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The Adult Table

The Adult Table

By SASE

The Adult Table, a SASE podcast, hosted by Jenny Cheung and Jason Chin, is aimed at sharing stories of those who have made it to the "adult table", the table we all anticipate reaching as children. SASE (The Society of Asian Scientists and Engineers) is a nonprofit that focuses on helping Asian heritage science and engineering professionals achieve their full potential. We set the virtual table to bring in guests from the SASE and/or STEM community, to engage in a casual conversation on their professional careers and personal life.
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Episode 8 - Happy Pride! with Parth Patel and Tim Zhang

The Adult TableJun 23, 2021

00:00
01:10:55
Episode 29 - Consulting Chronicles With Wesley Chow

Episode 29 - Consulting Chronicles With Wesley Chow

Wesley Chow is in the house! Want to learn about the life of a consultant? Want to hear how a college student was able to get complimented on their stage presence by a C-suite executive? Want to hear how someone was able to visit all 7 continents? All of this is packed into this fun, one-of-a kind episode. Wes has a wealth of knowledge in his professional space, on top of all of the diverse activities and hobbies he embarks on!

Feb 14, 202401:02:39
Episode 28 - The Podcast Team's Yearly Wrapped

Episode 28 - The Podcast Team's Yearly Wrapped

It’s a Full House (minus Aaron 🙁) To officially close out 2023 and start to looking forward to the new year -  Jason, Jenny, Amberly, Amy, and Ronak come together for their 2023 Wrapped (Spotify Wrapped Style). This presentation party let everyone present on what wild adventures and experiences defined each of their year and what their goals are for the next one. Find out why Amy can’t climb stairs anymore (3:30), how Amberly is multilingual (29:30), where Jenny’s car window went (34:50), what reality show Jason is going to apply to (1:01:45), and why Ronak keeps getting food poisoning (1:08:52). This recap brings everyone together for a wholesome catch-up. We are excited to create more content for you in 2024! 🙂

Jan 24, 202401:26:32
Episode 27 - Exploring the Gap between College and Career with Liz Fujita

Episode 27 - Exploring the Gap between College and Career with Liz Fujita

Liz Fujita joins Jenny and Jason at the Adult Table to talk about how she is leaning into her new role as the SASE Director of Collegiate Programs! She brings us through her professional journey through student affairs and how her network got her to where she is now. While her initial goals were not to pursue higher education in the first place, having an undeclared major starting college, she found her passion in helping others discover who they are and what they want to do. Liz shares her insight about having different friend groups and the awkward timeframe between transitioning from college life to professional life with community, personal hobbies, social life, etc. In her personal time, she has a plethora of hobbies including reading 50 books every year, cross country skiing, mountain biking, running, playing board games, and farming!
Nov 28, 202355:23
Episode 26 - How to Make Friends as an Adult with Zoe Imansjah

Episode 26 - How to Make Friends as an Adult with Zoe Imansjah

Zoe Imansjah joins Jenny and Jason at the Adult Table. Zoe currently is a production engineer at Dow Chemical, an admin for the Facebook group Subtle Asian Traits, Programming Co-Manager for SASE National Convention, the list goes on! She tells us how she is navigating her rotational program, what it’s like moving to different parts of the country, how to become friends with coworkers by talking about sports and SOUP. She also shares her stories about SAT (Subtle Asian Traits), being able to be on a golden carpet and meeting celebrities within the community! Be sure to watch the video version of the podcast to take a sneak peek at her meme binder :)

Nov 02, 202301:20:56
Episode 25 - Newbie Takeover

Episode 25 - Newbie Takeover

Join Aaron, Amy, and Ronak as they fill in for Jason, Jenny, and Amberly! Learn more about the 3 as they play we are not really strangers. How well does everyone know each other? Listen to hear their perceptions, stories, and friendship!

Nov 02, 202301:15:20
Episode 24 - Personal Finance with Frederica Shih

Episode 24 - Personal Finance with Frederica Shih

We finally did it! An episode dedicated to personal finance, thanks to our friend Frederica Shih. Frederica sits down with Jason and Jenny to go through her professional journey and her unique time working for Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) during the infamous crash. We then discussed how she originally started on her personal finance journey, and what led her to take finances seriously in this stage of her life. Frederica also tests Jenny and Jason on questions regarding personal financial decisions, finance gurus, and finance myths.


Mixed in the middle, we get to learn more about Frederica, and learn what motivates her, what she enjoys, and most importantly, about her white noise machine and rave life. This episode is full of great tips and tricks on personal finance, and this is surely just scratching the surface. We may do a follow up episode on more personal finance, let us know what other personal finance topics you want to hear about!

Jul 07, 202301:26:52
Episode 23 - Sitting down with SASE Mental Health Initiative

Episode 23 - Sitting down with SASE Mental Health Initiative

Content warning: In this podcast episode, we will be discussing topics around mental health that may include topics involving depression, anxiety, suicide ideation, and self harm. Please listen at your own discretion.
In honor of Mental Health Awareness Month in May, we are bringing on two friends from the Mental Health Initiative in SASE, Aishwarya Mantagani and Alex Hattori. We talked about their mental health journeys, how they navigate conversations with their family, the difference between stress and burnout, and why mental health is important to them. Through their experiences, navigating this space with support systems of family, friends, and peers is a great resource to have, we encourage you to check in with your friends! A simple “how are you” can go a long way! :)

Here at The Adult Table, we heavily advise that if you are suffering with your mental health to please seek a medical professional for help.
Be sure to check out the group discussions that the SASE Mental Health Initiative hosts with more information on their Instagram @sasementalhealth
May 25, 202353:13
Episode 22 - Everywhere in a Gap Year with Alex Hattori

Episode 22 - Everywhere in a Gap Year with Alex Hattori

Alex Hattori joins Jason and Jenny on The Adult Table to talk about his life after college, especially his gap year after working full-time for a year, where he’s been able to travel around the world to places including Columbia, Australia and New Zealand. Alex shines a light on this uncommon life path (at least for people in the US); taking advantage of time now to travel and understand the cultures and lifestyles of other places in the world. He shares his biggest lessons learned, how traveling has changed his perspective on life and the world, and where he thinks this can lead for the future. If you ever dreamed of taking a break from working full-time and feel like this is what you’d want to experience in your life, take a listen to this fun and intriguing episode.

Apr 19, 202343:43
Episode 21 - A Career Everywhere with Dennis Hirotsu

Episode 21 - A Career Everywhere with Dennis Hirotsu

Retired P&G Vice President of R&D and SASE celebrity Dennis Hirotsu joins Jason and Jenny on The Adult Table this month to break down his career, his biggest lessons learned throughout his journey and how post-work/retirement life has been treating him.

The episode starts with all the things Dennis has worked through in his 6 years of retirement. Dennis has been involved in a variety of work including his involvement with angel investing with start-ups through the Queen City Angels, his role in his local Planning Commission, and all types of social groups focused on his various hobbies (1:50).

His career and time at P&G spanned multiple P&G businesses; Baby Care, Feminine Care, Household Cleaners, and Hair Color. His global experience includes 13 years located in Asia building P&G’s Baby and Fem business in the region, and the launch of Ultrathin diapers in Europe. Dennis also led innovation capability for the R&D function reporting to P&Gs Chief Innovation and Technology Officer. With such a long, successful career at P&G, Dennis is able to offer so much wisdom and perspective on the progression in his career through different generations, cultures, and locations (13:18).

Dennis brings his lively energy and honesty to the podcast, while fielding all of the professional questions Jenny and Jason can think of, spanning from the topics about mentorship, what he does during retirement, his experience working in different regions of the world, and his progression in growing and taking on more responsibility in the corporate world.

Dennis also comes with lots of experience giving presentations and talks at P&G and SASE. He breaks down his mindset and his preparation going into talks, and leaves some advice for public speaking. (39:52)

We end the episode with a classic rapid fire segment to get to know Dennis more personally (1:10:32)

Tune in for one of our favorite episodes to date, and catch all the invaluable advice Dennis offers at The Adult Table.

Feb 28, 202301:21:23
Episode 20 - Worth It: 2 vs 5 Years for Grad School ft Amy Ngo and Aaron Ildefonso

Episode 20 - Worth It: 2 vs 5 Years for Grad School ft Amy Ngo and Aaron Ildefonso

Happy grad school application season! Jenny and Jason sit down with Amy Ngo and Aaron Ildefonso, two new members of The Adult Table Podcast team. Amy is pursuing a PhD in Chemistry at Georgetown University while Aaron is pursuing his Master’s of Science in Engineering Management at Texas A&M University.

Aaron talks about how he decided to pursue higher education and follow this field of study (4:21). Amy also had a similar path to Aaron, in talking with peers and others in the academic community to help her decide on this path with higher education (8:30). They talk about their classes in their respective programs and how they balance work and classes: Aaron: (11:25) Amy: (17:17). Amy breaks down being the youngest PhD student in her program and the stories that come with being the youngest TA that her students have seen (23:42). The two guests give their own advice in applying and getting through a graduate program (33:22).

We start a new game for our guests called THIS or THAT, in which they must choose one of two choices for grad school characteristics that they prefer including whether they should take a gap year, teaching or research, and staying up late grinding or studying earlier on (52:40).

We end the episode with a classic rapid fire segment to get to know our guests more personally (1:01:38)

PS. Amy is a struggling PhD student, you can venmo her at @vietbabyx. She has no wifi in her apt :(

Jan 18, 202301:18:08
Episode 19 - Manasvi Soars the World

Episode 19 - Manasvi Soars the World

Jason and Jenny sit down with Manasvi Savani, one of this year's SASE Role Models and current South Region Regional manager to impart her wisdom on her journey, motivations and why the South region is the best region. Manasvi talks about her journey of discovering what she wanted to pursue in life through her journey in college as a first generation college graduate, her SASE journey, and navigating her early career.

Can you believe we have both 2022 SASE role models on this episode? Jason and Manasvi talk about being 2022 SASE Role Models and the photoshoot. Go off SASE leaders!

Manasvi first breaks down her experience in moving from India to the US, and how she landed on pursuing a Computer Science degree at the University of South Florida (2:45). Her degree landed her a job at Citi, where Manasvi has been involved in a rotational program for over a year (4:56). After, Manasvi talks about her journey through SASE, and what it's been like being a SASE Role Model and a magazine model! (25:48). Through all of her hard work, Manasvi has found a way to balance her work life with so much outside of work (45:07). The episode ends with The Adult Table’s classic rapid fire questions; posing questions about her travel wishes, her drink preferences and more (56:13)

Dec 15, 202201:05:01
Episode 18 - Catching Up, Career Guidance and Cardboard Chaos

Episode 18 - Catching Up, Career Guidance and Cardboard Chaos

Jason and Jenny ARE BACK! After a little break, the duo was inspired by NC 2022, to discuss their personal professional journeys throughout the years, but leads into so much more.
First, the two recap the most recent SASE National Convention and all the chaos that ensued. The two then break down their professional and academic journeys to get to where they are now, and what they actually do for work (27:00). After, they discuss their funniest fails in the professional world (54:00), followed by their corporate red flags (1:05:00). They end this fun discussion, doing a DRAFT to rank their best advice/lessons learned in the professional world (1:12:00).
Nov 11, 202201:23:16
Episode 17 - Joseph Alim

Episode 17 - Joseph Alim

Northeastern Alumni and NEU SASE OG Joe Alim joins Jason and Jenny at the Adult Table! Joe is currently the VP of Product and Operations at Compt, a start-up that works with companies in elevating employee stipends that gives people the freedom to choose the lifestyle perks that they really want. He tells us his journey throughout college, co-founding a startup called Scholarjet, allowing students to apply to action based scholarships, and how he became a Forbes 30 under 30 recipient. He shares what he has learned from his journey and how his mindset has shifted and evolved.

Aug 24, 202201:05:44
Episode 16 - Larry Chan

Episode 16 - Larry Chan

Longtime P&G leader and SASE supporter, Larry Chan (he/him/his), joins Jason and Jenny on The Adult Table this month. Larry brings his almost 30 years of professional experience and leadership to the podcast, and helps Jenny and Jason answer many questions on building a career and his outlook on mentorship. Larry also discusses how his life has evolved through time, his disciplined hobbies, and even his journey growing a family.

Jul 27, 202259:42
Episode 15 - Let’s talk about mental health

Episode 15 - Let’s talk about mental health

TW: This episodes contains topics around mental health that may include topics involving depression, anxiety, suicide ideation, and self harm. Please listen at your own discretion.

May is Mental Health Awareness Month and our friends from the SASE Mental Health Initiative, Meghna Kuppuraju and David Lang join us at The Adult Table to discuss their personal journey on mental health, how they developed their support system, and navigating conversations with family. Be sure to check out the group discussions that the SASE Mental Health Initiative hosts with more information on their instagram @sasementalhealth

Here at The Adult Table, we heavily advise that if you are suffering with your mental health to please seek a medical professional for help. 

For more resources that we talked about during this episode, please visit: https://tinyurl.com/SASEMHI

May 25, 202258:32
Episode 14 - The Friendship Episode

Episode 14 - The Friendship Episode

Time to get up close and personal! Jenny and Jason bring the popular card game, We’re Not Really Strangers, to the Adult Table (via https://werejustfriends.online/ ) and get to know each other a little better. The game progresses through three levels and starts on easy questions like what is our favorite snack, to deeper questions where Jenny and Jason discuss their views on each other's lives. The game really opens the conversation up so listen as Jenny and Jason dive deeper into their friendship and learn more about each other! We hope that you enjoy episodes between just the team members as well as content where we interview guests, if this is something you enjoy, please let us know! :)

May 11, 202259:31
Episode 13 - Kristy Chan

Episode 13 - Kristy Chan

Kristy Chan, SASE’s premier twitch streamer (and also our Co-Regional Marketing Representative Manager), joins Jason and Jenny on the Adult Table! We talk about how she’s navigating her professional career, transitional adult life things, corporate lingo and the desire to have a creative outlet in a STEM career. In Kristy’s newest venture of Twitch streaming, we learned a lot about her journey and what prompted her to start one. Go follow her at https://twitch.tv/winggie_

Mar 30, 202201:15:11
Episode 12 - New Year, Same(ish) Us

Episode 12 - New Year, Same(ish) Us

It’s Happy Hour! Jenny and Jason sit down with a casual drink (or two) to reflect on the previous year and also on our intentions for the new year. Jenny rambles about random things she learned as a trying adult while Jason patiently listens lol This is the first time we have an episode with just the co-hosts, let us know if you like it! We may do more ;)

Feb 10, 202256:02
Episode 11 - Lisa Nguyen

Episode 11 - Lisa Nguyen

Lisa Nguyen, someone you may recognize from NBC’s new hit show FROGGER joins Jason and Jenny on the Adult Table! We did a deep dive on how she got herself on the show, and what her experience was like filming in Australia, and her views on career and life! Lisa is a jack of all trades and really has done so much: in her education, as a transportation planning/engineer, being a costumed mascot, skiing and even making tik toks!

Dec 01, 202101:23:52
Episode 10 - How I Met Your Podcast Team

Episode 10 - How I Met Your Podcast Team

The Adult Table team is back! The FOUR (that’s right we’re up to four now!) members of the team come on to reminisce about how our paths crossed, and our true first impressions of each other. The rest of the episode is reserved for us all to catch up, talk about what’s been on our mind the past few months, our biggest “sliding doors” moment, and some of our “firsts”. In the end, we turn the tables, and we ask each other our staple question of the episode: “What is something you have done recently that made you feel like an adult”?
While this is a break for our normal content of interviewing STEM professionals, we hope to include both informative/enlightening interviews, as well as honest, unreserved conversations. Let us know if you liked this episode! We hope that we can do more and give you a window into what’s going on with our lives as well!
Oct 28, 202101:07:27
Episode 9 - Swetha Cherukuri and Jeanavic Malaiba

Episode 9 - Swetha Cherukuri and Jeanavic Malaiba

Disclaimer: This episode was recorded a few days before SASE officially announced to cancel the in-person conferences within the National Convention after closely monitoring the rising Covid cases nationally and in Atlanta. We respect SASE’s decision to cancel the in-person conference as the health and well being of all attendees is the most important. See you at SASE virtual convention!

We’re back and ready for year 2 of the podcast! Starting us off, we brought some SASE friends from the NC Programming Committee. Swetha Cherukuri returns back to the Adult Table and Jeanavic Malaiba joins us for the first time! Both are actively on the West Regional Team and live in the LA area. While the conversation starts with convention, we dove into a really fun discussion ranging from their thoughts on their favorite airports, to how they’ve transitioned into the “adult” stage of their lives, to their personal goals for the future.

Tune in to hear our new rapid debate section at the end, where we can see where our guests stand on long-standing questions like is cereal a soup, or is a hot dog a sandwich.

Sep 15, 202101:11:22
Episode 8 - Happy Pride! with Parth Patel and Tim Zhang

Episode 8 - Happy Pride! with Parth Patel and Tim Zhang

Happy Pride Month! We wanted to do something special for this month’s episode to celebrate pride, open the discussion about LGBTQ+ experiences in more AAPI spaces especially for those with a career in the STEM field. Our two good friends, Parth Patel (he/him) and Tim Zhang (he/him) joined the Adult Table for one of the most open and vulnerable episodes we’ve ever recorded. We discuss how their identity has shaped their careers and lives, intersectionality of being queer and Asian American, and what they appreciate in the LGBTQ+ community.

Jun 23, 202101:10:55
Episode 7 - Swetha Cherukuri

Episode 7 - Swetha Cherukuri

Jason and Jenny sit down with Swetha Cherukuri, current National Conference Programming Manager, Southern California Regional Coordinator, SASE Pro Collegiate Relations and future West Region Regional Manager! We ask her how she balances it all, balancing with her current studies as a PHD student. Swetha talks about what made her pursue her current field of study, breaks down the order she watches the Star Wars movies in, and how she felt she graduated to the adult table. If you want any recommendations for tv or movies, she can give you a list!

Apr 14, 202140:51
Episode 6 - Pia Muyot

Episode 6 - Pia Muyot

Jason and Jenny sit down with Pia Muyot, SASE’s Board Professional Membership Representative. The episode lined up perfectly with Women’s History Month, as we talked with Pia, the person who started the She Inspires Me Campaign in SASE. On top of her many achievements in SASE, we discuss being a woman of color in STEM, how she’s adjusted to moving to new locations throughout her professional journey, and even a unique tip for anyone looking into purchasing a home.

Mar 24, 202149:45
Episode 5 - Matt Diaz

Episode 5 - Matt Diaz

Jason and Jenny sit down with Matt Diaz, a well known face in SASE as the Collegiate Program Coordinator. We talk about what it’s like to marry your childhood crush and building a life of purpose and intention together! We also dive into his professional journey and how he has found his passion in creating connections and continuous personal development. Find out how many marathons Matt has run, what his go-to books are, and what his outlook on life is in this episode!

Feb 10, 202145:40
Episode 4 - Holiday Special!

Episode 4 - Holiday Special!

We brought in the whole Adult Table team to celebrate the New Year, catch up, and talk through our different holiday traditions. We discuss how holidays were different growing up compared to how we celebrate them now. Find out what holidays we celebrate, traditions we follow, favorite holiday foods, and even new year superstitions! We are excited to bring you more content interviewing STEM professionals in the new year! If you have any suggestions for guests or would like to potentially be one, feel free to reach out to us!

Jan 20, 202148:27
Episode 3 - Post Election Roundtable

Episode 3 - Post Election Roundtable

For this special episode, Jason Chin sits down with four panelists from the SASE community to discuss their thoughts on the US Presidential Election, the future of the country, and their perspectives coming from an Asian American background. Ummiya Chaudhary, Jenny Cheung, Paraag Maddiwar, and Rebecca Yoo all brought unique backgrounds and perspectives to the table. With this episode, we hope to inspire our listeners to think more about politics, and open spaces for these political discussions to occur. As a disclaimer, the opinions expressed are each person’s individual opinions and do not reflect the opinion of SASE as an organization.

Dec 16, 202053:32
Episode 2 - Stephen Taing

Episode 2 - Stephen Taing

Jenny and Jason sit down with Stephen Taing, one of the 2020 - 2021 SASE Role Models! His involvement in SASE began when he started his own chapter at Villanova University, and later became a West Regional Coordinator. We talk to Stephen about his career aspirations, how he achieves work life balance, and his favorite conference stories. Jenny and Stephen met at a conference and learned that they were both moving from the east coast to the west coast at the same time. Jason also met Stephen on the west coast when he co-oped in San Diego. (Wow friendship!) Stephen also breaks down his go to boba order, what he’s been up to in quarantine and what’s on his bucket list!

Nov 19, 202036:55
Episode 1 - Khánh Vũ

Episode 1 - Khánh Vũ

In our first official episode, Jenny and Jason sit down with Khánh Vũ, the CEO and Executive Director of SASE (also officially known as the foodie of SASE). Khanh talks about his personal journey moving to America from Vietnam, SASE as a growing organization, and his love for volleyball!
Oct 17, 202055:45
Episode 0 - Introduction

Episode 0 - Introduction

Hello and welcome to The Adult Table, a podcast hosted by Jenny Cheung and Jason Chin, two recent college graduated and new professionals. In this episode, Jenny and Jason share a little about their SASE journey and their vision for the podcast. Follow us on Instagram @theadulttablepodcast and subscribe to hear new episodes as they come out! Enjoy :)

Oct 13, 202007:23