May 31, 2024 • 40 mins
Can practical skills and customer service knowledge set high school students on a path to career success? Our guest, Kathy Laidlaw, believes they can. In today's episode, we sit down with Kathy to hear her story that started with teaching customer service to high school juniors and seniors. Drawing from her background in conducting customer satisfaction surveys, Kathy developed a nonprofit organization aimed at aligning students' strengths and interests with potential careers. Her journey emphasizes the vital role of equipping teens with practical skills and understanding customer expectations to better prepare them for the job market.
Recognizing the limitations of her network, she founded a nonprofit and launched a website filled with video interviews from various professionals. By becoming a certified Gallup Strengths Coach and integrating the Clifton StrengthsFinder assessment, she empowered students to identify their natural talents and apply this self-awareness in their career choices. Listen to the inspiring story of a student who turned a perceived weakness into a strength, showcasing the power of personalized assessments in guiding career development.
Join us for a compelling conversation on navigating today's educational landscape and empowering teens to achieve meaningful, fulfilling careers.
For more information about the work that Kathy does, check out her website here.
You can find Kathy on LinkedIn as well here.
If you would like to contact The Fremont Podcast, please text us here.
Petrocelli Homes has been a key sponsor of The Fremont Podcast from the beginning. If you are looking for a realtor, get in touch with Petrocelli Homes on Niles Blvd in Fremont.
Ohlone College Flea Market happens every second Saturday at the lower parking lot at Ohlone College. You can find out more information about them not their webpage or on their Instagram.
Minutemen Press in Fremont is your community city go to for all your community print and design needs. What ever you want to print or customize, Minutemen Press is here for you. You can find them at 44141 Fremont Blvd, Fremont, CA 94538.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
and I don't ever ask an auto mechanic or an HVAC
technician or a plumber when Ineed help.
So where'd you go to school?
So can I see your diploma?
I'm just like can you pleasehelp me?
And I will throw any amount ofmoney at you to get you to do
that.
Speaker 4 (00:22):
Coming to you straight from Fremont,
california.
This is the Fremont podcast,dedicated to telling the stories
of the past and present of thepeople and places of the city of
Fremont, one conversation at atime.
Speaker 5 (00:36):
East Bay Times.
Oh.
May 29th, 2024.
That's not too bad.
The one before that, may 26th,2024.
That's not too bad.
The one before that, may 26th,may 25th, okay.
(00:56):
San Francisco Chronicle April23rd, 2024.
Before that, april 15th and,ooh, february 8th.
I mean, it is about Sean Wang sothat's cool, but February,
april and April.
East Bay Express uh, april 2nd,2024, it's mentioned rather
(01:23):
than about, and then, oh, beforethat, october 27th 2004,.
East Bay Express, kqed, august10th 2023.
And before that, june 23rd,2022.
(01:43):
Radio come on ABC 7, may 27th,may 20th, may 21st Okay, I mean
KTVU.
Fox 2, may 30th, may 21st, may18th.
(02:04):
Nbc 11, may 23rd, may 21strepeats of the same story over
and over again.
I wonder if the results wouldchange if I took out the word
Tesla, because every single oneof these is oh, our Red Lobster
closed, okay, may 15th, allright.
Kpix.
(02:25):
Cbs News.
Channel 5, may 24th, may 22nd,may 7th, may 1st.
Well, this is halfway between acomplaint and an open
invitation for newsorganizations to visit Fremont
more often.
And you are listening toepisode 120 of the Fremont
(02:48):
Podcast.
Speaker 4 (02:50):
Now here's your host, Ricky B.
Speaker 2 (02:53):
So Kathy, I have Kathy.
Is it Laidlaw?
Speaker 1 (02:57):
Kathy Laidlaw.
Speaker 2 (02:58):
Laidlaw awesome, thank you for being on the
podcast with me.
I ran into you and we startedtalking.
For some reason, you gave meyour card and then you started
talking about the way that youare concerned about teens and
the way that they grow up anddevelop as a person, and
(03:19):
especially within the jobmarkets, and stuff like that,
and that really resonated withme.
I actually had told I think Ithat really resonated with me.
I actually had told I think Ishared with you an idea that I
had had going on as well.
But I felt like a lot of thesame observations, a lot of the
same concerns that you've hadwere ones that I had seen as
well.
So tell me a little bit aboutwhat it is that you do in that
(03:41):
area, in the working with kidsyou do in that area, in the
working with kids.
Speaker 1 (03:49):
Well, when my son started high school in 2007, I
was invited to go into one ofhis classrooms by one of his
teachers to teach high schooljuniors and seniors who were
going to be going directly intothe workforce rather than going
into post-secondary education.
I was invited to come in and toteach them how to give
excellent customer servicebecause I had a business where I
was conducting customersatisfaction surveys for midsize
(04:12):
manufacturing companies.
Speaker 2 (04:16):
So just to clarify so this was a class that the
school system has that wouldhelp students that were no it
was just one of his classes, oneof his six periods.
Speaker 1 (04:26):
I met the teacher while we were both chaperoning
and dance.
And she said, understanding nowwhat I did at home, I had this
home-based business customersatisfaction surveys gauging
customer satisfaction in service.
And so she said would youplease come in and teach these
juniors and seniors who aregoing to be going directly into
(04:47):
the workforce how to giveexcellent customer service,
because where else are theygoing to learn?
It but from you, who aretalking to the voice of the
customer.
You're hearing what thecustomer wants.
So, can you please come in andteach these kids what the
customer is saying about whatthey want?
Speaker 6 (05:02):
how they want to be treated.
Speaker 1 (05:04):
Yeah, that's brilliant, so I did that, and
the teacher was kind enough tomentor me on my presentation
skills and on the things thatstudents need in order to stay
connected and engaged to aspeaker, and so that morphed
into a nonprofit where westarted intersecting strengths,
(05:25):
individual student strengthswith their interests, with
potential careers and so yeah.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
So you, how many years did you help her teach
that, or how long did you dothat before you realized this
was something that is neededmore broadly than maybe just
that classroom?
Speaker 1 (05:45):
So I started going into the classroom in the spring
of 2008 as a volunteer.
And then in 2009,.
Because what I was saying tothe students is that, look, if
you're interested in, say,perhaps, architecture, then you
need to interview an architectto ask them.
Can you give me 20 minutes andI'm going to ask you three
questions what made you choosethis career, how did you get
(06:07):
here and what's the best adviceyou could give me if I want to
follow in?
Speaker 6 (06:11):
your shoes.
Speaker 1 (06:13):
And so the more students I spoke with, it was
okay.
Well, my network is going tostart to become saturated with
students wanting to interview myfriends, and so I thought, you
know what?
We just need to create videosof these people that I know, put
it on a website so thatstudents can access this content
(06:34):
24-7, at no cost.
Speaker 2 (06:36):
That's cool.
Speaker 1 (06:36):
So I incorporated as I got the help of wonderful pro
bono attorneys who helped meincorporate and we started the
website and we startedinterviewing people and that
website is wwwgt20.org.
Speaker 2 (06:57):
Wow, I'll put that on the show notes to make sure
people can click on that linktoo.
So this is interesting becauseit sounds to me like a master
class platform or something likethat, for teens, specifically
as they anticipate going out inthe workforce.
Is that how you would view it?
(07:17):
Is it like there's videos ofpeople instructing and talking
about their particularbackgrounds and stuff like that?
Speaker 1 (07:24):
It's more of a research tool actually.
Speaker 2 (07:26):
But what?
Speaker 1 (07:26):
I indicated in the classroom is that I wanted teens
to know yourself.
So you have to do some level ofself-assessment.
So we had a Department of Laborassessment tool on the website
and that was helpful, but notgreat.
So in 2017, I learned aboutClifton StrengthsFinder and then
(07:49):
I became a certified Gallupstrengths coach, because Clifton
StrengthsFinder is owned by theGallup organization.
So I became a certifiedstrengths coach and started
taking that into the classroomand really saw a huge, huge
amount of impact through that,because the difference between
(08:10):
just telling kids, okay, go andtake this Department of Labor
assessment, and then you figureout from there.
And here are these random, youknow interviews these video
interviews and you go and do allthe work.
Video interviews and you go anddo all the work.
So instead of that, we did amuch more focused approach where
we, as a nonprofit, wouldpurchase the codes, the
(08:31):
assessment codes and then wewould administer the assessment
in the classroom.
And then I have two additionalvolunteer Gallup certified
strengths coaches that come withme into the classroom and then
we coach the students one on one.
Now we're in a room, the dooris open, the teacher can still
(08:52):
see us there's a lot oftransparency.
Every communication we send tothe student, the teacher, is
copied on it.
So there's just 100%transparency everywhere.
But what we found is that thestudents were learning about
what was right with themnaturally, and then in the
coaching we would help themchoose a vocabulary about
(09:14):
themselves around theirstrengths.
So, as an instance, there wasone young man that he was a
freshman and I coached him andhis top strength is called
deliberative, which means hetakes quite a bit of time to
make a decision.
Well, his friends he's 13, 14years old.
His friends are making fun ofhim saying dude just make a
(09:37):
decision.
And so the vocabulary that hechose around that strength was
that he is a careful, observantrisk assessor, and so basically,
he's able to tell his friends.
I'm a careful observant riskassessor and I need more time to
make this decision.
Speaker 2 (09:54):
Wow, wow, that's awesome.
It really is you know you?
You mentioned Gallup and theStrengthsFinder.
Uh, I've never I say never.
I didn't see the value in a lotof those things I've taken like
quick quizzes on, like onlineplatforms, social media,
whatever, and it's like you'rethis person and you know
whatever.
And then I had to take a.
(10:14):
I took a class several yearsago where one of the things that
they did was help you determine, you know, figure out who you
are.
I love the way that you said ittoo.
Like who are you now?
The natural person, the personthat you, um, are?
You know the design of?
who you are your psyche or your,you know your physical traits
or whatever.
And so we took several um, wetook several of these sort of
(10:38):
assessment tests.
But I I remember takingStrengthsFinder and um and just
reading it and thinking, oh my,my word, like this really gets
me, like it helps me understand.
I was just talking to a friendof mine.
One of my best friends is a.
He works in the White Houseactually, but he was just
talking.
(10:58):
He and I were just talking onSaturday on the phone about
these sort of tests andassessments and stuff like that,
and we were talking about thevalue of them, the way that he's
seen it happen within themilitary, in the Air Force, and
how he, you know, works with theguys that he works with.
But then I was telling him forme it was really helpful because
a lot of times people writethose off but then you struggle
(11:19):
because you're always dealingwith the same problems over and
over and over again, or like,like.
In this case you have a kidthat is being made fun of and
that's what everybody knows himto be, and they turn it into a
negative thing when in realityit could be a superpower.
Speaker 1 (11:38):
It's definitely a positive and the assessment is
very validating because I wasable to tell this student that
he is the yin to my yang,because my top strength is
called activator.
Speaker 2 (11:53):
And.
Speaker 1 (11:54):
I am characterized by ready shoot.
Oh, I better aim, so I need him.
I need him to slow my roll, tobe a careful risk assessor,
because I'm just out there.
Speaker 2 (12:08):
Yeah, that's great.
As you do this, have you seenthis really take off with these
kids?
As they've taken theseassessments and as you've
interacted with them and givethem these tools, have you seen
it make a big difference?
Speaker 1 (12:24):
Yes, and on my LinkedIn profile there are
recommendations from some of thestudents, some of the older
students obviously not theminors, but the older students,
the college level students thatI have coached, and it's helped
them immensely with theirinterviewing skills, because you
go into an interview andultimately somebody's going to
(12:45):
say, well, tell me aboutyourself, and instead of
fumbling around and saying, well, this or that, you have
absolutely things within yourgut that you can say this is who
I am.
And this is how it presents inmy life, because they're going
to say well, tell me about atime when you used that and what
(13:06):
was the outcome, and you'regoing to be able to go to
stories immediately.
Speaker 2 (13:10):
That's awesome.
We'll be right back.
You can hear the rest of thisconversation in just a moment.
Speaker 5 (13:18):
An open invitation to all Fremont student journalists
.
An open invitation to theparents of all Fremont student
journalists.
An open invitation to theparents of all Fremont student
journalists.
If you worked for your schoolnewspaper and would like to make
an audio story for our podcast,we will air it, we will help
you, we will edit, we will giveadvice.
(13:41):
We don't even have to meet inperson.
We would love to have studentjournalists, teenagers with a
point of view and a life livedin Fremont that we don't have
access to.
We would love for you to tellyour stories, or tell the
stories of those around you, orat least tell stories from your
(14:03):
perspective.
This is a call out to thestudents as individual people.
We're not going to be able togo through your schools because
you know it's summer.
If you had more fun injournalism class than you
expected and it scratched anitch that you didn't know you
had, let's do more work.
Reach out to us through ourwebsite, thefremontpodcastcom,
(14:30):
or message us on Instagram.
Your parents are definitelygoing to have to be involved.
We will need their consent, butwe have worked with teens
before.
We'd like to do it again.
To repeat myself an openinvitation to the student
journalists of this town.
If you can come up with a storyidea and do the field reporting
(14:51):
, we can help edit and you willget airtime.
Speaker 2 (14:56):
I've actually been working out with Own it Fitness,
which is a small shop thatopened up here a few years ago.
They've been a sponsor on thepodcast, and so I've been
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Anyway, they're always askingme about my eating and stuff, so
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(15:18):
right things that go along withthe workout plan they have for
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(15:40):
You can find them at four fourone four one Fremont Boulevard
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Speaker 5 (15:48):
Every single episode of the Fremont Podcast is now on
YouTube.
We put it there in case playingit from YouTube is easier for
some people Enjoy.
Please consider donating $1 amonth on a reoccurring basis to
help this podcast that you enjoy.
Buymeacoffeecom.
Slash TheFremontPodcast.
Slash membership.
Slash the Fremont Podcast,slash membership.
(16:10):
We now have an audio letter tothe editor, a phone number that
you can call and let us knowwhat's on your mind 510-556-4049
(16:32):
.
Speaker 3 (16:32):
Thank you for calling the Fremont Podcast.
This is your audio letter tothe editor.
Please tell us about the thingsyou have observed living or
working here in Fremont, thethings that excite you, the
things that upset you and thethings that you are curious
about.
Speaker 5 (16:42):
So give us a call, and if you need to call us more
than once, that's okay.
If you're three quarters of theway through and you mess up,
just keep talking.
I'm the editor, I'm good at myjob.
If you need to call us morethan once because it doesn't all
fit, that's okay too.
Again, that's 510-556-4049.
Speaker 3 (17:07):
With that said, we really do want to hear from you.
So here's the beep.
Speaker 2 (17:14):
And now back to our conversation.
How long have you lived inFremont?
Speaker 1 (17:19):
We moved to Fremont in 1996, when our son was three
years old and he's now 31.
Speaker 2 (17:28):
Wow, that's awesome.
Where did you live before thatand what brought you to Fremont?
Speaker 1 (17:32):
Well, I grew up in Playa del Rey on the beach in
Southern California.
I then moved to Manhattan Beach, married my husband.
We lived in Redondo Beach.
Then my husband got a job up inSanta Rosa.
We lived in Santa Rosa for twoyears.
It was absolutely gorgeous.
Speaker 2 (17:47):
Loved it.
Speaker 1 (17:48):
And that job didn't work out, so we moved to Fremont
where the jobs did work out andwe've been here ever since, and
because I had lived in all ofthese garden spots and beautiful
areas, I felt that Fremont waslike it was going into the food
and beverage hinterlands.
I mean, fine dining was Chili's, it was beyond annoying and I
(18:15):
hated it.
Yeah.
But what I discovered aboutFremont is that it is a really
spectacular place to raise afamily, and what I also found
was that the community reallysupports its own supports its
own Because I saw a need inFremont where I wanted to start
an education non-profit, and thecommunity of Fremont has
(18:38):
supported us for over 10 yearsin that.
Speaker 2 (18:47):
It's been a while since I've been in school and
you know, and I think back on it, I'm trying to remember, you
know, how these conversationsmay have been navigated when I
was, when I was younger I thinkit was probably a different
generation, a different time butI just I'm just thinking about
it, like when I think of I guesswhat I'm saying is when I think
of even like Fremont, who kindof boasts itself and being one
of the top you know areas withthe education, like why is this
(19:11):
not part of what we're alreadydoing?
And like why I feel like a lotof these things that you're,
that you know the things thatyou're talking about here and
I've talked with other teachersfrom other schools, um, and what
they're doing it feels likethere's some essential things
that are just being avoided and,um, like and not included
within our education.
Speaker 1 (19:31):
Well, part of the curriculum.
I mean every school district ismandated by the State Board of
Education to integrate certaintypes of curriculum into what
they offer, and career help ismandated by the state of.
California and how the differentdistricts do that is up to them
.
I know that Fremont UnifiedSchool District used to contract
(19:53):
with Naviance, which I did notfeel was a great tool.
I was called into an honorsEnglish class to coach the
students based upon theirNaviance results because they
all had to do a career project.
I don't think that the careerproject is part of the
curriculum any longer.
(20:13):
I don't know what they're doing, but the Naviance assessment
had told some of these honorsEnglish students that, oh, you'd
be a good bartender, or oh, youshould be a crossing guard, or
you should be a funeral homeattendant.
Yeah, it was, and that's,excuse me's, not across the
board that was not the majorityof the
(20:35):
assessment results.
But I went around the room andsaid what did your Naviance
results tell you?
And these were some of theresults I was getting.
And I was scratching my headand said there's got to be a
better assessment, because thisis really not checking all the
boxes here.
Speaker 2 (20:52):
I don't know what would be the data that somebody
would collect to determine thatI would be a great crossing
guard, but it seems to me like Icould be imagining myself, or I
have this dream of doingsomething and I feel like I'm
really gifted to do that, andthen just to be told yeah, you
make a good crossing guard.
Respect to all the crossingguards that are listening to the
podcast right now, but I'm justwondering.
(21:15):
That almost seems insulting toa certain degree.
Speaker 1 (21:18):
Well, in all fairness , let's face it.
When some of these high schoolstudents are going in to take
this assessment, they're jokingwith their friends.
Speaker 6 (21:26):
They're like how can?
Speaker 1 (21:26):
I skew these results.
Speaker 6 (21:28):
How can I make this?
Speaker 1 (21:29):
as ridiculous as possible.
This is not going to bemeaningful at all.
So, with all due respect toevery profession and to Naviance
, it could be skewed on thestudent and we just don't know.
We just don't know, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (21:42):
So I think that that's where, when you come in
and you're doing these personalassessments of these students,
it's not just up to them, youknow and I mean there's
obviously the StrengthsFinderstest that they go through but
when you become a coach andyou're helping them one-on-one
with these, with these things, Ithink, I think I think that
(22:04):
also kind of like cuts the crap,cuts through the crap a little
bit as well, and just say, hey,you know, I know you're joking
about this.
You may, you know, may throwdown some things, that, but but
let's get to know you, let's,let's help you, let's get you
set up for, um, being successfulat whatever it is that you're
going to do when you leave here.
And I think that's really,that's really great.
What have you learned, Um?
What have you learned as you umhave like jumped into this head
(22:29):
first, like what is it that youhave learned?
That, you see, is both, um,perhaps you know, a real shining
light for things that arehappening, and what are some of
the things that you feel areareas that we maybe as a, even
as a community, could be mademore aware of, that we could be
doing better, or that we couldbe encouraging people like you
(22:50):
who are investing in people's umin these kids lives like.
What are some of the thingsthat we could be doing better or
that we could be encouraging?
People like you who areinvesting in people's, in these
kids' lives, like, what are someof the things that we could be
more aware of to be able to, youknow, to support?
Speaker 1 (23:02):
The navigation of school districts has become a
lot more complicated.
When I started in 2008, it wasthe teacher would invite you
into the classroom.
You were a well-known part ofthe community.
You were a parent of a studentand other people knew you.
It's like, okay, yeah, justcome on in the classroom and
I'll be there in the classroomwith you and talk to the kids
(23:23):
about what you bring.
Nowadays, in order for anyoneto go into the classroom,
especially as a nonprofitorganization, you have to
complete a memorandum ofunderstanding with the school
district.
You only get the invitation tocomplete the memorandum of
understanding through a teacheror through someone within
(23:44):
administration.
You cannot just go and apply.
Speaker 6 (23:47):
You have to be invited.
Oh, interesting.
Speaker 1 (23:49):
And the process can become a little political, which
is very disheartening to behonest because I know the value
that our organization hasbrought into Fremont schools and
other schools and I'mdisappointed.
Speaker 2 (24:11):
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Speaker 5 (24:59):
Fremont Bank has been around for 60 years and they
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Thank you, Fremont Bank.
I literally typed in the wordbookstore and community and I
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(25:23):
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(25:44):
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Speaker 2 (26:13):
I think, going back to, I want to go back real quick
to what you do with thestrengths finders.
I do think that this is such acritical piece because when I
like I'd already alluded to Itook the strengths finders, I
started recognizing the factthat I was like man.
This assessment gets me, itunderstands who I am, and I
(26:36):
think that oftentimes we dothink that there's like a,
there's like this one clear waythat you know, we just and I
think that's what's happening inthe educational system and I'm
speaking ignorantly, but youknow we create this one pathway
for everyone to go through andwe don't stop to take notice of
(26:56):
the beautiful dimensions of eachstudent and of each particular
person that's going through, andthat's why you have people.
Um, you know, my son was justtelling me the other day and I
can't remember which direct,which movie director it was, but
he was like did you know that?
I don't know it was ChristopherNolan or whoever you know.
It was like they didn't even goto college and I was like, did
(27:21):
you know that?
I don't know if it wasChristopher Nolan or whoever you
know, it was like they didn'teven go to college and I was
like, and look what they did.
You know?
And Steven Spielberg, I think,yeah, and and um, I was just
like yeah and I.
And you start thinking aboutthat and you start thinking
about the people out there whohave had a huge impact on our
society who didn't that theydidn't stay in the rut of the
educational system and insteadthey were actually not.
They had the opportunities, butthey also just had the drive to
(27:43):
go and pursue something thatwas really in line with who they
naturally were.
And then they, and then theycreated amazing things from that
.
But I not everyone has thatdrive, not everyone has the
opportunities to recognize whothey are.
So I think what you're doing,what I anticipate that you're
doing by helping kids discovertheir strengths and discover who
(28:06):
they are naturally, is going togo a long way with that.
Speaker 1 (28:12):
Well, I think, also in Silicon Valley especially,
that the track is that, well,you have to go to college, well,
I don't know.
But I'm doing a room additionand a remodel on my house and
our contractor is making morethan my husband ever did Right
right.
And I don't ever ask an automechanic or an HVAC technician
(28:38):
or a plumber when I need help.
So where'd you go to school?
So can I see your diploma?
Um, I'm just like, can youplease help me and I will throw
any amount of money at you toget you to do that so don't
please people.
I want to encourage you.
If your kids want to go intothe trades, just know that
they'll probably make more moneythan you.
(28:58):
They'll have a more funlifestyle because they'll be
able to schedule their work.
They'll have the best toys outthere, the best RVs and boats
and whatever.
So respect the trades.
Speaker 2 (29:09):
Yeah, I think.
I mean I was an electrician forsix years full time, Like I had
my own business, and I loved it, like it really fit with who I
am.
I like to tinker, like to dothings with my hands and figure
out how things work.
So you know, I loved.
I still do it.
I still do it on the side, butI love doing that and I do think
(29:31):
that there is something likethere is.
I've had this discussion with mywife and I've had this
discussion with other peoplerecently.
It was just like you know, Ithink sometimes our school
systems, the way that they'vebasically evolved into a pathway
(29:52):
by which we try to do the quickand fastest way for the
majority of people to be,quote-unquote, successful.
We want people to get tocollege, we want them to find a
career path and whatever.
Well, a lot of those people Ifeel we're discovering end up
becoming very unhappy withwhatever they just choose to do
(30:13):
at a young age.
When I was just talking withsomebody recently and they were
talking about how competitive,let's say, things are in the
Mission San Jose school, likeit's just highly competitive and
there's a lot of competitionthere, and I think that a lot of
those.
I think in some cases and I'mspeaking ignorantly and
blanketly, so you know, somebodyout there listening can
(30:36):
probably correct me if I'm wrongbut it just seems to be a lot
of that competitiveness isdriven by expectations of, say,
parents or teachers or a society, as opposed to just really
saying, no, you know what, Ihave my own expectations because
I know who I am, I know how I'mwired, I know these things and
(30:57):
so I can go into a classroom andnot have to worry about, like
trying to fight for this certainparticular position and within
academia or whatever, not sayingthat those other classes are
not important or like gettinggood grades is not important.
I'm just simply saying that ifyou know who you are and you're
confident with who you are, thenI think that it makes the
(31:18):
pressure that you feel from theoutside when you're trying to
just blindly discover who youare, I think it makes it feel a
lot less impactful on you aswell.
Speaker 1 (31:32):
You bring up an interesting point, and as the
parent of one child, I have inthe past, as he was growing up,
put a lot of pressure on him.
He was our one little egg inthe basket.
You know we didn't have fourkids and he was it.
And so from a very early ageour son knew that he wanted to
go into the military and we dideverything we could to dissuade
(31:55):
him from doing that, even to thepoint of sending him to an all
boys military boarding schoolfor his junior year in high
school, because he was makingpoor choices as a sophomore.
So he said, Okay, well, we'regonna nip this military thing in
the bud.
But it actually served as acatalyst, because our son is now
a staff sergeant in the armyhaving served four years in the
marine corps, and he's doingvery well in his life and he's
(32:18):
happy you know it's his, it'shis element, yeah it's like it's
what he swims in and doesn'tknow he's swimming that's right
so it's like if you have a child, and this has I've experienced
this over the years um at someof the higher producing schools
where there was a young man whowanted to be in law enforcement
(32:38):
and his parents wouldn't allowhim because that was beneath him
and their culture and he wasdevastated.
He was very sad but he obviouslywas going to live up to the
desires of his parents and be intherapy later.
But you know, it's sad that we,as parents and I am guilty of
this my son is succeeding in hischosen career area because of
(33:03):
his stubbornness and hisintegrity and his honesty to
himself, not anything I havedone.
So as parents, let's please,please, please support our kids.
Speaker 2 (33:15):
Do you guys involve the parents, or does your
organization involve parents aswell in all of this, or how does
that work?
Speaker 1 (33:21):
In the past we have not, but if a parent ever wants
to have a conversation with usabout the student's results, we
would be happy to do that.
And the beautiful thing withStrengthsFinder is, for instance
, if a student has a strategicstrength and whatever other
strengths that might work withan engineering skill set yeah
(33:41):
but they don't want to be inengineering.
We can help the student and theparent find other aspects of
engineering where they can go inand still utilize these.
Yeah, that's right thesestrengths, but maybe they're
more of an influencer type.
There's a job out there calledsales engineer.
Speaker 2 (34:01):
And what?
Speaker 1 (34:01):
you're doing is interfacing with a customer and
yet, at the same time, you haveto have an engineering
background, know what you'retalking about, but be able to
have that conversation with thecustomer and put it all together
.
Speaker 2 (34:10):
That's really good, yeah, like having the knowledge
and awareness of the, you knowthe opportunity.
Because you do say engineer andyou automatically think of,
like I'm sending a rocket to themoon or something like that.
You know it's like.
Well, yes, there is that.
And I've actually beensurprised when I've met people,
(34:31):
a lot of people, recently.
I feel like you know I do this.
Well, what did you go to schoolfor?
I went to school for this, butthis is what I do.
Well, how does that connect?
And they put it together andyou're like, oh, wait a minute,
that does connect.
That would totally make sensefor you to go in this particular
field of science.
But then you end up doingsomething that's very like
society related or likecommunity related.
Speaker 1 (34:56):
And you're like, wow, that just makes a lot of sense.
There are so many differentintersections.
One of our former interns, hersister, was an artist and she
wanted to be in the medicalfield.
She's making prosthesis, wow.
So, you can intersect differentareas and be creative.
Yeah, that's great there's somany different job opportunities
out there and if you've got youknow, you know what your
(35:19):
strengths are and you're able tothen basically do some kind of
research to see what you can do,to sort of pull it all together
and do what lights you up.
Speaker 2 (35:28):
That's great.
I love this.
I love this.
I remember I worked for Wendy'sfor about three and a half
years.
I started when I was, I think,15 or 16.
And early on, my manager mademe a trainer for new employees.
I was probably 16 years old andI was training all the new
employees how to make sandwichesand I took my job seriously and
(35:51):
I knew that I had to doeverything that I needed to do
in order to do it well.
But I also went in and viewedit as a customer as well.
Like I was so frustrated when Iwould order a sandwich based on
the picture that was up on theon the board and not get the
sandwich that I like.
I bought this and it looks likethat in the picture, but when I
get it, it looks horrible.
(36:11):
I was just like I want it to bethat when someone opens up
their wrapper that they're likewow, that looks just like the
picture.
So I tried to make everysandwich look like the picture
and even electrical work.
I worked building custom homesfor a while with high-end
developers where you had to getevery detail correct.
Whether you're hanging achandelier or recess lights or
(36:32):
whatever, it's just like.
The aesthetics are really,really important.
So you have to pay attention toall those details.
Well, I say all that to say Igot asked back or I got hired,
or when I had my own business asan electrician, I would be
hired again and again and againbecause of the type of quality
and the details that I paidattention to with all those
things.
(36:52):
Well, that's all customerservice.
My thought was let's getsomething like an internship or
something for kids to be able tocome in and be able to, you
know, to learn from the best andunderstand the best, and I
think that's one of the reasonswhy it resonates so much with
what you do is because I waslike you're doing that, like
you're helping these kids tounderstand who they are and
(37:14):
what's important.
Speaker 1 (37:19):
Part of the coaching in Clifton StrengthsFinder is
that it's broken down into threeparts.
You are there to help a studentname their strengths.
In other words, they've beenassessed.
Okay, these are my strengths.
And then you're there to helpthem claim them.
Oh, this is where I see thestrength within myself.
Okay, these are my strengths.
And then you're there to helpthem, claim them oh this is
where I see the strength withinmyself, and then you are to help
(37:40):
them aim what they're going todo with those strengths in their
lives.
So, you're there to help themname it, claim it and aim it.
Speaker 2 (37:49):
That's awesome.
Well, I hope that you havegreat success.
I know you already gave thewebsite.
We'll have that in the shownotes.
Is there anything else that youcan encourage people to connect
with you on, or any ways thatthey can connect with you if
they're interested in this?
Are you primarily connectedthrough the school system, or is
this not something that you'redoing?
You're doing it moreindependently now.
Speaker 1 (38:13):
Things are sort of in flux In conversations with our
board.
We're really not sure whatwe're doing it more
independently.
Now Things are sort of in flux.
I really am, you know, inconversations with our board
we're really not sure what we'redoing with the recent
developments of us not beingable to be welcome into Fremont
School, so we're really not surewhat we're doing.
But the website is there and isavailable for people.
But the website is there and isavailable for people.
(38:35):
There are also other websitesthat do similar work to us and
that I recommend.
There is the California CareerZone which is a state of.
California.
It's very helpful.
Also, there is Gladio,g-l-a-d-e-oorg, I believe, and
(38:56):
then there's also Road TripNation does a lot with careers
and helping kids with careers,but what they don't do on the
assessment side, I feel that allof those websites are weak
because I compare it toCliftonStrengthsFinder.
With CliftonStrengthsFinderyou're getting the whole package
.
Those other websites havecareer videos and are helpful.
(39:17):
So there's a lot to pick andchoose from out there.
Speaker 2 (39:21):
That's great.
Well, I am so glad that youshared with us what you're doing
and what your experience hasbeen within our education system
, and I hope the best.
I think that our society needsthis, our community needs this,
and so I really hope thatwhatever you're transitioning
(39:42):
into at this point is somethingthat's going to be even stronger
and better for our community.
Speaker 1 (39:44):
Thank you, I really appreciate the time and the
opportunity.
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (39:47):
This episode was hosted and produced by Ricky B.
I'm Gary Williams, Andrew Kvetis the editor.
Scheduling and pre-interviewsby Sarah S.
Be sure to subscribe whereverit is that you listen so you
don't miss an episode.
You can find everything we make, the podcast and all of our
social media links atthefremontpodcastcom.
(40:08):
Join us next week on theFremont Podcast.
Speaker 6 (40:13):
This is a Muggins Media Podcast.
and I don't ever ask an auto mechanic or an HVAC
technician or a plumber when Ineed help.
So where'd you go to school?
So can I see your diploma?
I'm just like can you pleasehelp me?
And I will throw any amount ofmoney at you to get you to do
that.
Speaker 4 (00:22):
Coming to you straight from Fremont,
california.
This is the Fremont podcast,dedicated to telling the stories
of the past and present of thepeople and places of the city of
Fremont, one conversation at atime.
Speaker 5 (00:36):
East Bay Times.
Oh.
May 29th, 2024.
That's not too bad.
The one before that, may 26th,2024.
That's not too bad.
The one before that, may 26th,may 25th, okay.
(00:56):
San Francisco Chronicle April23rd, 2024.
Before that, april 15th and,ooh, february 8th.
I mean, it is about Sean Wang sothat's cool, but February,
april and April.
East Bay Express uh, april 2nd,2024, it's mentioned rather
(01:23):
than about, and then, oh, beforethat, october 27th 2004,.
East Bay Express, kqed, august10th 2023.
And before that, june 23rd,2022.
(01:43):
Radio come on ABC 7, may 27th,may 20th, may 21st Okay, I mean
KTVU.
Fox 2, may 30th, may 21st, may18th.
(02:04):
Nbc 11, may 23rd, may 21strepeats of the same story over
and over again.
I wonder if the results wouldchange if I took out the word
Tesla, because every single oneof these is oh, our Red Lobster
closed, okay, may 15th, allright.
Kpix.
(02:25):
Cbs News.
Channel 5, may 24th, may 22nd,may 7th, may 1st.
Well, this is halfway between acomplaint and an open
invitation for newsorganizations to visit Fremont
more often.
And you are listening toepisode 120 of the Fremont
(02:48):
Podcast.
Speaker 4 (02:50):
Now here's your host, Ricky B.
Speaker 2 (02:53):
So Kathy, I have Kathy.
Is it Laidlaw?
Speaker 1 (02:57):
Kathy Laidlaw.
Speaker 2 (02:58):
Laidlaw awesome, thank you for being on the
podcast with me.
I ran into you and we startedtalking.
For some reason, you gave meyour card and then you started
talking about the way that youare concerned about teens and
the way that they grow up anddevelop as a person, and
(03:19):
especially within the jobmarkets, and stuff like that,
and that really resonated withme.
I actually had told I think Ithat really resonated with me.
I actually had told I think Ishared with you an idea that I
had had going on as well.
But I felt like a lot of thesame observations, a lot of the
same concerns that you've hadwere ones that I had seen as
well.
So tell me a little bit aboutwhat it is that you do in that
(03:41):
area, in the working with kidsyou do in that area, in the
working with kids.
Speaker 1 (03:49):
Well, when my son started high school in 2007, I
was invited to go into one ofhis classrooms by one of his
teachers to teach high schooljuniors and seniors who were
going to be going directly intothe workforce rather than going
into post-secondary education.
I was invited to come in and toteach them how to give
excellent customer servicebecause I had a business where I
was conducting customersatisfaction surveys for midsize
(04:12):
manufacturing companies.
Speaker 2 (04:16):
So just to clarify so this was a class that the
school system has that wouldhelp students that were no it
was just one of his classes, oneof his six periods.
Speaker 1 (04:26):
I met the teacher while we were both chaperoning
and dance.
And she said, understanding nowwhat I did at home, I had this
home-based business customersatisfaction surveys gauging
customer satisfaction in service.
And so she said would youplease come in and teach these
juniors and seniors who aregoing to be going directly into
(04:47):
the workforce how to giveexcellent customer service,
because where else are theygoing to learn?
It but from you, who aretalking to the voice of the
customer.
You're hearing what thecustomer wants.
So, can you please come in andteach these kids what the
customer is saying about whatthey want?
Speaker 6 (05:02):
how they want to be treated.
Speaker 1 (05:04):
Yeah, that's brilliant, so I did that, and
the teacher was kind enough tomentor me on my presentation
skills and on the things thatstudents need in order to stay
connected and engaged to aspeaker, and so that morphed
into a nonprofit where westarted intersecting strengths,
(05:25):
individual student strengthswith their interests, with
potential careers and so yeah.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
So you, how many years did you help her teach
that, or how long did you dothat before you realized this
was something that is neededmore broadly than maybe just
that classroom?
Speaker 1 (05:45):
So I started going into the classroom in the spring
of 2008 as a volunteer.
And then in 2009,.
Because what I was saying tothe students is that, look, if
you're interested in, say,perhaps, architecture, then you
need to interview an architectto ask them.
Can you give me 20 minutes andI'm going to ask you three
questions what made you choosethis career, how did you get
(06:07):
here and what's the best adviceyou could give me if I want to
follow in?
Speaker 6 (06:11):
your shoes.
Speaker 1 (06:13):
And so the more students I spoke with, it was
okay.
Well, my network is going tostart to become saturated with
students wanting to interview myfriends, and so I thought, you
know what?
We just need to create videosof these people that I know, put
it on a website so thatstudents can access this content
(06:34):
24-7, at no cost.
Speaker 2 (06:36):
That's cool.
Speaker 1 (06:36):
So I incorporated as I got the help of wonderful pro
bono attorneys who helped meincorporate and we started the
website and we startedinterviewing people and that
website is wwwgt20.org.
Speaker 2 (06:57):
Wow, I'll put that on the show notes to make sure
people can click on that linktoo.
So this is interesting becauseit sounds to me like a master
class platform or something likethat, for teens, specifically
as they anticipate going out inthe workforce.
Is that how you would view it?
(07:17):
Is it like there's videos ofpeople instructing and talking
about their particularbackgrounds and stuff like that?
Speaker 1 (07:24):
It's more of a research tool actually.
Speaker 2 (07:26):
But what?
Speaker 1 (07:26):
I indicated in the classroom is that I wanted teens
to know yourself.
So you have to do some level ofself-assessment.
So we had a Department of Laborassessment tool on the website
and that was helpful, but notgreat.
So in 2017, I learned aboutClifton StrengthsFinder and then
(07:49):
I became a certified Gallupstrengths coach, because Clifton
StrengthsFinder is owned by theGallup organization.
So I became a certifiedstrengths coach and started
taking that into the classroomand really saw a huge, huge
amount of impact through that,because the difference between
(08:10):
just telling kids, okay, go andtake this Department of Labor
assessment, and then you figureout from there.
And here are these random, youknow interviews these video
interviews and you go and do allthe work.
Video interviews and you go anddo all the work.
So instead of that, we did amuch more focused approach where
we, as a nonprofit, wouldpurchase the codes, the
(08:31):
assessment codes and then wewould administer the assessment
in the classroom.
And then I have two additionalvolunteer Gallup certified
strengths coaches that come withme into the classroom and then
we coach the students one on one.
Now we're in a room, the dooris open, the teacher can still
(08:52):
see us there's a lot oftransparency.
Every communication we send tothe student, the teacher, is
copied on it.
So there's just 100%transparency everywhere.
But what we found is that thestudents were learning about
what was right with themnaturally, and then in the
coaching we would help themchoose a vocabulary about
(09:14):
themselves around theirstrengths.
So, as an instance, there wasone young man that he was a
freshman and I coached him andhis top strength is called
deliberative, which means hetakes quite a bit of time to
make a decision.
Well, his friends he's 13, 14years old.
His friends are making fun ofhim saying dude just make a
(09:37):
decision.
And so the vocabulary that hechose around that strength was
that he is a careful, observantrisk assessor, and so basically,
he's able to tell his friends.
I'm a careful observant riskassessor and I need more time to
make this decision.
Speaker 2 (09:54):
Wow, wow, that's awesome.
It really is you know you?
You mentioned Gallup and theStrengthsFinder.
Uh, I've never I say never.
I didn't see the value in a lotof those things I've taken like
quick quizzes on, like onlineplatforms, social media,
whatever, and it's like you'rethis person and you know
whatever.
And then I had to take a.
(10:14):
I took a class several yearsago where one of the things that
they did was help you determine, you know, figure out who you
are.
I love the way that you said ittoo.
Like who are you now?
The natural person, the personthat you, um, are?
You know the design of?
who you are your psyche or your,you know your physical traits
or whatever.
And so we took several um, wetook several of these sort of
(10:38):
assessment tests.
But I I remember takingStrengthsFinder and um and just
reading it and thinking, oh my,my word, like this really gets
me, like it helps me understand.
I was just talking to a friendof mine.
One of my best friends is a.
He works in the White Houseactually, but he was just
talking.
(10:58):
He and I were just talking onSaturday on the phone about
these sort of tests andassessments and stuff like that,
and we were talking about thevalue of them, the way that he's
seen it happen within themilitary, in the Air Force, and
how he, you know, works with theguys that he works with.
But then I was telling him forme it was really helpful because
a lot of times people writethose off but then you struggle
(11:19):
because you're always dealingwith the same problems over and
over and over again, or like,like.
In this case you have a kidthat is being made fun of and
that's what everybody knows himto be, and they turn it into a
negative thing when in realityit could be a superpower.
Speaker 1 (11:38):
It's definitely a positive and the assessment is
very validating because I wasable to tell this student that
he is the yin to my yang,because my top strength is
called activator.
Speaker 2 (11:53):
And.
Speaker 1 (11:54):
I am characterized by ready shoot.
Oh, I better aim, so I need him.
I need him to slow my roll, tobe a careful risk assessor,
because I'm just out there.
Speaker 2 (12:08):
Yeah, that's great.
As you do this, have you seenthis really take off with these
kids?
As they've taken theseassessments and as you've
interacted with them and givethem these tools, have you seen
it make a big difference?
Speaker 1 (12:24):
Yes, and on my LinkedIn profile there are
recommendations from some of thestudents, some of the older
students obviously not theminors, but the older students,
the college level students thatI have coached, and it's helped
them immensely with theirinterviewing skills, because you
go into an interview andultimately somebody's going to
(12:45):
say, well, tell me aboutyourself, and instead of
fumbling around and saying, well, this or that, you have
absolutely things within yourgut that you can say this is who
I am.
And this is how it presents inmy life, because they're going
to say well, tell me about atime when you used that and what
(13:06):
was the outcome, and you'regoing to be able to go to
stories immediately.
Speaker 2 (13:10):
That's awesome.
We'll be right back.
You can hear the rest of thisconversation in just a moment.
Speaker 5 (13:18):
An open invitation to all Fremont student journalists
.
An open invitation to theparents of all Fremont student
journalists.
An open invitation to theparents of all Fremont student
journalists.
If you worked for your schoolnewspaper and would like to make
an audio story for our podcast,we will air it, we will help
you, we will edit, we will giveadvice.
(13:41):
We don't even have to meet inperson.
We would love to have studentjournalists, teenagers with a
point of view and a life livedin Fremont that we don't have
access to.
We would love for you to tellyour stories, or tell the
stories of those around you, orat least tell stories from your
(14:03):
perspective.
This is a call out to thestudents as individual people.
We're not going to be able togo through your schools because
you know it's summer.
If you had more fun injournalism class than you
expected and it scratched anitch that you didn't know you
had, let's do more work.
Reach out to us through ourwebsite, thefremontpodcastcom,
(14:30):
or message us on Instagram.
Your parents are definitelygoing to have to be involved.
We will need their consent, butwe have worked with teens
before.
We'd like to do it again.
To repeat myself an openinvitation to the student
journalists of this town.
If you can come up with a storyidea and do the field reporting
(14:51):
, we can help edit and you willget airtime.
Speaker 2 (14:56):
I've actually been working out with Own it Fitness,
which is a small shop thatopened up here a few years ago.
They've been a sponsor on thepodcast, and so I've been
working out with them and theyhelp you with diet as well as
your exercise and stuff likethat.
Anyway, they're always askingme about my eating and stuff, so
every time I'm in there theymake sure that I'm eating the
(15:18):
right things that go along withthe workout plan they have for
me and stuff.
I want to to tell you aboutminute man press in Irvington.
They are your quality printerto go to here in Fremont.
I have personally worked withthem before and I find their
services to be fantastic.
Look no further than minute manpress in Irvington.
(15:40):
You can find them at four fourone four one Fremont Boulevard
in Fremont.
Speaker 5 (15:48):
Every single episode of the Fremont Podcast is now on
YouTube.
We put it there in case playingit from YouTube is easier for
some people Enjoy.
Please consider donating $1 amonth on a reoccurring basis to
help this podcast that you enjoy.
Buymeacoffeecom.
Slash TheFremontPodcast.
Slash membership.
Slash the Fremont Podcast,slash membership.
(16:10):
We now have an audio letter tothe editor, a phone number that
you can call and let us knowwhat's on your mind 510-556-4049
(16:32):
.
Speaker 3 (16:32):
Thank you for calling the Fremont Podcast.
This is your audio letter tothe editor.
Please tell us about the thingsyou have observed living or
working here in Fremont, thethings that excite you, the
things that upset you and thethings that you are curious
about.
Speaker 5 (16:42):
So give us a call, and if you need to call us more
than once, that's okay.
If you're three quarters of theway through and you mess up,
just keep talking.
I'm the editor, I'm good at myjob.
If you need to call us morethan once because it doesn't all
fit, that's okay too.
Again, that's 510-556-4049.
Speaker 3 (17:07):
With that said, we really do want to hear from you.
So here's the beep.
Speaker 2 (17:14):
And now back to our conversation.
How long have you lived inFremont?
Speaker 1 (17:19):
We moved to Fremont in 1996, when our son was three
years old and he's now 31.
Speaker 2 (17:28):
Wow, that's awesome.
Where did you live before thatand what brought you to Fremont?
Speaker 1 (17:32):
Well, I grew up in Playa del Rey on the beach in
Southern California.
I then moved to Manhattan Beach, married my husband.
We lived in Redondo Beach.
Then my husband got a job up inSanta Rosa.
We lived in Santa Rosa for twoyears.
It was absolutely gorgeous.
Speaker 2 (17:47):
Loved it.
Speaker 1 (17:48):
And that job didn't work out, so we moved to Fremont
where the jobs did work out andwe've been here ever since, and
because I had lived in all ofthese garden spots and beautiful
areas, I felt that Fremont waslike it was going into the food
and beverage hinterlands.
I mean, fine dining was Chili's, it was beyond annoying and I
(18:15):
hated it.
Yeah.
But what I discovered aboutFremont is that it is a really
spectacular place to raise afamily, and what I also found
was that the community reallysupports its own supports its
own Because I saw a need inFremont where I wanted to start
an education non-profit, and thecommunity of Fremont has
(18:38):
supported us for over 10 yearsin that.
Speaker 2 (18:47):
It's been a while since I've been in school and
you know, and I think back on it, I'm trying to remember, you
know, how these conversationsmay have been navigated when I
was, when I was younger I thinkit was probably a different
generation, a different time butI just I'm just thinking about
it, like when I think of I guesswhat I'm saying is when I think
of even like Fremont, who kindof boasts itself and being one
of the top you know areas withthe education, like why is this
(19:11):
not part of what we're alreadydoing?
And like why I feel like a lotof these things that you're,
that you know the things thatyou're talking about here and
I've talked with other teachersfrom other schools, um, and what
they're doing it feels likethere's some essential things
that are just being avoided and,um, like and not included
within our education.
Speaker 1 (19:31):
Well, part of the curriculum.
I mean every school district ismandated by the State Board of
Education to integrate certaintypes of curriculum into what
they offer, and career help ismandated by the state of.
California and how the differentdistricts do that is up to them
.
I know that Fremont UnifiedSchool District used to contract
(19:53):
with Naviance, which I did notfeel was a great tool.
I was called into an honorsEnglish class to coach the
students based upon theirNaviance results because they
all had to do a career project.
I don't think that the careerproject is part of the
curriculum any longer.
(20:13):
I don't know what they're doing, but the Naviance assessment
had told some of these honorsEnglish students that, oh, you'd
be a good bartender, or oh, youshould be a crossing guard, or
you should be a funeral homeattendant.
Yeah, it was, and that's,excuse me's, not across the
board that was not the majorityof the
(20:35):
assessment results.
But I went around the room andsaid what did your Naviance
results tell you?
And these were some of theresults I was getting.
And I was scratching my headand said there's got to be a
better assessment, because thisis really not checking all the
boxes here.
Speaker 2 (20:52):
I don't know what would be the data that somebody
would collect to determine thatI would be a great crossing
guard, but it seems to me like Icould be imagining myself, or I
have this dream of doingsomething and I feel like I'm
really gifted to do that, andthen just to be told yeah, you
make a good crossing guard.
Respect to all the crossingguards that are listening to the
podcast right now, but I'm justwondering.
(21:15):
That almost seems insulting toa certain degree.
Speaker 1 (21:18):
Well, in all fairness , let's face it.
When some of these high schoolstudents are going in to take
this assessment, they're jokingwith their friends.
Speaker 6 (21:26):
They're like how can?
Speaker 1 (21:26):
I skew these results.
Speaker 6 (21:28):
How can I make this?
Speaker 1 (21:29):
as ridiculous as possible.
This is not going to bemeaningful at all.
So, with all due respect toevery profession and to Naviance
, it could be skewed on thestudent and we just don't know.
We just don't know, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (21:42):
So I think that that's where, when you come in
and you're doing these personalassessments of these students,
it's not just up to them, youknow and I mean there's
obviously the StrengthsFinderstest that they go through but
when you become a coach andyou're helping them one-on-one
with these, with these things, Ithink, I think I think that
(22:04):
also kind of like cuts the crap,cuts through the crap a little
bit as well, and just say, hey,you know, I know you're joking
about this.
You may, you know, may throwdown some things, that, but but
let's get to know you, let's,let's help you, let's get you
set up for, um, being successfulat whatever it is that you're
going to do when you leave here.
And I think that's really,that's really great.
What have you learned, Um?
What have you learned as you umhave like jumped into this head
(22:29):
first, like what is it that youhave learned?
That, you see, is both, um,perhaps you know, a real shining
light for things that arehappening, and what are some of
the things that you feel areareas that we maybe as a, even
as a community, could be mademore aware of, that we could be
doing better, or that we couldbe encouraging people like you
(22:50):
who are investing in people's umin these kids lives like.
What are some of the thingsthat we could be doing better or
that we could be encouraging?
People like you who areinvesting in people's, in these
kids' lives, like, what are someof the things that we could be
more aware of to be able to, youknow, to support?
Speaker 1 (23:02):
The navigation of school districts has become a
lot more complicated.
When I started in 2008, it wasthe teacher would invite you
into the classroom.
You were a well-known part ofthe community.
You were a parent of a studentand other people knew you.
It's like, okay, yeah, justcome on in the classroom and
I'll be there in the classroomwith you and talk to the kids
(23:23):
about what you bring.
Nowadays, in order for anyoneto go into the classroom,
especially as a nonprofitorganization, you have to
complete a memorandum ofunderstanding with the school
district.
You only get the invitation tocomplete the memorandum of
understanding through a teacheror through someone within
(23:44):
administration.
You cannot just go and apply.
Speaker 6 (23:47):
You have to be invited.
Oh, interesting.
Speaker 1 (23:49):
And the process can become a little political, which
is very disheartening to behonest because I know the value
that our organization hasbrought into Fremont schools and
other schools and I'mdisappointed.
Speaker 2 (24:11):
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Speaker 5 (24:59):
Fremont Bank has been around for 60 years and they
sponsor a lot of stuff, and nowincluded on the list of things
they sponsor is this podcast.
Thank you, Fremont Bank.
I literally typed in the wordbookstore and community and I
immediately found two articles.
The first article from 2018,guess what's anchoring many
(25:23):
small downtowns, Even in the ageof online shopping?
The answer is bookstores.
And another article from StrongTowns in 2019, how a local
bookstore can make your townricher in more than one way.
Banter Bookshop is on CapitolAvenue in downtown Fremont.
The Ohlone College Flea Marketis happening every second
(25:44):
Saturday of the month from 9 amto 3 pm on Ohlone's Fremont
campus.
Hey Van, if people want tocontact you, how do they get in
touch?
Speaker 6 (25:53):
So our phone number is 510-659-6285.
And the email is fleamarket ataloniedu.
More information can be foundat aloniedu slash flea dash
market.
Speaker 2 (26:13):
I think, going back to, I want to go back real quick
to what you do with thestrengths finders.
I do think that this is such acritical piece because when I
like I'd already alluded to Itook the strengths finders, I
started recognizing the factthat I was like man.
This assessment gets me, itunderstands who I am, and I
(26:36):
think that oftentimes we dothink that there's like a,
there's like this one clear waythat you know, we just and I
think that's what's happening inthe educational system and I'm
speaking ignorantly, but youknow we create this one pathway
for everyone to go through andwe don't stop to take notice of
(26:56):
the beautiful dimensions of eachstudent and of each particular
person that's going through, andthat's why you have people.
Um, you know, my son was justtelling me the other day and I
can't remember which direct,which movie director it was, but
he was like did you know that?
I don't know it was ChristopherNolan or whoever you know.
It was like they didn't even goto college and I was like, did
(27:21):
you know that?
I don't know if it wasChristopher Nolan or whoever you
know, it was like they didn'teven go to college and I was
like, and look what they did.
You know?
And Steven Spielberg, I think,yeah, and and um, I was just
like yeah and I.
And you start thinking aboutthat and you start thinking
about the people out there whohave had a huge impact on our
society who didn't that theydidn't stay in the rut of the
educational system and insteadthey were actually not.
They had the opportunities, butthey also just had the drive to
(27:43):
go and pursue something thatwas really in line with who they
naturally were.
And then they, and then theycreated amazing things from that
.
But I not everyone has thatdrive, not everyone has the
opportunities to recognize whothey are.
So I think what you're doing,what I anticipate that you're
doing by helping kids discovertheir strengths and discover who
(28:06):
they are naturally, is going togo a long way with that.
Speaker 1 (28:12):
Well, I think, also in Silicon Valley especially,
that the track is that, well,you have to go to college, well,
I don't know.
But I'm doing a room additionand a remodel on my house and
our contractor is making morethan my husband ever did Right
right.
And I don't ever ask an automechanic or an HVAC technician
(28:38):
or a plumber when I need help.
So where'd you go to school?
So can I see your diploma?
Um, I'm just like, can youplease help me and I will throw
any amount of money at you toget you to do that so don't
please people.
I want to encourage you.
If your kids want to go intothe trades, just know that
they'll probably make more moneythan you.
(28:58):
They'll have a more funlifestyle because they'll be
able to schedule their work.
They'll have the best toys outthere, the best RVs and boats
and whatever.
So respect the trades.
Speaker 2 (29:09):
Yeah, I think.
I mean I was an electrician forsix years full time, Like I had
my own business, and I loved it, like it really fit with who I
am.
I like to tinker, like to dothings with my hands and figure
out how things work.
So you know, I loved.
I still do it.
I still do it on the side, butI love doing that and I do think
(29:31):
that there is something likethere is.
I've had this discussion with mywife and I've had this
discussion with other peoplerecently.
It was just like you know, Ithink sometimes our school
systems, the way that they'vebasically evolved into a pathway
(29:52):
by which we try to do the quickand fastest way for the
majority of people to be,quote-unquote, successful.
We want people to get tocollege, we want them to find a
career path and whatever.
Well, a lot of those people Ifeel we're discovering end up
becoming very unhappy withwhatever they just choose to do
(30:13):
at a young age.
When I was just talking withsomebody recently and they were
talking about how competitive,let's say, things are in the
Mission San Jose school, likeit's just highly competitive and
there's a lot of competitionthere, and I think that a lot of
those.
I think in some cases and I'mspeaking ignorantly and
blanketly, so you know, somebodyout there listening can
(30:36):
probably correct me if I'm wrongbut it just seems to be a lot
of that competitiveness isdriven by expectations of, say,
parents or teachers or a society, as opposed to just really
saying, no, you know what, Ihave my own expectations because
I know who I am, I know how I'mwired, I know these things and
(30:57):
so I can go into a classroom andnot have to worry about, like
trying to fight for this certainparticular position and within
academia or whatever, not sayingthat those other classes are
not important or like gettinggood grades is not important.
I'm just simply saying that ifyou know who you are and you're
confident with who you are, thenI think that it makes the
(31:18):
pressure that you feel from theoutside when you're trying to
just blindly discover who youare, I think it makes it feel a
lot less impactful on you aswell.
Speaker 1 (31:32):
You bring up an interesting point, and as the
parent of one child, I have inthe past, as he was growing up,
put a lot of pressure on him.
He was our one little egg inthe basket.
You know we didn't have fourkids and he was it.
And so from a very early ageour son knew that he wanted to
go into the military and we dideverything we could to dissuade
(31:55):
him from doing that, even to thepoint of sending him to an all
boys military boarding schoolfor his junior year in high
school, because he was makingpoor choices as a sophomore.
So he said, Okay, well, we'regonna nip this military thing in
the bud.
But it actually served as acatalyst, because our son is now
a staff sergeant in the armyhaving served four years in the
marine corps, and he's doingvery well in his life and he's
(32:18):
happy you know it's his, it'shis element, yeah it's like it's
what he swims in and doesn'tknow he's swimming that's right
so it's like if you have a child, and this has I've experienced
this over the years um at someof the higher producing schools
where there was a young man whowanted to be in law enforcement
(32:38):
and his parents wouldn't allowhim because that was beneath him
and their culture and he wasdevastated.
He was very sad but he obviouslywas going to live up to the
desires of his parents and be intherapy later.
But you know, it's sad that we,as parents and I am guilty of
this my son is succeeding in hischosen career area because of
(33:03):
his stubbornness and hisintegrity and his honesty to
himself, not anything I havedone.
So as parents, let's please,please, please support our kids.
Speaker 2 (33:15):
Do you guys involve the parents, or does your
organization involve parents aswell in all of this, or how does
that work?
Speaker 1 (33:21):
In the past we have not, but if a parent ever wants
to have a conversation with usabout the student's results, we
would be happy to do that.
And the beautiful thing withStrengthsFinder is, for instance
, if a student has a strategicstrength and whatever other
strengths that might work withan engineering skill set yeah
(33:41):
but they don't want to be inengineering.
We can help the student and theparent find other aspects of
engineering where they can go inand still utilize these.
Yeah, that's right thesestrengths, but maybe they're
more of an influencer type.
There's a job out there calledsales engineer.
Speaker 2 (34:01):
And what?
Speaker 1 (34:01):
you're doing is interfacing with a customer and
yet, at the same time, you haveto have an engineering
background, know what you'retalking about, but be able to
have that conversation with thecustomer and put it all together
.
Speaker 2 (34:10):
That's really good, yeah, like having the knowledge
and awareness of the, you knowthe opportunity.
Because you do say engineer andyou automatically think of,
like I'm sending a rocket to themoon or something like that.
You know it's like.
Well, yes, there is that.
And I've actually beensurprised when I've met people,
(34:31):
a lot of people, recently.
I feel like you know I do this.
Well, what did you go to schoolfor?
I went to school for this, butthis is what I do.
Well, how does that connect?
And they put it together andyou're like, oh, wait a minute,
that does connect.
That would totally make sensefor you to go in this particular
field of science.
But then you end up doingsomething that's very like
society related or likecommunity related.
Speaker 1 (34:56):
And you're like, wow, that just makes a lot of sense.
There are so many differentintersections.
One of our former interns, hersister, was an artist and she
wanted to be in the medicalfield.
She's making prosthesis, wow.
So, you can intersect differentareas and be creative.
Yeah, that's great there's somany different job opportunities
out there and if you've got youknow, you know what your
(35:19):
strengths are and you're able tothen basically do some kind of
research to see what you can do,to sort of pull it all together
and do what lights you up.
Speaker 2 (35:28):
That's great.
I love this.
I love this.
I remember I worked for Wendy'sfor about three and a half
years.
I started when I was, I think,15 or 16.
And early on, my manager mademe a trainer for new employees.
I was probably 16 years old andI was training all the new
employees how to make sandwichesand I took my job seriously and
(35:51):
I knew that I had to doeverything that I needed to do
in order to do it well.
But I also went in and viewedit as a customer as well.
Like I was so frustrated when Iwould order a sandwich based on
the picture that was up on theon the board and not get the
sandwich that I like.
I bought this and it looks likethat in the picture, but when I
get it, it looks horrible.
(36:11):
I was just like I want it to bethat when someone opens up
their wrapper that they're likewow, that looks just like the
picture.
So I tried to make everysandwich look like the picture
and even electrical work.
I worked building custom homesfor a while with high-end
developers where you had to getevery detail correct.
Whether you're hanging achandelier or recess lights or
(36:32):
whatever, it's just like.
The aesthetics are really,really important.
So you have to pay attention toall those details.
Well, I say all that to say Igot asked back or I got hired,
or when I had my own business asan electrician, I would be
hired again and again and againbecause of the type of quality
and the details that I paidattention to with all those
things.
(36:52):
Well, that's all customerservice.
My thought was let's getsomething like an internship or
something for kids to be able tocome in and be able to, you
know, to learn from the best andunderstand the best, and I
think that's one of the reasonswhy it resonates so much with
what you do is because I waslike you're doing that, like
you're helping these kids tounderstand who they are and
(37:14):
what's important.
Speaker 1 (37:19):
Part of the coaching in Clifton StrengthsFinder is
that it's broken down into threeparts.
You are there to help a studentname their strengths.
In other words, they've beenassessed.
Okay, these are my strengths.
And then you're there to helpthem claim them.
Oh, this is where I see thestrength within myself.
Okay, these are my strengths.
And then you're there to helpthem, claim them oh this is
where I see the strength withinmyself, and then you are to help
(37:40):
them aim what they're going todo with those strengths in their
lives.
So, you're there to help themname it, claim it and aim it.
Speaker 2 (37:49):
That's awesome.
Well, I hope that you havegreat success.
I know you already gave thewebsite.
We'll have that in the shownotes.
Is there anything else that youcan encourage people to connect
with you on, or any ways thatthey can connect with you if
they're interested in this?
Are you primarily connectedthrough the school system, or is
this not something that you'redoing?
You're doing it moreindependently now.
Speaker 1 (38:13):
Things are sort of in flux In conversations with our
board.
We're really not sure whatwe're doing it more
independently.
Now Things are sort of in flux.
I really am, you know, inconversations with our board
we're really not sure what we'redoing with the recent
developments of us not beingable to be welcome into Fremont
School, so we're really not surewhat we're doing.
But the website is there and isavailable for people.
But the website is there and isavailable for people.
(38:35):
There are also other websitesthat do similar work to us and
that I recommend.
There is the California CareerZone which is a state of.
California.
It's very helpful.
Also, there is Gladio,g-l-a-d-e-oorg, I believe, and
(38:56):
then there's also Road TripNation does a lot with careers
and helping kids with careers,but what they don't do on the
assessment side, I feel that allof those websites are weak
because I compare it toCliftonStrengthsFinder.
With CliftonStrengthsFinderyou're getting the whole package
.
Those other websites havecareer videos and are helpful.
(39:17):
So there's a lot to pick andchoose from out there.
Speaker 2 (39:21):
That's great.
Well, I am so glad that youshared with us what you're doing
and what your experience hasbeen within our education system
, and I hope the best.
I think that our society needsthis, our community needs this,
and so I really hope thatwhatever you're transitioning
(39:42):
into at this point is somethingthat's going to be even stronger
and better for our community.
Speaker 1 (39:44):
Thank you, I really appreciate the time and the
opportunity.
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (39:47):
This episode was hosted and produced by Ricky B.
I'm Gary Williams, Andrew Kvetis the editor.
Scheduling and pre-interviewsby Sarah S.
Be sure to subscribe whereverit is that you listen so you
don't miss an episode.
You can find everything we make, the podcast and all of our
social media links atthefremontpodcastcom.
(40:08):
Join us next week on theFremont Podcast.
Speaker 6 (40:13):
This is a Muggins Media Podcast.
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