Latest / AccessCo Leaders Career Conversations / Neurodivergence & Black Excellence
Transcript
- speaker-0: Hello, hello and welcome back to AccessCo Leaders Career Conversations. I'm Ilyne I get to host this session with our awesome co-host from the Academies at Roxborough High School. And we have an amazing guest and old friend, I won't say how many years, Rolando Talbott, who is the Senior Manager of Opportunities and Inclusion with the Disney company, But also I'm excited to hear more about what Rolando is doing as a voice for Neurodivergent Black Professionals. So there's a lot to dive into and here we go. So Rolando, tell us, what are you doing with the Disney company, what is it that doing as a senior of opportunities and inclusion? speaker-2: Yeah, well thank you so much for having me here. speaker-3: I'm excited to be here and spend a couple of minutes with you all. Yes, in my role, as we say in the Disney family, I have the pleasure making my magic at the Disneyland Resort as the senior manager for opportunities and inclusion. ⁓ speaker-2: So it. pleasure. Basically what speaker-3: that is, is that my job is really focused on how do we make the Disneyland Resort in Southern California that's welcome to everybody. You know, we often ⁓ attribute a quote to Walt back in 1955 that says to all this ⁓ place welcome. And so that's really what my job is. And so ⁓ maybe there's opportunities for some of our guests or even our cast members that may. My role is really to get in there and figure out how do we create that? speaker-2: a place don't feel that sense of belonging. speaker-3: so I spend a lot of my time ⁓ with our, we call our cast members and just learning from them, their stories, finding ways to amplify, share stories. You know, we have from all around the world. And so it's really amazing to be able to interact with them and understand, know, what brought them here. And there's just many enriching stories that our guests have that I just, you know, it's, ⁓ speaker-2: toys. hearing there. their stories and their story and then with our guest. speaker-3: fills my cup to hear all of their experiences and then be a part of the magic, they're with us for only a couple hours or they're with us for a week or they come ⁓ however they interact with us, you know, making sure that they have the most magical time possible is really the core of my role. speaker-0: That is such a cool job. Now, Orlando, I, like I said, we've known each other for many years. And I remember when you announced that you were, you got hired with, with Disney and with this specific job, like how cool is that? But we didn't meet initially with this dream job at Disney in mind. Can you share a little bit with, ⁓ with our listeners and with our class today, where you started? Like, well, you know, met through our time in the air force, but how did we, how did you land here at Disney? speaker-3: ⁓ my goodness. We don't have that much time, so I'll give you the. speaker-2: brief ⁓ speaker-3: And it's really, the, anything, it's sort of the, guess, theme of my life, if you will, where, you know, no journey's linear. ⁓ think we started out, you and I, ⁓ a career in the military. ⁓ at least for me, ⁓ was a very sort of prescriptive trajectory. You're going to do this. You're going to spend 20 years in the military. You're going to retire. You're going to be a certain rank. And you're going to go. Like, it was a very prescriptive upbringing that I had. And that quickly, you know, I learned that that wasn't the path for me throughout my military career. And so I had to spend some time to really get to understand who I was, what my or my passions lie would make me tick, and then find out how to get that, right? And so it took me through a of different twists and turns throughout the course of my career. And being a veteran, I didn't really connect that sort of the entertainment and sort of media speaker-2: clear. career. speaker-4: Yeah. speaker-3: ⁓ career was even something that was open to me. Like I didn't know much about it, but I also didn't see very many people who not only didn't look like me, but also didn't have the. Within that and it actually came to one of our classmates. ⁓ Kobe was my college roommate had ⁓ the military a couple of years before I did and actually sort of. speaker-2: crown that I had. Long story short, I'm down. who speaker-3: the light, if you will, on that career field and that industry for me to say like, no, actually, veterans can thrive in this business. And there's a place for everybody. And there's a sense of belonging and community that then sort of opened my doors to want to take the risk and to kind of get outside of my comfort zone and pursue that career. Fun fact, about 10 years before I joined Disney, so I've been with Disney now for about four years, about 10 years prior to that, speaker-2: years. 10 years. speaker-3: I was actually like a contractor for Disney because I did some writing and I know we'll talk a little bit about that later about my writing, but I some writing for Disney on just a contract basis. And I just remember 10 years, you know, or now it's 14 years ago, you know, what a cool company to work for, you know, ⁓ I had this dream. And here we are 14 years later, you know, working with the company. ⁓ know, just the sort of the theme of my life is, you know, is You that you can dream of these things, then you got to put that into action and here we are, you know, all this time later, speaker-0: I do one question that we always ask our guests. Rolando, can you remind me and share with our class, what were you doing? What kept you busy during your middle school and high school time frame? speaker-3: Yeah, well, yeah, I'd have to go back and remember. It was quite a long time ago for me. no, think, you know, I kind of alluded to it a little bit in the earlier part of my story is, you know, there was a very sort of prescriptive for me. So a lot of my focus was things like community service. Really, I was part of a youth group that was attached to the Air Force that I spent a lot of time with. And so kind of. speaker-2: half. speaker-3: you know, doing a lot of community service, mentoring, tutoring, those types of things through that particular group. I also went to performing arts high school. I don't know if you knew this, Ilyne. ⁓ Get in. ⁓ You know, it was sort of like you had to, it was in Los Angeles and it was actually attached to the Grammys. ⁓ So would have different artists come in and teach like guest classes. So you had to specialize. speaker-2: went to high school and so speaker-3: in either some aspect of musical theater, acting, comedy, dance, whatever, or an instrument. And so I actually was an instrument sort of major. I started off playing ⁓ brass trumpets, trombones, tubas, those types of things. And then I switched my major, ⁓ we majors, ⁓ I my concentration, if you will, to piano. And then I graduated with ⁓ a concentration in piano from high So that was like, or it was like this ⁓ youth military that I was in. ⁓ speaker-2: It was either music or speaker-3: that kind of consumed my up through high school and into college. speaker-0: Man, you're throwing it back. I'm just smiling because we had so many things in common when we met in college. And now I'm like reminded of all of that. But I'm also seeing how some of that discipline and your interest and passions show up to what you're doing today. me going to, know, diving deep in that, I want to go ahead and invite our class here to, to ask those questions. speaker-1: What person did you wait to the most outside of Ilyne during your youth? speaker-3: Yeah, ⁓ boy. speaker-2: I, you know, I, I was blessed. speaker-3: with lot of mentors in my sort of former formative years. I definitely would say my father was probably one of the the biggest. He retired from the Air Force, so he was sort of like that. He was a police officer as well, ⁓ so I think he was very much sort of, I would say, the more dominant sort of guy. But then through the things that I was a participant with, ⁓ I the opportunities ⁓ to mentors speaker-2: figure in my life. speaker-3: And most importantly, at least for me in my life, mentors that look like me, a lot of mentors who didn't, having mentors that look like me and that we had shared experiences was really, really invaluable for me because I got a sense as to what was possible and I got a sense as to where I can dream. And I just, I have kids, I have two kids, one's a senior, graduated in high school as well. speaker-2: Like me was very, very important. speaker-3: I look at her life and I look at my son's life who's in the sixth grade as well. ⁓ ⁓ just so fortunate and happy that I'm able to give that to them as well, give them a sense of community, of mentors and people. ⁓ don't have to just hear from me, ⁓ born dad, but they can hear from other people who look like them, who also help guide them in this. I just feel incredibly blessed that they have that as well, because I got to benefit so much from that. speaker-0: Yeah, yeah. And just like Mohammed, you're logging on with Access Co leaders and all these different interviews that you get to participate in and seeing that there is such a spectrum and a variety of leaders out here in the real world. So thank you for that, Rolando. speaker-2: was going to say to kick us off, first of all, thank you for your time. To kick us off, do you think was one of your biggest hobbies or niches when you were high school age? speaker-3: Yeah, so I was a STEM kid. it was part of, I don't know what brain it is that the music and the STEM is. I don't know if it's the left or the right, but ⁓ side of the brain that was, that's where I lived the most. And so ⁓ I really into things like ⁓ rocketry. I got to earn my private pilot's license when I was in ⁓ the youth I got to learn how to fly single engine planes. speaker-2: I speaker-3: I got to learn how to fly gliders, which was kind fun. So I got to know those types of things that really ⁓ made interested, which is kind of ironic because I don't do anything with STEM now. But I had that passion when I was that age. ⁓ And really was, ⁓ was. speaker-2: a lot a I think it had to boil it. speaker-3: If I had to down, really came from a place of wanting to understand how things work. And I think that's what I've now learned now that the age that I'm at that I didn't know then, but only recently within the past five or six years was actually being diagnosed as autistic and having ADHD. And I can see that back in my earlier life and those experiences where that intense desire to want to know why and to really dive deep into things is what really fueled me. And now I understand that better now that I am the age that I am and how it shows up, how it showed up in my life, but how it shows up now, it makes a lot more sense to me because I think ⁓ those times where I was younger, I don't know that really understood why I had this intense desire to want to understand, ⁓ know, how wings worked on an airplane, right? Or ⁓ to, I mean, so much so that like you're so focused on it, you forget to eat or you forget to use the restroom or something like that. speaker-2: It didn't make sense. speaker-3: It makes sense now, just in the way that my brain works. But I think that's really where I was focusing, is I just had an intense desire to just want to know why things were the way they were, how they worked. And so that really did fuel me in a lot of different ways. speaker-0: Yeah, you know, I thank you for sharing that Rolando, as far as I remember when you started to start posting and sharing your experiences and your stories of what you're walking through, what you're going through and being a neurodivergent black professional. So thank you again for the voice that you share. And if you're not already following Rolando on LinkedIn or finding his content, it is so fascinating and such needed in this time. ⁓ So thank you for sharing that and just going through what you're going through and knowing that you're not alone and there's people doing, you know, walking through this. Thank you again, Rolando for being on. We're honored to have you. My question is, so I think you majored in political at UCLA. And so for our listeners and high schoolers, they often think, you know, choosing that major dictates their entire So Can you speak to that a little bit? Like, are you using that degree or what pushed you to choose that? speaker-3: Yeah, no, I can totally resonate with that. Like I said, I have a graduating senior as well. And those are some of the conversations that we're having. really do think, I think two parts of my story. I think the reason why I chose that major was because, and it kind of goes back to that intense desire to want to know why. At that point in my life, I was really interested in political systems. And I actually have an emphasis in American politics as part of my degree, political science from UCLA. speaker-2: So there's. And I just was like. speaker-3: really interested in like how we get here. speaker-4: ⁓ did we? speaker-2: Look, what, did, how did, speaker-3: how did this country become the way that it was? And that desire turned ⁓ really where my focus was when I served in the military as an intelligence officer, because that's all I did was ask why this is my job and try to figure out why ⁓ an intelligence officer. And so I think there was a part of it that was like, okay, that makes the most sense. You would do political science if this is the type of career you wanted in the military. That the deeper part of that was really just what speaker-2: But I think more than speaker-3: what was it of interest to me, right? College is meant to be a moment of exploration, both in knowledge, also in self as the way I look at it. And so it was like, what am I interested in, right? That's one of the times in life where there can be a little bit of, or a lot of bit of risk that you can take in trying to figure that out. Not too many times when you get to my age, do you have that level of flexibility? And that's really, you know, what college, which college should be. speaker-2: also in yourself. few times. speaker-3: It's not always that case, but that's what it should be. And so I think that's what really sort of drove me was that, again, just wanting to understand why these things work, but then also looking at like what I wanted to do with my life at the time. And that's where I thought, you know, that trajectory would work. Where I. I use ⁓ political background. ⁓ Way I taught to learn. speaker-2: say in my current career. I used the speaker-3: in my political science background. So I don't necessarily use all the theory and all the sort of political science that I did as an undergraduate ⁓ my day to day, but I most certainly use the way I learned how to think about these types of topics in my day to day. A lot of the work that I do, I mentioned I work with ⁓ employees and our guests, but I also work with the city of Anaheim. I work with elected officials. ⁓ And so when you think about a political mindset, you think about the systems and why they are the way they are, those types of things. I definitely ⁓ my level of understanding and the way that I can think those type of things to my advantage. So I definitely use that almost every single day. And then I do a lot of work in my community as well in terms of just civic service. ⁓ And heavily use that background and ways that I serve my community. speaker-2: in those environments. speaker-0: Great question, Vinessa And these are those moments that I'm just so fascinated. And I think I have some really cool friends, this network of people that get to share their stories with our students. speaker-1: So called him asked him to work with the city of Anaheim, which is where is located. Is that true? Great. So how do normally collaborate with the city of Anaheim in terms of basically anything? speaker-3: Yes, that is true. Yeah, I know. So there's a lot. Really where I with the city of Anaheim and the work that I do, particularly in the inclusion space, ⁓ is really working Anaheim on the things that we want to do as a company in partnership with the of Anaheim. So ⁓ that'll look like a of different things. One of the things I'm most proud of in the work that I with the city was we were able to, in conjunction with the city, to bring Not only veterans who were wounded in the war, they received an award called the Purple Heart. And so we were able to work with the city of Anaheim to bring those veterans to the resort and honor them with a special ceremony to say thank you for your service. We've also been able to work with the city to bring disabled adults who have done great things for the city and brought them to the resort and recognize them as well. Gosh, we've been able to speaker-2: Thank So many speaker-3: different things. ⁓ But that's usually where my work extends. And then it's really helping the city of Anaheim. We're one of the largest employers in the city of Anaheim, I think behind or just on top of healthcare. So a large majority of the residents of the city of Anaheim have some connection to the Disneyland Resort. And so really, it's ⁓ things inclusion when it comes to affordable housing. ⁓ Inclusion when it comes to policing, which is a very particular and near and dear thing to me. So there's a lot of different ways that I work with the city. ⁓ it's really a great opportunity because it gets me kind of outside of sometimes the work. know, it's fun, you know, talking about churros and things like that, but also able to talk about, you know, ⁓ more issues about, like I said, livable wages or affordable housing and things like speaker-0: Rolondo, I think it's really neat that you are able to articulate education and your experience and what you're currently doing, but also still integrating your passions and how that impacts the community. ⁓ pretty awesome. Ray, your next question. speaker-2: All right, so my next question is going to be speaking of your career with the US Air Force. what principles did it give do you think that still guides you today in your job with Disney? speaker-3: I'm going to preface this because I want to trigger Ily, but I have a complicated relationship with my service. I'm just going to throw that little tidbit out there. But I'm incredibly grateful for my service. One of the aspects that I'm incredibly grateful about ⁓ what we consider or what we used to call the Air Force core values, which are things like integrity first. speaker-2: I really do. speaker-3: a sense of service before self, excellence in all we do. I'm sorry, Ilyne, if that comes rushing back, but it's it's seared in our brain, you know? ⁓ that really values is what I have taken ⁓ the course of my life and instilled in my children. This of isn't just something that you have when people are looking for you, know, looking, you know, with you or you're on camera or speaker-2: are type of thing. but those core speaker-3: those types of things. It's something that you carry with you always, I think is a big piece of that belief. A sense of service before self. I take that to mean that there's a really great quote that I love and I actually threw it on a t-shirt at one point. It said that service is the rent ⁓ that we pay be on this earth. And that's really part of the way I look at service before self is that the commitment that I have to each and every one of you to serve you in some way is really what it means to be a human being. And so that was something that I learned in the military and really instilled in me. And then excellence in all we do speaker-2: on this earth. speaker-3: no matter what we do, we approach it at least the intent of excellence. So those are what I carry to myself today and what I try to instill in my children. speaker-0: That's awesome. I actually still come back to those values. And I just did a quick look up. Rolando, the Integrity First Service Before Self in Excellence we do, is only 30 years old. It was only established in the Air Force in 1995. But that's still a long time. mean, it's teasingly, it's much older than Mohammed. I love how passionately you speak about your community and of service. and that you had that passion so early on and you're able to continue to carry it out today. But I was wondering, what is a problem you're trying to solve in the world or what do you wish more people knew as it relates to you giving back? speaker-3: Yeah, right now my passion is and as Ilyne kind of alluded to earlier, right now lot of my work is being done in the neuro inclusion neurodivergency space. There is ⁓ lot of work that needs to be done there, ⁓ just from only, know, not only from an awareness standpoint, but how show up in the world. ⁓ You know, there's been just so many speaker-2: Also speaker-3: tragic stories, may, about Black and Brown bodies who experience neurodivergency and what they've experienced. so what I really am interested in is finding ways to use my voice, ⁓ not to necessarily anybody. We have a saying in the neurodivergent community, when you meet one neurodivergent person, you've met one neurodivergent person. I by no means Do I see myself as somebody who is representing others? But I have found value in sharing not only my story, but I navigate the world. And that does provide, I think, those who are interested and curious about that experience some insights into what that is like. And that, and if... speaker-2: but the way speaker-3: impacts them in a way where they want to do something different or they want to take them then a win is a win in my book. But I also have intense desire to as was done for me ⁓ bring others who maybe even more challenging experiences that I have, particularly black black and brown women that have experiences along with me ⁓ so that can create that space for their voices to be heard. speaker-2: these experiences with speaker-3: because I know in the work that I do, the more that we can elevate the voices and the experiences and center those experiences of the people who experience the most harm in our societies, the more that lifts us all up. Like that's sort of where the lane that I sort of want to live in so that all the other boats can come through that lane of ice. I'm painting this picture in my head. That lane of ice and I can get out of the way so that they can then thrive. And so if that's the lane that I need to be in at this moment, that's where I'm focusing right now. speaker-2: but all the other bows can come through that. speaker-0: I'm so, I'm so proud of the work that you're doing. ⁓ speaker-1: I don't know if it's going to be the final question or not but what have you learned from your prior and possibly short experience in the entertainment industry? speaker-3: Yeah, worry, ⁓ that's worth hearing. ⁓ I've learned that everybody has a story that deserves, respect, and empathy, and curiosity and, and, and, I've, I've learned, and I don't if might resonate with you, Ilyne, but I just know I've, well, a lot smaller of a place than sometimes we think. If I can tell you all the stories of speaker-2: learn that everybody has a story. courage to tell learned that the world speaker-3: of people who I haven't seen in like 30, close to 40 years. ⁓ And you realize, ⁓ we have this commonality and we have this. Part of what I love hearing the stories when I talk to our guests at the resort ⁓ just how connected ⁓ are. They'll share a story with me and I'll be like, my God, I had something similar ⁓ happen me with that or I've been there. And the only way I think you get to understand that is by listening to those stories. And so that's what I've sort of learned in the entertainment business. I didn't share this earlier, but prior to coming to Disney, I worked for NBC Universal in their live television and film department. That's kind of how I got into the entertainment industry through NBC Universal. And one of the things that I learned there speaker-2: listening to those stories. speaker-3: working in live TV, ⁓ is very unpredictable and it's a chaotic environment. That's a story for another day. that ⁓ stories really what drive that business. You wouldn't really have a need for live entertainment or live television if you didn't have stories that connect with ⁓ it. And really where the challenge is, ⁓ is how we tell stories that maybe don't get told as often ⁓ and maybe as in a ⁓ as authentic way as it possibly can be. And that's really where ⁓ think a lot of my work day and personal passion comes from is how do we tell those stories that don't typically hear? So yeah, it's a good question. speaker-0: Yeah, storytellers is why we, know, what we're doing is being able to showcase and presence your story, not just on the career side, but parallel to that is your personal journey and where you are today. So thank you, Rolando. speaker-2: I was going to ask you, Rolando, so how does kind of a two part question, but how does your family kind of show up in your drive and maybe just in your life? And also, how do you manage kind of like your work life balance between maybe your interests, your family, and everything that you do? seem like a very busy man. speaker-3: Yeah, I, wow, the family, that's where it gets a little emotional. I mean, it's all for them. You know, none of this is for me. It's all about trying as best as I to create a world that's better for them. It feels particularly hard these days, but that's really what it's about is just creating a better place for them, than I found it, right? Leaving it better than what I found it. So, I mean, that's really what drives all the things that I do, if I'm being honest. It's really, again, just how do I create a place where they can thrive and be the best humans that they can possibly be? that's how it shows up. As mentioned, I do writing and stuff. I don't typically talk about them in my writing. I try to sort of share their experiences through my own sort of lens and things like that. But that's really what it's all about, is really just creating a better place for them. The work-life balance is tricky. I'm not going to sit here and pretend like I've got it all figured out. I don't. In a lot of different ways, I think part of my neurodivergent experience is that I have to be busy doing different things. But I'm going keep it to y'all. It comes at a cost to do that, right? It comes with, you know, not knowing how you have reached your limit and you need to take a break. And it's usually speaker-2: And that's true. 100 with speaker-4: And when you speaker-3: ⁓ your body that tells you that your mental health or your emotional health, right? Side story, I did this ⁓ post where I really wanted to, got really, here you go. I went the rabbit hole of the Why. I wanted to understand how my body reacts to the way my brain thinks. Like, you know, what does it look like? So I did this whole study for like six months using like my ⁓ biometric data from like my Oura ring and like my Apple watch. And I wanted to look at like, When I'm in stressful situations, what does my heart do? When I'm at a state of rest, like what does that look like physiologically? And painted me for me was really the horrific one ⁓ that am spread too thin. So whereas I don't necessarily, or I don't think it all the time, my body is telling me. So ⁓ what committed doing now is to really a bit more sensitive and open speaker-2: The picture see it all the time. to that. speaker-3: So when you talk about work-life balance, I'm still figuring it out, man. I just feel like I've got the blueprint to say I need to be better about listening to my body. need to be better about listening. ⁓ quite honestly, I need to be better about listening to the community around me ⁓ says, hey, ⁓ good. We got it. ⁓ take a break. I need to be better about listening to them as well, ⁓ ⁓ have my back and every other. speaker-2: I at least, I speaker-3: regard why wouldn't they have my back with this. I just need to be a better partner in that regard as well. But yeah, it's a great question. ⁓ speaker-0: I that post and it made me want to run out and buy an Oura ring also to kind of see that because what you did point out was even when you think you're resting, your inside, your body is still trying to figure things out. So I think that's really important. ⁓ we have had some other guests talk about mental wellness. So, and I think that is, it's such ⁓ a that don't get to always share with our students, right? Often we get. What, know, how are you incorporating AI, which hasn't come up yet, but it's always AI, but that mental wellness is so important. I think it's so great to hear professionals like you bring that up. Let's go back to Mohammed and I shared with you in our green room that Mohammed is a senior in high school graduating. He's super creative into maybe some design, some marketing. ⁓ Before showed up, Rolondo he was sharing that for one of his projects. He just filmed a whole ⁓ movie, a clip. Mohammed, why don't you share? speaker-1: I'm a family on that so in my school there's a film pathway that we do all sorts of movies particularly at this time of year a lot of students go out and make movies for this big film festival called Greenfield I don't know if you heard of it or not but it is the largest film festival in the entire state of Pennsylvania I unfortunately enough, mashallah, was able to make my own movie a minute long short film over the of the last month or so. So yeah, it's been a real pleasure of mine to do so. speaker-3: that's so amazing. That's what fills my heart is, you know, this generation is doing so many amazing things. I'm so happy for you and that's super cool. I wish we were a couple, ⁓ but just so glad and grateful that, you know, that fills my cup to hear that you've been able to do that. That's so cool. speaker-2: Sounds so super. would have had those opportunities a little year coming up. speaker-0: Mohammed shared that after he graduates, he plans on going to the community ⁓ just to get his feet wet, just get going. speaker-1: going on the... on clear photography which is one of class... the type of classes that we do in the film. So I wanted to get more on that and experience the camera a bit more. speaker-3: I love that. That sounds so cool. I mean, you sound like you got a clear path. speaker-1: My career path actually is to screenwriting and you shared that you did a bit of writing yourself back in your entertainment days so I want to get more in that and get into the entertainment industry maybe ⁓ not in America though because the industry here is in a rough state to best describe ⁓ yeah a dream goal of mine to do screenwriting but for now it's more the same with photography speaker-3: No, I think that's amazing. mean, stay would be my biggest advice. Like I mentioned, think it's to say, know, ⁓ to a right? did twists and turns. be ⁓ your goal. ⁓ you want to get into school writing, that's what you want to do. Like keep yourself focused on that, ⁓ also be open if the universe has opportunity to become focused on that. ⁓ speaker-2: safety, lives are never so linear. Be flexible in that. Keep your eye on the screen. in verse points you to a different to Definitely, I'll say find yourself some mentors in that space. speaker-3: you know, particularly mentors that, you know, share your and goal because the people who are going to be able, you know, if you find good mentors, those are going to be the people that can, you know, be that sounding board like, hey, I don't know where, you know, to go. I don't know the decisions to make and things like that. And always keep that passion up, you know, as you kind of alluded to, speaker-2: your past. Those are. It's a tough business to be. speaker-3: I didn't share this earlier, but I wrote a play a couple of years ago based on a book that I wrote a couple of years prior to that. And I've been trying to get this thing produced for like a year. speaker-2: ⁓ not the easiest of speaker-3: But like that's my dream to see my book in a play form on a stage. And I don't know when it's gonna happen, but you know, it's gonna, you know, staying on that vision ⁓ staying on that goal is really what's driving me and keeps you going ⁓ there are gonna be times when, you know, there's gonna be a no, or there's gonna be times where, you know, maybe it's not going to be ⁓ way you thought it was gonna work out. But keeping yourself kind of focused on what it is that you feel like you want to achieve is really going to be key. speaker-0: else can you point somebody like Mohammed to like, just kind of scroll through and find some community in the same interest that he had. speaker-2: Well, there's a couple of... LinkedIn is still a good resource to do some research into. speaker-3: places. I so at least do right. So if you haven't been on LinkedIn or if you are on LinkedIn, you know, you can go in there and just search even just what you're interested in. Right. So if you just do screenwriting, you're sure you know, it's going to pop up people who at least have some of that aspect in their background. ⁓ then, you know, you can get really strategic with it. Maybe find somebody who your local area, look little bit into their profile, do a little bit of Google research and see what they've done. speaker-2: We're gonna sh- in speaker-3: also, search, there's a lot of great resources when it comes to sort of like professional groups that are in your particular industry, right? So I'm thinking of like the Spring Writers Guild of America ⁓ is great place to kind of go to and just look at what they've got. They've got webinars in there, like free resources. They've got, I think they've got a directory of speaker-2: if you do a little bit of Google research. sources that are in there. Members that you can search. speaker-3: Don't quote me on that, but you have to kind of look into it and things like that. Definitely your community college is going to have those resources as well. So your career development ⁓ of your community colleges. Community colleges, people on them, but I think they're just such a tremendous because not to veer off topic, but when you reason why community colleges were even founded, it's with community. ⁓ That was whole point of them. ⁓ So they speaker-2: this resource. Look at the re- in the name, they connect you. tremendous re- speaker-3: resources when it comes to community, you can get connected and ⁓ a part of it. ⁓ thing I would encourage you to do is look at local film festivals ⁓ where path is. ⁓ If film festivals, there's going to be people at those types of that really eager to talk to about you're interested in. So definitely look at those types of paths as well. Get real curious. speaker-2: of conventions that are taught to students or people who are interested in learning curious. speaker-1: So good. speaker-3: Get real in there, roll up your sleeves. speaker-0: Yes, stay curious. you just listed off a whole bunch of resources there. Mohammed, let's come back to you. what ⁓ did he give you? Anything that makes you feel like your passion your desire to go into the creative space is more possible. speaker-1: Yeah, to him and whatever he's doing over at California, it is possible. If you're having a committed to that is and to him, he has all that commitment and everything. And that's why I think I've resonated the most out of him in terms of everything. Thank you. speaker-0: Awesome, Mohammed. Love that, love that. And Ray, one of the instructors there at Academies at Roxboro, what does it mean to you that, you know, your students have this kind of access to a variety of guests and ⁓ different How has this helped your class? speaker-2: Yeah, for sure. think undoubtedly, well, two things. Number one, it's representation and exposure because, know, there's ⁓ a from A to Z, there's those letters in between, which is the work that needs to be done to get to Z from A. But like at the same time, students paradigms aren't even there if they don't see that it's possible. So, you know what I mean? Like, so they see it's possible. then, know, students like Mohammed can even see himself in, you know, Mr. Talbot. So it's like it's just being able to expose them to different types of industries, different types of people, the unique experiences, the nuances, and that's what, again, gives them that insight. And I just say for all of our students, as you know, usually we have a very diverse array of students and interests. So I think you do a very good job of getting guests that really appeal to those different areas. speaker-0: Awesome. Well, thank you for seeing that Ray. And I know that Academies at Roxburgh are heading off to spring break. So shout out to your students. We can't wait to see them back. But this is why we exist as Access Co. leaders. create access, we elevate our students, and we connect leaders in the community. So thank you to you, Rolando. Do you have any final words of wisdom or encouragement for Mohammed and for the other students that are going to be logging on listening to this interview? speaker-3: this is most exciting times your life as a senior kind of entering into a brand new world. You know, really, really, there's a lot. I'm not even gonna, I don't know that I could ⁓ do you all are speaker-2: doing today's world. speaker-3: ⁓ at your age, but I just want to honor that and respect that and acknowledge that it is a lot. And it's a lot. And it sounds like you've got really great support systems there ⁓ your school. You've got dedicated instructors, that makes me really, really happy. ⁓ But if anything that I can leave you with, it's really take that moment ⁓ to only understand your story, but know that your story matters, that you that your this world matters and that you are impacting and you have impacted and affected my life today to get to know you in this 30 minutes that we spent our however long we have because I can say that I've met somebody who's got passion and it's got drive. And I think that's really, really important. So if I could just leave you with that is never forget that that you're you and your voice and who you are speaker-2: presence here in Just. speaker-3: to this world. And I'm just excited for you and all the students who are graduating this year, because you are. You're entering a world that's unknown, but you're doing so fearlessly and fiercely and fearlessly. And I just commend you for that. speaker-0: That's so beautifully said, Rolando. Thank you so much. I feel like I'm super motivated now. That said, where can people find you? I know that you are with the Walt Disney Company, but then also you are, you know, very active on LinkedIn and in Substack. So share with our listeners where they can find you. speaker-2: Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm Rolando Talbot. You can find me there. speaker-3: I'm on LinkedIn, undermine. I also have a sub stack page where I do a lot more of this kind of talking about not only in my experiences, but the work that I do. ⁓ I put a little bit of my I write poetry, so I put some of my poetry up there in my books and stuff like that. ⁓ got a speaker-2: hearing. Six or seven books right now on Amazon. speaker-3: on. So if you want to look my name up there as well. enjoy writing. I call it speculative fiction, but it's my sort of version of like, what would a world be like ⁓ if way my brain works ⁓ was more And like, what would that look like? What would be the experiences ⁓ that my would have? ⁓ And I a couple of three that kind of talk a little bit more about my experiences working in corporate America. ⁓ But speaker-2: books of poetry. things like that. More than, more than any. speaker-3: I, more than anything, I just like having conversations like I told you before. I love hearing stories. So, you know, if engaging with that other work is not something you're interested, drop me an email. I just like to have those conversations. speaker-0: Right on. Well, thank you for sharing that, Rolando, and especially Fis, thank you for your time. So let's Thank you for joining us with AccessCo Leaders Career Conversations with ⁓ our incredible guest Rolando Talbot with the Walt Disney Company ⁓ and co-hosts, Mohamed from Academies at Roxborough, Mr. Rey Silla, and of course, Vinessa We'll see you next time.