18. You don't have to say yes to everything - Ameena Payne
Happiness and Success after Illinois Tech
Release Date: 10/18/2023
32. Things will work out how they're supposed to - Sam Bruns
Happiness and Success after Illinois Tech
More about Sam: Things will work out how they're supposed to, says Sam Bruns. https://www.linkedin.com/in/samrbruns/ Stay in touch with Career Services: Instagram: @CareerServicesatIllinoisTech https://www.instagram.com/careerservicesatillinoistech/ Facebook: @Career Services at Illinois Tech https://www.facebook.com/iitcareerservices/ X: @IITCareers https://twitter.com/IITCareers Illinois Tech Career Services Group: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/14088794/ Check out Illinois Tech Connect: https://illinoistechconnect.iit.edu/
info_outline
31. What's your reason for waking up - Aybige Tek
Happiness and Success after Illinois Tech
What’s your reason for waking up each day? It’s a darn good question, I think. My guest this week, Aybige Tek, knew what, how and why regarding her purpose, from the start. Not so common, but she knew it! She was even preparing herself at an early age, drawing cities and furniture before her formal education began. When she finally arrived, Illinois Tech helped her stay motivated all along the way. While considering a degree, I agree with her that school needs to be meaningful and making connections along the way will help make it so. When you’re...
info_outline
30. You can lead from anywhere - Jim Muraida
Happiness and Success after Illinois Tech
My guest this week, Jim Muraida, knew he wanted to study mechanical engineering, but he did not know what kind of work he wanted to do. Sound familiar? Then one day, a company visited the Illinois Tech campus (Sargent & Lundy), and he pursued an opportunity there. He went from participating in a co-op program as a mechanical engineer to becoming a tennis racquet designer at Wilson Sports. He attended the US open and even met Michael Jordan and Chris Evert. I hope you’ve heard of these outstanding athletes! After doing a lot of research and traveling to vendors and...
info_outline
29. Picture your life - Daniel Wittig
Happiness and Success after Illinois Tech
My guest this week graduated in 2019 with a BS in Chemical Engineering, and a minor in Business. When he began, he was an undecided engineering major exploring his options. Good at math and science and fascinated with chemistry, he kept at it until he figured out what he wanted to study. He loved learning! As he worked to complete his degree, he was focused on school and summer work, and though he regrets not having an internship and realizes it may have been a disadvantage, he found a role within a few months of graduation. Not too shabby, friends. Looking back, he wishes he...
info_outline
28. Act with a sense of urgency, not panic - Chloe Rubinowicz
Happiness and Success after Illinois Tech
Can you go into sales with an engineering background? The short answer is yes. My guest this week, Chloe Rubinowicz, is an electrical engineering graduate, and gets to experience new things every day. Instead of just one specialty, she’s constantly learning about cool, new projects from her clients and is really having fun at work. What a concept! Though she wasn’t able to obtain an internship during the pandemic, she managed to work around it. Internships are important, but projects and other experiences are possible, if you keep your options open and explore...
info_outline
27. Don't miss out on life - Gus Lawson
Happiness and Success after Illinois Tech
My guest this week, Gus Lawson, was always pretty driven. When he was a teenager, he saw F14s every day and decided he would study aerospace engineering. After watching the movie Top Gun, he was mesmerized. Who wasn’t? He was in the ROTC and Navy, when he realized he wasn’t using his specialized skill set. He lacked purpose. Along the way he had many different jobs so he could build connections and have fun experiences. Advice from Gus: Your work ethic will only take you so far It’s important to give first and help others Develop relationships Play detective; what...
info_outline
26. Engineering, Disney, and Beyond - Zuly Gomez
Happiness and Success after Illinois Tech
My guest this week, Zuly Gomez, graduated with an engineering degree in 2014, working four jobs after graduation to get where she is today. In high school, she realized she loved architecture and creating spaces. As she navigated challenges and figured out where she wanted to be, it was her dream to work at Disney someday. Through many curveballs and hard won determination, Zuly has a lot of wisdom to share. Zuly’s advice: Get involved and meet people Ask questions and explore Build relationships and go to conferences Take risks If it’s not where you’re meant to be,...
info_outline
25. The last few years have been a dream - Sukrit Mishra
Happiness and Success after Illinois Tech
My guest this week, Sukrit Mishra, was an international graduate student studying chemical engineering, when he took an elective and discovered sustainability. Very soon after, he decided he wanted to use his expertise and education for good. Ultimately he switched his graduate program curriculum. Along the way, though he wishes he had a mentor and wasn’t secluded in his dorm room so much, he hustled and worked diligently. And he figured out that asking yourself what you’re meant to be doing is the ultimate question. What advice does he have for you? • Discover all...
info_outline
24. Falling in love @ Illinois Tech - Alysia DeSimone
Happiness and Success after Illinois Tech
Alysia DeSimone found Illinois Tech by accident, after hearing from one of her friends that it may be a good fit for her. She came to visit, and fell in love with the people (quite literally😊). Then, she majored in chemical and environmental engineering. (No small feat.) And even played soccer for Illinois Tech! Though she graduated during Covid, she took advantage of research opportunities that interested her on campus, which led to more prospects for her career. While on the job hunt, she found out pretty quickly: STEM degrees can be...
info_outline
23. Every "no" brings you closer to a "yes" - Marilyn Flowers
Happiness and Success after Illinois Tech
My guest this week, Marilyn Flowers, was a commencement speaker in 2023, a student advisor, and an ITM major. Now she’s an Associate Site Reliability Engineer at CDW. Her chief message during her speech was the importance of leadership and community, and demonstrating how helping each other succeed is of the utmost significance. She also shares this advice: Keep your eyes and ears open Expand your filter of opportunities Continue to learn – college is just the beginning Practice makes perfect Know what YOU bring to the table Believe in yourself Oh, and reach out for...
info_outlineMy guest this week, Ameena Payne, grew up seeing people in business type roles and thought she’d major in business. So she earned her degree in business administration, then her masters and is now pursuing her PhD.
What did she ultimately want to study? She didn’t know what was possible until she took this one unique course.
She attended a design thinking class and it was aligned to her values. This class changed her entire mind-set about what she wanted in her life and what’s possible.
Since then she has been creating her life based on what she wants the arch of her life to look like. Very smart indeed!
She and I agree, you never know where your inspiration will come from.
Stay away from people who say “You’re not going to find anything like that!” Maybe, just maybe… you’re the trailblazer!
Her advice? Ameena wishes she had asked for help sooner. We all need help along the way and the sooner we ask for it, the sooner we can move along.
Finally, you don’t have to grind yourself down. You don’t have to say yes to everything.
In fact, it’s okay to say no. It may just open you up to another opportunity.
Resist saying yes. Try it.
More about Ameena:
Ameena L. Payne is a PhD candidate and strategic scholarship holder at Deakin University’s Centre for Research in Assessment and Digital Learning (CRADLE). Her doctoral research aims to better understand the lived feedback experiences of culturally, ethnically, and linguistically diverse postgraduate coursework students in Australia. Ameena is a recipient of the Alison Lee ‘Theory in Educational Research’ Scholarship (2023) as well as her alma mater’s Outstanding Young Alumna Award (2022). Her recent publications include ‘Humanising feedback encounters: a qualitative study of relational literacies for teachers engaging in technology-enhanced feedback’ (with Rola Ajjawi and Jessica Holloway) in Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education. Her website is ameenapayne.com, and she is occasionally active on LinkedIn. Feel free to get in touch via email at [email protected].
Stay in touch with Career Services:
Instagram: @CareerServicesatIllinoisTech
https://www.instagram.com/careerservicesatillinoistech/
Facebook: @Career Services at Illinois Tech
https://www.facebook.com/iitcareerservices/
Twitter: @IITCareers
https://twitter.com/IITCareers
Illinois Tech Career Services Group:
https://www.linkedin.com/groups/14088794/
Check out Illinois Tech Connect:
https://illinoistechconnect.iit.edu/