An Unconventional Life
In this episode of An Unconventional Life, Mark Metry shares with Dr. Russell Strickland his story of growing up as an introvert. His struggles made him realize that he needed to speak up for the sake of his younger self, thus came the book, “Screw Being Shy.” The best-selling author talks about the many opportunities that built off each other when he put his authentic self out there for the world to meet. He also discusses the three biggest things he learned to overcome anxiety.
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In this episode of An Unconventional Life, Dr. Suzana Flores speaks with Dr. Russell Strickland about the story of how she unexpectedly ended up in the comic book world as she recovered from pain and trauma. The author of “Untamed: The Psychology of Marvel’s Wolverine” shared how the X-Men character helped her turn pain into purpose. Having the first name “Doctor” has opened up opportunities for Dr. Flores, and she’s prepared to seize some more.
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In this episode of An Unconventional Life, Dr. Derichard McCoy shares with Dr. Russell Strickland how his childhood dreams were always about football and how these dreams motivated him to ultimately earn his doctorate in sports management. Derichard took football as far as he could on the field before he made an unlikely transition... effectively getting his doctorate in football. Dr. McCoy talks about how he found Dissertation Done and got the help he needed to push through to graduation.
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In this episode of An Unconventional Life, Dr. Gregory Cason shares with Dr. Russell Strickland his dream of becoming a psychologist. Starting in Theater Arts and making his way to Psychology, Dr. Cason says that plans never worked out the way he wanted, but all that matters is you push through. Although his dissertation process wasn’t as easy as he thought it’d be, setting his mind to his goal of graduating eventually did the trick.
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In this episode of An Unconventional Life, Dr. Michael Levittan talks to Dr. Russell Strickland about his journey as a student, transitioning to being a renown expert. Everybody has different goals in their dissertation process, but Dr. Levittan says that it was passion that carried him through. He also discussed the profound experience of becoming peers with your mentors, highlighting the transition from student to expert that every doctoral student undertakes during the dissertation process.
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In this episode of An Unconventional Life, Sandra Long discusses with Dr. Russell Strickland why she chose to become a LinkedIn expert. She talks about her book LinkedIn for Personal Branding: The Ultimate Guide and also emphasizes the importance of maintaining a friendly and approachable online profile so you can build connections and help more people. Sandra also shares some interesting tips in building a strategic network and her personal hobbies when she is not knee-deep in the professional platform.
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In this episode of An Unconventional Life, Dr. Felicia Clark speaks with Dr. Russell Strickland about life’s ups and downs and how she braved through her PhD journey despite a significant loss. She credits having a hand to hold and a shoulder to lean on as critical to getting her dissertation done. She also talks about her passion for mathematics, her modeling career, and her upcoming book on debunking women’s beauty standards, "Beauty and the Beastly Standards."
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In this episode of An Unconventional Life, Dr. Diane Hamilton shares with Dr. Russell Strickland how curiosity has motivated her to pursuit of her PhD. The author of multiple books such as Cracking the Curiosity Code and The Power of Perception discusses her postdoctoral journey, the many doors of opportunities that opened along the way, and her experience in writing for people outside academia.
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In this episode of An Unconventional Life, Dr. Stefanie Boyer shares with Dr. Russell Strickland about taking things one day at a time, and the experiences that prepared her for her doctoral journey. She talks about the importance of having a support network to get you by, and the opportunities that came her away after making it through. Dr. Boyer also discusses about her book “The Little Black Book of Social Media,” and gives a piece of advice to doctoral students going through this unconventional path
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In this episode of An Unconventional Life, Dr. Angela Swain shares with Dr. Russell Strickland the story of the one thing she knows she was meant to pursue—her doctoral degree. She talks about transitioning from writing her dissertation to writing her book, "Kitchen Table Talks With Dad," and her experience becoming a doctor, author, and coach. Dr. Swain highlights the challenges in getting comfortable with change and the opportunities that came her way after earning her PhD.
info_outlineZina Jarrahi Cinker, Ph.D. is a globally recognized Graphene expert, R&D strategist, and condensed matter physicist. She currently serves as the founder and Director General of Advanced Material Future Preparedness Taskforce (AMPT) -- an international, public interest organization of over 20 country chapters, orchestrating the global use of Advanced Materials to solve humanity’s most immediate challenges--. Dr. Cinker earned a PhD in the field of Condensed Matter Ultrafast Spectroscopy from Vanderbilt university and has spent the past decade expediting the commercialization of Graphene and advanced materials from breakthrough to industrialization. She previously served as the Executive Director of the U.S. National Graphene Association, the main organization and body in North America of over 5,000 international members and organizations.
As a Deep Tech advocate and system-change activist, Dr. Cinker’s recent initiatives focus on building an international infrastructure to enable material science and technologies to solve complex challenges of global magnitude where strategic dialogue and world-wide action among spheres of science, industry governments and civil societies are needed.
In this episode…
What do you want to be when you grow up? When you ask a child, you expect the answer to be cute...and transitory. It's important to not stop asking yourself this question as you do "grow up," because, for most people, the answer continue to evolve throughout their lives.
In this episode of An Unconventional Life, Dr. Zina Jarrahi Cinker and Dr. Russell Strickland geek out on physics, the role of science in society, and the psychology of effective communication. Dr. Cinker's dream of growing up to be an astrophysicist, and Bill Gates(!), eventually settled on astrophysics. But, when she arrived at Vanderbilt, the allure of graphene seduced her to leave the very big for the very small. Dr. Cinker shares stories about Bill Gates, talking with U.S. Senators on Capitol Hill, and Tom...Somebody.
Dr. Cinker leveraged her doctoral degree into a magical ride around the periphery of science. From industry to policy and research to advocacy, Dr. Cinker's career has taken her from the Halls of Academia to the Halls of Power. Where will yours take you?