Career Chat

Adam Cannon first tried theater in high school, even dabbled in college.  But it wasn't until he had his own kids who were interested in theater that he made his way back to the stage door, this time behind the scenes.  Adam has spent his career as a teacher and instructional designer, but his passion is directing live theater.  He even started a production company before Covid hit and shares the lessons he learned from that experience.  Adam has worked in community theater in Cottonwood Heights, Payson, Spanish Fork, American Fork, Alpine and Cedar Hills, Utah.  He has directed Matilda and the Utah premier of Bonnie and Clyde, as well as original musicals written by local playwriters.  But one of the most fulfilling experiences he's had is bringing a number of youth into the theater world and watching them take off.  Join me as Adam shares his passion and commitment to community theater and makes a case for why it's so important to support.

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Anina Cummings and Lauren Russell both completed the Disney College Program at Walt Disney World in Florida, USA.  Both consider themselves big Disney fans and both of them would recommend this paid internship to other college students.  But they also had different experiences doing the same program.  Join me to hear these back to back interviews with Lauren and Anina as they share their recommendations for people interested in applying for the program, the skills they think are an asset, their favorite rides, and what they learned working at Disney.  They also share their tips and tricks for making the most of your next Disney trip.  

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Amber Bird always loved photography growing up - in fact, she spent every last penny after high school graduation to buy her first DLSR camera.  And she's been taking photos ever since!  Amber taught herself the skills she needed to take amazing photographs.  In fact, she recently added a beautiful, new studio to her business, where she can combine her love of natural light with funky backgrounds and lots of color.  In this episode, Amber shares how she's pushed herself to learn skills, expand her business, win clients and try new techniques.  Where she started out taking photos for friends and family, a good portion of her work now is professional portraits and product shoots.  And because she loves the Fall and Halloween, she does an incredible Halloween photo shoot every year, just for fun!  Amber's passion for color and creativity have helped her develop a successful photography business and find her own niche.

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Rebecca Johnson is a family nurse practitioner with Jordan Women's Health Center in West Jordan, UT.  She's also a wife and mother with 5 kids who are involved in everything from mountain biking and ski team to opera singing!  Rebecca earned her bachelor's of nursing from the University of Utah and worked as an RN at Boston Mass General in her early days. She then moved to CA with her husband and worked in the NICU at Stanford.  It was there she decided to go back to school at UCSF to get her NP degree. Rebecca has also taught undergraduate nursing students at UCSF and BYU and has a subspecialty in Women's health.   In this interview, Rebecca shares why her degree is a great fit for the busy life she shares with her family.  We'll talk about the uptick in depression and anxiety that she's seen in her patients since Covid, how she diagnoses and treats patients with PCOS, and why sleep and time spent in nature are so important to wellness.  Nurses are trained to educate and Rebecca shares a wealth of knowledge about her career path in this episode.   

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Sharlene Wells first gained national attention when she won the 1985 Miss America title. But that was only the beginning of her varied accomplishments.  Sharlene now works as the senior vice president of public relations and organizational communications for Mountain America Credit Union, which includes overseeing government and community relations, something she has plenty of experience in. One of Sharlene's passion projects has been working with the US military to tell the stories of service men and women.  In fact, she shares a pivotal experience she had with a Vietnam vet just a few years ago. Sharlene grew up in South America and was the first woman to win Miss America who was foreign-born and bilingual.  She learned the power of differentiation when she performed a Paraguayan harp solo while she sang in Spanish for her talent in Miss America.  She's continued to be a stand-out in everything she's done, including working for ESPN as one of their first women reporters.  We'll look back over her dynamic career to find the skills that anyone can develop for success.  Join me! 

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As the daughter of two teachers, K.C. Boyd didn't want to follow her parents into education.  But after various jobs, she was bored and unfulfilled.  It was then K.C.'s dad suggested she work towards becoming a school librarian, and she never looked back.  Now, after 20 years in the field, K.C. was just named Scholastic Library Journal's 2022 Librarian of the Year. K.C. is currently the librarian at Jefferson MIddle School Academy in Washington, D.C.  In this episode, K.C. discusses why librarians are so fundamental to learning and the impact they can have on overall student achievement.  K.C. also shares the role she played with students as the Capitol riot was unfolding just blocks away from her school.  And wait until you hear about the no-TV Wednesdays she grew up with as a kid! It's all in this episode.

In this episode, I talk with Josh Allen, English professor and the author of two collections of scary stories for kids.  Josh's love of the spooky started when he was kid, watching all of The Twilight Zone episodes with his dad.  But it wasn't until much later in his life that he realized writing spooky stories was what he wanted to do as part of his career.  Now, Josh teaches creative writing at BYUI and continues to write scary stories for middle-grade readers.  We talk about why reading scary stories can be good for kids and why fiction is good for all us. Josh shares great advice for anyone who wants to write and for everyone looking for their life's work.  Don't miss this one!

In this episode I talk with Grammy-nominated performing artist and violinist Jenny Oaks Baker.  Jenny started on the violin at age 4 and was practicing 4 hours a day by the time she started high school.  Her musicianship and technique were perfected at the Curtis School of Music and later at Julliard for a master's degree, after which she performed as 1st chair at the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington D.C.  But combining motherhood and a performing career was difficult.  In this episode, Jenny shares how she came to forge the career she has now, one that supports motherhood AND music. We discuss her recent collaboration with Condoleezza Rice and how she puts her YouTube music videos together.  She also shares how she helped her children choose musical instruments to excel at and why performing with her children is her greatest joy.  Jenny's faith is central to everything she does and it comes through in this interview.  And don't miss the story behind her rare violin!

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Marilyn Ference has always loved creating a budget and managing her family finances.  As their family was growing, she often told her husband he was the offensive coordinator, and she was the defensive coordinator when it came to money. With a background in business and finances, managing money came easy to her.  But she saw a need for a simpler system of budgeting, one that anyone could use.  With the idea of creating a helpful app, Marilyn is now the co-founder of Otto, a budgeting app to help you organize your personal finances.  If you've ever wondered what it takes to go from concept to launching an app, this episode is for you.  Join me to hear about Marilyn's experience and what she's learned along the way!

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Cindy Mitchell has spent the last 24 years working as the librarian at South Jordan Middle School. But she had a great idea after only a few years on the job--to create a website where she would rate and review all the books she read. In 2003, Kiss the Book was born and continues today as a premier book review site, covering the entire K-12 spectrum with over 1,000 reviews a year. In this episode, we talk about how to find a book your kids will love, some overall general trends in children's literature and we discuss the current issue of challenging and censoring library books. Cindy also shares what keeps her engaged in this passion project without making any money on it and what she would tell her kids about fin ding a career to love. 

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Karissa Gurthrie studied criminal justice in college, but she currently works with the homeless population at The Road Home in Salt Lake City. This time of year, she is busy overseeing Candy Cane Corner, a pop-up store for vulnerable populations in the area. In this episode, Karissa shares some misconceptions about homelessness; a kind, helpful response we can use when talking with, and ways you can help people experiencing homelessness during the holidays and throughout the year. I hope you'll join me to learn more!

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America Mason is a people person who loves to travel, but it wasn't until her mom suggested getting a degree in Hotel and Lodging management that she believed she could combine the two. Now as a senior at Johnson and Wales University, America is spending a semester in Hawaii as an intern at the 5-star Fairmont Orchid Hotel on the Big Island. In this episode, I talk with America about her experiences in Hawaii, her previous job at Hotel Park City, and why getting a hospitality degree is so versatile. America also has advice for high schoolers trying to decide what to study and gives her best insider tips for getting what you want at any hotel. 

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Brooke Matheson always loved organizing growing up. She even created her own business as a college student to help pay for school. After graduating, marrying, and many years spent raising a family, Brooke is now back in this field as a lead organizer for Reset your Nest, a local business. In this episode, Brooke shares what she loves most about organizing a space, her go-to products to make organizing easier, and some amazing tips for getting started on your own, including how to stay on top of clutter, deal with kids' homework, and manage old photos. Brooke's suggestions are so helpful, let's jump in. 

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Rob Dunfield started his career in exercise and sports science. But 10 years ago he had the opportunity to become a part-owner and COO of Fear Factory, a haunted house attraction in the industrial center of Salt Lake City. Now, Fear Factory is one of the top 10 haunted houses in the nation, according to USA Today. In this interview, Rob shares how his childhood hobby led him to an exciting and challenging career. We'll hear how Fear Factory hires a cast, where they get props, who does the make-up for the actors, and what keeps people coming back every year. After I went through Fear Factory for the first time, I have a lot to ask Rob about the Halloween industry and why people like to be scared! Join us! 

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