Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to Passport Mommy. I'm your host, Michelle Jerson. This
show is for anyone raising little humans. We feature experts
with tips and advice to enrich the lives of our children.
Mom and dad. Entrepreneurs tell us their inspiring stories, learn
about products that could make both you and your child's
life easier and more fun, and of course, fellow parents
(00:21):
discuss and laugh about what's happening in their child's world.
Motherhood is a journey. Thanks for joining me onmine. Welcome
to Passport Mommy. I'm Michelle Jerson. So the school year
is unwinding and many students are thinking about what comes next,
and for some that means staying academically engaged over the summer.
For others, it's about easing the transition to college and
(00:44):
to support that goal, Sophia Learning is offering a new
summer program that will give up to one hundred thousand
incoming high school juniors and seniors no cost access to
college level courses. Which is amazing And to tell us
more about it is doctor SHAWNA. Thayer. She is She's
a CEO of Sophia Learning. She is a seasoned higher
(01:06):
education leader dedicated to providing affordable, accessible pathways for personal
and professional advancement to students at every stage, and prior
to her current role as CEO, she led a team
that provided insights to improve adult learner achievement at Strategic Education. Hello,
thank you so much for joining me today, doctor Thayer.
Speaker 2 (01:28):
Thanks so much for having me.
Speaker 3 (01:29):
It's great to be here.
Speaker 4 (01:31):
My pleasure.
Speaker 1 (01:31):
So what does the new survey reveal about how students
feel as they prepare for life after high school.
Speaker 2 (01:41):
Yeah, to better understand current perspectives on college readiness from
both parents and students, we conducted a survey of one
thousand high school juniors and seniors and one thousand parents
and guardians, and what we found is is that for
the high schoolers, twenty four percent of juniors and seniors
(02:02):
believe that a degree is worth the investment. They definitely
see the value of the degree in going to college,
and in fact, seventy two percent of them said that
they need to go to college to be successful and
that was what they reported. So the interest and the
intention for.
Speaker 5 (02:20):
College was still there.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
However, there is the other side of that, which is
some of the worries and some of the concerns that
come around about being prepared for that, And seventy three
percent of the juniors and seniors that we talked to
or surveyed they worried about being able to afford college tuition.
That was a key challenge that they were concerned about.
(02:42):
They also noted that, you know, choosing a major and
you know, being prepared for college were also some other
concerns that were weighing heavily on their minds.
Speaker 1 (02:52):
Yeah, rightfully. So, I mean, I can't believe the prices
of colleges these days and universities. I mean, I thought
it was expensive when I was there, and that was
a long time ago. And so as a parent, it's
also concerning because we obviously want the best for our kids.
So what do these teens say about early college level
coursework and the pressure of choosing a major? Because I
(03:14):
know you just touched on that.
Speaker 2 (03:17):
Yeah, I mean I'm also a mom of a son
who just graduated high school, so we are in the
thick of this in our house.
Speaker 4 (03:25):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (03:25):
Congrats, Oh thank you. You know what we what we
heard from from the students in the survey is that
while preparing for college is an exciting milestone, there that
that that concern and that worry about choosing a major
was very real. So what we what we found was
(03:45):
that over half of the high school juniors and seniors
who do plan to attend college, they wanted more time
to decide on a college major. And you know, I
think that there's there's this concept of you know, students
know that at choosing their major influences the courses that
they take and their time to complete, and the pressure
(04:06):
there to choose that major early on when they are
still looking to explore some different options and explore some
different career paths was weighing heavily in their concerns. And
so what we heard was that two thirds of the
juniors and seniors that we surveyed noted that taking college
(04:26):
level courses while in high school that could help them
earn credit that would help them reduce their college related concerns.
Speaker 5 (04:33):
And so when we put this offer.
Speaker 2 (04:35):
Together for free courses at Sophia Learning, we chose courses
that not only fulfill gen ed requirements, but also offers
some opportunities for career exploration to kind of help with
that major decision.
Speaker 1 (04:52):
Yeah, I love that because it is a lot of
pressure and I know you could say, well, just go
into college and don't worry about choosing a major right away.
And some people do that, but like you said, it
does affect which classes you're going to take, and you
want to get off on the right foot of not
really wasting any of your time in college exactly. And
so how are parents feeling about their high school students
(05:15):
college readiness from the parents' perspective?
Speaker 2 (05:19):
You know, parents often, I think we can all relate,
have some different expectations for their child's college journey, but
in a lot of ways they really aligned. I would
say that the kind of biggest difference that we saw
as we survey these parents was that the parents, forty
one percent of them were concerned that their kids had
(05:42):
not done enough to prepare for college and that they
were looking for a little more opportunity preparing them for
academic success, preparing them for the rigor at the college level.
And that was something that parents talked about in the survey,
and so, you know, back to the major decision. It
(06:03):
was also kind of keen through that sixty one percent
of the parents and guardians that we surveyed they also
noted that they would really really prefer that their student
decides on a major before beginning college.
Speaker 5 (06:17):
And so I think that.
Speaker 2 (06:18):
There's a couple of different philosophies here. Of you want
to kind of ease your your child's concerns and say, hey,
you can pick later, but you know, deep down inside
the parents are thinking about that major selection and hoping
that their students prepare early.
Speaker 1 (06:35):
Right exactly, And so how can this sum of programs
help students do this?
Speaker 2 (06:41):
So Sophie Learning's online platform is completely self paced and asynchronous,
and so there's a really great opportunity to fit some
courses in those busy family summer schedules. And so the
program that we are offering for high school juniors and
seniors offers this pressure free starting point for that college
(07:04):
journey and so, you know, a safe space to explore
those educational interests maybe helped to find that major decision,
but also get an opportunity to actually take college level
courses in a no risk, you know, completely flexible way
and really leverage those summer months to get ahead.
Speaker 1 (07:24):
Yeah, and so what are some of the courses like
at Sophia who's eligible? How can students use the courses later?
Speaker 2 (07:31):
Absolutely, so for this offer, the first one hundred thousand
rising juniors and seniors in high school are eligible. And
what we're offering is we are offering six courses for
free for sixty days. And so the courses that we
are offering as part of this offer are courses that
(07:52):
cover general education requirements, so think of things like college algebra,
human biology. But as I mentioned, we're also including some
courses that can help with some of that major selection
and career.
Speaker 5 (08:05):
Development, so intro to It or intro.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
To Business, for example. And so that gives you a
sample of the courses that are available for free as
part of this offer. In addition to that, Sophia Learning
offers seventy self paced college level courses. And at Sofia Learning,
all of our courses, both those that are in the
free offer for high schoolers and are broader catalog, all
(08:29):
of our courses are recommended for credit by the American
Council of Education. And that's really great because that ensures
that the courses and the content that we were taking
are recommended for credit and they're designed to transfer into institutions,
and so that's how the courses work, that's how Sophia
Learning works.
Speaker 1 (08:47):
That's terrific because then you really don't feel like you're
wasting any time because if they're going to transfer, that's wonderful.
So you're just basically getting ahead start and it helps
you figure out what you might want to do.
Speaker 2 (08:59):
Exactly and doing that with less risk, less pressure, and
at the flexibility to be able to do this at
your own schedule and as your own pace. It's just
a really great advantage for high schoolers looking for some
different ways to start their college path.
Speaker 1 (09:16):
Absolutely, and I know we touched before on affordability and
that ranks also on students college concerns as well as parents.
So where what did you find in this survey? I mean,
I'm just thinking that had to be a big part
of it, for.
Speaker 2 (09:31):
Sure, no surprise there what we saw. We saw that
the seventy three percent of high school juniors and seniors
who planned to attend college they worried about being able
to afford college tuition. And this was one area where
the kids and parents definitely agreed. Sixty seven percent of
the parents and guardians mentioned that they worried about about
(09:54):
affording college tuition, but even more so than that for parents,
half of them they noted that affordability of college ranks
high on their day to day worries, So not only
when they're you know, just thinking about their kid and
the future and all of that on a day to
day basis, this is weighing heavily on parents' minds.
Speaker 1 (10:16):
Yeah, absolutely, and so I think anything to help with that,
like taking Sophia Learning courses over the summer could be huge,
so we waste no time in college. Thank you so
much for joining me today, doctor Shana Thayer. Where can
we go to learn more about Sophia Learning.
Speaker 2 (10:33):
Well, we'd love to have your listeners come to our
website so at Sofia dot org. That's Sophia with a
pH and there's all the details about Sophia Learning and
a great ban around the top specific for the high
schoolers eligible for this software.
Speaker 1 (10:48):
Terrific. Well, thank you so much. Good luck with your
son who has just graduated high school. I'm sure he
is going to go on to do amazing things in college.
He has a great role model in new So thank
you again dot Org. Shanna Thayer for joining me today
on Passport Mommy.
Speaker 5 (11:03):
Thanks for having me my pleasure.
Speaker 1 (11:05):
I'm Michelle Jerson. More coming up in a few you're
listening to Passport Mommy, I'm Michelle Jerson. You know, millions
of Americans are currently providing care to a loved one,
and many more plan to do so in the future,
whether you are taking care of a parent.
Speaker 5 (11:20):
Or a spouse or a child.
Speaker 1 (11:22):
However, caregivers are facing lasting financial, emotional, and career impacts
because of their roles with little support or resources, and
a new study from Edward Jones revealed that many caregivers
are feeling financially strained. More than half say that they've
had to cut back on personal spending. Many have left
their job, they've scaled back their work hours, or they've
(11:44):
dipped into retirement savings to keep up. So basically, ninety
five percent are concerned about how caregiving will affect their
ability to retire. So I'm happy to have on the
show with me today Vanessa Okarawe. She is the principal
at Edward Joe and she is going to talk to
us just about how we could balance it all and
how can we make it work financially. Hi, Vanessa, Hello Michelle,
(12:10):
Thanks for having me on my pleasure. So what financial
and emotional concerns are caregiver is dealing with.
Speaker 4 (12:21):
Quite a bit at the moment and that's what this
study really shows us. I think any one of us
can can tell the story about caregiving, whether we've been
impacted directly or we know family or colleagues of friends
who are going through the same thing. What the study
pulled out for us is that over seventy percent of
(12:41):
caregivers are willing to sacrifice their own financial security in
order to provide proper care for their loved ones, and
nine out of ten caregivers have some level of financial
concern for their retirement. We have many of them coming
back on their personal spending of these caregiven responsibilities, so
(13:01):
we know that that's going to ultimately have an impact
on how they feel when it comes to financial confidence
about their long term futures and how that might impact
taking care of themselves. Also, the other thing I would
pull out from this study is that caregiving is an
emotionally rich experience that whilst caregivers are going through the
(13:25):
stress and isolation, there's also something to be said about
fulfillment and pride that comes with taking care of loved ones.
But the mixed bag.
Speaker 1 (13:35):
Yeah, absolutely, it's not easy trying to balance at all,
and you do obviously want to take care of your
loved ones, and you also need to do what you
need to do to support yourself and also to make
the money so you can take care of your loved ones.
So what resources are available to caregivers to provide additional support,
whether that be financial planning or workplace flexibility.
Speaker 4 (13:58):
One of the best resources today for caregivers includes working
with a financial advisor, and the research is proving that
out nearly all caregivers who work with a financial advisor,
we're talking over ninety percent here, are reporting feeling more
confident about their financial future. A financial advisor is able
(14:19):
to offer relevance and helpful experts and expertise to fully
serve caregivers. So whether it's healthcare professionals navigating across medicaid, finding,
social work and support groups, counselors, you name it, they're
pleasora of resources that a financial advisor can provide for
(14:40):
our caregivers. We also hope that federal policies will be
passed soon to support caregivers. Edward Jones currently supports a
couple of bipartisan and bills that are growing in you know,
growing more and more support for caregiverers so that they
can expand their ways of shay for their retirements, ultimately
(15:02):
leading to that confidence, that resilience, and that assurance about
their financial futures.
Speaker 1 (15:07):
That's great. And if we wanted to get involved, what
are some of the bills and how can we do
our part?
Speaker 4 (15:15):
Well, that's a really good question, Michelle. We're building on
the Secure and two point zero acts that's helping provide
additional savings opportunities for caregivers. So as many people as
possible that can talk about those current bills that are
that are running through now that are going to help
(15:35):
expand opportunities for caregivers to save more towards their retirements.
That's exactly what needs to be done, just more more
supports around those bills and talking to legislators about how
they can help to move those forward.
Speaker 3 (15:51):
Great.
Speaker 1 (15:51):
So where can we go to learn more about Edward
Jones and everything that Edward Jones has available for us
as far as resources and ways that we can can
maybe plan for our financial future.
Speaker 4 (16:05):
Edward Jones dot Com, flash Cake Given has a bunch
of different resources that can help you know, millions of
people and especially.
Speaker 1 (16:13):
Your show terrific. Thank you so much, Vanessa Okarawei. I
appreciate you joining me today on Passport Mommy. Thank you
so much for the wonderful tips.
Speaker 4 (16:23):
It's been a pleasure.
Speaker 1 (16:24):
Thank you, and thank you so much for listening to
Passport Mommy this week. I cannot believe this school year
is coming to an end. If you have already ended
school where you are, I hope you have an enjoyable summer.
Do you have your camp plans yet set yet? I
know that we are very last minute where we are.
There's so much up in the air, but I hope
(16:45):
to bring you lots of fun travel, lots of fun
travel shows this summer, and ideas where you can go
on local road trips depending on where you're located, or
also some really cool national and international properties ands. I'm
a firm believer in kids learning through travel. I think
that there are so many cultural immersions that you can do,
(17:09):
whether you're just visiting a country casually, or you decide
to look into one of those educational trips where you
really get a deep dive into the local culture, where
maybe you and your children get to volunteer, whether it's
at a school or on a farm or whatever it
may be. I think there are so many chances to
keep the education going over the summer and do it
(17:31):
in a fun way through travel. So we'll be talking
more about that in the coming months. You're listening to
Passport Mommy. I'm Michelle Jerson. More coming up in a
few You're listening to Passport Mommy. I'm Michelle Jursin and
I'm thrilled to have our next guest on this show,
Georgine Summer. She is quite a woman. She is full
of adventure, she is a risk taker, she's a lover
(17:54):
of life, and she is fearless and that is exemplified
by the life she has led, which she's going to
talk to us all about. And also it has led
to her inspiration for her new book, Angels in Sin Mayhem,
Money and Murder, a True Story. Hi Georgine, thank you
for joining me today.
Speaker 3 (18:15):
Hi Michelle, I'm happy to be here. Thank you for
inviting me.
Speaker 5 (18:18):
My pleasure.
Speaker 1 (18:19):
So talk to me about Angels in Sin. Where did
the inspiration come from.
Speaker 3 (18:25):
It's just my life has been not a normal life.
I always say about the title when I say they
have money murder, but I didn't murder anyone, but there
is murder in my life. So it just came from
all of the challenges that I've faced over my life,
and the idea that most people sadly live with unrealistic fears.
(18:48):
And while they say no to all challenges, I say
yes to all challenges. So I'm hoping that the book
will motivate people to change their lives, to get rid
of some of the unrealistic fears that they have and
to be able to live a richer, fuller, happier life
and reach their highest potential for growth and greatness.
Speaker 5 (19:07):
So that's it.
Speaker 1 (19:08):
Well, that is a great goal, and I think a
lot of people need to hear that because I think
people do live with fears and they do worry, and
especially if you have kids, like in my situation, I
feel like every or young kids, I should say, you
feel like every decision you make you also have to
take them into account, and then it might kind of
stunt your growth and your own ability to move past
(19:29):
those fears. So what would you say, is this single
experience that changed your life the most? And why?
Speaker 3 (19:37):
Oh boy, I'm glad to ask that, So I'll tell
you it was actually the Firewalk. And it's interesting because
when you say people live with fears, yes, as a
young person, you're told or don't go in the street,
don't talk to strangers, and those fears sort of resonate.
But then people get fear from other things they don't
even realize. So you know, when I to talk to
(20:00):
people about the firewalk, it'say, oh, it's not real. It's sake.
The coals aren't hot, they're cold. It's it's all fake.
And then I would ask the magic question with which
most people don't ask. I'd say, have you ever done
the firewalk? One hundred percent of the time people said no,
So how do you know what it's like? So I
made it my goal from the very very early times
(20:23):
that I would not comment on anything unless I had
experienced it, and people do it on everything. I mean,
more on that later. So I decided I was going
to do the firewalk, and so Tony Robbins the firewalk.
It was in then eyes, and it was when he
had like hundreds of people rather than thousands of people.
It was back in the mid eighties, and so I
(20:45):
went there. It''s like Friday night, Saturday, Sunday, and so
Friday nights were sitting there and all I wanted to
do was the firewalk, and we're doing these meditations and work.
I'm healing yourself from within, and I'm saying to myself,
come on, let's get on with it. I think, for
the firework, let's do it already. Finally, about midnight they
(21:06):
take us out and there's these pathways of red hot
burning embers like sixteen hundred degrees. So now I'm on
the sidelines. People are all lined up, and I'm having
an argument with myself. Well, I don't know if I
want to do this. Well that's what you came here for. Well,
no one, we'll know. Well you'll know. Well, I'm the
most important person. So then I see two little people
(21:26):
being aided across this firewalk, and so I said, well,
if they can do it, I can do it. I
get online and I'm not in the front right then,
but as I approach, I see the coals are getting darker,
and so I'm thinking this is really good. Anyway. I
get it to the front and I hear from the
side more hot coals. A wheelbarrel arrives and dumps a
(21:48):
wheelbarrow full of red hot embers in front of me,
and I had no choice there. I was in front.
Cool moss, cool moss. I step onto it. I get
to the middle and now I can feel on the
insteps of both feet, I'm burned. So I get to
the end. Yeah, there was no doubt burned. So I
get to the end and they have like a little patch,
a little box of wet grass. And by the time
(22:10):
I got there, I said, I am not coming back
tomorrow because I am mortally wounded. I have been burned.
I go back into the seminar and we finished doing
this work on healing. And I was living in Beverly
Hills at the time, so I got home. It was
about four o'clock in the morning. I had a hair
awpointment scheduled for before I went to the seminar that
(22:32):
started at nine, so I wasn't going to miss that.
And so anyway, I take off my clothes, I take
off my socks and there are two like I would say,
silver dollar size clusters of fully formed blisters with liquid
and everything on the end steps of both feet. And
I didn't have time or the energy to do anything.
(22:55):
I didn't put medicine on it. I just and there
were clusters, and so I just put my socks back on,
fell into the bed, woke up about six o'clock in
the morning and I take off my socks and both
sets of blisters there is no fluid inside. They are
crusted over, flat and dried, as if they had been
(23:18):
there for weeks, not a matter of hours. I was
all of a sudden it came to me. The universe
showed me, Yes, this is true. You just got burn girl,
And guess what the work you were doing before you
were trying to get out from under. It healed you
from within. I could not wait to get to the
seminar and share. And it was life changing for me
(23:39):
because it just showed me how powerful I was, how
powerful my thoughts were, and it was just amazing.
Speaker 1 (23:46):
Yeah, it's incredible what the mind can do. And that's
an incredible story. So I was reading that in the
early eighties you had a trendy nightclub in New York City.
Can I ask what club it was?
Speaker 3 (23:59):
Of course, it was called Bolero, like Ravel's Balero, and
it was on twenty seventh between Park and Lexington. I
thought it was I thought it seemed like a good
idea at the moment, but when I look back on
it now, it was like, yeah, head on, risk of
filled danger every single day.
Speaker 1 (24:20):
Wow, I can't imagine and so what gave you the
strength and the courage to deal with that and come
out Okay?
Speaker 3 (24:29):
Well it was interesting because I'll share this with you.
And I didn't realize it at the time, but years
before I had the nightclub for a few years, starting
in nineteen eighty and but a few years before one
of my son's ex girlfriends, when he was alive, she
and I were very good friends. And so her father
(24:52):
lived in Italy and Rome, and he put he worked
for the DEA and he put away him off fiosa
figure and so then later on, I mean I knew
about him, but later on she tells me that he retired,
and he retired in Italy, and I thought, oh my god,
you must be kidding me, do them? So one year,
(25:14):
this was way before the club, she knew that I
was going to Italy and her father sent her a message.
She was living in New Zealand, and he invited me
to come for dinner. Because I don't travel with anybody.
I've only done it twice in my life, and I
regretted both times. But I go alone, no tours. You know,
when I go on Safari, I have an unarmed mass
(25:36):
I guide and meet and that's it. So anyway, I
went to Rome. I was in Florence and went down
to their home for dinner, and we had this lovely dinner,
and afterwards we were sitting around and I couldn't wait.
So I said to me, please tell me something. Why
in the world, given the fact that you spent your
(25:58):
life putting away mafia figures, why would you move here?
And he looked at me and he said, to me,
you know, he said, the mafia has a set of rules.
He said, I always played by them. I just played
a better game somewhere in my subconscious that stayed. And
(26:20):
so when I decided to open the club, I knew
that that, you know, I built it and everything was
built out of a townhouse. So I designed it, had
it built an opening night. I knew that I needed
some sort of of protection, and so I had met
some lower level people and so they were supposed to
(26:42):
be there, you know, a case of emergencies. And so
opening night, the club was set up like a living room.
You'd go into a living room, butler entered the door,
and then you'd go into an elevator that didn't go anywhere,
and then you'd be dumped out onto a stainless steel
dance floor and was a VIP room upstairs, one with
one way glass. It was really trendy. It was amazing.
(27:05):
So opening night there were about fifteen hundred people that
came to the club. Limousines lined twenty seventh Street from
from street to street. People like Andy Warhol were there,
Grace Jones, the Village people, Winter's Sisters. It was celebrity filled.
And so about one thirty in the morning, I was upstairs.
(27:26):
There's a banging on the door. There's an opening night
banging on the door. Butler opens the door and there's
a guy outside and he says, if you don't, I
won't use the word effing shut this club down. Now
I'm going to blow it up. Welcome to the neighborhood.
Speaker 5 (27:39):
And so that was night one.
Speaker 4 (27:41):
And so.
Speaker 3 (27:45):
It turns out that across the street and above another
facility was an illegal gambling club that a major mafia
figures lieutenant's son was running. And it was like the
right hand didn't know what the left hand was doing, right,
and so there it was. They didn't want focus on
(28:05):
that street, and here were limousines and fifteen people. Yeah,
so it was interesting, and you know, I massaged things
and had fewer people and different kinds of parties and
tried to stay open that way, and it worked for
(28:27):
quite a long time. Uh, and then they were poised
to take my club. They got me into a position
where I, you know, I had to pay certain expenses.
I had forty two employees, I had rent other expenses,
and I wasn't getting open as they had me shut down.
And so I reached out to somebody I had known
(28:51):
that had an illegal gambling club. But he had really
celebrity people there, right, So I reached out to him
and then he sent his person was actually the son
and son in law of one of the five families,
and the rest was really history.
Speaker 1 (29:13):
So wow, Well, you have led an incredible life for sure,
with full of adventure. What do you want readers to
take away from this book?
Speaker 3 (29:25):
I think what I say is say yes to all challenges,
and I do just go for it, jump off the
cliff without a net, because there's no such thing as
failure in life. If you do something incorrectly one time,
change the way you do the next time. And so
I say, there's no failures. There's just lessons in a
(29:46):
classroom called life and so you can learn something and
you can make something happen. That is so amazing. But
most people don't want to try anything, and because they're
so afraid, and it's those fears, and they need to
go inside, they need to quiet their mind. They need
to look at the fears and weigh the reality of them.
(30:10):
And that's the first step towards changing your life. And
that's what I'd like to see people do because they
stay in broken relationships. I say, if it's broken and
you can't fix it, next, there's eight and a half
billion people on the planet, you're better off alone than
alone in a relationship. I don't see anything worse than
(30:31):
being alone.
Speaker 5 (30:31):
In a relationship.
Speaker 3 (30:32):
And believe me, with my coaching, I do transformational speaking
and coaching, and I see so many people that I
deal with that are stuck in these broken relations demolished relationships,
not just broken, you know.
Speaker 1 (30:45):
And it's funny. I used to host a relationship talk
show and I used to say the same things and
or say things similar, and then I would find myself
in these situations personally, and it's really hard to take
your own advice. But that's why somebody should reach out
the someone like you do you still do the coaching.
Speaker 3 (31:02):
Oh, yes, I do. I do select transformational coaching and
the speaking of finding that getting on stages and being
able to speak to a larger group, I can reach
more people. And that's really what my motivation is. I
want to be able to help people have a fuller,
richer life, a happier life, and to reach their goals
(31:23):
and to realize their dreams for growth and grades. And
most people don't. Most people don't, right.
Speaker 1 (31:31):
So where can they find your book Angels in Sin?
And how can they reach you for seeing where you
might be speaking next?
Speaker 3 (31:36):
They can get my book any bookseller. It's on Amazon
and just go in and put in Angels and Sin
May have Money and Murder. It's at Barnes and Noble.
And they can reach me by going onto my website
which is www dot Georgine Summers dot com. That's g
(31:58):
E O R G E N last name Summers s
U M m Ers dot com. No space terrific.
Speaker 1 (32:07):
Well, thank you so much. You are definitely motivational. I
think everyone should go out and read the book and
take the lessons that you've just explained to us today
and to heart, because it is true. We should get
over our fears and take a chance. Thank you so
much for inspiring us today, Georgie and Summers. Thanks for
joining me on Passport Mommy. You're listening to Passport Mommy.
(32:30):
I'm Michelle Jerson. So it's that time of year when
we are on the go, especially with summer here, and
we are looking for quick snacks to put together for
the kids. And June is dairy month, So what a
perfect time to talk about some snack ideas that involve
day because we all know day also brings the calcium
and the protein that our kids need. And so I'm
really happy to have with me today i vet Rio.
(32:52):
She is a lifestyle expert and TV host. Hi evet Hi, thank.
Speaker 5 (32:56):
You so much for having me.
Speaker 6 (32:57):
And you know what, it's like, I have a love
hate relationship with summer, right, It's like you're so excited
about like having your time.
Speaker 5 (33:04):
Back, but then what do you do with the kids?
Speaker 6 (33:06):
They're around all the time, You're shipping them around from
camp to camp.
Speaker 5 (33:10):
It's a lot, Yeah, it sure is.
Speaker 1 (33:12):
So what are some quick, grab and go dairy options
for busy summer days?
Speaker 5 (33:17):
For sure?
Speaker 6 (33:18):
So you know, I like to really rely on dairy
to be able to supplement my kid's diet, especially in
the summertime, where I need just easy grab and go things.
So for instance, if I'm going to the beach or
we're going on a road trip, I like to make
egg and cheese sandwiches.
Speaker 5 (33:36):
I use English muffin.
Speaker 6 (33:37):
And then I actually add a little cottage cheese to
the eggs because it really beefs up the protein there,
keeps them fuller longer, And then I put them in
aluminum foil. I'll freeze it or I'll even you know,
put it in the fridge and warm it up in
the oven the morning of and that way they have
a nice warm meal they can eat in the car
without like messing up the car too, which is always
(33:58):
a thing in our house from everywhere. But then I
also make parfase with yogurt or even with cottage cheese
and some fruit, and I have these like really cute
containers where you can put the fruit separate from the
from the yogurt. So that's like an easy grab and
go thing, and that's kind of like what I rely
on for, you know, a trip to the beach or
(34:20):
a road trip, and.
Speaker 5 (34:22):
It's just you know, honestly, like I'm not the only.
Speaker 6 (34:24):
Person that uses all, you know, all these kind of
grab and go dairy products. It's it seems like forty
one percent of American consumers are relying on these like
prepackaged dairy to kind of make their lives a little easier.
Speaker 5 (34:36):
Which is great exactly.
Speaker 1 (34:38):
So you can grab and going, you don't necessarily have
to grab and those junkie snacks. You can bring healthy
snacks along that are quick. So how would you say
dairy and non dairy options stack up nutritionally because a
lot of people choose not to consume dairy nowadays.
Speaker 6 (34:56):
Oh absolutely, and they're you know, people have allergies and
they have references.
Speaker 5 (35:00):
You know, I.
Speaker 6 (35:01):
Myself like will eat whole milk, yogurt and cheeses. I
just I really like love just a whole milk cheese,
so I will like eat that.
Speaker 5 (35:11):
But then when it comes to my coffee, I.
Speaker 6 (35:14):
Tend to want, you know, the alternative milk, so like
you know, oat milk and things like that. And I
recently found an oat milk that has like vanilla and caramel,
and it's like so delicious. It makes my coffee like
taste like one of those really expensive ones you get
at a coffee shop, so it saves me money and
then I have my little boost in the morning, which
I love. So the reality is, you know, they they
(35:36):
now are you know, fortifying the non dairy products with
vitamin D so you're getting the same amount.
Speaker 5 (35:42):
Of nutrition there.
Speaker 6 (35:43):
But it's important to read the label, you know, get
familiar with the ingredients. And the reality is like in
the dairy isle, you can pretty much find, you know,
anything for anyone, regardless of what preferences or allergies.
Speaker 2 (35:55):
They may have.
Speaker 5 (35:56):
Right, I love that.
Speaker 1 (35:58):
And so what are some new or un expected products
in the dairy aisle that can elevate summer meals that
maybe we're not thinking about for sure?
Speaker 6 (36:07):
So recently I learned about lebony, which is a type
of yogurt that's like thicker, it's got like a richer flavor.
Speaker 5 (36:16):
And I take some lemon zest.
Speaker 6 (36:19):
And I'll you know, I always have like stitches around
because in the summertime and you're making lemonades and things,
so some lemons zest, chop up some herbs whatever you
may have, mix it in there and it makes like
a super delicious instant dip.
Speaker 5 (36:31):
You can even drizzle it with olive oil. It's so good.
Speaker 6 (36:34):
I'll put that on my like grilled vegetables. I'll eat
it with peta chips and that's like so yummy. But
then I also will take cottage cheese and whip it
in a blender and make like a whipped cottage cheese.
That is a great alternative to NAO And again, it
really pumps up.
Speaker 5 (36:50):
The protein and it's really delicious.
Speaker 6 (36:52):
So those those are some things that I've started doing
that you know, are kind of new to me.
Speaker 1 (36:57):
Yeah, that sounds great, But thank you for those ideas
because I'm always looking for ways to increase the protein.
I'm always on the go as a mom. Forget the kids,
I'm always the one running around, so we all please Yeah,
so we all need those healthy snacks and to keep
ourselves fueled. Where can we go for more summer meal
ideas and inspirations using dairy products?
Speaker 5 (37:19):
For sure, you can go to easyhomemeals dot com.
Speaker 6 (37:23):
And you know what's so cool is they've got an
incredible amount of ideas on how to use like cottage
cheese and yogurt in all these creative ways. But it's
also June as dairy month, as you mentioned, and they
are giving away ten thousand dollars that you can use
for just about anything.
Speaker 5 (37:40):
You know, go on that vacation. You aways wanted to
or redo your kitchen, so.
Speaker 6 (37:44):
Go to easyholemeals dot com sign up for the sweech stakes.
Speaker 5 (37:47):
It's a good one.
Speaker 1 (37:48):
Awesome, Well, thank you so much of vet Rio's thank
you for joining me today on Passport Mommy and for
all of the great ideas.
Speaker 5 (37:53):
Awesome, thank you, thanks for having me my pleasure.
Speaker 1 (37:56):
I'm Michelle Jerson. Thanks for joining me this week. Talk
to you next time.
Welcome to Passport Mommy. I'm your host, Michelle Jerson. This
show is for anyone raising little humans. We feature experts
with tips and advice to enrich the lives of our children.
Mom and dad. Entrepreneurs tell us their inspiring stories, learn
about products that could make both you and your child's
life easier and more fun, and of course, fellow parents
(00:21):
discuss and laugh about what's happening in their child's world.
Motherhood is a journey. Thanks for joining me onmine. Welcome
to Passport Mommy. I'm Michelle Jerson. So the school year
is unwinding and many students are thinking about what comes next,
and for some that means staying academically engaged over the summer.
For others, it's about easing the transition to college and
(00:44):
to support that goal, Sophia Learning is offering a new
summer program that will give up to one hundred thousand
incoming high school juniors and seniors no cost access to
college level courses. Which is amazing And to tell us
more about it is doctor SHAWNA. Thayer. She is She's
a CEO of Sophia Learning. She is a seasoned higher
(01:06):
education leader dedicated to providing affordable, accessible pathways for personal
and professional advancement to students at every stage, and prior
to her current role as CEO, she led a team
that provided insights to improve adult learner achievement at Strategic Education. Hello,
thank you so much for joining me today, doctor Thayer.
Speaker 2 (01:28):
Thanks so much for having me.
Speaker 3 (01:29):
It's great to be here.
Speaker 4 (01:31):
My pleasure.
Speaker 1 (01:31):
So what does the new survey reveal about how students
feel as they prepare for life after high school.
Speaker 2 (01:41):
Yeah, to better understand current perspectives on college readiness from
both parents and students, we conducted a survey of one
thousand high school juniors and seniors and one thousand parents
and guardians, and what we found is is that for
the high schoolers, twenty four percent of juniors and seniors
(02:02):
believe that a degree is worth the investment. They definitely
see the value of the degree in going to college,
and in fact, seventy two percent of them said that
they need to go to college to be successful and
that was what they reported. So the interest and the
intention for.
Speaker 5 (02:20):
College was still there.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
However, there is the other side of that, which is
some of the worries and some of the concerns that
come around about being prepared for that, And seventy three
percent of the juniors and seniors that we talked to
or surveyed they worried about being able to afford college tuition.
That was a key challenge that they were concerned about.
(02:42):
They also noted that, you know, choosing a major and
you know, being prepared for college were also some other
concerns that were weighing heavily on their minds.
Speaker 1 (02:52):
Yeah, rightfully. So, I mean, I can't believe the prices
of colleges these days and universities. I mean, I thought
it was expensive when I was there, and that was
a long time ago. And so as a parent, it's
also concerning because we obviously want the best for our kids.
So what do these teens say about early college level
coursework and the pressure of choosing a major? Because I
(03:14):
know you just touched on that.
Speaker 2 (03:17):
Yeah, I mean I'm also a mom of a son
who just graduated high school, so we are in the
thick of this in our house.
Speaker 4 (03:25):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (03:25):
Congrats, Oh thank you. You know what we what we
heard from from the students in the survey is that
while preparing for college is an exciting milestone, there that
that that concern and that worry about choosing a major
was very real. So what we what we found was
(03:45):
that over half of the high school juniors and seniors
who do plan to attend college, they wanted more time
to decide on a college major. And you know, I
think that there's there's this concept of you know, students
know that at choosing their major influences the courses that
they take and their time to complete, and the pressure
(04:06):
there to choose that major early on when they are
still looking to explore some different options and explore some
different career paths was weighing heavily in their concerns. And
so what we heard was that two thirds of the
juniors and seniors that we surveyed noted that taking college
(04:26):
level courses while in high school that could help them
earn credit that would help them reduce their college related concerns.
Speaker 5 (04:33):
And so when we put this offer.
Speaker 2 (04:35):
Together for free courses at Sophia Learning, we chose courses
that not only fulfill gen ed requirements, but also offers
some opportunities for career exploration to kind of help with
that major decision.
Speaker 1 (04:52):
Yeah, I love that because it is a lot of
pressure and I know you could say, well, just go
into college and don't worry about choosing a major right away.
And some people do that, but like you said, it
does affect which classes you're going to take, and you
want to get off on the right foot of not
really wasting any of your time in college exactly. And
so how are parents feeling about their high school students
(05:15):
college readiness from the parents' perspective?
Speaker 2 (05:19):
You know, parents often, I think we can all relate,
have some different expectations for their child's college journey, but
in a lot of ways they really aligned. I would
say that the kind of biggest difference that we saw
as we survey these parents was that the parents, forty
one percent of them were concerned that their kids had
(05:42):
not done enough to prepare for college and that they
were looking for a little more opportunity preparing them for
academic success, preparing them for the rigor at the college level.
And that was something that parents talked about in the survey,
and so, you know, back to the major decision. It
(06:03):
was also kind of keen through that sixty one percent
of the parents and guardians that we surveyed they also
noted that they would really really prefer that their student
decides on a major before beginning college.
Speaker 5 (06:17):
And so I think that.
Speaker 2 (06:18):
There's a couple of different philosophies here. Of you want
to kind of ease your your child's concerns and say, hey,
you can pick later, but you know, deep down inside
the parents are thinking about that major selection and hoping
that their students prepare early.
Speaker 1 (06:35):
Right exactly, And so how can this sum of programs
help students do this?
Speaker 2 (06:41):
So Sophie Learning's online platform is completely self paced and asynchronous,
and so there's a really great opportunity to fit some
courses in those busy family summer schedules. And so the
program that we are offering for high school juniors and
seniors offers this pressure free starting point for that college
(07:04):
journey and so, you know, a safe space to explore
those educational interests maybe helped to find that major decision,
but also get an opportunity to actually take college level
courses in a no risk, you know, completely flexible way
and really leverage those summer months to get ahead.
Speaker 1 (07:24):
Yeah, and so what are some of the courses like
at Sophia who's eligible? How can students use the courses later?
Speaker 2 (07:31):
Absolutely, so for this offer, the first one hundred thousand
rising juniors and seniors in high school are eligible. And
what we're offering is we are offering six courses for
free for sixty days. And so the courses that we
are offering as part of this offer are courses that
(07:52):
cover general education requirements, so think of things like college algebra,
human biology. But as I mentioned, we're also including some
courses that can help with some of that major selection
and career.
Speaker 5 (08:05):
Development, so intro to It or intro.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
To Business, for example. And so that gives you a
sample of the courses that are available for free as
part of this offer. In addition to that, Sophia Learning
offers seventy self paced college level courses. And at Sofia Learning,
all of our courses, both those that are in the
free offer for high schoolers and are broader catalog, all
(08:29):
of our courses are recommended for credit by the American
Council of Education. And that's really great because that ensures
that the courses and the content that we were taking
are recommended for credit and they're designed to transfer into institutions,
and so that's how the courses work, that's how Sophia
Learning works.
Speaker 1 (08:47):
That's terrific because then you really don't feel like you're
wasting any time because if they're going to transfer, that's wonderful.
So you're just basically getting ahead start and it helps
you figure out what you might want to do.
Speaker 2 (08:59):
Exactly and doing that with less risk, less pressure, and
at the flexibility to be able to do this at
your own schedule and as your own pace. It's just
a really great advantage for high schoolers looking for some
different ways to start their college path.
Speaker 1 (09:16):
Absolutely, and I know we touched before on affordability and
that ranks also on students college concerns as well as parents.
So where what did you find in this survey? I mean,
I'm just thinking that had to be a big part
of it, for.
Speaker 2 (09:31):
Sure, no surprise there what we saw. We saw that
the seventy three percent of high school juniors and seniors
who planned to attend college they worried about being able
to afford college tuition. And this was one area where
the kids and parents definitely agreed. Sixty seven percent of
the parents and guardians mentioned that they worried about about
(09:54):
affording college tuition, but even more so than that for parents,
half of them they noted that affordability of college ranks
high on their day to day worries, So not only
when they're you know, just thinking about their kid and
the future and all of that on a day to
day basis, this is weighing heavily on parents' minds.
Speaker 1 (10:16):
Yeah, absolutely, and so I think anything to help with that,
like taking Sophia Learning courses over the summer could be huge,
so we waste no time in college. Thank you so
much for joining me today, doctor Shana Thayer. Where can
we go to learn more about Sophia Learning.
Speaker 2 (10:33):
Well, we'd love to have your listeners come to our
website so at Sofia dot org. That's Sophia with a
pH and there's all the details about Sophia Learning and
a great ban around the top specific for the high
schoolers eligible for this software.
Speaker 1 (10:48):
Terrific. Well, thank you so much. Good luck with your
son who has just graduated high school. I'm sure he
is going to go on to do amazing things in college.
He has a great role model in new So thank
you again dot Org. Shanna Thayer for joining me today
on Passport Mommy.
Speaker 5 (11:03):
Thanks for having me my pleasure.
Speaker 1 (11:05):
I'm Michelle Jerson. More coming up in a few you're
listening to Passport Mommy, I'm Michelle Jerson. You know, millions
of Americans are currently providing care to a loved one,
and many more plan to do so in the future,
whether you are taking care of a parent.
Speaker 5 (11:20):
Or a spouse or a child.
Speaker 1 (11:22):
However, caregivers are facing lasting financial, emotional, and career impacts
because of their roles with little support or resources, and
a new study from Edward Jones revealed that many caregivers
are feeling financially strained. More than half say that they've
had to cut back on personal spending. Many have left
their job, they've scaled back their work hours, or they've
(11:44):
dipped into retirement savings to keep up. So basically, ninety
five percent are concerned about how caregiving will affect their
ability to retire. So I'm happy to have on the
show with me today Vanessa Okarawe. She is the principal
at Edward Joe and she is going to talk to
us just about how we could balance it all and
how can we make it work financially. Hi, Vanessa, Hello Michelle,
(12:10):
Thanks for having me on my pleasure. So what financial
and emotional concerns are caregiver is dealing with.
Speaker 4 (12:21):
Quite a bit at the moment and that's what this
study really shows us. I think any one of us
can can tell the story about caregiving, whether we've been
impacted directly or we know family or colleagues of friends
who are going through the same thing. What the study
pulled out for us is that over seventy percent of
(12:41):
caregivers are willing to sacrifice their own financial security in
order to provide proper care for their loved ones, and
nine out of ten caregivers have some level of financial
concern for their retirement. We have many of them coming
back on their personal spending of these caregiven responsibilities, so
(13:01):
we know that that's going to ultimately have an impact
on how they feel when it comes to financial confidence
about their long term futures and how that might impact
taking care of themselves. Also, the other thing I would
pull out from this study is that caregiving is an
emotionally rich experience that whilst caregivers are going through the
(13:25):
stress and isolation, there's also something to be said about
fulfillment and pride that comes with taking care of loved ones.
But the mixed bag.
Speaker 1 (13:35):
Yeah, absolutely, it's not easy trying to balance at all,
and you do obviously want to take care of your
loved ones, and you also need to do what you
need to do to support yourself and also to make
the money so you can take care of your loved ones.
So what resources are available to caregivers to provide additional support,
whether that be financial planning or workplace flexibility.
Speaker 4 (13:58):
One of the best resources today for caregivers includes working
with a financial advisor, and the research is proving that
out nearly all caregivers who work with a financial advisor,
we're talking over ninety percent here, are reporting feeling more
confident about their financial future. A financial advisor is able
(14:19):
to offer relevance and helpful experts and expertise to fully
serve caregivers. So whether it's healthcare professionals navigating across medicaid, finding,
social work and support groups, counselors, you name it, they're
pleasora of resources that a financial advisor can provide for
(14:40):
our caregivers. We also hope that federal policies will be
passed soon to support caregivers. Edward Jones currently supports a
couple of bipartisan and bills that are growing in you know,
growing more and more support for caregiverers so that they
can expand their ways of shay for their retirements, ultimately
(15:02):
leading to that confidence, that resilience, and that assurance about
their financial futures.
Speaker 1 (15:07):
That's great. And if we wanted to get involved, what
are some of the bills and how can we do
our part?
Speaker 4 (15:15):
Well, that's a really good question, Michelle. We're building on
the Secure and two point zero acts that's helping provide
additional savings opportunities for caregivers. So as many people as
possible that can talk about those current bills that are
that are running through now that are going to help
(15:35):
expand opportunities for caregivers to save more towards their retirements.
That's exactly what needs to be done, just more more
supports around those bills and talking to legislators about how
they can help to move those forward.
Speaker 3 (15:51):
Great.
Speaker 1 (15:51):
So where can we go to learn more about Edward
Jones and everything that Edward Jones has available for us
as far as resources and ways that we can can
maybe plan for our financial future.
Speaker 4 (16:05):
Edward Jones dot Com, flash Cake Given has a bunch
of different resources that can help you know, millions of
people and especially.
Speaker 1 (16:13):
Your show terrific. Thank you so much, Vanessa Okarawei. I
appreciate you joining me today on Passport Mommy. Thank you
so much for the wonderful tips.
Speaker 4 (16:23):
It's been a pleasure.
Speaker 1 (16:24):
Thank you, and thank you so much for listening to
Passport Mommy this week. I cannot believe this school year
is coming to an end. If you have already ended
school where you are, I hope you have an enjoyable summer.
Do you have your camp plans yet set yet? I
know that we are very last minute where we are.
There's so much up in the air, but I hope
(16:45):
to bring you lots of fun travel, lots of fun
travel shows this summer, and ideas where you can go
on local road trips depending on where you're located, or
also some really cool national and international properties ands. I'm
a firm believer in kids learning through travel. I think
that there are so many cultural immersions that you can do,
(17:09):
whether you're just visiting a country casually, or you decide
to look into one of those educational trips where you
really get a deep dive into the local culture, where
maybe you and your children get to volunteer, whether it's
at a school or on a farm or whatever it
may be. I think there are so many chances to
keep the education going over the summer and do it
(17:31):
in a fun way through travel. So we'll be talking
more about that in the coming months. You're listening to
Passport Mommy. I'm Michelle Jerson. More coming up in a
few You're listening to Passport Mommy. I'm Michelle Jursin and
I'm thrilled to have our next guest on this show,
Georgine Summer. She is quite a woman. She is full
of adventure, she is a risk taker, she's a lover
(17:54):
of life, and she is fearless and that is exemplified
by the life she has led, which she's going to
talk to us all about. And also it has led
to her inspiration for her new book, Angels in Sin Mayhem,
Money and Murder, a True Story. Hi Georgine, thank you
for joining me today.
Speaker 3 (18:15):
Hi Michelle, I'm happy to be here. Thank you for
inviting me.
Speaker 5 (18:18):
My pleasure.
Speaker 1 (18:19):
So talk to me about Angels in Sin. Where did
the inspiration come from.
Speaker 3 (18:25):
It's just my life has been not a normal life.
I always say about the title when I say they
have money murder, but I didn't murder anyone, but there
is murder in my life. So it just came from
all of the challenges that I've faced over my life,
and the idea that most people sadly live with unrealistic fears.
(18:48):
And while they say no to all challenges, I say
yes to all challenges. So I'm hoping that the book
will motivate people to change their lives, to get rid
of some of the unrealistic fears that they have and
to be able to live a richer, fuller, happier life
and reach their highest potential for growth and greatness.
Speaker 5 (19:07):
So that's it.
Speaker 1 (19:08):
Well, that is a great goal, and I think a
lot of people need to hear that because I think
people do live with fears and they do worry, and
especially if you have kids, like in my situation, I
feel like every or young kids, I should say, you
feel like every decision you make you also have to
take them into account, and then it might kind of
stunt your growth and your own ability to move past
(19:29):
those fears. So what would you say, is this single
experience that changed your life the most? And why?
Speaker 3 (19:37):
Oh boy, I'm glad to ask that, So I'll tell
you it was actually the Firewalk. And it's interesting because
when you say people live with fears, yes, as a
young person, you're told or don't go in the street,
don't talk to strangers, and those fears sort of resonate.
But then people get fear from other things they don't
even realize. So you know, when I to talk to
(20:00):
people about the firewalk, it'say, oh, it's not real. It's sake.
The coals aren't hot, they're cold. It's it's all fake.
And then I would ask the magic question with which
most people don't ask. I'd say, have you ever done
the firewalk? One hundred percent of the time people said no,
So how do you know what it's like? So I
made it my goal from the very very early times
(20:23):
that I would not comment on anything unless I had
experienced it, and people do it on everything. I mean,
more on that later. So I decided I was going
to do the firewalk, and so Tony Robbins the firewalk.
It was in then eyes, and it was when he
had like hundreds of people rather than thousands of people.
It was back in the mid eighties, and so I
(20:45):
went there. It''s like Friday night, Saturday, Sunday, and so
Friday nights were sitting there and all I wanted to
do was the firewalk, and we're doing these meditations and work.
I'm healing yourself from within, and I'm saying to myself,
come on, let's get on with it. I think, for
the firework, let's do it already. Finally, about midnight they
(21:06):
take us out and there's these pathways of red hot
burning embers like sixteen hundred degrees. So now I'm on
the sidelines. People are all lined up, and I'm having
an argument with myself. Well, I don't know if I
want to do this. Well that's what you came here for. Well,
no one, we'll know. Well you'll know. Well, I'm the
most important person. So then I see two little people
(21:26):
being aided across this firewalk, and so I said, well,
if they can do it, I can do it. I
get online and I'm not in the front right then,
but as I approach, I see the coals are getting darker,
and so I'm thinking this is really good. Anyway. I
get it to the front and I hear from the
side more hot coals. A wheelbarrel arrives and dumps a
(21:48):
wheelbarrow full of red hot embers in front of me,
and I had no choice there. I was in front.
Cool moss, cool moss. I step onto it. I get
to the middle and now I can feel on the
insteps of both feet, I'm burned. So I get to
the end. Yeah, there was no doubt burned. So I
get to the end and they have like a little patch,
a little box of wet grass. And by the time
(22:10):
I got there, I said, I am not coming back
tomorrow because I am mortally wounded. I have been burned.
I go back into the seminar and we finished doing
this work on healing. And I was living in Beverly
Hills at the time, so I got home. It was
about four o'clock in the morning. I had a hair
awpointment scheduled for before I went to the seminar that
(22:32):
started at nine, so I wasn't going to miss that.
And so anyway, I take off my clothes, I take
off my socks and there are two like I would say,
silver dollar size clusters of fully formed blisters with liquid
and everything on the end steps of both feet. And
I didn't have time or the energy to do anything.
(22:55):
I didn't put medicine on it. I just and there
were clusters, and so I just put my socks back on,
fell into the bed, woke up about six o'clock in
the morning and I take off my socks and both
sets of blisters there is no fluid inside. They are
crusted over, flat and dried, as if they had been
(23:18):
there for weeks, not a matter of hours. I was
all of a sudden it came to me. The universe
showed me, Yes, this is true. You just got burn girl,
And guess what the work you were doing before you
were trying to get out from under. It healed you
from within. I could not wait to get to the
seminar and share. And it was life changing for me
(23:39):
because it just showed me how powerful I was, how
powerful my thoughts were, and it was just amazing.
Speaker 1 (23:46):
Yeah, it's incredible what the mind can do. And that's
an incredible story. So I was reading that in the
early eighties you had a trendy nightclub in New York City.
Can I ask what club it was?
Speaker 3 (23:59):
Of course, it was called Bolero, like Ravel's Balero, and
it was on twenty seventh between Park and Lexington. I
thought it was I thought it seemed like a good
idea at the moment, but when I look back on
it now, it was like, yeah, head on, risk of
filled danger every single day.
Speaker 1 (24:20):
Wow, I can't imagine and so what gave you the
strength and the courage to deal with that and come
out Okay?
Speaker 3 (24:29):
Well it was interesting because I'll share this with you.
And I didn't realize it at the time, but years
before I had the nightclub for a few years, starting
in nineteen eighty and but a few years before one
of my son's ex girlfriends, when he was alive, she
and I were very good friends. And so her father
(24:52):
lived in Italy and Rome, and he put he worked
for the DEA and he put away him off fiosa
figure and so then later on, I mean I knew
about him, but later on she tells me that he retired,
and he retired in Italy, and I thought, oh my god,
you must be kidding me, do them? So one year,
(25:14):
this was way before the club, she knew that I
was going to Italy and her father sent her a message.
She was living in New Zealand, and he invited me
to come for dinner. Because I don't travel with anybody.
I've only done it twice in my life, and I
regretted both times. But I go alone, no tours. You know,
when I go on Safari, I have an unarmed mass
(25:36):
I guide and meet and that's it. So anyway, I
went to Rome. I was in Florence and went down
to their home for dinner, and we had this lovely dinner,
and afterwards we were sitting around and I couldn't wait.
So I said to me, please tell me something. Why
in the world, given the fact that you spent your
(25:58):
life putting away mafia figures, why would you move here?
And he looked at me and he said, to me,
you know, he said, the mafia has a set of rules.
He said, I always played by them. I just played
a better game somewhere in my subconscious that stayed. And
(26:20):
so when I decided to open the club, I knew
that that, you know, I built it and everything was
built out of a townhouse. So I designed it, had
it built an opening night. I knew that I needed
some sort of of protection, and so I had met
some lower level people and so they were supposed to
(26:42):
be there, you know, a case of emergencies. And so
opening night, the club was set up like a living room.
You'd go into a living room, butler entered the door,
and then you'd go into an elevator that didn't go anywhere,
and then you'd be dumped out onto a stainless steel
dance floor and was a VIP room upstairs, one with
one way glass. It was really trendy. It was amazing.
(27:05):
So opening night there were about fifteen hundred people that
came to the club. Limousines lined twenty seventh Street from
from street to street. People like Andy Warhol were there,
Grace Jones, the Village people, Winter's Sisters. It was celebrity filled.
And so about one thirty in the morning, I was upstairs.
(27:26):
There's a banging on the door. There's an opening night
banging on the door. Butler opens the door and there's
a guy outside and he says, if you don't, I
won't use the word effing shut this club down. Now
I'm going to blow it up. Welcome to the neighborhood.
Speaker 5 (27:39):
And so that was night one.
Speaker 4 (27:41):
And so.
Speaker 3 (27:45):
It turns out that across the street and above another
facility was an illegal gambling club that a major mafia
figures lieutenant's son was running. And it was like the
right hand didn't know what the left hand was doing, right,
and so there it was. They didn't want focus on
(28:05):
that street, and here were limousines and fifteen people. Yeah,
so it was interesting, and you know, I massaged things
and had fewer people and different kinds of parties and
tried to stay open that way, and it worked for
(28:27):
quite a long time. Uh, and then they were poised
to take my club. They got me into a position
where I, you know, I had to pay certain expenses.
I had forty two employees, I had rent other expenses,
and I wasn't getting open as they had me shut down.
And so I reached out to somebody I had known
(28:51):
that had an illegal gambling club. But he had really
celebrity people there, right, So I reached out to him
and then he sent his person was actually the son
and son in law of one of the five families,
and the rest was really history.
Speaker 1 (29:13):
So wow, Well, you have led an incredible life for sure,
with full of adventure. What do you want readers to
take away from this book?
Speaker 3 (29:25):
I think what I say is say yes to all challenges,
and I do just go for it, jump off the
cliff without a net, because there's no such thing as
failure in life. If you do something incorrectly one time,
change the way you do the next time. And so
I say, there's no failures. There's just lessons in a
(29:46):
classroom called life and so you can learn something and
you can make something happen. That is so amazing. But
most people don't want to try anything, and because they're
so afraid, and it's those fears, and they need to
go inside, they need to quiet their mind. They need
to look at the fears and weigh the reality of them.
(30:10):
And that's the first step towards changing your life. And
that's what I'd like to see people do because they
stay in broken relationships. I say, if it's broken and
you can't fix it, next, there's eight and a half
billion people on the planet, you're better off alone than
alone in a relationship. I don't see anything worse than
(30:31):
being alone.
Speaker 5 (30:31):
In a relationship.
Speaker 3 (30:32):
And believe me, with my coaching, I do transformational speaking
and coaching, and I see so many people that I
deal with that are stuck in these broken relations demolished relationships,
not just broken, you know.
Speaker 1 (30:45):
And it's funny. I used to host a relationship talk
show and I used to say the same things and
or say things similar, and then I would find myself
in these situations personally, and it's really hard to take
your own advice. But that's why somebody should reach out
the someone like you do you still do the coaching.
Speaker 3 (31:02):
Oh, yes, I do. I do select transformational coaching and
the speaking of finding that getting on stages and being
able to speak to a larger group, I can reach
more people. And that's really what my motivation is. I
want to be able to help people have a fuller,
richer life, a happier life, and to reach their goals
(31:23):
and to realize their dreams for growth and grades. And
most people don't. Most people don't, right.
Speaker 1 (31:31):
So where can they find your book Angels in Sin?
And how can they reach you for seeing where you
might be speaking next?
Speaker 3 (31:36):
They can get my book any bookseller. It's on Amazon
and just go in and put in Angels and Sin
May have Money and Murder. It's at Barnes and Noble.
And they can reach me by going onto my website
which is www dot Georgine Summers dot com. That's g
(31:58):
E O R G E N last name Summers s
U M m Ers dot com. No space terrific.
Speaker 1 (32:07):
Well, thank you so much. You are definitely motivational. I
think everyone should go out and read the book and
take the lessons that you've just explained to us today
and to heart, because it is true. We should get
over our fears and take a chance. Thank you so
much for inspiring us today, Georgie and Summers. Thanks for
joining me on Passport Mommy. You're listening to Passport Mommy.
(32:30):
I'm Michelle Jerson. So it's that time of year when
we are on the go, especially with summer here, and
we are looking for quick snacks to put together for
the kids. And June is dairy month, So what a
perfect time to talk about some snack ideas that involve
day because we all know day also brings the calcium
and the protein that our kids need. And so I'm
really happy to have with me today i vet Rio.
(32:52):
She is a lifestyle expert and TV host. Hi evet Hi, thank.
Speaker 5 (32:56):
You so much for having me.
Speaker 6 (32:57):
And you know what, it's like, I have a love
hate relationship with summer, right, It's like you're so excited
about like having your time.
Speaker 5 (33:04):
Back, but then what do you do with the kids?
Speaker 6 (33:06):
They're around all the time, You're shipping them around from
camp to camp.
Speaker 5 (33:10):
It's a lot, Yeah, it sure is.
Speaker 1 (33:12):
So what are some quick, grab and go dairy options
for busy summer days?
Speaker 5 (33:17):
For sure?
Speaker 6 (33:18):
So you know, I like to really rely on dairy
to be able to supplement my kid's diet, especially in
the summertime, where I need just easy grab and go things.
So for instance, if I'm going to the beach or
we're going on a road trip, I like to make
egg and cheese sandwiches.
Speaker 5 (33:36):
I use English muffin.
Speaker 6 (33:37):
And then I actually add a little cottage cheese to
the eggs because it really beefs up the protein there,
keeps them fuller longer, And then I put them in
aluminum foil. I'll freeze it or I'll even you know,
put it in the fridge and warm it up in
the oven the morning of and that way they have
a nice warm meal they can eat in the car
without like messing up the car too, which is always
(33:58):
a thing in our house from everywhere. But then I
also make parfase with yogurt or even with cottage cheese
and some fruit, and I have these like really cute
containers where you can put the fruit separate from the
from the yogurt. So that's like an easy grab and
go thing, and that's kind of like what I rely
on for, you know, a trip to the beach or
(34:20):
a road trip, and.
Speaker 5 (34:22):
It's just you know, honestly, like I'm not the only.
Speaker 6 (34:24):
Person that uses all, you know, all these kind of
grab and go dairy products. It's it seems like forty
one percent of American consumers are relying on these like
prepackaged dairy to kind of make their lives a little easier.
Speaker 5 (34:36):
Which is great exactly.
Speaker 1 (34:38):
So you can grab and going, you don't necessarily have
to grab and those junkie snacks. You can bring healthy
snacks along that are quick. So how would you say
dairy and non dairy options stack up nutritionally because a
lot of people choose not to consume dairy nowadays.
Speaker 6 (34:56):
Oh absolutely, and they're you know, people have allergies and
they have references.
Speaker 5 (35:00):
You know, I.
Speaker 6 (35:01):
Myself like will eat whole milk, yogurt and cheeses. I
just I really like love just a whole milk cheese,
so I will like eat that.
Speaker 5 (35:11):
But then when it comes to my coffee, I.
Speaker 6 (35:14):
Tend to want, you know, the alternative milk, so like
you know, oat milk and things like that. And I
recently found an oat milk that has like vanilla and caramel,
and it's like so delicious. It makes my coffee like
taste like one of those really expensive ones you get
at a coffee shop, so it saves me money and
then I have my little boost in the morning, which
I love. So the reality is, you know, they they
(35:36):
now are you know, fortifying the non dairy products with
vitamin D so you're getting the same amount.
Speaker 5 (35:42):
Of nutrition there.
Speaker 6 (35:43):
But it's important to read the label, you know, get
familiar with the ingredients. And the reality is like in
the dairy isle, you can pretty much find, you know,
anything for anyone, regardless of what preferences or allergies.
Speaker 2 (35:55):
They may have.
Speaker 5 (35:56):
Right, I love that.
Speaker 1 (35:58):
And so what are some new or un expected products
in the dairy aisle that can elevate summer meals that
maybe we're not thinking about for sure?
Speaker 6 (36:07):
So recently I learned about lebony, which is a type
of yogurt that's like thicker, it's got like a richer flavor.
Speaker 5 (36:16):
And I take some lemon zest.
Speaker 6 (36:19):
And I'll you know, I always have like stitches around
because in the summertime and you're making lemonades and things,
so some lemons zest, chop up some herbs whatever you
may have, mix it in there and it makes like
a super delicious instant dip.
Speaker 5 (36:31):
You can even drizzle it with olive oil. It's so good.
Speaker 6 (36:34):
I'll put that on my like grilled vegetables. I'll eat
it with peta chips and that's like so yummy. But
then I also will take cottage cheese and whip it
in a blender and make like a whipped cottage cheese.
That is a great alternative to NAO And again, it
really pumps up.
Speaker 5 (36:50):
The protein and it's really delicious.
Speaker 6 (36:52):
So those those are some things that I've started doing
that you know, are kind of new to me.
Speaker 1 (36:57):
Yeah, that sounds great, But thank you for those ideas
because I'm always looking for ways to increase the protein.
I'm always on the go as a mom. Forget the kids,
I'm always the one running around, so we all please Yeah,
so we all need those healthy snacks and to keep
ourselves fueled. Where can we go for more summer meal
ideas and inspirations using dairy products?
Speaker 5 (37:19):
For sure, you can go to easyhomemeals dot com.
Speaker 6 (37:23):
And you know what's so cool is they've got an
incredible amount of ideas on how to use like cottage
cheese and yogurt in all these creative ways. But it's
also June as dairy month, as you mentioned, and they
are giving away ten thousand dollars that you can use
for just about anything.
Speaker 5 (37:40):
You know, go on that vacation. You aways wanted to
or redo your kitchen, so.
Speaker 6 (37:44):
Go to easyholemeals dot com sign up for the sweech stakes.
Speaker 5 (37:47):
It's a good one.
Speaker 1 (37:48):
Awesome, Well, thank you so much of vet Rio's thank
you for joining me today on Passport Mommy and for
all of the great ideas.
Speaker 5 (37:53):
Awesome, thank you, thanks for having me my pleasure.
Speaker 1 (37:56):
I'm Michelle Jerson. Thanks for joining me this week. Talk
to you next time.
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