Tuesday Announcements 5/6: Children's Museum Guest, Events, Concerts, and This Week's Beer Loving Guest

Career success without fulfillment is just a paycheck. Kathleen Bodenlos discovered this truth after spending a decade climbing the corporate ladder, only to realize that external achievements weren't filling her soul. Our conversation takes an unexpected turn as she reveals how childhood memories of her favorite museum sparked a complete career reinvention, eventually leading her to become CEO of Discovery Gateway Children's Museum in Salt Lake City.

What makes this episode particularly compelling is how universal Kathleen's experience feels. We dive deep into questions many professionals silently struggle with: How do you recognize when your career path isn't right for you? What role do childhood passions play in discovering your true calling? And perhaps most importantly, how can you find the courage to pivot toward fulfillment when everyone around you sees only your "success"? Whether you're a parent looking for meaningful experiences to share with your children or someone questioning your own career trajectory, Kathleen's insights offer valuable perspective.

Looking ahead, I also preview my upcoming conversation with Chad Hopkins, founder of Hopkins Brewing—a beloved Sugar House institution that evolved from basement beer-making to a community gathering place with exceptional brews and food. The story of how Chad and I connected is quintessential Small Lake City, highlighting the beautiful interconnectedness of our community. Stay tuned for concert ticket giveaways through our partnership with Live Nation, and catch us on Instagram for exclusive chances to win tickets to your favorite shows around the valley. Spring has arrived in Utah—the perfect time to enjoy outdoor activities before summer heat sets in, and perhaps contemplate what true fulfillment looks like in your own life. Listen, subscribe, and join our growing community of curious minds exploring all that makes Salt Lake City special.

Have a Question? Ask it here!

Join Erik as he supports Fork Cancer, a night of food, drinks, and live music—all for a great cause. Grab your tickets at utah.acscanforkcancer.org and enter Erik Nilsson to help him hit his $12,000 fundraising goal!

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
What is up everybody and welcome back to another
Tuesday Update.
I am your host of the SmallLake City Podcast, eric Nilsson,
and let's get into it.
So this past week's guest was aconversation that actually
surprised me a lot.
I had Kathleen Bodenlos, theCEO of Discovery Gateway

(00:20):
Children's Museum, which soundslike the conversation would go
one way, but actually was acompletely different one than
you would think.
So she is someone who spentnearly 10 years in her job in
corporate America only to findout that she didn't like doing
what she did, no matter how muchsuccess she had quote unquote
she never really felt fulfilled,and it wasn't until she looked

(00:42):
back at her experiences growingup, going to her favorite museum
, where she started to changeher career path and get involved
, which set her down a domino ofdifferent experiences to land
here in Salt Lake as the CEO ofDiscovery Gateway Children's
Museum.
We talk about what it lookslike to follow, what you
actually should be doing to findfulfillment, and how you can
have experiences with your kidsand have a great experience

(01:05):
along the way.
So definitely something foreveryone in there, whether you
have kids, don't have kids, lovemuseums, hate museums.
Great conversation with her andI was very pleasantly surprised
.
We don't currently have anyevents coming up in the next
week, but we are cooking up afew more coming up, so stay
tuned to here and the Instagramaccount to make sure that you

(01:26):
are in the loop for all of those.
Thank you to everyone who'sbeen coming to the events
recently and if you thinkthere's someone that I need to
partner with or some sort oforganization, drop a comment
below and I would love to getsomething scheduled with them.
Also, a concert season iscoming up and, like last year,
partnering with Live Nation togive you all tickets to the Utah

(01:48):
Amphitheater, also known asUSANA Amphitheater, to go see
some of your and my favoriteshows.
I'm also partnering with a lotof people around the Valley to
help give shows to all of thedifferent venues and shows you'd
be interested in.
Primarily going to be doingthose giveaways on Instagram, so
make sure that you arefollowing there and I will keep
you updated here as well.

(02:09):
This week's guest is someone Iwas introduced to in December
and I'll save the whole storyfor the episode, but it's an
entire Small Lake City story ofhow I got connected with him, so
if you've been to Salt Lake andwanted to grab a beer.
You've likely been to thisplace before, but Chad Hopkins
is the founder of HopkinsBrewing but has also played a

(02:29):
big role in the beer brewingscene, the restaurant scene in
Salt Lake, and I have been morethan pleasantly surprised with
Hopkins, from making someamazing beer in their basement
to having their own menu andgreat food there as well.
It's definitely a place, ananchor in Sugar House, that's
very well welcomed, and Chad issomeone who champions the
community and is there tosupport everyone.

(02:50):
They have tons of live events,they have tons of amazing
gatherings at the space and he'ssomeone I'm excited to share
more of his story with you.
So that will be releasing thisSaturday on YouTube and wherever
you prefer to listen.
But in the meantime, spring ishere.
It's been a little rainy Skiseason's over, but try to get as
many rounds of golf, trail runs, mountain bike rides, road bike

(03:16):
rides, road runs and all ofthose fun Utah activities before
it gets a little too hot to dothem outside comfortably.
So I will see you this Saturday.
Enjoy some time outside and Iwill see you soon.