Kimberly Baker grew up in New Jersey with a lot of opportunities in front of her, until one lifechanging day when she got to shadow a neonatologist. At only 11 years old, Kim basically knew she wanted to be in the healthcare space in some capacity.

She graduated from Stevens Institute of Technology  with her BS in Engineering, after doing a 5 year program that also incorporated co-op programs and graduate level certificates. 

The co-op portion of her collegiate career played a pivotal role as Kim knew before even finishing her degree that she would be shifting in product marketing and strategy when finishing college. 

Hear Kim talk about her journey in the product marketing space between established companies doing global scale product launches to start-ups focusing on the domestic market in orthopedics, women's health, and now cardiology. 

Her journey wasn't the most linear, but Kim is an incredible example of following her passions and using her previous experiences to guide her future ones! 

Chirayu Baxi grew up with a physician as a father and dentist as a mother, so he knew from an early age that helping people in the healthcare space was something he wanted to do long-term.

He graduated from the Loyola University Chicago with her Bachelors of Science in Biology in 2009 and completed his MD from St. Georges University School of Medicine in 2015. 

Chirayu initially went to college thinking she was going to pursue pharmacy as a career path, but then he decided to switch his focus to medicine after his sophomore year. Making the decision late in his collegiate career would then have a major impact on the path he would inevitably end up taking to get to his current position. 

Listen to Chirayu talk about his path from Chicago to Greneda to New York City and then back to Chicago. What a full-circle ride he's been on, but he would not have had it any other way. 

If you think people just end growing up to be doctors and it's a simple path, listen to this episode! 

Liz Ewen was just a middle school student when she first came across genetics in her journey, reading a book on Cystic Fibrosis that would basically change her life. That book and her classroom learnings on Punnett squares basically set her on a course for her entire career.

She graduated from the University of Connecticut with her Bachelors of Science in Genetics in 2000 and completed her PhD in Molecular Biology from Boston University in 2010. 

Liz initially went to college thinking she was going to pursue physical therapy as a career path, but then genetics pulled her back in. So much so that she completed her PhD after seven years of grad school and mice models. 

Hear as Liz recounts her incredible journey from a child in New Jersey to becoming a PhD scientist and now a medical science liaison. 

If you like lab science and/or genetics or ever had an interest in a PhD... this is an episode for you! 

Nav Iyengar came to the United States, from India, before he was 5 years old. Starting his life growing up in Michigan and Wisconsin, Nav initially thought he would grow up to be a doctor. After enjoying Debate in high school, he then thought that lawyer was the right profession. Neither ended up being the path he'd take... but his journey has worked out incredibly anyway! 

He graduated from Loyola University Chicago with his BA in Finance in 2015.  

Starting his story in the currency trading space, Nav traversed numerous industries and positions as he took a winding road across the spectrum of opportunities to get to where he is today. After getting through the pandemic and teaching himself numerous skills, Nav combines his knowledge of IT and passion to work with people in his role in PLM. 

Listen to Nav recount all of the different stops he's taken along his journey and how unique every experience has been along the way. 

What a story and inspiration for us all. 

Allison Edwards grew up and wanted to be a veterinarian. She knew at a young age that she loved animals and thought that being a veterinarian was the right job for her. Now, 25 years later... she's doing just that!

She graduated from the University of Rhode Island with her BS in Animal Science and then went on to complete her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from the University of Tennessee. 

Unlike many other people that have had journeys with numerous twists, turns, and stops... Allison has a pretty straightforward story. She wanted to be a veterinarian and worked as hard she possibly could to get there. Still, the road wasn't exactly easy. 

Listen to Allison tell her story about how difficult it was to get into vet school, the types of experiences she had while there, and what life is like as a veterinarian in a small suburban Nashville town! 

Her story is an inspiration to all! 

Stephanie Scearce grew up in Massachusetts thinking she was going to be a dancer. She thought that dancing or teaching dance was her path in life. Then, an ankle injury showed her how quickly that could all be taken away from you.  Since then, her life has taken a number of turns but all towards happiness!

She graduated from Roger Williams University  with her BA in Anthropology and Sociology, after having a professor that opened her eyes up to what that field was all about. 

After having a couple different interests and positions throughout her career, Stephanie now works as a staff accountant for a CPA firm outside of Boston. She's taught herself how to handle bookkeeping for multiple clients and is focusing on driving AR for her current project. 

Listen to Stephanie talk about her journey from wanting to do dance or event planning or early childhood education and how she somehow ended up handling numbers and financials for some sizable organizations throughout the Greater Boston area. 

Her story may not be an easy one to have been on, but definitely is educational to listen to! 

Jon Esmail really had no idea what he was going to do with his life when he was growing up. He knew he loved sports, but that was about it. He had assumed that sports would take him beyond high school and would be his opportunity to get to college and beyond. What he didn't know was exactly how sports would the foundation for his career.

Jon began his post-high school career at Worcester State College, but didn't return to campus after suffering an on-field injury during his freshman year.

Having left his college program, Jon began his incredibly serendipitous path of going from being an assistant high school football coach and bar security to helping troubled kids in the classroom to now running the entire athletics department for the Hartford Police Athletic League. 

Listen to Jon give some incredible real-world advice on what life has been like for him since leaving Worcester State and how many incredible people have had some influence on his career and his life. 

This may not have been the journey that Jon expected to take back in 2001, but there is no question that he's impacted the lives of thousands of young men and women across CT in the last 2 decades. 

Dan Tompkins knew he loved science, and so he grew up thinking about going into medicine. What he didn't know then was what type of medicine he would be doing. Years of working at a local garden & nursery shop inevitably led him down his career path of agricultural science.

He graduated from Delaware Valley College with his BS in environmental design and ornamental horticulture and then went on to the University of Florida for his Doctorate in Plant Medicine.  

Currently, Dan has pivoted a way from his passion of agricultural science to start a new company called GrowMars focusing on agricultural growth and development in space. 

Listen to Dan talk about the numerous issues and topic areas that plague the agricultural industry and the myriad of concerns that the common person will never even hear about, let alone understand. 

He's a wealth of knowledge about everything related to plants and agriculture and well on his way to helping solve some of the world's biggest questions on food production and plant growth.