The Atila Podcast Tomiwa Ademidun

A few days ago, we approached Betty Esperanza and Skateboards for Hope about sponsoring a scholarship on Atila.  We record all our sales presentations for use internally to see where we can improve. We originally had no intention of sharing this publicly.  

However, we were so inspired by Betty’s story and skateboard for Hope we asked if we could share her story publicly.  Enjoy :)  

To learn more about Skateboards for Hope visit: https://www.skateboardsforhope.com/ 

To start or contribute to a scholarship visit: https://atila.ca/ 

To read the interview: https://atila.ca/blog/tomiwa/betty-esperanza-skateboards-for-hope-and-atila/

Timestamps:  

Skateboard for Hope’s origin story - (1:00) 

Betty’s immigrant upbringing - (14:25) 

Atila’s Presentation - (16:50) 

“I like supporting the underdog” and importance of skateboarding - (25:40)

Betty’s questions for Atila - (29:30)

 How she got the idea for the Skateboards for Hope logo - (38:55)

Betty’s inspirational closing words - (41:27)

Come along on a journey with me through the past, present and future of education. As I talk about how we got here, where we are now, and my ideas for how we can create a better future for students, parents and educators.


Read the full article here: https://atila.ca/blog/tomiwa/open-the-gates

Watch the video on Youtube

View the slides

Visit the website: educationfreedomprogram.org

Listen to the essay/video as a podcast while multitasking on Spotify or Itunes


Timestamps

The key parts are:  The Idea (9:50) and What you can do (23:50)
 

A brief history of universities – 1:40

What do universities do now? – 5:00

A solution to improve the education system – 7:40

The idea, Education Freedom Program – 9:50 (watch this part!)

Made up reasons why it won’t work – 20:00

What you can do -  23:50 (watch this part!)



Introduction

On January 29, 2020, I was in my final year of university. I had just received my first ever employment offer as a software engineer at a biotech company. In just three months, I would have graduated from university and be entering the next chapter of my life. So I did what any responsible “aspiring adult" would do: I put together a budget.

I created a Google Sheet called “Personal Finance Adulting Budget 2020” to help me figure out how I was going to pay for the next chapter of my life. I had everything in there, my starting salary, how much my taxes would be, my rent for my apartment, monthly gym membership, transit pass etc.

Me: “Okay, So I know how much money is coming and going out each month. how much money do I actually have right now”.

So I logged into my online banking account, clicked my banking details, opened my bank statement and saw a number that shocked me: $65,000.

Don’t worry, you don’t have to be jealous, that’s not how much money I had. That’s how much debt I had in my student loans. Okay, maybe you’re thinking: “Tomiwa it’s not all about you”. Okay, you’re right: it’s not about me. Take me out of it. The average student with loans has $28,000 in student loans. How did we create a society where a young person is about to enter adulthood and instead of at the very least, starting the game of life at $0, we’re starting $28,000 behind the starting line. A society where despite being the most educated generation, for the first time in modern history, there’s only a 50% chance that we’ll earn more than our parents (Stanford Center on Poverty and Inequality,Politifact) .

Come along on a journey with me through the past, present and future of education. As I talk about how we got here, where we are now, and my ideas for how we can create a better future for students, parents and educators.

Chris Egi (@chrisegi15) is the valedictorian of the Harvard University 2018 class and captain of the Men’s varsity basketball team. He is currently an investment banker at Goldman Sachs in the Special Situations Group - Private Capital Investing. He was also the captain of the Canadian Men's U-19 national basketball team. He is the founder of No More Names an organization committed to criminal justice reform and ending police Brutality.

In this episode we talk about how he got into Harvard University, why he is so passionate about criminal justice reform and ending police brutality. We also talked about how his father’s death impacted him, the importance of poetry and self-reflection and much more.

Timestamp

What were you like at 16? - 1:45
What was it like Playing with future NBA first overall draft pick Ben Simmons and D’Angelo Russell -  7:00
The similarities between Chris and Barack Obama - 19:03

“I actually didn’t want to go to Harvard at first” - 26:35

Chris’ advice on how to get into Harvard and other Ivy League Schools - 30:40

If you are so passionate about criminal justice and social equality why are you working for corporate America instead of social justice - 1:08:40

“Why do we need events specifically for promoting marginalized groups? Shouldn’t we be more meritocratic?” - 55:50

How did you get the jobs at Bain and Goldman Sachs - 1:12:15

“If you had focused more on basketball, do you think you could have made the NBA?” - 1:15:50

The story behind how Chris became the Harvard valedictorian and the inspiration for his speech - 1:17:50

Why did Chris Start No More Names and why he’s so passionate about ending police brutality - 1:22:50

Do you ever get any criticism from people since police brutality is such a controversial topic -  1:29:40

Losing His Father and how it Changed his Life - 1:32:22

Why Chris Started writing poetry and the favorite poems he’s written - 1:37:05

📺Full interview and video: https://atila.ca/blog/tomiwa/harvard-valedictorian-basketball-captain-goldman-sachs-co-founder-of-no-more-names-criminal-justice-reform-chris-egi-atila-tv-014/

📺 Watch on Youtube: https://bit.ly/atila-tv-chris-egi-youtube-2

🎧 Listen on Spotify: https://bit.ly/atila-tv-chris-egi-spotify

🎧 Listen on iTunes https://bit.ly/atila-tv-chris-egi-itunes

No More Names - 10,000 voices: https://10000voices.nomorenames.co

Finding Michael Brown at Harvard, Article by Chris Egi: https://www.theplayerstribune.com/en-us/articles/basketball-christopher-egi-michael-brown-harvard

Del (Chinua Ofulue) is an RnB and alternative soul singer, rapper and writer. He recently graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Economics from Western University.

In this episode we talk about is Drake the smartest and greatest rapper alive, advice for breaking into the music industry.  How to market and grow your personal brand as a creative and much more. Why Del chose to go to university and wants to go to law school while wanting to be a music artist?

Timestamp

Del does a freestyle rap live on the show! 44:00

Why Del wants to go to law school while pursuing a music career? 7:37

Does Drake write his own music? - 17:00

What music are you listening to and what are your influences 19:00

The genius of Drake’s music and marketing  - 23:00

What can aspiring artists learn from Drake? - 29:10

Advice for breaking into the music industry - 33:20

Marketing ideas and strategies for growing your personal brand - 37:05

What is the biggest challenge you have right now? - 39:20

Finding inspiration from Anime 46:10

Why go to school? Why not just pursue your passion right away - 52:40

Where does Del see himself in 25 years - 1:03:25

If you could have dinner with anyone who would it be 1:12:46



Links

Full interview and video: https://atila.ca/blog/tomiwa/singer-rapper-writer-delgotgame-chinua-ofulue-atila-tv-013

Watch on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2F-dp9Brgw

Listen On Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0m74ZmCPgjvp5WGOMg3P9C



Listen on Itunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-atila-podcast/id1440531021

Del’s Music: https://delmusic.net

Del’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/delgotgame/

Del’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/manlikedel

Rowan Makes Art: https://www.instagram.com/rowanmakesart/



Atila Tech’s instagram: https://www.instagram.com/atilatech/

Tomiwa’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tademidun/

Jacob’s Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacob-munene-4561a4153/

Atila LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/atila-tech/

Tomiwa’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tomiwa1a 

Tomiwa’s twitter: https://twitter.com/tomiwa1a

Jacob’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/munenejr

Will Richman is the founder of GrowthGenius and Bitmaker Labs. Before that he worked in Wealth management at BNY Mellon and spent 12 months backpacking through Asia and Europe. Will is also a graduate of the Honor’s Business Administration program at Ivey Business School.

GrowthGenius is a software service to help you get sales meetings with your ideal clients.

In this episode we talk about the pros and cons of working for a big company versus a startup, what the process of starting a company feels like and the effects on mental health. We talk about digital nomads and the importance of building a company to share success with others. We also bounce around ideas on how people can experiment and test with different jobs to see what career is best for them.



Timestamp

How to get investors for your business - 43:00

Framework for deciding to work for a startup versus a big company - 45:20

“The biggest problems are not technology problems but human problems” - 1:12:10

What is Will’s meditation process and what apps does he use? 52:55

The darkest moments that Will went through as an entrepreneur - 54:08

The original idea and  early days of Growth Genius (the definition of success) - 37:27

Was it scary leaving BNY Mellon to go into entrepreneurship? - 22:30

Buying a one-way ticket to Vietnam, backpacking Southeast Asia and how it changed him - 32:05

Why Will Decided to come back to Canada to start a company, Digital Nomads and the importance of community? - 35:25


Full interview and video: https://bit.ly/atila-tv-will

Watch on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhFP5j6wtE8

Listen On Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0m74ZmCPgjvp5WGOMg3P9C

Listen on Itunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-atila-podcast/id1440531021

Growth Genius : https://www.growthgenius.com

Atila Tech’s instagram: https://www.instagram.com/atilatech/

Will’s Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/willrichman/

Will’s twitter: https://twitter.com/will_richman

Tomiwa’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tademidun/

Jacob’s Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacob-munene-4561a4153/

Chika is a medical school student at the University of Toronto Medical School. She graduated with a Bachelor of Health Science from McMaster University.

Chika is also a poet, writer and an advocate for gender and racial diversity in medicine. She helped grow a program called the BSAP, Black Students application process. Students still have to meet the same MCAT requirement for grades and they can also write an essay explaining why they chose the BSAP program.  Chika was the only student to identify as black in her first year of medical school among a class of 259 at the University of Toronto in 2016. After the BSAP was introduced, there are now 15 black students in the current first-year class.

In this episode we talk about balancing her creative passion for poetry and writing with medicine, systemic bias and discrimination in the medical industry, working hard without burning out and much more.



Full interview and video: https://atila.ca/blog/tomiwa/u-of-t-medical-school-mcat-for-black-students-poetry-and-womens-rights-chika-stacy-oriuwa-atila-tv-011

Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0m74ZmCPgjvp5WGOMg3P9C

Listen on iTunes:  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-atila-podcast/id1440531021

Watch on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rn_Hldc4qDg

Timestamp

“Is Affirmative action and programs like BSAP unfair?” [23:45]

What is something you can do to increase your chance of getting into medical school? [28:05]

Advice for getting into McMaster Health Science [10:20]

Being a strong advocate for Women’s reproductive rights and pro choice while growing up in a pro-life Catholic uprbinging? [37:25]

How do you find time to write poetry and pursue your creative endeavors while balancing your medical school? [43:28]

How did you change between highschool and university? [12:27]

How did you feel about being the only black student in medical school? [17:26]

Experiencing failure for the first time. [14:46]

What’s it like being both a female and black in medicine? [32:55]


Links
U of T Medical School Black Student Application Program (BSAP): http://applymd.utoronto.ca/black-student-application-program

Articles by Chika:

https://www.flare.com/how-i-made-it/chika-stacy-oriuwa/

https://www.flare.com/identity/black-physicians-in-canada/


Atila Tech’s instagram: https://www.instagram.com/atilatech/