Episode 153. Rana Dershowitz, A Career Driven by Passion from Sports Law and Public Policy
The 92 Report
Rana Dershowitz went straight to Harvard Law School after graduating in 1992, partly due to the economy and her love for learning. She describes her experience at Harvard Law School, including her role as a law school "old timer" in Cambridge. After law school, Rana moved back to New York and started working on Wall Street, initially hating the big law environment but appreciating the people she worked with. Entertainment Law at Madison Square Garden and onto Sports Law Rana discusses her career counselor's advice to explore sports law, which she had overlooked despite her involvement in...
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152. Eugene Kim, Pediatric Surgeon and Wine Connoisseur
The 92 Report
Show Notes: Eugene Kim shares his post-graduation journey staying in Boston to finish research at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute which was part of his thesis and also laid down the groundwork for his own cancer research which he has conducted over the years. He credits his understanding of science to his time at Harvard. He also worked at the now-closed Love the Border Cafe. Eugene reflects on the valuable lessons learned from working at the cafe and describes the unique subculture of the cafe's staff, including the Brazilian kitchen staff and the diverse backgrounds of the waiters and...
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151. Jonathan Hughes, Consulting at the Intersection of Strategy & Conflict Management
The 92 Report
Show Notes: Jonathan Hughes talks about his career in consulting, starting with an economic consulting firm, Putnam Hayes and Bartlett, in Los Angeles. He mentions his connection back to Harvard through CMI (Conflict Management Inc.) founded by Roger Fisher and Bruce Patton, and his subsequent roles at Vantage Partners and BDO. The Career Path As a Consultant Jonathan describes his role at CMI, focusing on complex negotiations and business partnerships, and his role in helping to start the boutique firm, Vantage Partners where he spent around 25 years as a partner. He later moved over to BDO,...
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150. Steve Petersen, From Improv to Philosophy of AI
The 92 Report
Show Notes: Steve recounts his senior year at Harvard, and how he was torn between pursuing acting and philosophy. He graduated with a dual degree in philosophy and math but also found time to act in theater and participated in 20 shows. A Love of Theater and a Move to London Steve explains why the lack of a theater major at Harvard allowed him to explore acting more than a university with a theater major. He touches on his parents' concerns about his career prospects if he pursued acting, and his decision to apply to both acting and philosophy graduate schools. Steve discusses his...
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149. P.J. Karafiol, Chicago Public High School Principal
The 92 Report
Show Notes: P.J. shares the backstory of his name and how he became a high school principal. He studied simultaneously in law school for a JD and in the Philosophy department for a PhD at the University of Chicago. After realizing he didn't enjoy law or philosophy, he taught math at Phillips Andover and later in Chicago. He helped start a new public school, Walter Payton College Prep, and has been a principal at Lake View High School for the past 10 years. Teaching Chaos Theory and Math P.J. describes his experience teaching at Phillips Andover, including teaching chaos theory. He found the...
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148. Scott Cole, 50+ Jobs Worked Since Harvard
The 92 Report
Show Notes: Scott Cole describes his initial struggles at Harvard, dropping out after freshman year, and returning multiple times before finally graduating in 2012. He shares his first dropout experience, including a brief stint in California and a return to Harvard for sophomore year. He details his various jobs and adventures, including working at a car wash, landscaping, and a research assistant position at Harvard Forest. Working on a Ranch in Wyoming Scott thinks back to his days working at a ranch in Wyoming, where he learned cowboy skills and participated in cattle drives. He...
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147. Anca Miruna Achim, Teaching about the Past to Speculate about the Future in Mexico City
The 92 Report
Show Notes: Miruna studied art history at Harvard, focusing on Renaissance art. After taking a year off to travel and visit Romania, she decided to study Latin American Studies and Spanish and Portuguese at Yale. She found the graduate experience at Yale challenging, especially the sense of isolation that can come with graduate work when it is not socially or politically involved. Miruna began traveling to Mexico for her research on colonial Latin America, focusing on the intersection of history of science, literature, and ritual. Teaching History of Science Miruna moved to Mexico City, where...
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146. Franklin Habit, A Long and Winding Yarn
The 92 Report
Show Notes:Franklin Habit talks about working in higher education administration (and elsehwere) before eventually finding happiness in his current profession within the fiber arts. He discusses some of the blind alleys he explored, including museum work, opera stage directing, web design, and online marketing. Building a Career in KnittingFranklin shares how he learned to knit from a veteran knitter and classmate, Eliza Lake. He describes how his blog about knitting took off, leading to a book deal and a career in teaching and writing. Franklin recounts the early days of his blog,...
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145. Diego Fonstad, Educational Toys and Ed Tech Tinkerer
The 92 Report
Show Notes: Diego kicks off the conversation with a quick review of his career path, which included working at a business school in Barcelona, consulting in biotech and healthcare, and working as product manager and product running product groups. He then went back to business school. He talks about his job at the business school in Barcelona and what prompted him to take it. He explains that the opportunity arose through a professor he knew, and the timing of the 1992 Olympics made it hard to resist. He shares his insights on Catalonia's cultural differences and the importance of knowing...
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144. Kellie Doucette, Unexpected Journey: Pink Sand Beaches to New Jersey Politics
The 92 Report
Show Notes: Kellie Doucette describes her journey as zigs and zags, with three distinct chunks defined by her location: Northern Virginia, Bermuda, and New Jersey. She worked for a small health policy consulting firm called the Lewin Group in Northern Virginia, DC, where she met her future husband, John Doucette. A 13-Year Stint in Bermuda Kellie, an actuary, began her career in the Bermuda market after taking the actuarial exams. She and her husband moved to Bermuda in 1996, and they enjoyed the adventure of visiting family on the East Coast and raising their children there. The reinsurance...
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Scott Cole describes his initial struggles at Harvard, dropping out after freshman year, and returning multiple times before finally graduating in 2012. He shares his first dropout experience, including a brief stint in California and a return to Harvard for sophomore year. He details his various jobs and adventures, including working at a car wash, landscaping, and a research assistant position at Harvard Forest.
Working on a Ranch in Wyoming
Scott thinks back to his days working at a ranch in Wyoming, where he learned cowboy skills and participated in cattle drives. He describes his move to Middlebury, Vermont, where he worked on an organic farm, a cross-country ski area, and a bakery. He also shares where he learned to cook.
Back to School and on to a Law firm
Scott discusses his return to Boston to finish college, working part-time at a law firm and attending school. He describes the challenges of balancing work, school, and financial aid, leading to another dropout. Scott talks about his relationship ending and moving back to California, where he worked at Sequoia National Park resort teaching cross country skiing. He quit this job to go to Guatemala with his dad's school group and spent some time there before moving to Oakhurst and working at a restaurant where he learned cooking skills. He worked there for two years until he paid off his student loans, and with his new found freedom, decided to hit the road and hike through the Sierra Mountains. He also talks about working in Fresno and in a job at the UC Cooperative Extension promoting school gardening as a way to teach nutrition education.
From Alaska to Nevada
Scott recounts his time working at a back country lodge in Alaska, teaching cross-country skiing, and working as a hiking guide and naturalist. He later moved to Boston to help a friend renovate a Victorian house and then worked with the Boston Children's Museum. After Boston, Scott describes his move to Michigan to be with a girlfriend in graduate school and working at the Maharishi Vedic University in their organic greenhouse. He also talks about his work with the Nevada Conservation Corps, cooking for a chainsaw crew, and his job at the White Mountain Research Station where he looked after a herd of sheep and cooked for the researchers. Scott finally decided to return to Harvard to finish his last six classes and talks about his experience completing his degree.
Riding the Wave
After completing his degree, Scott biked across the country with a friend. He reflects on his diverse experiences, including working with his hands, helping a friend who is a sculptor on building a sculpture for an exhibit. He talks about “The Table” tour working in Death Valley, and volunteering at various places, and biking in Canada from the Rockies to Bella Coola. He discusses the challenges of returning to school at an older age and the joy of completing his degree. Scott mentions his love for gardening, cooking, music, hiking, and outdoor activities, and how these hobbies filled his off-hours.
Harvard Reflections
An English major at Harvard, Scott mentions seeing Alan Ginsberg read at Harvard. He mentions taking a poetry class and a printing class. He also mentions Literature and Human Suffering with James Engell, Chicano Literature with visiting UCLA professor Héctor Calderón, Folklore and Mythology with Simon Bronner, a poetry class with Henri Cole, and Place, Space, and Region with Stephanie Burt.
Timestamps:
00:02: Scott Cole's Journey through Harvard and Beyond
06:36: Exploring Different Career Paths
09:41: Returning to School and Balancing Work and Education
40:07: Adventures in Alaska and Beyond
54:13: Reflecting on Life Experiences and Future Plans
Links:
Scott's email:
scottrc_30@yahoo.com
Instagram: scootersride
Historical building preservation: Welcome to HistoriCorps
Adobe restoration: https://www.cstones.org
Adobe courses and home builder support:
Adobe in Action: https://www.adobeinaction.org
Reuben Margolin art: Waves – Reuben Margolin – Kinetic Artist
Science Research Station:
White Mountain Research Center — Supporting scientific achievement for 75 years.
Featured Non-profit:
The featured non-profit of this week’s episode is brought to you by Jared Eigerman who reports:
“Hi. I'm Jay Eigerman, class of 1992. The featured nonprofit of this episode of The 92 Report is Street Lab. Street Lab is a nonprofit that works in neighborhoods throughout New York City to activate and improve spaces, including pedestrian streets, at no cost to the public. I've been a board member since 2011 when they first started in Boston. I especially like the street lab sales programming kits at reasonable cost so others around the world can deploy them on their own. Please take a look at streetlab.org. Now here is Will Bachman with this week's episode.”
To learn more about their work, visit: streetlab.org.