luxuriousjob or was it kind of difficult
because they had a lot ofrequirements Like what was your
experience?
Loretta Rauschuber (12:49):
I think I just really enjoyed software
engineering and so, being that,the job itself was enjoyable, I
think the context was secondaryin that moment.
I worked there maybe a year andthen right away I got a job at
an oil company in Texas, a smalloil and propane company, and
(13:10):
there I was already.
I remember I was 19 years oldand they asked me to be the
director of IT, and I knew theywouldn't, just by discretion,
they wouldn't ask my age, and soI just remember saying, oh
please, that they don't ask myage until I turn 20.
At least it sounds more than 19.
So I already started working asa director of IT at 19.
(13:33):
And for this company.
I worked there for severalyears.
Daniel Koo (13:38):
When you were kind of working as a software
engineer in Texas.
What were your career dreams orgoals?
Software engineer in Texas.
What were your career dreams orgoals?
Did you have like a big idea inmind, or were you just trying
to get everything started and oryou just enjoyed coding so you
just wanted to keep doing that?
Loretta Rauschuber (13:54):
Well, if you think about it, at 19, I was
already a director of the ITdepartment, so I it was kind of
like it came to me.
I didn't really look for it andI loved it.
I loved, you know, also themanagement part of it.
I loved the creativity, how,again, I could help people.
(14:14):
I could do a lot with theposition I was in and again I
was driven by that idea ofhelping, reducing the workflow,
making work a little lessdifficult for people.
So I loved it.
But I really didn't go outlooking for it, it just came to
me.
Daniel Koo (14:33):
Wow, that's interesting.
I kind of resonate with you onthe idea of you like coding so
much that the context doesn'tmatter.
If I talk to any one of myfriends from college, everyone's
like that.
Maybe it's just a trait forengineering, where you really
like working with those systems,making things more efficient,
automating things so much sothat it doesn't really matter
(14:56):
what you're working on.
Obviously, if it does somethingthat you care about, it's
amazing.
But I think that's aninteresting trait to have as an
engineer, maybe even forsoftware as well.
So, after working as the ITdirector, what was your next
step?
Loretta Rauschuber (15:15):
Then I moved to New York and I got a job at
Osram Corporation.
It was a German company thatproduces light bulbs and it was
very closely related to theengineering department.
It was almost part of theengineering department, the way
they had it set up and yeah, wasthere a reason why you moved to
New York and got this new job?
(15:36):
Yeah, I would say I would havevery happily stayed in Texas and
worked for the oil company thatI was working for, but there
was something inside of me thatI guess you would even say a
call.
I got to know in those yearswhen I actually first started
working as the director of thiscompany.
I got to know the spiritualityof unity, which is animated by
(15:59):
the Focolare movement, and again, I wasn't looking for it, but
it seemed to find me.
But I really felt like, oh mygosh, this is something I want
to give my life for, unity.
And it just seemed likeeverywhere I looked that there's
a need for unity.
And this was a few years back.
(16:20):
And I can see even now, evenmore so, like, if you look at
our world today, our country,our cities, there's a need for
unity.
Daniel Koo (16:30):
Yeah, so Could you tell us a little bit more about
the Focolari movement?
One of our previous guests,Clara, was also a part of it.
I think it'd be good to kind ofset up context for the
listeners.
Loretta Rauschuber (16:41):
The Folkloric movement began in 1943
.
It was during World War II, inTrent, italy.
It was a small group of girls,12, 13 girls and they were all
ages 14 to 23, so very young,and they all had dreams for
their life.
That's the age you dream andyou start saying this is what I
(17:03):
want to be.
And the war, their dreamscrumbled, all of them, all of
them.
One wanted to get married andhave a wonderful home.
Another wanted to go to college.
All the colleges were closedand in that process they said
well, there's got to besomething.
There's got to be somethingthat no bomb will destroy.
And in their quest theyrealized it's God, like the only
(17:28):
thing you know is God, thatnothing can destroy.
And very, almost you could sayalmost logically.
But they were saying oh, so ifthat's it, then we want to give
our lives for God.
And that was the seed, like thebeginning, of what became the
Folkloric Movement.
And I guess one of their first,like an episode, they would go
(17:48):
to air raid shelters even 11times a day, because the heavy
bombing Trent was heavily bombedduring World War II and they
just happened to pick up a bookand bring it with them, and it
was the gospel and they openedit up.
And there's that prayer.
It's the very last prayer thatJesus prayed before he died and
(18:09):
they also.
They felt very attracted to it.
They didn't even quite know why, but the prayer, basically,
jesus is saying, father, he'spraying to the Father.
He says Father, that all may beone.
And they felt that that's whatthey were born for.
And little by little they saidyou know, we don't know how to
do this, we don't know whatunity is supposed to look like.
So they asked Jesus.
(18:35):
They said you know, use me, useme.
Daniel Koo (18:37):
And I think that was a little bit of what I felt
that day in my own small measure.
You know, use me for unity,yeah Wow.
That day in my own smallmeasure, you know, used me for
unity, yeah Wow.
I think that obviously was avery big part of your life and I
think we'll see a little bitmore as well how it impacts your
life throughout your career,and you know kind of explain how
you ended up at this place inLA as well.
So Folkloric was a big part ofthe reason why you moved to New
York and to work for this Germancompany.
(18:58):
Did you have a plan to maybemove to bigger and bigger
companies or kind of what wasyour thoughts about career at
that moment?
Loretta Rauschuber (19:06):
Well, actually, while I was there in
New York working for OsramCorporation we're talking about
light bulbs and so two years ina row, I was there only three
years.
Two of those three years weactually had Oscar priorities
Because the company as a companywhich means the whole team we
(19:26):
were given an Oscar.
We were awarded an Oscar for alight bulb that actually helped
actors.
It showed a light that lookedvery similar to sunlight, but it
wasn't hot, so they weren'tsweating as much, and so we got
an award two years in a row forour light bulbs.
And so we had these huge Oscarparties at work and here
(19:49):
everybody gets to take a picturewith the Oscar.
Daniel Koo (19:52):
Wow, that's amazing.
Loretta Rauschuber (19:53):
Yeah, and it was just, and you really felt
this sense of it took a team tomake that light bulb, and you
really felt this sense of ittook a team to make that light
bulb, you know.
So there again, I wasn't reallylooking for something, and that
again kind of showed up in mylife.
You know, it was beautiful, Ienjoyed it.
It wasn't the most importantthing in my life, though, either
.
Yeah, definitely wasn't.
Daniel Koo (20:13):
Yeah, so tell us a little bit about what you were
thinking in New York as far asnext steps.
You know you obviously wanted afamily, but what kind of led
you to Europe?
Loretta Rauschuber (20:24):
One thing also maybe a parenthesis that's
important to note is with thevocation I have in the Focolari.
It completely aligns withcontinuing with a professional
career, but the career wasalways there and it was very
meaningful and very fulfillingand it was definitely a part of
what I felt called to.
(20:45):
However, there was this otherpart of me that I really felt a
passion for, which was unity andthe many expressions and the
ways I could live that.
So when I went to New York, Itook like a giant step, like
here I was.
I was, you know, making plansto get married and now I said,
(21:07):
let me try this, let me, I don'tknow.
I just had like a doubt insideof me and it was like, well,
what if you're really called toa life in community, you know,
where you can witness unity 24-7?
And it was just a tiny littlequestion.
And you know I was alreadymaking plans.
Like here, you know, I've gotmy whole life planned.
(21:27):
I'm going to have a bunch ofkids, and because I grew up in a
big family and I just it was sorich for me that I just said,
you know, I would want that formy children.
And so you know, I was alreadymaking all these plans and there
was something inside of me thatsaid well, that doubt, that
doubt that you have inside ofyou, can you live with that for
the rest of your life?
(21:48):
So I left my boyfriend and Imade it like a deal with God.
I know we're not supposed tomake deals with God.
If marriage is the thing thatyou really want from me, I guess
there, and even if you justlisten to that question, it's
like I realized God chooses usand then we can say yes or no.
It's not like we pick andchoose a vocation, right.
(22:09):
And so there I said, if this iswhat you've chosen for me
marriage then I know, if I givethis up, you know, for you, you
will, you know there'll besomething even better down the
road.
And so with that I don't knowthat courage or, if you want to
call it faith or whatever, Idon't know what it was.
But I said I need to just lookinto this, you know.
(22:34):
And I had no clue what it was,and I ended up consecrating my
life to God in the Focolaremovement.
It's a very small percentage ofpeople in the Focolare who
actually take that type ofradical step.
So New York was like that stepof discernment, like I went
(22:56):
there with a question, so whatwas the answer?
And after about a year Irealized this was, it was really
a call, it was a vocation.
And the next step, once Irealized that this is a life I
want to lead, this is the yes Iwant to say.
The next step is actually to goto a small town outside of
(23:16):
Florence, italy, for formation,and there's formation, education
.
So yeah, then I ended up movingto Florence.
Daniel Koo (23:23):
Yeah, oh wow.
So I guess your kind ofstruggle or pivoting point in
New York was very big in yourlife.
I think that was a very bigdecision.
What kind of decision criteriadid you have?
Like, did you?
You know it must have beendifficult to have this massive
life change and trying to adjustto a new country you're already
so far away from home, likewhat kind of pushed you over the
(23:46):
edge and said do you want tocommit to this?
Loretta Rauschuber (23:49):
You know it was actually I guess it was my
logical software engineer mindthat was saying hey, wait a
minute, this doesn't logicallymake sense.
What are you doing?
And I questioned it in thereverse and in that question I
just said, oh, this reallydoesn't make sense, this is not.
(24:09):
And so I said I'm leaving.
And I really literally startedpacking my bags and was ready to
leave and I couldn't put myfoot out that door and that's.
It was like that's when I said,oh, then this must really be a
call.
So it became very logicallyclear that this was my vocation.
Yeah.
Daniel Koo (24:28):
So you go to Europe in Italy, was it?
Loretta Rauschuber (24:32):
It was in Italy, in Florence, Italy.
Daniel Koo (24:34):
What were you doing there?
I understand you went throughsome sort of program.
Could you tell us what thatprogram was for and what was the
purpose?
Loretta Rauschuber (24:45):
So it is formal formation to become a
focal arena.
That would be the vocation andwe would study for half a day
moral theology, sociology, thedoctrine of the Catholic Church,
and while I was there that'swhat we studied, and then half a
day we would work.
But the real formation, youcould say, was living with women
(25:05):
from all over the world.
And in your daily life, whatdoes unity look like?
Are you willing to give up Ifthe measure is ready?
To give my life, am I willingto give up my culture?
Am I willing to give up?
And when you strip yourself ofeverything, you realize you're
free.
There's just this immensefreedom from letting go of
(25:28):
everything that and everythingyou are to be there for the
other person.
It's not an emptiness to beempty.
It's an emptiness to fillyourself with the other person.
Daniel Koo (25:41):
Yeah.
So it seems like it's kind oflike a training ground to kind
of become more of an integratedmember of the Folkloric Movement
.
Loretta Rauschuber (25:48):
That's correct.
Yeah, this is formal formationfor those who live in community
life in the Folkloric.
Daniel Koo (25:55):
I can see how Folkloric Movement has really
integrated into your life.
By this point, you said youworked as well.
What was your job and career,your life?
By this point, you said youworked as well.
Loretta Rauschuber (26:04):
What was your job and career?
So afternoon work hours I spentin a small art shop and I
actually practiced my art.
Yeah, I honed my skills in manyways.
Daniel Koo (26:17):
just different things painting, crafts, just
anything to do with art yeah,designing designing designs for
some of the other work, so Iguess you took a break from
software engineering for alittle bit during that period.
When did that come back for you?
Loretta Rauschuber (26:33):
Then after that three-year period, I moved
to Rome and I worked at theFocal Aries headquarters for 17
years as a software engineer andI was asked to actually from
zero put together an IT shop andso also the server farm, the
networking and yeah.
Daniel Koo (26:53):
Did you have any experience doing that in the
past or was it kind of?
You know, you were buildingyour skills as you go.
Loretta Rauschuber (27:00):
I had some experience.
I had already worked at thatpoint several years in the
United States, and I think therewas this kind of notion that if
you're a software engineer thenyou can kind of do everything.
Daniel Koo (27:12):
That's very true.
Loretta Rauschuber (27:13):
And it's not true, but that was the
expectation, or that was whatpeople thought, and so you ended
up doing it and learning it.
But and again, a little bit ofwhat you said you know you also
enjoy tech, and so I enjoyed itwhile I learned.
Yeah.
Daniel Koo (27:31):
During those 17 years, did you ever think about
going to a different job or adifferent kind of career?
Loretta Rauschuber (27:36):
No, I didn't .
I wasn't looking for somethingelse.
Daniel Koo (27:41):
So previously you've worked at you know several
different companies, but thisone you stuck for 17 years.
It's hard to believe that youhad, you know, constant growth
and engagement to keep youinterested.
Was there anything that changedin the middle or did you do a
lot of different kind of typesof software engineering?
Loretta Rauschuber (27:58):
Actually, the anchor that kept me there,
without even considering, wasthat Kara Lubick, who is the
founder of the FolkloricMovement, actually lived in that
same small town of Rokiti Papa,and she was a very charismatic
woman.
It was a very charismaticmoment, you could say.
She was also very simple, shehad a wonderful sense of humor
(28:19):
just a great person, and it wasa moment, like you could say, an
apex of what became theFolkloric Movement, and the
creation of what became theFolkloric Movement happened to
coincide with those 17 years,and I think that's kind of what
I was drawn to.
And then, yeah, I was alsowriting software at the
(28:40):
international headquarters, butI wasn't really paying attention
that 17 years went by.
Daniel Koo (28:45):
So after, I guess, the 17 years, you came back to
the States.
Loretta Rauschuber (28:50):
That's correct.
Daniel Koo (28:51):
What kind of gave you the push to come back to the
States and how has thattransitioned for you?
Loretta Rauschuber (28:57):
In the Focolare because I'm a
consecrated member and I'm notmarried.
I'm much freer to say yes toother needs and again, I think I
was driven by needs that werepresented to me and there was a
need for someone in Los Angeles.
We have a women's house here inLos Angeles and I was asked
(29:19):
would I move to Los Angeles?
And I was very willing to moveand so I also felt like maybe
after 17 years all my familylived here in the States all
those years and it would be niceto be a little closer to family
.
Daniel Koo (29:34):
And when you came back, did you start working as a
software engineer, or were youalready an accountant by then?
Loretta Rauschuber (29:41):
After about two months I got a job at USC
and I worked there in the ITdepartment as a software
engineer and because of mybackground as an accountant,
most of the software I wrote wasfinancial software.
Daniel Koo (29:55):
Oh wow, I guess that kind of started your pivot into
becoming an accountant.
Loretta Rauschuber (29:59):
Yeah, you could say yeah, yeah, yeah.
Daniel Koo (30:02):
And then, after USC, you're transitioning into the
role that you currently have asan accountant.
How did you make that jump?
Loretta Rauschuber (30:09):
I had been programming software my entire
professional life and I hadprogrammed accounting software,
a lot of accounting software,but I never was the accountant.
And I had that degree and therewas a little bit of something
inside of me that said I wonderif I could do that, you know.
(30:34):
But I really, again, I reallywasn't paying that much
attention to that question.
And an opportunity came up,also because of certain
circumstances, where I wasworking and a job opening came
up and I said and I rememberasking the person who presented
it to me, I said do you thinkyou can do this?
And she said well, you have adegree in accounting of course
you can do it.
And so I think there it was justlike a leap into the unknown.
(30:56):
I think every time it's a leap.
When I moved to Europe, it wasa leap into the unknown.
When I moved to New York, itwas a huge leap into the unknown
.
So yeah, and then here again,it was like this I wasn't sure,
but I jumped.
Daniel Koo (31:08):
Yeah, I think it's super interesting that you know
the degree you got way earlierin your career, ended up kind of
helping you at this point andactually gave you the
qualifications necessary to kindof move into this new career.
I guess at the current state ofyour career you're spending a
lot of time with Economy ofCommunion outside of your day
(31:29):
job and all the career you had.
Where do you find themotivation and what's the reason
of putting so much time andeffort into something else other
than your day job?
Loretta Rauschuber (31:40):
I guess you could say at this point in my
life I've had successful careersnot just career and very
meaningful.
Daniel Koo (31:52):
And by meaningful.
Loretta Rauschuber (31:52):
I mean, I really found pathways to help
people.
That was the driving force, youknow, behind what I did.
So now I feel like it's likealmost a new chapter in my life.
I've climbed the mountain ofcareers.
I've done that well, I'msatisfied with what I did.
But there's something inside ofme that says, like this deep
(32:15):
need to help people in need,like it's a different kind of
mountain.
Like, for example, a closefriend of mine was diagnosed
with Alzheimer's and she hadopen heart surgery recently and
it accelerated her Alzheimer's.
Like now she needs care allnight long.
So I go and just stay with herall night once a week, you know,
and I'm able to keep myfull-time job and do that and
(32:35):
the EOC.
But it's like that's important,that's like it's a need.
I have to be there and getmessy with the messiness of
people's lives and get yourhands dirty.
It's a sacrifice.
I don't know.
I feel like that's the mountainI'd like to climb right now.
Daniel Koo (32:55):
I think it's really important for us to think about
this as we're building out ourcareers.
I think about this all the time.
I'm working at a big techcompany, you know, making
changes to really big code bases, and that's all cool, but I do
think about my impact to thisworld and you know how can I
integrate helping others into mylife other than you know
(33:18):
thinking, oh, after I get richI'll donate money.
You know, I think that's toosimple and we're losing out on
opportunities.
I guess, from your experience,what are the questions that you
ask yourself to kind of motivateyourself to help others, to run
it in parallel with your dayjob?
Loretta Rauschuber (33:34):
That's a good question.
I just said, you know, like I'dlike to climb this mountain,
but it's not some far-reachinggoal.
It kind of like translates intothe present moment, Like how am
I responding to what's in frontof me right now?
(33:55):
How am I responding to thatirritating person that just
walked by?
And it's not so much whathappens in the day, but how did
I respond to it?
Daniel Koo (34:04):
For those who are kind of looking to you know do
more in their career, not interms of, you know, progressing
their career, but like doingsomething meaningful outside of
your day job, like what would beyour advice and recommendation
to kind of do that at the sametime.
Loretta Rauschuber (34:18):
I think that's why I'm so passionate
about the economy of communion.
Yeah, it's not my day job andit's about business.
It's about working withbusinessmen, businesswomen,
people who are engaged inbusiness at every level, but the
focus is the vulnerable and Ithink I didn't pay attention so
much early on in my careers andthen I started saying, well,
(34:43):
what is that deepest, deepestdesire in your heart?
And it was there all along,like I had identified, you know,
but I want to help people inneed.
But it was actually somethingmuch deeper.
So I you know now I love my jobas an accountant, but if I look
deep inside, it's like I wantto get my hands messy with the
(35:06):
people and where they'restruggling, you know.
And when I identified that,then I would say try to find
what that thing is inside ofyour heart and don't discount it
just because it's in your heart, and listen to that and then
find something that aligns withthat and go for it and jump,
yeah, jump, and it'll be darkand uncomfortable and feel kind
(35:29):
of weird because it's somethingnew, but then it'll respond to
that.
Daniel Koo (35:33):
Do you feel like, for those who are struggling
with their career in the firstplace, it would make sense to
think about this at the sametime?
Or would you kind of recommendgetting a hold of your career
first and then thinking aboutthese things, or maybe the other
way?
Loretta Rauschuber (35:47):
I think we're all looking for meaning
meaning in our lives and I thinkit would be good to consider
and try to align it from thebeginning.
Yeah, I think that would be.
I think, deep down, where Iwork too, I work with a lot of
people and you can see sometimesthey're just not content with
what they're doing and so theymove on and you're just saying,
(36:09):
well, find what you're contentwith.
Yeah, that's important.
Daniel Koo (36:12):
I think today I learned a lot, and a few things
I'm picking up is you know, findout what you're passionate
about, not in terms of career orskills, or you know things you
could do, but how you could helpthis world and who you can help
.
I think knowing that couldactually set you on a path that
you've never expected and ontocareers that you've never
(36:33):
expected you would ever do.
I always do this too.
I remember in high school Iused to serve with doing service
clubs and everything, but as I,you know, go into my career, I
do that less and less.
I want to change that, actually, and I'm inspired by you to
kind of have something on theside where I'm doing something
that's impactful to others andfulfilling the needs of others.
(36:57):
Especially when you have, like,a career that's already set and
you're comfortable with, Ithink there's enough time to
help other people.
So, thank you so much.
I've learned so much today.
I'm really excited to learnmore about the economy of
communion and how that's goingto pan out.
It's such an interestingmovement, so I think I'm really
excited to see how that's goingto work out for these many
(37:18):
businesses.
Loretta Rauschuber (37:19):
Thank you.
Thank you for having me.
Daniel Koo (37:21):
Awesome, thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you for having me awesome, thank you.
You know it was actually I guess it was my
logical software engineer mindthat was saying hey, wait a
minute, this doesn't logicallymake sense.
What are you doing?
And I questioned it in thereverse and in that question I
just said, oh, this reallydoesn't make sense, this is not.
(00:20):
And so I said I'm leaving.
And I really literally startedpacking my bags and was ready to
leave and I couldn't put myfoot out that door and that's.
It was like that's when I said,oh, then this must really be a
call.
So it became very logicallyclear that this was my vocation.
Yeah.
Daniel Koo (00:43):
Welcome back to my Perfect Path, the podcast where
we talk to people with uniquecareers to uncover the lessons
that shape their journeys.
I'm your host, daniel Koo, andtoday's episode is called my
Folkloric Path.
The word folkloric comes fromItalian meaning hearth or family
, and it's the name of a globalmovement dedicated to building
unity and fostering dialogueacross communities, cultures and
professions.
It's also been a centralinfluence in the life of today's
(01:05):
guest, loretta Rauscherber.
Loretta is an accountant and aleader in the Economy of
Communion, a global initiativeinspired by the principles of
Folkloric that focuses onaligning business with social
impact.
Her story is remarkable, fromgrowing up in a small Texas town
to having a 17-year softwareengineering career in Rome and
now balancing her work with adeep commitment to community and
(01:29):
service.
In this episode, loretta shareshow she made bold decisions to
follow her passions, navigatebig career shifts and find
meaning and happiness in herlife.
If you've ever wondered how totake risks, embrace change or
align your career with yourvalues, loretta's story will
inspire you.
Hope you enjoy the episode.
Welcome to my Perfect Path.
(01:49):
I'm thrilled to have you hereJust to kick us off.
What is your current role andwhat is kind of like the current
state of your career?
Loretta Rauschuber (01:58):
Right now, my day job I'm working as an
accountant for an elementaryschool in Pacific Palisades,
california, and one thing thatI'm very passionate about is my
work with an organization calledthe Economy of Communion.
It's entrepreneur-based, butit's actually for everyone
Everyone who's—we all somehoware associated with business, so
(02:22):
it's how business can have avery close relationship with
those who are vulnerable, and Ijust love that.
And then also, one thing that Ipicked up during the pandemic
was illustrating art.
Yeah, illustrating books.
So, yeah, it's something Ireally enjoy.
Daniel Koo (02:40):
So you recently published something, is that
right?
Loretta Rauschuber (02:43):
Yeah, I did.
I was inspired by the story ofa young girl in Italy she was 19
years old when she died of bonecancer and the way she lived
her illness at the time of herdeath.
It went viral on the Internetand it was very attractive and I
said I want to illustrate herlife.
And there were so many verywarm, sincere moments that were
(03:06):
very meaningful in her life thatthere were no photos for.
So I chose those and I said Iwant to illustrate that.
I want to illustrate so peoplecan see what that moment looked
like.
Daniel Koo (03:16):
Yeah, Wow, that's beautiful.
Tell us more about the Economyof Communion and tell us about
the scale of that organizationand how it operates.
Like what kind of businesses doyou connect with?
Loretta Rauschuber (03:30):
Yeah, and a lot of them were interested in
working with startups.
Because the economy ofcommunion, we say it starts with
a gift, Like there's a gift ora mechanism of giving in
business.
That's one thing that weembrace, Like what is the gift
going to be?
And so we also practice it asan organization and we feel like
(03:50):
with startups, there's so muchwe can help them with, like
getting their branding done,their logos, helping them get
into the market.
So we work a lot with startups.
But also the vast majority aremedium and small entrepreneurs
and there again it's people thatare looking for meaning.
They're looking for somethingbeyond even social
(04:13):
entrepreneurship.
They're looking for thoserelationships, and so it's very
people-oriented.
Every decision you make, it'sthe person's at the center of
the decision and it seems to bethat missing piece, like that
relationship.
It's not just making a lot ofmoney and then giving away some
of it to the poor.
Well, do you know that person?
(04:33):
Do they come to your house?
Are they your friend?
One entrepreneur he only hireshomeless men.
That's his giving, hismechanism of giving.
He only hires homeless men.
That's his giving, hismechanism of giving.
And the very first homeless manthat he hired after 15 years of
business, did hospice on hisliving room couch, Like this was
(04:54):
his friend, this was his closefriend, and so, entering into
that messiness and I thinkthat's something that's very
attractive Like are we willingto be there by the person in
that time of vulnerability?
And yeah, so it's somethingthat is very key to the economy
of communion and what wepractice.
Daniel Koo (05:13):
So you're kind of in charge of the entire
organization, is that right?
Loretta Rauschuber (05:16):
You could say that, yeah, I'm the
president of the organizationcurrently in the United States
and Canada, and we are basicallyall over the world, so in Asia,
in Africa it's big in Africaand South America big in South
America and we're all connectedtoo.
It's like one family, it reallyis a sense of family, and there
(05:39):
again, it's because it's allabout relationships, so even
relationships among us, andeverything we decide, everything
we do.
It's like when I make thatdecision, am I basing it off of
the people that are around me?
Even like a competitor?
My competitor is my friend.
Daniel Koo (06:01):
It's not you know.
It's about how big is theorganization right now.
Loretta Rauschuber (06:04):
Like worldwide, I would say maybe 800
to 900 businesses that work,that actually embrace this, all
the practices and, you know, theprinciples of the economy of
community, about 800 maybe.
Daniel Koo (06:19):
Wow.
Loretta Rauschuber (06:19):
It's hard to count because it's so fluctual
and also with the pandemicthings shifted so much so we're
still trying to catch up withnumbers, but yeah.
Daniel Koo (06:29):
How do you manage that with the day job that you
have?
Loretta Rauschuber (06:32):
I think it's driven by passion.
Yeah, like passion, you findtime.
You find time to do what youreally love.
Yeah.
Daniel Koo (06:41):
Could you tell us a little bit about where you grew
up and what kind of upbringingyou had?
Loretta Rauschuber (06:46):
I grew up in a very small town, a farm
community in Central Texas,where agriculture we raised
cotton and corn.
Basically, both of mygrandparents were farmers.
They had big farms.
So we grew up, yeah, with fruitand vegetables and farms and
yeah, so in a very small town.
(07:07):
So I never, ever thought I wasgoing to leave my hometown.
You grow up there, you getmarried there and you already
know where you're going to beburied, and so I just yeah,
that's small town mentality also, so that's kind of what I
thought my life was going to be.
Daniel Koo (07:24):
Yeah, I think through this episode we're going
to reveal how you kind of wentto Europe, came back to the
United States.
It's really incredible how youwere able to kind of break out
of that mentality of staying atyour hometown and go as far as
you know Europe to have asoftware engineering career and
coming back, going through allthese transitions to become who
(07:45):
you are right now.
So I'm really excited to kindof dig into that.
So right now you're anaccountant at a elementary
school.
How did you kind of get there?
What was the stage right beforethat?
Loretta Rauschuber (07:56):
So right before my career as an
accountant it was a career shift.
You could say Most of my adultprofessional life I did software
engineering.
I was a software engineer atUSC and before that in Rome I
worked 17 years for aninternational headquarters as a
(08:19):
software engineer and, kind oflike, laid a foundation, put
together the whole foundationfor an IT shop.
You would say, yeah.
Daniel Koo (08:27):
Did you have any sort of experience with
accounting before?
Was there any education ortraining?
Loretta Rauschuber (08:33):
Yeah, so I have a degree in accounting and
a degree in computer science,and so that's where a lot of my,
even a lot of the software thatI wrote was often financial
software accounting softwarebecause I had that business
background.
Daniel Koo (08:50):
also, how did you decide to transition into
becoming an accountant?
I feel like if you've alreadybeen in software so long, it
would be very difficult to evenimagine doing a career shift.
Loretta Rauschuber (09:01):
Actually, I loved software engineering.
You're also a software engineerand I think you might identify
with this, especially like thevery first years in my 20s.
You create something fromnothing.
You're creating something fromnothing, and so it's very
powerful.
Also, it's exponential becauseyou're dealing with technology
(09:24):
and so it creates like thispassion and this drive, and if
you're not careful you can getcarried away with it, and I
think that's a little bit ofwhat I loved about software.
I think one thing that a commondenominator in everything in the
different careers I've had, Iwas always very attracted to
finding a way to help the personnext to me, Like, for example,
(09:47):
at USC I always did thefinancial.
So in the payroll departmentthey were struggling with
something.
I said let me help you figureout and let me help you do this
quicker and better and with lesseffort, and let's solve the
problem.
You know, also in softwareengineering you have to be
careful.
If you're good at it, youreduce the workload, and if you
(10:11):
can't figure that out, you canactually create more work for
people with your software.
And so you have to know that,and I think I was driven by I
want to help them with theirneeds.
Daniel Koo (10:22):
Let's talk about where you started and the
education background that youhad to help them with their
needs.
Yeah, let's talk about you knowwhere you started and kind of
the education background thatyou had.
So you mentioned that you havethe two degrees.
Where was that and when wasthat?
Loretta Rauschuber (10:34):
So they're both associate degrees at a
simple small community collegein Waco, texas.
Daniel Koo (10:42):
Were those like two-year.
Loretta Rauschuber (10:44):
They were two-year programs and I don't
think I had a lot of self-esteem, like you know.
I thought that's all I can do,and all my siblings went to
universities and I didn't.
And then, little by little, Istarted discovering my potential
.
And one thing that became verymeaningful in that whole
(11:05):
discovery was it's not so muchthe degree and the title that I
had, but how I was able to fullyuse it to its full potential
and go beyond even peopleperhaps that studied a lot more
and were not able to hone somuch out of it.
You know like I felt, like Ireally used it to the fullest,
(11:26):
yeah.
Daniel Koo (11:26):
Did you have this kind of thought when you were
getting that degree, or was thiskind of later?
Loretta Rauschuber (11:32):
No, actually I was dating the person I felt
I was going to live the rest ofmy life with.
I was in love and my firstdegree I was very focused on
getting it, but the seconddegree was I was basically just
waiting for him to finish school.
So I said, well, I'm at it,I'll get another degree.
So the whole concept.
Now, looking back on it, thereis much more because I'm using
(11:55):
it right now and I love what I'mdoing as an accountant also,
and so it was a gift.
It was an extra gift that maybethe reasoning behind it was
very simple you would say, butnow I'm very happy that I had
that and again I felt like Iused it fully.
Daniel Koo (12:15):
So, right after you got those degrees, what was your
first job?
What did you do to kick offyour career?
Loretta Rauschuber (12:21):
The very first job I had actually was
while I was still in school.
I was still getting my degreeand I worked.
I wrote software for a turkeyproduction plant.
They produced turkey yeah.
In Central Texas.
It was a huge plant and I did Iwrote software for them.
Daniel Koo (12:39):
How was working for them?
Was it like a very luxuriousjob or was it kind of difficult
because they had a lot ofrequirements Like what was your
experience?
Loretta Rauschuber (12:49):
I think I just really enjoyed software
engineering and so, being that,the job itself was enjoyable, I
think the context was secondaryin that moment.
I worked there maybe a year andthen right away I got a job at
an oil company in Texas, a smalloil and propane company, and
(13:10):
there I was already.
I remember I was 19 years oldand they asked me to be the
director of IT, and I knew theywouldn't, just by discretion,
they wouldn't ask my age, and soI just remember saying, oh
please, that they don't ask myage until I turn 20.
At least it sounds more than 19.
So I already started working asa director of IT at 19.
(13:33):
And for this company.
I worked there for severalyears.
Daniel Koo (13:38):
When you were kind of working as a software
engineer in Texas.
What were your career dreams orgoals?
Software engineer in Texas.
What were your career dreams orgoals?
Did you have like a big idea inmind, or were you just trying
to get everything started and oryou just enjoyed coding so you
just wanted to keep doing that?
Loretta Rauschuber (13:54):
Well, if you think about it, at 19, I was
already a director of the ITdepartment, so I it was kind of
like it came to me.
I didn't really look for it andI loved it.
I loved, you know, also themanagement part of it.
I loved the creativity, how,again, I could help people.
(14:14):
I could do a lot with theposition I was in and again I
was driven by that idea ofhelping, reducing the workflow,
making work a little lessdifficult for people.
So I loved it.
But I really didn't go outlooking for it, it just came to
me.
Daniel Koo (14:33):
Wow, that's interesting.
I kind of resonate with you onthe idea of you like coding so
much that the context doesn'tmatter.
If I talk to any one of myfriends from college, everyone's
like that.
Maybe it's just a trait forengineering, where you really
like working with those systems,making things more efficient,
automating things so much sothat it doesn't really matter
(14:56):
what you're working on.
Obviously, if it does somethingthat you care about, it's
amazing.
But I think that's aninteresting trait to have as an
engineer, maybe even forsoftware as well.
So, after working as the ITdirector, what was your next
step?
Loretta Rauschuber (15:15):
Then I moved to New York and I got a job at
Osram Corporation.
It was a German company thatproduces light bulbs and it was
very closely related to theengineering department.
It was almost part of theengineering department, the way
they had it set up and yeah, wasthere a reason why you moved to
New York and got this new job?
(15:36):
Yeah, I would say I would havevery happily stayed in Texas and
worked for the oil company thatI was working for, but there
was something inside of me thatI guess you would even say a
call.
I got to know in those yearswhen I actually first started
working as the director of thiscompany.
I got to know the spiritualityof unity, which is animated by
(15:59):
the Focolare movement, and again, I wasn't looking for it, but
it seemed to find me.
But I really felt like, oh mygosh, this is something I want
to give my life for, unity.
And it just seemed likeeverywhere I looked that there's
a need for unity.
And this was a few years back.
(16:20):
And I can see even now, evenmore so, like, if you look at
our world today, our country,our cities, there's a need for
unity.
Daniel Koo (16:30):
Yeah, so Could you tell us a little bit more about
the Focolari movement?
One of our previous guests,Clara, was also a part of it.
I think it'd be good to kind ofset up context for the
listeners.
Loretta Rauschuber (16:41):
The Folkloric movement began in 1943
.
It was during World War II, inTrent, italy.
It was a small group of girls,12, 13 girls and they were all
ages 14 to 23, so very young,and they all had dreams for
their life.
That's the age you dream andyou start saying this is what I
(17:03):
want to be.
And the war, their dreamscrumbled, all of them, all of
them.
One wanted to get married andhave a wonderful home.
Another wanted to go to college.
All the colleges were closedand in that process they said
well, there's got to besomething.
There's got to be somethingthat no bomb will destroy.
And in their quest theyrealized it's God, like the only
(17:28):
thing you know is God, thatnothing can destroy.
And very, almost you could sayalmost logically.
But they were saying oh, so ifthat's it, then we want to give
our lives for God.
And that was the seed, like thebeginning, of what became the
Folkloric Movement.
And I guess one of their first,like an episode, they would go
(17:48):
to air raid shelters even 11times a day, because the heavy
bombing Trent was heavily bombedduring World War II and they
just happened to pick up a bookand bring it with them, and it
was the gospel and they openedit up.
And there's that prayer.
It's the very last prayer thatJesus prayed before he died and
(18:09):
they also.
They felt very attracted to it.
They didn't even quite know why, but the prayer, basically,
jesus is saying, father, he'spraying to the Father.
He says Father, that all may beone.
And they felt that that's whatthey were born for.
And little by little they saidyou know, we don't know how to
do this, we don't know whatunity is supposed to look like.
So they asked Jesus.
(18:35):
They said you know, use me, useme.
Daniel Koo (18:37):
And I think that was a little bit of what I felt
that day in my own small measure.
You know, use me for unity,yeah Wow.
That day in my own smallmeasure, you know, used me for
unity, yeah Wow.
I think that obviously was avery big part of your life and I
think we'll see a little bitmore as well how it impacts your
life throughout your career,and you know kind of explain how
you ended up at this place inLA as well.
So Folkloric was a big part ofthe reason why you moved to New
York and to work for this Germancompany.
(18:58):
Did you have a plan to maybemove to bigger and bigger
companies or kind of what wasyour thoughts about career at
that moment?
Loretta Rauschuber (19:06):
Well, actually, while I was there in
New York working for OsramCorporation we're talking about
light bulbs and so two years ina row, I was there only three
years.
Two of those three years weactually had Oscar priorities
Because the company as a companywhich means the whole team we
(19:26):
were given an Oscar.
We were awarded an Oscar for alight bulb that actually helped
actors.
It showed a light that lookedvery similar to sunlight, but it
wasn't hot, so they weren'tsweating as much, and so we got
an award two years in a row forour light bulbs.
And so we had these huge Oscarparties at work and here
(19:49):
everybody gets to take a picturewith the Oscar.
Daniel Koo (19:52):
Wow, that's amazing.
Loretta Rauschuber (19:53):
Yeah, and it was just, and you really felt
this sense of it took a team tomake that light bulb, and you
really felt this sense of ittook a team to make that light
bulb, you know.
So there again, I wasn't reallylooking for something, and that
again kind of showed up in mylife.
You know, it was beautiful, Ienjoyed it.
It wasn't the most importantthing in my life, though, either
.
Yeah, definitely wasn't.
Daniel Koo (20:13):
Yeah, so tell us a little bit about what you were
thinking in New York as far asnext steps.
You know you obviously wanted afamily, but what kind of led
you to Europe?
Loretta Rauschuber (20:24):
One thing also maybe a parenthesis that's
important to note is with thevocation I have in the Focolari.
It completely aligns withcontinuing with a professional
career, but the career wasalways there and it was very
meaningful and very fulfillingand it was definitely a part of
what I felt called to.
(20:45):
However, there was this otherpart of me that I really felt a
passion for, which was unity andthe many expressions and the
ways I could live that.
So when I went to New York, Itook like a giant step, like
here I was.
I was, you know, making plansto get married and now I said,
(21:07):
let me try this, let me, I don'tknow.
I just had like a doubt insideof me and it was like, well,
what if you're really called toa life in community, you know,
where you can witness unity 24-7?
And it was just a tiny littlequestion.
And you know I was alreadymaking plans.
Like here, you know, I've gotmy whole life planned.
(21:27):
I'm going to have a bunch ofkids, and because I grew up in a
big family and I just it was sorich for me that I just said,
you know, I would want that formy children.
And so you know, I was alreadymaking all these plans and there
was something inside of me thatsaid well, that doubt, that
doubt that you have inside ofyou, can you live with that for
the rest of your life?
(21:48):
So I left my boyfriend and Imade it like a deal with God.
I know we're not supposed tomake deals with God.
If marriage is the thing thatyou really want from me, I guess
there, and even if you justlisten to that question, it's
like I realized God chooses usand then we can say yes or no.
It's not like we pick andchoose a vocation, right.
(22:09):
And so there I said, if this iswhat you've chosen for me
marriage then I know, if I givethis up, you know, for you, you
will, you know there'll besomething even better down the
road.
And so with that I don't knowthat courage or, if you want to
call it faith or whatever, Idon't know what it was.
But I said I need to just lookinto this, you know.
(22:34):
And I had no clue what it was,and I ended up consecrating my
life to God in the Focolaremovement.
It's a very small percentage ofpeople in the Focolare who
actually take that type ofradical step.
So New York was like that stepof discernment, like I went
(22:56):
there with a question, so whatwas the answer?
And after about a year Irealized this was, it was really
a call, it was a vocation.
And the next step, once Irealized that this is a life I
want to lead, this is the yes Iwant to say.
The next step is actually to goto a small town outside of
(23:16):
Florence, italy, for formation,and there's formation, education
.
So yeah, then I ended up movingto Florence.
Daniel Koo (23:23):
Yeah, oh wow.
So I guess your kind ofstruggle or pivoting point in
New York was very big in yourlife.
I think that was a very bigdecision.
What kind of decision criteriadid you have?
Like, did you?
You know it must have beendifficult to have this massive
life change and trying to adjustto a new country you're already
so far away from home, likewhat kind of pushed you over the
(23:46):
edge and said do you want tocommit to this?
Loretta Rauschuber (23:49):
You know it was actually I guess it was my
logical software engineer mindthat was saying hey, wait a
minute, this doesn't logicallymake sense.
What are you doing?
And I questioned it in thereverse and in that question I
just said, oh, this reallydoesn't make sense, this is not.
(24:09):
And so I said I'm leaving.
And I really literally startedpacking my bags and was ready to
leave and I couldn't put myfoot out that door and that's.
It was like that's when I said,oh, then this must really be a
call.
So it became very logicallyclear that this was my vocation.
Yeah.
Daniel Koo (24:28):
So you go to Europe in Italy, was it?
Loretta Rauschuber (24:32):
It was in Italy, in Florence, Italy.
Daniel Koo (24:34):
What were you doing there?
I understand you went throughsome sort of program.
Could you tell us what thatprogram was for and what was the
purpose?
Loretta Rauschuber (24:45):
So it is formal formation to become a
focal arena.
That would be the vocation andwe would study for half a day
moral theology, sociology, thedoctrine of the Catholic Church,
and while I was there that'swhat we studied, and then half a
day we would work.
But the real formation, youcould say, was living with women
(25:05):
from all over the world.
And in your daily life, whatdoes unity look like?
Are you willing to give up Ifthe measure is ready?
To give my life, am I willingto give up my culture?
Am I willing to give up?
And when you strip yourself ofeverything, you realize you're
free.
There's just this immensefreedom from letting go of
(25:28):
everything that and everythingyou are to be there for the
other person.
It's not an emptiness to beempty.
It's an emptiness to fillyourself with the other person.
Daniel Koo (25:41):
Yeah.
So it seems like it's kind oflike a training ground to kind
of become more of an integratedmember of the Folkloric Movement
.
Loretta Rauschuber (25:48):
That's correct.
Yeah, this is formal formationfor those who live in community
life in the Folkloric.
Daniel Koo (25:55):
I can see how Folkloric Movement has really
integrated into your life.
By this point, you said youworked as well.
What was your job and career,your life?
By this point, you said youworked as well.
Loretta Rauschuber (26:04):
What was your job and career?
So afternoon work hours I spentin a small art shop and I
actually practiced my art.
Yeah, I honed my skills in manyways.
Daniel Koo (26:17):
just different things painting, crafts, just
anything to do with art yeah,designing designing designs for
some of the other work, so Iguess you took a break from
software engineering for alittle bit during that period.
When did that come back for you?
Loretta Rauschuber (26:33):
Then after that three-year period, I moved
to Rome and I worked at theFocal Aries headquarters for 17
years as a software engineer andI was asked to actually from
zero put together an IT shop andso also the server farm, the
networking and yeah.
Daniel Koo (26:53):
Did you have any experience doing that in the
past or was it kind of?
You know, you were buildingyour skills as you go.
Loretta Rauschuber (27:00):
I had some experience.
I had already worked at thatpoint several years in the
United States, and I think therewas this kind of notion that if
you're a software engineer thenyou can kind of do everything.
Daniel Koo (27:12):
That's very true.
Loretta Rauschuber (27:13):
And it's not true, but that was the
expectation, or that was whatpeople thought, and so you ended
up doing it and learning it.
But and again, a little bit ofwhat you said you know you also
enjoy tech, and so I enjoyed itwhile I learned.
Yeah.
Daniel Koo (27:31):
During those 17 years, did you ever think about
going to a different job or adifferent kind of career?
Loretta Rauschuber (27:36):
No, I didn't .
I wasn't looking for somethingelse.
Daniel Koo (27:41):
So previously you've worked at you know several
different companies, but thisone you stuck for 17 years.
It's hard to believe that youhad, you know, constant growth
and engagement to keep youinterested.
Was there anything that changedin the middle or did you do a
lot of different kind of typesof software engineering?
Loretta Rauschuber (27:58):
Actually, the anchor that kept me there,
without even considering, wasthat Kara Lubick, who is the
founder of the FolkloricMovement, actually lived in that
same small town of Rokiti Papa,and she was a very charismatic
woman.
It was a very charismaticmoment, you could say.
She was also very simple, shehad a wonderful sense of humor
(28:19):
just a great person, and it wasa moment, like you could say, an
apex of what became theFolkloric Movement, and the
creation of what became theFolkloric Movement happened to
coincide with those 17 years,and I think that's kind of what
I was drawn to.
And then, yeah, I was alsowriting software at the
(28:40):
international headquarters, butI wasn't really paying attention
that 17 years went by.
Daniel Koo (28:45):
So after, I guess, the 17 years, you came back to
the States.
Loretta Rauschuber (28:50):
That's correct.
Daniel Koo (28:51):
What kind of gave you the push to come back to the
States and how has thattransitioned for you?
Loretta Rauschuber (28:57):
In the Focolare because I'm a
consecrated member and I'm notmarried.
I'm much freer to say yes toother needs and again, I think I
was driven by needs that werepresented to me and there was a
need for someone in Los Angeles.
We have a women's house here inLos Angeles and I was asked
(29:19):
would I move to Los Angeles?
And I was very willing to moveand so I also felt like maybe
after 17 years all my familylived here in the States all
those years and it would be niceto be a little closer to family
.
Daniel Koo (29:34):
And when you came back, did you start working as a
software engineer, or were youalready an accountant by then?
Loretta Rauschuber (29:41):
After about two months I got a job at USC
and I worked there in the ITdepartment as a software
engineer and because of mybackground as an accountant,
most of the software I wrote wasfinancial software.
Daniel Koo (29:55):
Oh wow, I guess that kind of started your pivot into
becoming an accountant.
Loretta Rauschuber (29:59):
Yeah, you could say yeah, yeah, yeah.
Daniel Koo (30:02):
And then, after USC, you're transitioning into the
role that you currently have asan accountant.
How did you make that jump?
Loretta Rauschuber (30:09):
I had been programming software my entire
professional life and I hadprogrammed accounting software,
a lot of accounting software,but I never was the accountant.
And I had that degree and therewas a little bit of something
inside of me that said I wonderif I could do that, you know.
(30:34):
But I really, again, I reallywasn't paying that much
attention to that question.
And an opportunity came up,also because of certain
circumstances, where I wasworking and a job opening came
up and I said and I rememberasking the person who presented
it to me, I said do you thinkyou can do this?
And she said well, you have adegree in accounting of course
you can do it.
And so I think there it was justlike a leap into the unknown.
(30:56):
I think every time it's a leap.
When I moved to Europe, it wasa leap into the unknown.
When I moved to New York, itwas a huge leap into the unknown
.
So yeah, and then here again,it was like this I wasn't sure,
but I jumped.
Daniel Koo (31:08):
Yeah, I think it's super interesting that you know
the degree you got way earlierin your career, ended up kind of
helping you at this point andactually gave you the
qualifications necessary to kindof move into this new career.
I guess at the current state ofyour career you're spending a
lot of time with Economy ofCommunion outside of your day
(31:29):
job and all the career you had.
Where do you find themotivation and what's the reason
of putting so much time andeffort into something else other
than your day job?
Loretta Rauschuber (31:40):
I guess you could say at this point in my
life I've had successful careersnot just career and very
meaningful.
Daniel Koo (31:52):
And by meaningful.
Loretta Rauschuber (31:52):
I mean, I really found pathways to help
people.
That was the driving force, youknow, behind what I did.
So now I feel like it's likealmost a new chapter in my life.
I've climbed the mountain ofcareers.
I've done that well, I'msatisfied with what I did.
But there's something inside ofme that says, like this deep
(32:15):
need to help people in need,like it's a different kind of
mountain.
Like, for example, a closefriend of mine was diagnosed
with Alzheimer's and she hadopen heart surgery recently and
it accelerated her Alzheimer's.
Like now she needs care allnight long.
So I go and just stay with herall night once a week, you know,
and I'm able to keep myfull-time job and do that and
(32:35):
the EOC.
But it's like that's important,that's like it's a need.
I have to be there and getmessy with the messiness of
people's lives and get yourhands dirty.
It's a sacrifice.
I don't know.
I feel like that's the mountainI'd like to climb right now.
Daniel Koo (32:55):
I think it's really important for us to think about
this as we're building out ourcareers.
I think about this all the time.
I'm working at a big techcompany, you know, making
changes to really big code bases, and that's all cool, but I do
think about my impact to thisworld and you know how can I
integrate helping others into mylife other than you know
(33:18):
thinking, oh, after I get richI'll donate money.
You know, I think that's toosimple and we're losing out on
opportunities.
I guess, from your experience,what are the questions that you
ask yourself to kind of motivateyourself to help others, to run
it in parallel with your dayjob?
Loretta Rauschuber (33:34):
That's a good question.
I just said, you know, like I'dlike to climb this mountain,
but it's not some far-reachinggoal.
It kind of like translates intothe present moment, Like how am
I responding to what's in frontof me right now?
(33:55):
How am I responding to thatirritating person that just
walked by?
And it's not so much whathappens in the day, but how did
I respond to it?
Daniel Koo (34:04):
For those who are kind of looking to you know do
more in their career, not interms of, you know, progressing
their career, but like doingsomething meaningful outside of
your day job, like what would beyour advice and recommendation
to kind of do that at the sametime.
Loretta Rauschuber (34:18):
I think that's why I'm so passionate
about the economy of communion.
Yeah, it's not my day job andit's about business.
It's about working withbusinessmen, businesswomen,
people who are engaged inbusiness at every level, but the
focus is the vulnerable and Ithink I didn't pay attention so
much early on in my careers andthen I started saying, well,
(34:43):
what is that deepest, deepestdesire in your heart?
And it was there all along,like I had identified, you know,
but I want to help people inneed.
But it was actually somethingmuch deeper.
So I you know now I love my jobas an accountant, but if I look
deep inside, it's like I wantto get my hands messy with the
(35:06):
people and where they'restruggling, you know.
And when I identified that,then I would say try to find
what that thing is inside ofyour heart and don't discount it
just because it's in your heart, and listen to that and then
find something that aligns withthat and go for it and jump,
yeah, jump, and it'll be darkand uncomfortable and feel kind
(35:29):
of weird because it's somethingnew, but then it'll respond to
that.
Daniel Koo (35:33):
Do you feel like, for those who are struggling
with their career in the firstplace, it would make sense to
think about this at the sametime?
Or would you kind of recommendgetting a hold of your career
first and then thinking aboutthese things, or maybe the other
way?
Loretta Rauschuber (35:47):
I think we're all looking for meaning
meaning in our lives and I thinkit would be good to consider
and try to align it from thebeginning.
Yeah, I think that would be.
I think, deep down, where Iwork too, I work with a lot of
people and you can see sometimesthey're just not content with
what they're doing and so theymove on and you're just saying,
(36:09):
well, find what you're contentwith.
Yeah, that's important.
Daniel Koo (36:12):
I think today I learned a lot, and a few things
I'm picking up is you know, findout what you're passionate
about, not in terms of career orskills, or you know things you
could do, but how you could helpthis world and who you can help
.
I think knowing that couldactually set you on a path that
you've never expected and ontocareers that you've never
(36:33):
expected you would ever do.
I always do this too.
I remember in high school Iused to serve with doing service
clubs and everything, but as I,you know, go into my career, I
do that less and less.
I want to change that, actually, and I'm inspired by you to
kind of have something on theside where I'm doing something
that's impactful to others andfulfilling the needs of others.
(36:57):
Especially when you have, like,a career that's already set and
you're comfortable with, Ithink there's enough time to
help other people.
So, thank you so much.
I've learned so much today.
I'm really excited to learnmore about the economy of
communion and how that's goingto pan out.
It's such an interestingmovement, so I think I'm really
excited to see how that's goingto work out for these many
(37:18):
businesses.
Loretta Rauschuber (37:19):
Thank you.
Thank you for having me.
Daniel Koo (37:21):
Awesome, thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you for having me awesome, thank you.
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