Latest / AccessCo Leaders Career Conversations / DC International + Tamara Gibbs-Franklin
Transcript
- Speaker 1: Welcome DC International and ⁓ Tamara Gibbs-Franklin. Thank you so much, all of you, for being on. Tamara, in one to two sentences, can you go ahead and tell us what 1010 Communications ⁓ is doing and then what your role is as CEO? Speaker 2: This is a small business that I started two years ago. And what it does is it helps organizations, nonprofits, companies do public relations, media relations, marketing, and content creation. Speaker 1: Okay, and your role as CEO? Speaker 2: My role as CEO is I'm the principal consultant. am a CEO of one, ⁓ Access to experts in the creative content space like videographers and graphic designers ⁓ and such. so in my role, ⁓ I try help clients that come to me seeking strategy ⁓ or ⁓ with content. For example, ⁓ I had client who needed to redo their website. ⁓ And so I help them visualize how best to create the best user experience for visitors visiting their website, as well as creating a narrative that people could see on that homepage. Speaker 1: Okay, really opportunities for storytelling and for people to get their vision and their message across to bring others along with them. ey? Okay, and you have a long standing career in education as well. Currently the associate professor of communication and English at the College of Southern Maryland. you speak to that a little bit? Speaker 2: Absolutely. ⁓ Yes, so even though my career as a journalist led me to become a public relations practitioner, a marketer, as well as an educator, I've always been an adjunct in the background. And so now I'm teaching full time in addition to running my business. And it's been a very rewarding experience. I like meeting students like the students here online. I like. helping them think about their path forward and helping them to recognize that they have special gifts and talents, particularly when they're creative and innovative. So I've had over two decades experience teaching at schools such as the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, North Carolina Central University. Merit of College in Raleigh, Trinity Washington, right there in your backyard. I've taught there as well. And so now I'm at the College of Southern Maryland and I'm having a great time. Speaker 1: Beautiful. And yeah, that's exactly what we're doing here at AccessCo Leaders, these stories and their pathways to success. So thanks speaking to that and for all the good work you're doing in that realm. ⁓ Tell where did you grow up? And then we do know you're based in Maryland now. ⁓ Speaker 2: Yes, I'm a long ways from home. ⁓ I come from Southern Illinois. I'm from Southern Illinois, a small town called Carbondale. And there's actually a university in my hometown, Southern Illinois University. Go Salukis. I didn't go to college there. I went to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. That's in central Illinois. And so that would be one of the state's flagship schools as well as SIU. ⁓ You know, I come from humble beginnings, if I'm honest. I grew up in public housing and I know what it means to be in a family where there's limited resources, but a real desire to be educated and to move beyond your circumstances. And so I really think that fueled me in my journey and possibly sparked my interest in writing and telling stories and eventually becoming a journalist after I graduated from college. So I'm a midwesterner. I've got those Midwestern values, work ethic, being consistent, being loyal, following through, and certainly knowing how to stretch resources. Speaker 1: All right, beautiful. I can attest to that. I'm from Wisconsin myself. And yes, those values do live on and live strong. Continue to push us every day. And thanks for speaking a little bit to, you know, your growing up and how you use that as your power, your strength, and also your commitment to advocating for others. So that's beautiful. ⁓ One last question for me and then we'll hear from our students. In middle school and high school, were you already interested in giving back education, communication, storytelling, or what was keeping you busy during those years? Speaker 2: I believe that I was a burgeoning journalist, even in the eighth grade. I loved, loved, loved reading. You couldn't pull me away from a book. The library was my jam. And in addition to that, my mom bought me, know, our students in the room won't know what this is, but before we had these, you know, jazzy cell phones, right, we had what are called typewriters. And my mom bought me a typewriter, a Smith Corona typewriter. And I loved not only reading stories, but I liked creating my own stories. And so once I got a hold of that typewriter, you would find me in my bedroom when I wasn't hanging out with friends or at cheerleading practice. I'm just banging out a story and I have some of those drafts and it's nice to go back and look at those. And so I would say whatever that theme is that you're really passionate about right now. there's a chance it's going to show up later. And at that point in time, I had no idea that I would become a journalist. Honestly, I really love science. And so I thought I would be a doctor. I really thought, ⁓ I'm going to be a scientist or a doctor, but I am not gifted when it comes to math. Chemistry really, really, really hard for me when I was a freshman in college. And so I made the decision that, I think I'm gonna try this storytelling, this journalism thing, because that's what feels natural. That's what kind of fuels me and makes me feel happy. I'm always happy when I can write. I'm always happy when I can create something, particularly if it shares a message that I think people need to hear, or it helps someone who might be voiceless. or someone who might feel invisible, it helps them to feel seen. Those are things that really stoke my joy. I get really, really excited. And I can take that all the way back to living in public housing with a single mom who had the forethought and the value of education to give me a Smith corona typewriter and the rest as they say is history or still history in the making. Speaker 1: Beautiful. Yes, yes, yes. ⁓ Thank you so much for speaking to that and like how your passions, natural, what you naturally gravitate to sometimes seem innocuous at younger age because you're somewhat planning your whole future. And what do I want to say I am? ⁓ But back, taking a second to what do I actually really love doing ⁓ and starting from that place? All right. ⁓ Anthony, what's your first question? Speaker 4: ⁓ like, what did you do in like, during high school and like college to like push you through to do all your work? Speaker 2: ⁓ Anthony, it's nice to meet you. And that's an excellent question. Speaker 4: without me. Speaker 2: ⁓ Yeah, I would say kind of what I told you before, know, when you come from humble beginnings and you see your parent or parents or your family members working really hard, you automatically know that that's the expectation that you should maybe do that, do the same, what they're modeling. And so for me, I had great role models in my family. My mom is first generation college. And so I can remember Anthony as a little kid, like little, little kid, because my mom had me when she was 18. She used to put me on her bicycle and I have vivid memories of her pedaling all the way to the Southern Illinois University campus. And I can remember sitting with her in lectures. She would take me to class, her professors would allow her to bring her baby girl to class. And I can remember sitting in libraries or sitting in the bed with her while she did her homework. And now that I think back on that, wow, what a great example. What a great example she set for me that you can have certain circumstances and yes, they're barriers, but they don't have to be the period at the end of your sentence. They actually can be the very thing that just propels you forward. And so you ask like, what kind of things did I do in high school? know, Anthony, I wasn't always the talkative, smiling, ⁓ enthusiastic person that you see. Particularly when I was in middle school, I was probably like most middle schoolers, you're just trying to figure it out, right? You might have some things that you're insecure about and maybe you really care a lot about what people think of you and so you're kind of afraid to do things or say certain things. What happened for me was one summer I decided to learn how to do a round off. Do you guys know what that is? That's not like a super high tech gymnastic move. That's literally like, yeah, like, a little bit. It's not a flip. It's not anything like that. But I was determined to learn how to do a roundoff and I spent an entire summer practicing my roundoff and I wanted to try out for cheerleading and I'm so glad I did. And I'm so glad the judges took mercy on me with my little roundoff. But Speaker 1: I'm a cartwheel. Speaker 2: Honestly, that was a great building block because cheerleading brought something out of me that I might not have discovered otherwise. I was also interested in the school newspaper. So I served on the newspaper staff at my high school, the yearbook staff. I also was interested in science, as I mentioned. ⁓ And so I was in a variety of different clubs. I just always stayed curious and that was probably that journalist in me, right? But, ⁓ know, Anthony, again, my mom was a great role model. My family members were a great role model. ⁓ And also, I just got it in my mind that, you know, I don't want to be that girl that's just stuck in the corner. I actually have something to say. I actually have something to offer this world. And so I'm going to try to do as much as I can. for as long as I can. And I think I probably still hold that mindset even till this day, because the two of you are probably looking at me saying, she's old, but true, but we still have a lot of runway, don't we? Adults on the line. Speaker 1: Yes we do. Yes we do. Speaker 2: And so, you know, one day you're gonna be us. One day you're gonna be sitting where I'm sitting talking to some students and you're still gonna have a lot to offer this world. So I'm actually back in school. I'm in school just like you. I am actually now pursuing my PhD and I know exactly what it feels like to be a student who has to do homework, who has to meet deadlines, who's trying to meet their professor's expectations. And so all of it comes full circle. Just know that all the things that you're doing, it all matters. All of it matters. Speaker 1: Yes, definitely that determination to do the roundhouse. It seemed like a smaller thing, but you had the daily commitment and then it kind of opened up doors for you opened up yourself to another part of your personality that is continuing to shine and guide you today. So I love that, that commitment to something kind of seems small, but it totally was not. And your commitment to it is what really made it grandiose. So thank you, Tamara. Speaker 2: That's a fun memory. Thank you, Anthony. Speaker 1: All right, Ilyne, did you have a question? ⁓ Speaker 3: so many questions. Thank you for the invitation to ask Tamara a question here. But Tamara, I know that you have experience in journalism and even reporting. Can you share with us a couple of things? One, what is the most exciting and the best part about your experience as a reporter and a journalist? And then what was the most challenging thing that you experienced in that field? Speaker 2: wow, that's an excellent question, Ilyne. So what I would say is the best part about it was telling those stories, taking me right back to that Smith Corona typewriter and telling stories. And now I get to tell other people's stories. And you're a journalist, you take a lot of pride ⁓ in to people's attention things that maybe they would not have considered. ⁓ And me, I had to cover a lot of stories that were kind of bad things that happened to good people. ⁓ It was really important to me to make sure that people who saw those kinds of stories knew that the person or the people impacted that they mattered. And so that was really important to me. There's a real blessing, if you will, in being able to tell Anthony's story or Sayuri's story, know, or Vinessa's story and being entrusted with that and telling it accurately, doing my homework, doing my research. and also making sure that I'm fair and making sure that I'm balanced and then presenting that to the audience. And so that was very fulfilling. The other part of it is I'm a creative. I must create, whether it's a poem or a blog post or a video, I need to create. That's how I have been designed and that's what I offer the world. And so the daily task as a journalist of creating a story from start to finish was incredibly rewarding and aligned very well within my gifts and talents and what I felt like I was called to do. so again, love my career as a journalist, did it for 22 years and don't regret a single moment of it. It was an amazing, amazing ride. would say some of the challenges that come with that type of career is very high pressure. There is a survey that comes out every year. So as you guys are in college and you're thinking about careers, look for these surveys that tell you what, not just the highest paying jobs, but look for the surveys that say highest level of stress, high pressure, and journalism always lands on that list. It is intense. because your newsroom is competitive. And then also you're competing with other reporters at other news stations or newsrooms. And so every day you have to produce. Every day you're proving, I am here and I'm adding value to my newsroom. And so I would say the competition and the high pressure and the deadlines, we had to... There was no saying, ⁓ I just didn't get that story in. You can't do that. You got to get your work in. And I still live by deadlines even till this day, ⁓ good, bad, indifferent. And so ⁓ I would say that that definitely challenges to constantly kind of rise. But I want to turn that into a positive because what it did was I do really well when I'm under pressure. Anything else in life, anytime I've worked in any other place and there was a deadline and kind of a pressing on me, I actually excel in those moments. And I think it's because I had all those years of working in that type of climate. Speaker 1: Well, I think that's really important for our students that they start thinking about as they step into college. There's going to be constant deadlines and so remaining cool and motivated under pressure, not waiting till the last minute helps a lot. I didn't always do so well with that in college, but I absolutely love what you said about ⁓ the voiceless and giving them a story. It can be so easy to just label somebody in one day, especially in this day and age like. a criminal or something like that and it erases their whole humanity and story. And so the fact that that was your mission in your news work, we love that. need more of that for sure. So thank you for that and for speaking to that for the students here today. ⁓ we're coming to you. What's your question for Tamara? Speaker 4: When you applied for college, did you apply for any scholarships? Speaker 2: ⁓ yes, again, coming from humble beginnings, someone had to pay for this education or help us. And I love this question, Sayuri, because originally I had this big dream. I was like, I wanna be a kid from the projects that goes to a Ivy League college. And I actually got into an Ivy League school. I was accepted to Dartmouth. My mom wouldn't let me go because she was like, you're gonna have a boatload of... student loans afterward. And in retrospect, she was exactly right. ⁓ But I say that I share that with you because I was willing to cast a wide net. I didn't let anyone tell me, you know, you can't apply there. I if I thought I could make it, I definitely applied for scholarships. Yes, you have to do your homework, though, because, you know, Not all scholarships are just going to fall into your lap. Your guidance counselor at school isn't going to just always tell you, hey, apply for this scholarship. You and your parents or whoever the adult is in your life, you actually have to go out and look for those scholarship opportunities. And they are definitely out there. And one thing you want to make sure you're doing when you apply for those scholarships, tell them about a problem you solved. Because when you think about it, good grades, extracurriculars, sports, how many people already have that on their paper, right? But if you can tell them, hey, I solved a problem. I volunteered here and the people who were being serviced through this nonprofit benefited from my work in this way, or I came up with this great idea at my school and now we're doing this. Tell them about a problem you solved. It could even be a project that you've done in class. Hey, I researched this and came up with this idea. And I think that if we could do more with it, this will be great for these reasons. And so when you're applying, let them know who you are. Let them know why you want to be considered, but also let them know I'm someone who wants to go out in the world and solve problems and make a difference. And guess what? I'm already doing the work. I'm already laying the groundwork for who I'm gonna be as a working adult? Great question, thank you. Speaker 1: Well, thank you for already pouring into the students and giving them practical, actionable ⁓ advice. Question for me, how many times have people told you no or you couldn't do something and did that stop you? Speaker 2: No, no, if it did, I wouldn't be on this, on this show. You're going to be told, no, you're going to, you're going to be rejected. You're going to be disappointed. Sometimes you're even going to be heartbroken. Sometimes you're going to say, I really did my best. And I'll give you a recent example. I mentioned that I'm working on my doctoral. I'm in a doctoral program. working on my degree and I worked, I worked so hard. on this paper, this research paper. And I just knew, I was like, I'm gonna get an A. I'm accustomed to getting A's and I didn't get an A. I didn't get an A. And I was just shook as you all would say. And I was like, what, what happened? But I ran so fast. I jumped so high. I researched so much. I wrote this just effortlessly. What? And one of the things my professor said to me that actually sits with me in all areas of my life is she said, perfectionism, please leave it at the door. Sometimes the world tells us that we just have to be perfect. There's no such thing. There's no such thing as perfection. And also when you try to be perfect, you can come across as inauthentic. People don't think you're real. And Perfection can also stress you out. So we don't wanna be stressed. We wanna do things in excellence, but we also wanna do things with excitement, right? And so once my professor said, hey, your perfectionism is unwelcome here. This program isn't about making you a straight A student. This program is about making you a better person, making you a well-rounded leader. making you someone who has an expertise who really knows their stuff. And if you just focus on those things and not worrying about the grades, the grades will come. And I even tell my students that now that perfectionism is unwelcome. I opened the classroom door on the first day and I kind of act out kicking perfectionism out of the classroom to say, hey, Pencils have erasers for a reason. We all make mistakes. How we learn from those mistakes, that's the most important thing. So, Speaker 1: That's a great note. Perfectionism is ⁓ Somebody telling you you can't do something doesn't mean you can't attain that, but that perfection is ⁓ going to create a sense of strife within yourself because you're just adding more pressure onto yourself in a world where there's too much already. So we don't want that. All right, Anthony, let's hear from you again. What question did you have for Tamara? Speaker 2: I hate it. Speaker 4: My question is, what does your business do? Speaker 2: Yeah, so that's a great question. Thank you, Anthony, for asking. I'll give you a quick example. Like today, before I hopped on this call, I was presenting at a conference for nonprofits and talking to them about how they can use data to tell better stories about their nonprofit. And that's what I do. I help organizations or a client figure out how to get their message out there in the world, figure out how to tell that message, where to tell the message. Do we put it on social media? Do we put it in a video? Do we put it in a mailer? I also help organizations figure out what their story is. Because sometimes clients really have a, they don't really kind of have a ⁓ formed idea of what they're trying to say. And so I try to strategize with them and come alongside them and help them to figure that out. Because as you know, when you're on social and you're scrolling through your feeds, there's a lot going on in world. And think about what are those things that make you stop and click on something? Or what are those things that make you stop and read it or watch the video? And so I'm that person who has to think about how can I get ⁓ Sayuri to stop and click on this link or watch this video or listen to this podcast? And so, I help organizations answer those kinds of questions and help them create content that can hopefully help their business. Speaker 1: Okay, so you always have your finger on the pulse of ⁓ culture, what's going on around you. That's kind of a pre-scribe for your job. And then I bet there's a psychology component as well. Is that correct? Speaker 2: Yeah, well I laughed, I took a little bit when you said that because my husband will often say, why are you on TMZ? And I'm like, this is research. ⁓ It truly is. I'm online, I'm reading all kinds of things because you do have to have your finger on the pulse of kind of what's trending and such. And then the psychology piece of it. So my doctoral degree is in counseling and psychological studies, psychology, industrial, organizational. Psych.io is what it's usually known as because I'm really fascinated. I get super curious about human behavior and how that impacts communication. So can I throw a question out to Anthony or Sayuri? Speaker 1: Yeah, we were just going to flip it over to them. Yeah. That'll be a good segue. Speaker 2: So I'm curious to know, do adults tell you you don't talk enough? Sometimes. Sayuri's nodding her head. Sometimes, right? And when you're in your classes, are you that person who's always raising your hand or answering questions or are you kind of quiet? Speaker 4: It kind of depends on like the subject. Speaker 2: It has to be interesting to you. Well, I'm really fascinated, particularly with your age group and what motivates you to communicate and what you don't want to communicate about when you might be quiet or when you're in your phone and people, adults might say, ⁓ you know, that particular generation, they don't talk a whole lot and they don't ⁓ engage enough. And I'm curious about it because there is a psychology component to it. How you have grown up, what you've experienced, maybe what your culture is. And I find all of that really, really fascinating as a communicator and as someone who generally can talk to anyone. But I'm interested in researching that a little bit more and really kind of understanding how to make students like you in your age group feel compelled to be courageous communicators. I really want my students to leave my classes feeling empowered, feeling courageous and feeling like they could speak up and speak out or speak for someone. And there's a lot that goes into learning that and building that muscle. And the other thing that is really important is when you guys get to the age where you're looking for jobs, That's what your employers are gonna expect from you. The folks that you will work for in the future wanna make sure that you know how to communicate, that you know how to answer questions, that you know how to problem solve, that you know how to collaborate and work with a team, that you know how to resolve conflict or even prevent conflict. And so I'm just really, really fascinated with the psychology of that as well. as the communication theory. so communication studies actually is born out of a couple of different subjects and psychology is one of them. So it seems like a natural pairing. yeah. Speaker 1: Okay, yeah. Courage and empowerment, just to use your voice. That can be very scary, but it should be a natural one to two, but it's just not always that. So thank you for speaking to that and pouring into students so they can step through that. Sayuri, you said you're thinking about going to college. What are you considering studying? Speaker 4: I'm thinking of like something within like having to do with medical stuff. Speaker 2: Nice. You'll do much better than I did, I was like, med school? Nope, not gonna happen. I think that's fantastic. And if you do want to do anything in the healthcare space, guess what? You're gonna have to talk to people. You're gonna have to engage people who are different than you. You're going to have to probably comfort people when they hear things that they don't want to hear. And so I would encourage you to start practicing. communicating and talking and expressing yourself and being on this call is a really great example of you doing that. So kudos to you for already leaning into that. I don't know you guys, we might have a future doctor, know, future doctor, nurse practitioner, cardiothoracic surgeon maybe on the line. ⁓ You know, we wanna see great things for you, Sayuri. Speaker 1: We sure do. And yeah, there's so many routes and opportunities in that field. So we're definitely rooting for you. Want you to get as much experience and we hope to see you again on the next call so that you can ask more of these questions to help you hone in and narrow down some of the pathways that you can start to take as you enter college. Thank you, Sayuri. Anthony, what about you? What are you thinking about pursuing as a career? Speaker 4: either probably like business or like going to trade school. Speaker 2: great options. And I teach at a community college. We do a lot of trades, trade training. And I have a nephew, not a nephew, excuse me, a cousin who is working on his HVAC certification. You know how much air, air condition repair persons make? ⁓ Electricians, they make a lot of money. These are things that we don't have a lot of people in the industry doing those types of work because in our country there was a season where it was about doing kind of what they call knowledge work, right? Like you're at a desk and you're typing up reports, ⁓ but now we need people who have that knowledge and also that ability to practice a trade. So Anthony, I think that's a great option. ⁓ You know, you can't go wrong with having a skill set that will ultimately help you support yourself and support your family. And I think that's fantastic. If you haven't considered a community college, I don't know, you know, you're in DC. ⁓ So you definitely have access to where I work, College of Southern Maryland, the Virginia Community College system is right there in your backyard. That's a great way to get into some of those trade programs and accomplish that work in a short amount of time and get you out into the workforce. So I'm rooting for you. I think that's fantastic. Speaker 1: Anthony, what did you think about that advice or ⁓ what route are you thinking about in the trade school? Speaker 4: ⁓ I feel like probably like an electrician because like most of my family members they work in that industry. Speaker 2: Yeah. Speaker 1: So you've already got some mentorship in that realm. Yeah, go ahead, Tamara. Speaker 2: Right, right. Yeah, I have a sorority sister whose husband is an electrician in Chicago. And all I can tell you, Anthony, is he makes enough to go travel the world. He's living a good life. And so I wish the same for you. And I say, go forward. And you're never too young to get started. You don't have to wait to get to the community college. You can call up. You can maybe go to work, shadow some of your relatives. You could call up a local, locally owned electrician. and ask if you could shadow them for the summer, you know? ⁓ Because sometimes what we need to do is actually experience that career that we think we want so that we can decide whether that's for us. And sometimes what happens is you decide, ⁓ I've seen it up close and personal. That's not what I want. I can't tell you how many times I had interns in the news vehicle or in a live truck with me who were dead set on becoming news anchors and reporters. but after they spent a summer observing how hard I had to work and how parts of the industry are not as glamorous as they seem, some of them changed their minds. Some of them were like, I don't think this is for me. So, you know, see if you can find some opportunities before you get to college to explore that a little bit more. Speaker 1: Great, great, great actionable advice and thank you for your perseverance and sticking through to be a mentor and somebody people can look up to as they pursue those careers. So, Anthony, what's the top thing you picked up from Tamara today? What resonated with you? Speaker 4: Then like if you persevere like you like you can do anything that you want because like she said that she came from humble and She's like in the place that she's at because you're like quick ⁓ Speaker 1: Yes, perseverance. And Sayori, what about you? What did you pick up from today's conversation? ⁓ Speaker 4: that if you push yourself enough, you can get what you want. Speaker 2: Where is he? Speaker 1: All right. Well, you have given these students some additional motivation that they will surely ⁓ will continue to encourage them as they step into their pathways, careers, next steps, college applications, all the like of the exciting stuff that's coming up for them. I'll give you an opportunity to share some final words of wisdom Speaker 2: think I've shared quite a few nuggets. I would just like to thank Anthony and Sayuri for being on the line. Ilyne, you know, I really appreciate this opportunity to share and just want you to know the work that you're doing is very important and needed. And then I would just like to remind Anthony and Sayuri that one day you're gonna be sitting in this seat. So think about things that you will be telling ⁓ future students at your high school. What will you want to share with them? what story might you want to be able to tell about yourself and let that propel you forward. But it's been a wonderful, wonderful conversation and I appreciate the opportunity to share. Speaker 1: I love leaving them with something else to think about. ⁓ What's that website for 1010 communications, Tamara? Speaker 2: Yeah, it's just 1010communication.com. ⁓ Speaker 1: we've been speaking with Tamara Gibbs-Franklin of 1010 Communications. She's the CEO over there ⁓ and our co-hosts Sayuri and Anthony from DC International. You're listening to Leaders. We'll see you next time.