Justin Reyes on Purpose, Persistence, and Paying It Forward on The Way to College Podcast

Handy Handy Hi, this is Dr. Alexis, I'm David with the Mother episode, the Weed of College podcast. And one of the things that I love about the podcast is just meeting all of the people that I've had a chance to meet. These are folks that are never really in my circle with people that weren't a part of my network, but as I've shared the podcast, as I've given me the opportunity to expand and network, grow than it worked. I love meeting people. My wife hates it because my wife and my family hate it because I'll go to a grocery store and it'll stop and talk with somebody and they're like, I don't get one thing, it takes you forever. But I love talking to people and I love hearing their stories. And so my guest today is someone again who is out of my network, but we've connected through other folks. We've had another conversation, but I'm really looking forward to really hearing stories because I know there's a lot there and there's got a lot to share. But what I'm going to do is I'm going to allow Justin, Justin, why don't you introduce yourself to our audience out there? Of course, and thank you Dr. Sadiwada. Howdy everyone. My name is Justin Reyes. I guess proud, proud Tejano Borning raises South Texas, but today, or just along my career journey, been so many great places, but really excited to now call Charlotte, North Carolina, home where I've been over the last couple of years. Awesome. Awesome. Justin, you know, with all of my guests, I asked all of my guests, if you had to go back and identify a starting point for your educational journey, where would your starting point be? That's a great question. I was actually just before we were, we chatted this morning. I was listening a little bit to really listening to Maria Jose's podcast and, you know, I was trying to visualize her experience going up or going to a school like a large school that she did. Mine was a bit smaller, a fraction of that size. So when I think about the starting point of my educational journey, I think it really began again in my hometown of Cotula, Texas and with the family upbringing, right? Big family. I'd say like 90% of my classmates were related to me, some shape or form. But, you know, in growing up in a ranching community in South Texas, in the family of, you know, farmers, ranchers, cowboys or vacueros, if you want to go to the Latino twist, I don't think education was necessarily a traditional pathway for my community or maybe within my family, not to, you know, generalize. But, you know, most of the people in my family were just focused on working the land and providing for our family. And, you know, it was my mom, in particular, that was a huge influence. She never got an opportunity to finish high school herself. But I'll tell you what, through the grind of the heart knocks of life, she's probably one of the, like, the smartest and hardest working person that I know. I mean, and I've met some really incredible people and just the resilience she had that I absorbed, I think is really what helped me become who I am. And I'll tell you what's beautiful too is, you know, despite not having a traditional educational or an educational pathway really at all, she made the most of what her skills provided her. She clean houses and growing up, they were for the most influential people at home, you know, the bankers, the mayor, the judge, the sheriff. You know, those by doing that, it kind of exposed me to those individuals. And so early on in life, seeing her command, the respect in her community, despite not having a degree is what made a huge impact. But it also, I guess it also taught that, you know, learning happens everywhere. And so despite that, she made the best out of situation that life dealt. So that's what I think about my, when I think about my educational journey, my mom, everything is for my mom or attributed. I love that. I love that. And I love that because I think there's, I've had a couple of guests who shared some familiarity in their own stories talking about their parents not having sort of a traditional educational background, not having that pathway. But yet it didn't discourage them or include them from encouraging their, their children to see and to, you know, to want more and to have those big goals and big dreams. And so I love hearing those stories and because I love seeing that the, the, what it is that are, that the children are able to accomplish because of their, their parents sacrifice and work. I'm not too familiar with Kotula. I have for the, our listeners out there, if you've never been to South Texas, if there's a couple of highways that'll take you north, south, through Texas, right? One of them is, if you take 281 leaving the Rue Grande Valley north and eventually, I think it treats it as 37 or something, you'll always see a sign that says Kotula exit. But I've never been so thank you for giving us a little bit of that context about sort of the, the community and what people did in those communities. Now, let me ask you, Justin, because you talked about even though your parents didn't have that background and even they'd say, like even within your own family, education, this maybe this wasn't always an observable pathway. What were your earliest aspirations in terms of I would love to do or be this? Yeah. Like service oddly enough, maybe it was movies I watched growing up, like a, oh gosh, what's that fire, that movie with the firefighters overdraft? I forget what it was, but my earliest memory of like thinking about career, right? This was in kindergarten, and I remember I had pictures that I wanted to be a firefighter. You know, why to help people and kind of borrowing that theme from not only my mom, but my dad too. So that was, you know, an early, with something early on that I thought that I wanted to be and, you know, you fast forward to sixth grade. I had an amazing educator, Mrs. Morales from Peersol just up the road. It was reading. And that's really that sixth grade class kind of sparked a fire within me to start reading more, being challenged to read, to reflect. And after that experience, I'm like, no, I don't want to be an educator, an educator or an editor. So I can edit, you know, the books that people write to help them in their own works. And so, you know, those were the two things I thought early on that I wanted to do, not having, you know, any other kind of career pathways they aspire to, right? I know I didn't want to clean homes. And as much as I love my dad and working on the ranch, I couldn't do that. I couldn't see myself doing that for my life. So when I got, it's really when I got to high school where I met several educators, you know, Linda Patterson, Mrs. Patterson, Teddy Bird, so many others. But Mr. Bird, it was an agriculture. So I go, that's what my family's from. That's what we do, right? And I really enjoyed the agricultural science education, along with, you know, being involved with the future farmers of America, raising goats, just having some sort of structure that allowed me to supplement my growth, education, my leadership. And because of that, that's why I decided to, to Tontex's A&M University to pursue an agricultural science degree. So you know, and through your question is just kind of, yeah, how I got to where I did in terms of ultimately going to an institution of higher education. I, um, I appreciate the progression. Because you're, you know, I, one of the reasons many reasons I started the podcast was because in talking to my students, like you, I think like me, we, we see what we're exposed to, right, a lot of the careers. And if you're as old as I am, you didn't have internet. And so absolutely right, it was your network. And you relied on the network and like, yeah, who were the, what were the jobs you saw around you? And so clearly, right, your community, the school had an influence and impact. Was there ever any, um, did you ever get any pressure from your parents to study a particular thing or, or to try to be a doctor or a lawyer? You know, here you, you talked about your mom and some of the homes she cleaned were for some of the prominent figures in your community. Did she ever say me who I wanted to be a banker or I wanted to be the mayor or any, was there ever anything like that? I feel like I've, I've heard, you know, some of my colleagues and peers experience that with their own parents, especially when you, when you, when you come from a family of immigrants. Um, but for me, I think I was fortunate to not have that type of pressure. I think early on, um, academically, I was a stark cookie. Not the smartest kid in the class, but I definitely did pick up faster than, than maybe most. So, um, I do remember vividly early on elementary middle school, how my parents always prioritized, you know, me focusing on my education. No, Micho, don't worry about, you know, doing this. Just make sure you keep reading or no, no, no, Micho, you don't got to come cut the grass. I got it. And it's like, which was, I guess, great up until a point, you know, at least. It allowed me more time to just man, I was reading books like a maniac. And I used a heck out of our, um, public library. I mean, I would write my little bike. I'd come back with like four or five books a few days later. I'm writing my bike over there back again, getting some more books. It was just such a fun, exciting adventure being able to augment my reality into the books, traveling the world, traveling different realities, science fiction, nonfiction, but, um, but ultimately, I think as I got into high school, it became harder for my, for my parents to really give me direction, all they could give me was love and support. And so, you know, at times I did feel a little bit out of my element because then I had peers who just really knew what they wanted to do. And I, and I knew I liked it, but it wasn't like, I don't know, it just hit different. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I think that makes a lot of sense. And that's, I think like you said, right? If you're the child of immigrants, if you're a first generation college student or student, you, there's only so much. I love a story that a colleague of mine, Dr. Sam Maffinus says he says he remembers the moment when his father said, you know, told him that he was smarter than him. Like just because of the, like the educational level that he detained, like, and that he couldn't do much more, except like you said, give love and support. That college application process, he said, you want to, it Texas A&M, right? And Texas A&M is an incredible institution, right? One of the flagship institutions in Texas, you know, was applying to college. What was that process like for you, giving your parents background and what you should about them? Yeah. So, maybe something I should add in there is, is just for my dad, I love them, I said, but, but I did start working on the ranch with him simply for the fact that I knew that college is in my, it wasn't my, my, my, my windshield, like I knew I was going, it didn't matter where or when or how, it was going to happen. So I treasured the time working with my dad now, when it came to applying for colleges, it was actually really exciting time. And that would be remiss, shame on me if I didn't also mention our high school counselors, they did an incredible job of providing my class an accessible opportunity to pursue education. And so when it came down to applying for colleges, it could have been more difficult, but because of those counselors, it was, I wouldn't want to say a breeze, but it was definitely an exciting time. For many reasons, because they set us up early on, you know, our freshman sophomore year, we were really pushed, hey, you know, this is the value of taking your PSAT, PACT, right? And also being really proactive if we qualified for vouchers to take the ACT and SAT without having to worry about that any, any, you know, fiscal barriers to affording the application, you know, they did a phenomenal job. And because they were able to drill that in early on, through the years as I took more and more of those exams, I kept seeing my score get higher and higher, which is exciting, right? Because you see these scholarships, oh, or these requirements to even qualify for these schools and like, oh my gosh, they would be lucky to have me. So those were fun times. And it's funny you brought up the internet. Now I think we got our computer, my first computer in the eighth grade in the internet. My parents didn't understand it. I think, I don't think my dad ever used a computer. My mom used it a few times. Now she can't get her off her phone, but it was interesting in the fact that I guess I came into an age where there was a lot of, when I was applying, I could apply, you know, digitally via computer. But I also remember having to like use a typewriter to fill out applications, which I don't, you know, I don't even know how many folks on your, who listen to your podcasts, remember that or even had to experience that, but that in itself was just, I felt like I was in the 70s, but, but it was, I'm not, that don't just, I know, I know, I did all of my applications on a typewriter. Oh, my gosh. I'm so sorry about that. No, no, no. When you talk about the applications, not a problem all, the challenge was the interviews, right? It's being able to, like, what's my value proposition for this university? What, you know, as a potential student, what can I bring, right? And I don't know that that wasn't something I was prepared for. You know, I just simply brought myself and that was the magnet that I could provide, but I had an opportunity to interview with Harvard. And to this day, I still reflect like, wow, I could have done so much better in that interview. But for whatever rhyme or reason, that wasn't in the deck of cards for me and that's okay. And I, you know, at the end of the day, despite all of that, you know, yes, I went to Texas A&M University. Yes, it was a phenomenal experience. I would not be here today without the programs and the experiences from that university, but it didn't have to be that school. I could have easily gone to Texas A&M, Kingsville, and curated and experienced that would carry me on through my career. But, you know, that application process today is difficult. I have a Sovereign niece, Raylene, that lives with us. And whenever we were helping her apply for, you know, community colleges, oh my gosh, it was easier to buy a car than it was to go to college or to apply for some of these schools for her. In reflecting, it's like, I was privileged given the network of support that I had. But gosh dang, it is, it is a very, very stressful process, even for my wife and I who we have three degrees between us. Yeah, yeah, I'm glad you talked about that. The application process, right? It seems to get more and more difficult even though it feels like we have more and more access to information that we would think, oh, well, it would help us, but you're right. I think it's more competitive now than ever. I think there are more sort of the fine details that I think that a lot of folks don't know about. I'm really interested though in something you said, you talked about yes, you and TANM, but you said I could have gone to an MKZ. You could have gone to an East Point and you would have curated, you know, made the most of that experience. So two things, one, tell us about that transition because for again, for the folks that don't know any better, Guatula is a population of how many would you say? I think growing up, it was about 3,000. It might be closer to 4 to 5,000. I mean, it has grown. Okay, let's go. The size of A&M, student population, while you were there, what would you say? 40,000 plus. You know, we probably, like, 50,000 I think, it was crazy. So the first question is, tell us about that transition, going from a community, right, where you said who felt like you knew everybody or related to everybody, now all of a sudden you're going to a small city and then talk about what you did to curate, right, to make the most of that experience because I advise students on college admissions and college applications all the time and they've all got their heart set on that one dream school, but I remind them, look, even if you don't get in wherever you go, you've got to make the most of the all because all of them have resources and they're going to give you opportunity, you've got to make the most of it. So tell us about one of the transition, but then tell us about how did you make the most of your experience there? Yeah, woo, woo, lots of thoughts there. So, you know, initially, I'll be quite honest, I did feel out of my element at the university. Sure, you're kind of on this, this cloud of excitement, right? Oh, I graduated high school. Now I'm going to Texas A&M. I'm going to live on campus just down the street from the stadium, right? Huge, bittiful institution. And at the time, because I thought, well, I was going to do my career entirely in ag education, all of the ag teachers that I loved and respected and that I met in our area, area 10, everything's all the ag programs, Delta, San Antonio, that was kind of their region, if you will. But anyway, most, if not all of them, attended Texas A&M University. So, I got a chance to, you know, unfortunately, with the growing school, old buildings get knocked down, new ones get built. So, I had an opportunity to walk through the halls and sit in the classrooms that I would hear these other agricultural science educators reminisce about amongst themselves. So, that was, you know, really exciting. But I did feel out of my element, you know, it was, because you brought it up, you know, you grew up in a community where y'all know each other since Head Start, Pre-K, Kinder, you may have been the new kid in sixth grade, but you're still known as a new kid in high school. So, that was the environment that I grew up in. But as I mentioned earlier, now I was still at least surrounded by, you know, talk. It was a tier one education. It was a tier one, it is a tier one institution of higher education. So, I was privy to being amongst, you know, just really, really talented individuals who, as I mentioned earlier, just so served themselves. Like, they had this vision that I think I lacked. Like, my vision was pass and get a degree. That's it. I didn't have foresight beyond that. And so, it's a, now we know this kind of this, this term, this imposter syndrome, but that truly was something that I had. So, I was always trying to overcompensate in fitting in with everyone and really kind of drifting away from my authentic self, what really made, what makes me me, right? And so, I mean, I didn't do so great the first two years at Texas A&M, and I joke around, it's not funny. And for those on the podcast who are listening, don't ever put yourself in a position where you are in on academic probation. It's not fun. Because you teeter on the line of failure, right? Or whatever failure might, for me, it was not, not being able to see out my education at Texas A&M. And those first two years were, were mentally difficult. So, the turning point was, I got to a point where Justin, you're simply not making the grades, we're concerned with your effort. You know, there could be a chance of you not not being asked to return, right? And, it got to a point where I had to write a letter to my dean. And that's, man, that was a humbling moment, right? Get your app together, Justin. Like, what are you doing? Your parents, your family has worked a lifetime to provide for your, for the family. And I'm not the only, but I'm the few that maybe have had the opportunity to do this, to go here, to be here. So, what are you going to do? And, you know, what I did there was, I committed myself more, you know, being more accountable for my actions inside the classroom and outside the classroom. And what did I do? Well, I met with my professors more, you know, Dr. Harlan, Dr. Lark, Dr. Breyer's, all, you know, famed professors in our science program. Also meeting with other individuals at the point, at that time, I missed the Latino aspect. And so meeting other professionals, professors, admins that worked at the university that were also Latino. And just, just trying to emulate that community aspect of being in a small town, being able to make small talk, and to the point where it's like, hey, I'm struggling on this. What kind of advice you give me? And, and beyond that, it's getting involved. As I mentioned earlier, get your hands in the masa. You know, I could sit, I could be a wallflower. But to truly, to truly learn, you need to apply, learning to do, doing to learn, earning the live, living to serve. And so I, you know, fell forward. So I started getting more involved with student clubs, volunteering to serve on committees or review manuscripts, or simply just to step up. And that was my way of showcasing who I am with those around me. And just, you know, gaining the trust and support that ultimately helped me post-college get accepted into a public policy internship program that took me to Watson, DC. And it was in those three, four months in DC, being an intern at Ag Association, which I'm glad it was Ag. I would have never traded that experience for anything else. Meeting senior officials in Ag policy, I met Ken Salazar. He was the Ag Commissioner in Colorado, one of the few Latino senior officials in that capacity at the time. And I just was like, wow, I can do this too. Dr. Sadiwada, I was going to Capitol Hill to Capitol Hill meetings and taking notes and reporting back to our, our policy director. So that's what I did to make the most out of it. One, I could continue to do the things I did that weren't helping me attain the results and success that I aspired for. And instead pivoting, getting involved, meeting with people, and taking a leap into something that maybe I'm not qualified for, but I know that experience is what's going to take me to the next level. And that's what I did. And fast forward, that's what I try to do. You know, I got my nine to five, I got my five to nine, and it's just finding ways for me to continue to learn, but more than that to continue to scale the impact in wherever I can, home community profession. That's it. I love that. Thank you, Justin. Thank you for showing that. You know, and thank you for being so candid. I think it honest, right? Because I think that for a lot of us, we don't necessarily like to relive some of those moments. And the challenges, but I think, I mean, that's why I created the podcast because I wanted others to see that we all struggle. We face challenges and obstacles. And it's not necessarily you know, that we stop or that these are indicators that we shouldn't continue. But it's how do we respond to those, right, to those moments and to those experiences? So thank you for that. And with that in mind, I think about we are probably a month away from students being on campus, particularly first year students, right, on campus, getting ready to start the new semester. What advice would you give a new student so that they start the semester off on the right foot? Oh, man. Get involved. But that's that's broad, right? What does it mean to get involved? Does that mean joining sorority, fraternity, a club? Like, what does that mean? And well, that's different for all of us. But when I mean getting involved, you know, that first, you was at the first week or two going into school, it's been a little bit. You have these this open house, right? Show casing all the different groups, social, maybe they're based on your studies or whatever it is, right? There's an open house where people are providing you an opportunity to be a part of something that maybe it resonates with you. Again, maybe it's a passion like, I don't know, anime comics, you know, that's okay, right? It's okay to be a part of a group. But also to that point, if you know you're going to be an educator, then join one of the groups that will help you. You're going to have to speak in front of people, right, or students and educate them. So be a part of a group that allows you to build on those strengths. So when you get to that point in your college career, you've already worked on that muscle and it's not something that's too big of a stretch or too steep of a hill to really to flourish it. But more than that, you're going to whatever school you're going to, again, and I'm just really big about being involved, whether you're in high school and college or as an adult, because it's the people you meet. For me, it's part of my value bucket to give back, because it took, you know, a community of support sponsors, mentors, family, peer mentors, peers, colleagues to get to meet where I'm at. And I just just meet them accidentally. And so to be purposeful about surrounding yourself with that network that can help you flourish, you find them in spaces where you interact and again, going back to volunteering. So I volunteer because I want to meet other individuals who are committed, who make the time, but more than that, are mission driven to provide to support and to advocate whatever it is they're in. Now, I've done this with, you know, young Latino professionals, but I've also done this on the front side with like the World War One Museum in Kansas City. So, you know, take that, take that into mind, because the people you meet, they are leaders themselves. And if you can meet them on at that point, you never know where they may go. But likewise, where you may go, where your paths could cross, or the opportunity to cross, pollinate, can occur. But I guess to all that point, because I keep going on and on, opportunities create a legacy. And so by opening the door to these opportunities to interact, you're creating a pathway for yourself to create the legacy that you can implement ever where you're at. I think that's that's my biggest piece of advice. Well, thank you. I think that's great advice. You, you know, you talked about going in and because you were going to pursue Ag, did you stick with Ag, or did that change? You know, it's funny. You say that? I did. You know, I had, I did have classmates and and other colleagues that did change their, their, their majors several times. I think my wife changed her major maybe three times. But for me, I was just, that was my identity, right? That's all I knew, you know, working with, like, that was my lived experience. That was my kind of, my content knowledge, my for lack of battery term, I would hate to say subject matter expertise, but it's what I knew, right? So to, to not continue my education in agriculture, that just simply wasn't a part of the equation. I was triple committed. That's what I was going to graduate with because that's what I know. But more than that, it's what else can I learn that maybe wasn't taught to me? Mmm, that's great. You, I had a great interview with another A&M alum about a year ago. And he talked about sort of the root awakening he got when he graduated and he was giving into that professional space and looking for that first job. And he says, nobody ever talks about that. He said, nobody told him, warned him, prepared him. He said, it was just, it was just as difficult as that transition from high school to college was he said, maybe even a little more difficult. What was that transition like for you? It was, it's funny, you say that because it, it was almost like that transition from high school to college and then post, okay, I got this degree. What's next? It was hard. It was hard. I was fortunate enough to pass my certification to teach. But at that point, I wasn't really sure if I wanted to do that. It was an option. But I think that was something that coming out. I'm like, oh my gosh, I didn't realize. I didn't, I didn't understand how internships work. I didn't have any connections or anyone that I knew that did internships that could kind of position for me why those are invaluable, right? It's great on the resume. You get to meet amazing people. You'll learn a little bit about that company, that industry is that what you want to pursue. But ultimately, like three months before graduating, again, this agricultural natural resources, public policy internship program, was kind of my way of kicking that can down the road. It's like, okay, I'm not ready, I'm not ready, I'm not ready. But I see the loans are going to kick in. And I got to figure this out pretty quick because I don't even know how I'm going to pay for that. I can, I'm barely scrapping by right now between Taco Bell, Taco Cabana, McDonald's. I mean, it's something it's got to give, right? So and that's why I said, you know, join groups, take a leap, you know, feel forward. And I applied for the program and I was actually invited to participate. Now, what I quickly learned there is not realizing the power of the network of whatever college university you intend to, doesn't matter where it is, it has a network. And look, you've invested all this money to earn this degree, but you've also invested this money to be a part of this network. So that internship allowed me to interact with all these different Aggies, Aggies in the DC area, all doing really different things, you know, you can talk about federal, federal careers, contract work, you know, et cetera, et cetera. And so really what that did for me was it was exposure, exposure to the possibilities of careers that I could explore. Early on, I thought, well, maybe I'll join Peace Corps. You know, I love helping what a great way to scale your impact internationally, right? Then I met folks in who work for the USDA and I said, oh my gosh, to work with that, that that that that that that for a little acronym, right? Agriculture at the at the highest levels of federal bureaucracy. That was like, wow, that would have been so amazing. But it was the internship in the association that really put it into perspective. It was reflecting back on FFA. It's the largest student-led organization in the US. I think they have over a million members now. But it was, okay, I was a member there and now I was an employee of NASA, the National Association of State Department of Agriculture. This was this is a lot of fun. Like this really, I could dance to this tune. And because of that, two years later, I went headfirst and dived in a career in association management, which is what one is allowed me to grow professionally. You know, membership has been the jam that I've I've worked in. But through membership, I've been able to learn about all these different industries, residential construction, commercial, Latino executives, and Latino corporate directors, you know, ad policy. So like, that's what I've really appreciated about the the association aspect. And that's why again, to the audience, whatever you decide to do in your career, if you're a dentist, join the American Dental Association. If you become an attorney, make sure to get involved with your bar association. There's an association for everything, but just getting involved and asking questions. I was always curious. I always sought to learn more about others so that I could augment my understanding. But yeah, coming out of college was very difficult. But the intentional exposure to options is what helped me get to where I'm at today without that. I don't know where I would be. I truly don't. But that that that was kind of my my journey, you know, navigating through the seas of association management and trying to figure out which direction do I need to go. So that was my experience post college trying to navigate it all. You know, Justin, thank you. Because I think I was eager to hear your story because I was aware that you were part of the like association management part of that that sort of world. And then, you know, true to form, right? You connected me to a number of other folks that are in association. And I was eager to hear this story because you know, I wanted to see how we would connect the dots, right? How does one go and you're pursuing one thing? And again, this is another reason I do the podcast is because I think we set out for a lot of young people, we set out like, you know, like an explorer and we're going to go, we're navigating and we think we're going in one direction. But then because of the networks, because of our experiences, because of opportunities that we're exposed to, we find that we there are a lot of different directions we can go into. And so, so I loved hearing that, hearing your story and how you found your way to associations and how I think with most of my guests, there's always this underlying threat, right? And whether it's their values or their particular mission, right? For you to be observist, right? And I think associations allow folks to do that to be observist. It sounds like that is something that has been consistent with your own story and your own life. Now, how long were you in the association world? And where are you today? Yeah, no, yeah, definitely. So in the association world, I still count the education part association world because I was an FFA advisor for my chapter. So, I mean, that's that's 12 years. Like formally employed in that space. It was just earlier this summer where I made a slight transition to an industry adjacent with association management. So, as I mentioned, you know, 12 years, several different industries, so many great experiences. I don't know any other career profession that would have given me the experiences that I had. Being able to witness at the National Association of Homebillars, a board chair report given out in Spanish, that was simply unheard of. I got to witness that. The first Latino elected as chair of NHB. I had the opportunity to be in a room with so many accomplished Latino leaders over the three years at the Latino Corporate Directors Association. Although I was an actively placing them or in that spectrum of portfolio and getting them into corporate boards, I was recruiting them and I was having conversations with them and I was empowering them to really get involved with the network and that was phenomenal. We could talk a whole podcast just on that. But where I'm at today now, so a little over the last or since the beginning of last month, I started a career with an organization called Provisors as a regional director. Why did I make that transition? Many reasons, but I would say the primary being the challenge. Provisors is starting their network from scratch here in North Carolina. And I think the challenge and opportunity to grow something from the ground up is something that I that I want to do for many reasons. It's to see for me, it's an opportunity to gauge all these lived professional experiences that I had coming together and just seeing how successful can I be in lending that to the network that I grow here that ultimately I hope shines within the Provisors network. Now, what is Provisors? Provisors is a senior level business professional networking group. No like refer trust, that's their mantra. So the purpose of the group or really what's really cool about the group is we have these home groups, we have a group share or group leader. And within the group, we have this member matrix where we have 15 plus attorneys, five plus CPAs. We just got a diversity in terms of not only profession, but the people within it. And through it all, it's an intentional space to network with each other. And as you know, trust is huge across, you know, across the spectrum on everything, you know, when you have a client that needs help for a service, you're not able to provide them. How amazing is it that you can provide, refer them only to one, but a whole palette of trusted advisors that can help them overcome the barrier that they're experiencing or whatever shortcoming or challenger experiencing. And that's what Provisors help solve. And it's in the last 30 days, I have been to many meetings and I've met with many people. And over and over, I hear folks say or share with me, I wish I would have joined Provisors sooner, or I wish Provisors would have been in my backyard sooner. And so because it works, you spend time with people, you network, you get to know, what drives you, how can I help you? When I think of you, what do I think of, you know, what are you able to provide solution-based? And we have fun with it. And it leads to, yes, it's collaborative in a business aspect, but it creates these really strong social bonds that aren't limited to, you know, what we're trying to do here in Charlotte and Rolly, but across the nation. And that's what I love about it. And that's why I said, yes, it's purposeful, it's mission-driven, and they recruit people who are big about paying it back, paying it forward. It makes me think of texturing them a lot, actually. Wow. You know, Jess, I want to be mindful of our time, respectful of your time. It does sound like we could, we should maybe talk about coming back. And maybe even speaking to, because I think you were alluded to a lot of things, whether it's professionalism, or the role of associations, a lot of things that I think we are, you should have within, I think if you're a college student, if you're a professional, that are within your orbit, but maybe are reluctant to engage, to be a participant in, and we can talk about paying it forward and developing our own mission. So, I'm going to toss that at you. I want you to think about that, because I'd love to have you back on, maybe we get a couple of other folks, and we just do like a panel or something. But as we transition out, what last piece of advice would you like to leave for our listeners and viewers out there? Embrace your unique pathway. You don't have to do it alone. And believe in yourself, even if it's hard, I think that's something, I mean, I'm in my mid-30s and I'm still growing and learning, but those are, you know, those are the things I have to share. When I say embrace your unique pathway, you have your lived experience, bring your authenticity forward, because that's who you are, and that's your treasure, and don't shy away from that. You don't have to do it alone. Like I said, I didn't do this alone. It took a community of people to get here. So ask for help. And I'm guilty of this, and I need to be better about this, but I've been able to informally gain mentees, serve as a mentor, and sometimes life happens, and I don't respond the first second time, but be persistent. It's not that these people are ignoring you. It's just, you know, life happens and we get busy, but persistence, I promise you, will pay off. And then that last point is, you know, believe in yourself, even when it's hard, because we all get into the ruts, right? But if you set yourself up with those two other things I mentioned, then you're not alone in this. And yeah, I mean, all you can do is work hard and stay curious, ask questions, and if you think you can do it, raise your hand, because we need more people to step up, especially in this day and age. Justin, thank you. Those are powerful words, and I'm sure I'll resonate with a lot of folks. Justin, thank you so much for taking the time to share your story with me, with our listeners and viewers out there. I appreciate it. I know it'll resonate with others, and I look forward to, again, that invitation is out there for you. So think about, you know, coming back, I'd love to extend these conversations, but this concludes another episode with a way to call it podcast. Thank you to my guests. Thank you to our listeners and viewers out there. Please remember to subscribe, rate all of that good stuff, and do me a favor and share the podcast with one other person. I'd appreciate it. Thanks. And thank you.