- However, I will say, being an APCO, I think it's one of the best decisions I've ever made. Like, just being in this kind of community, I feel so supportive, like my professor support me. I have friends that aren't even in STEM that just want to see me win, do great things. Like, I just have consistent likes on my LinkedIn. Like, all my friends just go there and support me. So, I definitely do think it was a great decision coming here and I'm glad that I did cross paths and decide to go to APCO, even if it was blindly at the beginning. - Well, you're not the only one. - Well, I have many, I'm from South, so I know about APCOs. I live in Charlotte, of Carolina, so Jesse Smith is right down the road. Let me, right down the road, fuck me. About four or five miles from down the road, fuck me. (dramatic music) (dramatic music) (dramatic music) - Hello, everyone. Welcome to the career education learners in the podcast. I'm your host, Mitchell Rivers. I am TE today. What is TE? I am field and excited. They're Charlie Scholars on our show today. She is a sophomore at Howard University, Redger and Bell, all these in mathematics. How are you doing today, Charlie? - I'm doing well. Thank you for asking, what about you? - I'm doing fantastic since you decided to come on our show. Oh, man, thank you so much for coming on the day. - Yeah, of course, no problem. I'm excited to be here, so. - That's fantastic. Well, Charlie, let's get to know you a little bit. Tell the audience a little bit about yourself and your future career plans. - Of course, so yeah, my name is Charlie Skyner's. I'm a sophomore honors, biology, mathematics, double major and chemistry minor at Howard University. And after I graduate, I hope to go to graduate school and pursue a career as a physician scientist. So after graduation, I want to get MD-PhD either in neuroscience or biostatistics or hopefully some of an integration of both. I definitely want to integrate math in there somewhere. - Yeah. - So you want to integrate math in there, huh? Something that most people like myself do not like to do it at all. (laughing) And then I told Charlie earlier that my brother was a math major and he's a math teacher now. So math has never been my forte, you know? So when you came, when you were in high school, did you always want to go to an HBCU? - I'm going to be completely honest. I didn't really have much knowledge on them because both my parents went to PW, both my parents went to PWIs and I'm from Queens, New York. So like, I guess like down south, there's a little bit more like information about them but up north, I didn't really hear about them. I only heard about them like my senior year when I was kind of making a finalist and packing it in. And then I found Howard because it was a number one HBCU. And specifically Howard just caught my eye because they have a very good biology program. And just being so close to New York as well, just being right there in D.C. It's like a three hour bus ride, which is, I'm from New York, okay so it can be an hour and a half to get to school, so that's not that bad for me. So it definitely caught my eye, I did my personal research but I will say that I kind of wasn't like, oh like I want to go to HBCU, just Howard specifically as a university, really caught my eye. Like only two HBCUs I applied for were Howard and Spelman. However, I will say being an HBCU, I think is one of the best decisions I've ever made. Like just being in this kind of community, I feel so supportive, like my professor support me, I have friends that aren't even in STEM that just want to see me win, do great things. Like I just have consistent likes on my LinkedIn, like all my friends just go there and support me. So I definitely do think it was a great decision coming here and I'm glad that I did cross paths and decide to go to HBCU, even if it was blindly in the beginning. - Well, you're not the only one, I have many. I'm from South, so I know about HBCUs. I live in Charlotte, North Carolina, so Jesse Smith was right down the road, literally right down the road, for me. About four or five miles from down the road for me. But yeah, I grew up more HBCUs. I lived in States, Toronto, Canada. So I was right near one called Livingston College. And so I kind of grew up with my mom and dad, mom with two AMT and my dad with the Auckland Central. So I kind of grew up around HBCUs in that experience and a great experience. Ironically, Charlie, I did the opposite. Me and my brothers, I had three other brothers, not on which one HBCUs. So we did the opposite. So we all went to different colleges. I went to community colleges first, and then I went to New York City, Pimbrook, and my other brother with the various colleges throughout the country. So I guess you grew up one way and you sent the total opposite. It's better be around a lot. You want new experiences, right? And that's what we want new experiences. Now, I had a little challenge transition from high school to college. Do you have any challenges either socially or academically going to Howard? - In the beginning. - I have to think about that. 'Cause I will say, like when I got here, I instantly fell in love. I will say, for me, I went to a Catholic private school in high school. Like, I went to Catholic school my entire life. Like my old school was Catholic, my high school was Catholic. And in New York, specifically, like a niche group will understand. It's like in New York, specifically, when it comes to Catholic schools, it's kind of like a big majority of students go to the same schools. Like most of the people that went to my school, high school, went to the same old school, and then they go, or they're going to St. College now. So not a lot of people from my school went out of state. Like, I think it was, I might be wrong. I think in my class it was less than 10, including me. So it was just coming here, going out of state, not really knowing anybody. Like a few people, but like exactly two people from my class came here, but that was really it. And just like, they weren't in my dorm. Like I wasn't close to them in proximity. So just coming here, having to make new friends. It was a little bit challenging at first. I will say that the friends I made now, I'm very grateful for them. Like I definitely think after graduation I will still be Catholic with them, but just going out of my comfort zone and having to social, especially 'cause I live with them. 'Cause I live in a dorm for a time. Just living in a dorm, having like, and I had a communal, my freshman year just like waking up, brushing my teeth to a bunch of strangers, like it was, it was a little uncomfortable at first, but I definitely do think it made me more social. I have spoke to my friends and they said that I definitely became more extroverted. And that, I'm very grateful for that. 'Cause in this field that I wanna go into, like I do, I would say like every other weekend I go to an out-of-state conference, and like you need to know how to talk to people to present your posters, to just transfer information to other people. So I definitely do think that being more extroverted, being more comfortable talking to people, and lack of better terms, just a conversation. It's not that deep, talking to someone. It's not that deep. Like it's just, it's literally just talking. Just getting my mind set has really helped me. And then academically, I will say the opposite happened where it's like, although the curriculum did become a little bit harder, I definitely do think that academically I have beyond flourish. Like as soon as I came here, I fell in love. 'Cause in my school, in my high school I went to, there was a very good support system, but unfortunately with academic clubs in the school, there were not that many. So when I came here and there was a organization fair within the first few weeks, and I saw how many organizations were here, how many societies, how many, just different types of opportunities there were, I took advantage of it, and I was just very happy to have the resource. 'Cause I would say I didn't have the resources for a very long time, and I definitely do think that's what made me so involved in my school, 'cause I just took advantage of the resources I didn't have before. So I just, I kind of was known for just doing everything, 'cause I could. So I definitely do think that just the stuff that Howard offers has benefited me directly. It was a little bit rougher for transition, I guess just, I guess just like time-managing now that I have time. Yeah, 'cause I didn't have to deal with having these many opportunities before, so time-managing, like putting everything on the plate is cool, but then eating it afterwards, actually. (laughing) So just time-managing, just having a concise schedule after already making these full-time commitments, I would say that was rough as far, but I think that's a pretty, I don't think that's a big issue to have, like I'm very grateful for the opportunities I have received, so. Yeah, I mean, most freshmen coming in, I mean, I remember I asked someone earlier, about 90%, or 95% freshmen, the hardest thing for them to learn is time-managing, right? Because we come from an environment to where our parents or guardians, either one that you have growing up, is tell us what to do, when to do, how to do it, and everything else, right? Be here, be there. And so they kind of like hold your hand when you're in high school, you go to college, it's like a totally different atmosphere, you know? And I went from college to the military, I mean, high school to the military, I didn't, by the time I graduated that next week, I was in the military, I went to basic training, and I was in the reserve, and so I really got shell-sharked, sorry, you're talking about shell-sharked, you try going, asking anybody who went for high school in the military, that was really shell-sharked. And so that time-managing, being on your own, you know, about 10-year-old class, about telling me to get up, I mean, I'm just proud of it. But one thing you said, but I didn't do what I should have done, is that you would emerge in the programs at how we got there. You know, for our students who may be watching, how much was that important to you to get emerged in the program and start, you know, networking, and just get comfortable, become part of the school in the beginning? - I would say becoming part of the school was probably one of the most important things, especially if you want to go into grad school. If we're talking, like, literally, like, just, like, being involved, when you join things your freshman year, when you go into your junior year and your senior year, if you were consistent in your freshman year and sophomore year, you have a very good chance of being on an e-boarding game leadership on your transfer. So, like, if we're talking, just literally getting involved, joining clubs, just getting involved as soon as possible, just make sure you have, you have leaders, not only just leadership written on paper, but you have leadership skills that you can use in grad school. And then just on a personal level, just joining a lot of extracurriculars is how I made most of my friends. And not even just friends, just, like, I made friends that, like, I hang out with, like, on a personal level, like, who I enjoy being around. I also made, like, connections with like-minded people that are interested in the same field as me, that have the same work ethic as me. And I think, like, it's so, it's so important to be around people that have similar goals to you because you push each other. And it's motivational, it's motivational to see that someone else has symbols as you. And it's kind of like a system where, like, say you study with this person, like, you push them to go further and they push you to go further. It's a accountability thing. So I definitely made a lot of those relationships with the clubs that I'm in, especially with the labs that I've studied in. Like, the labs I've worked in while I was here. I don't know if only STEM students are interested, are, like, watching the show, but specifically for STEM students, just getting involved in lab as soon as possible if you're interested in going into research after graduation, I definitely do say that is important, just research. Like, it's easier to get them done, but just getting involved in some kind of lab. If you're a professor that you know has a lab, just ask them, ask them, like, hey, like, do you have a spot to open? Worst they could say is, no, they'll be flattered that you find their research interesting enough that you want to ask them. But I definitely just think getting involved, getting in there, I feel like, if you just kind of go to class and then go back to your dorm and study, that is a calm life, but unfortunately, when they look at grad school applications, it might penalize you a little bit if you just weren't involved. So I would just say get involved as soon as possible, but also time it, do not burn yourself out, and I would say, like, mental health is one of the most important things in the world. It's very easy to get burnt out, and I'm saying, at a personal level, I have been burnt out at times, and then, like, I've taken advantage of counseling at my school, I've talked to my parents, I've journaled, I've journaled a lot, I write every time I go for an emotion, I write on paper. So just because if you're going down the route where you want to go into academia, it's very common, like, you do a full-time school year, and then you'll get summer break, you do a full-time internship, and then you just do, it's on and on. Like, you're working on stuff before you're straight if you do internships. So just time managing and just, like, making sure to take time for yourself, get hobbies, just take a break, take a walk, but just something that you enjoy for yourself, it's worthwhile. It's an investment in your personal health that it's worthwhile, 'cause if you don't do it, you're gonna get burnt out, and your brain doesn't work properly. Like, you're not, the work you're getting is gonna be good quality if you've mentally and you're hoping you don't want to do it. So yeah, just definitely just balance overall is very important. - Yeah, and I think balance is wrong, what you're saying is it's real good, and I talked to past students, even this past week, about not burning out, about getting mental health if you need a therapy or just helping someone, because you can get burnt out. I mean, I did it in my first semester, I didn't get burnt out, but I find myself being boring when I went to off to four-year school. Now, when I was at two-year school, Charlie, it wasn't as bad 'cause I had to work, but then I burned myself out working two jobs and going to school, that was a burnout. So then, I was so happy that when I went to UC Pembroke, that I didn't have to cook, I didn't have to worry about meals, I didn't have to do the other adult stuff. I thought the other one that was happy, just to go to cafeteria, you don't have to wash dishes or make the food myself. And so, that is great. And also, like I said, take time for yourself. I know you're there to study, I know you're there to do good and make well, but you also have to enjoy yourself. I mean, you pay those roughly fees, right? There's academic fees, especially fees. That fees all over there. You pay for the services that are there at the university. So utilize those services. Play in the mirror sports, be part of the club, be part of the organization. Try to immerse yourself into that college experience at the same time. You know, your freshman year, you may not, but you're buying something on your new year, you should be able to do that. Now, what, did you feel more comfortable, your sample year than your freshman year coming in? - Yes, definitely. Just because I worked very hard my freshman year, I would say that the work ethic I had my freshman year was probably the strongest work ethic I've had in my life. So, I've already been completely honest for me. I would say my sophomore year was kind of easier in comparison because of the foundation I suffered myself my freshman year. People already knew me, people already knew my work ethic and people saw my grades my freshman year. So, I was just getting these opportunities 'cause people knew like what I was capable of. So, like, and it's, I would say freshman year is probably, freshman year for me was probably the hardest time because you have to make a name for yourself. You have to set the foundation. Like if you're slacking your freshman year, your professors, 'cause professors talk, the people in your department talk, especially in a small department. So like your freshman year for your slacking and just like, you're not putting work in or you used to make a negative impression. When you come back or when you're applying for grad school and you're asked for recommendation letters, or like you're asking for, if you're applying for programs, if your name is recognized in a bad way, unfortunately you have to put extra work into redeem yourself versus if you come in, you're working hard. Like they're like, I've had so much break time because they're programs that just email me and say like, apply. And it's because they know who I am already. And just a professor had me a freshman year class. They remember me and they're like, hey, I bought you apply this program. - Yes. - So I would say sophomore year is significantly easier. It's kind of just doing cleanup and maintaining the foundation I already set in my freshman year, so. - Yeah, because you said that foundation while it was there. And plus that transition, it's been a rookie. You're a rookie of anything in sports or whatever. It's kind of like a learning curve for you that freshman year, the first year I was at an other career. But in second year, kind of more hot things, going how the class is going. Now you learn how to manage time, learn how to do this and do that. And you kind of learn like the pace of college, in a sense, right? The fast pace of college compared to high school. So that is the way that you want to go. And it's good to learn from your freshman summer year. So that way freshman will frustrate it right now. You know, thing like things is going out right and it's hard. I want to give up. Just stay, you know, just stay to it, you know. And we come in from high school, your freshman year. It's going to be hard. It's going to be a learning curve. Like anything else, it is a learning curve. So have you done an intern since you've been there or any co-ops or anything like that? - Yes. The summer, after my freshman year, I went to San Antonio, Texas to intern and do a research internship at UT Health. And I haven't done it yet, but this upcoming summer, I'm doing a research, I'm doing an internship through Bowie State. It's a REU and I'm traveling to Kenya actually. So I'm very excited. - Oh, really? - Yeah. - Wow, that's fantastic. So you excited about that? - I'm very excited. Yeah, I'm very excited because I've never been to Africa before. - Yeah. - So and the cause is actually something that lies in my personal beliefs. So it's a win-win situation. Pretty much the research that I'm doing, it's crop research. And we're doing crop research to kind of study how different plants grow to kind of aid to the food insecurity in Africa, specifically Kenya. So I'm very excited for the internship to get the opportunity and just to meet a completely different network of people, just because like I guarantee anyone in Kenya, I've never met them before. - Yeah, I guarantee that too. - Yeah. - I guarantee that too. I'll put what I guarantee that too, you know? I did it fantastic. I know, I feel like I'm definitely gonna have you come back on the show and tell us your experience in Kenya 'cause I really feel like everybody should go out of this country. Not even just students, everyone should go out of country. Get to see how they ask compared to America. You know what I'm saying? Getting different experiences, different people, the way they do things. And being an African-American, you know, they always say, "We all we need to do 'bout to the homeland, right? "We need to do 'bout to the motherland." And you get to do 'bout to the motherland." So that waves to my escalator on, you know? Yes, I've been to the motherland. Yes, I've been to Africa. I went to Kenya, known for their runners, right? Everything like every marathon run, every 5K run, always gone for Kenya, right? So one, I mean, that's gonna be fantastic. I think that's something that's good for you. And it's something that, again, I try to encourage students to do is do internships. You know, study abroad. You know, I've had PAS get to study in South Korea, some that study in South Africa, and just, you know, an array of different countries there. That way you get to learn all those experiences, you know? And you know, people from different cultures are different way of living. And my way of going out overseas was when I was in the military way back when, Charlie, I went to the desert, CEO of Desert Storm, 1991, went to the Middle East. Totally different way, I think, and totally which way they do things. And so coming from a predominantly Muslim country, where they do things definitely, things in Florida, definitely. But I mean, just truly unique people, truly special people. And you found out that people all over the world are the same, loving, caring, want the best for the children, want the best for the kids, and just, you know, and just do them what they live a good life. And it breaks down any of barriers that you may have, any of the stereotypes. So I think that's one thing you learn about Kenya, all those stereotypes that we may have inside of us or been taught by us or by our media, especially here in America. You know, some of the negativity is about Africa. I think it's going to be the spell from right here for people who has traveled to Africa. You know, the way I like the way they do things. And I think one thing I've heard about Africans is that a lot of them are very happy. It's, I mean, I cannot believe that in certain areas, they may not have much, but they are the happiest, nicest people in the world. And so I'm so happy you got to, you know, get the experience that did you do anything else in the organization's thing or conferences you've been to recently? - The most recent one I did was last weekend, I went to Virginia State University. I do conferences pretty consistently, just because I definitely do think that going to Howard was such a great decision, 'cause they have so many resources. They'll just send me emails saying this conference is happening. And I'll just, 'cause the resource that I usually present is from the internship that I did in my freshman, I did last summer. So I have an abstract already made and I already know the concepts like to back my hands. So I'll just submit my abstract and then they'll approve it. And then I'll just commute to the, I'll commute to the conference. I do have pretty soon, I'm pretty consistently. So the last one I went to was at VSU. This year I did, have you ever heard of "Abracams"? - No, what is that? Tell us about that. - Yeah, so "Abracams", it's pretty much a STEM conference that happens annually. It was in my fall semester, but this year was in feet, Arizona. I believe, don't call me on this, I believe next year it's gonna be in, I wanna say Philadelphia, I might be wrong, but like I know it's a little bit more local, but it happens every year and it's just STEM research. Like I've seen mathematics, research, jazz science, it's just STEM research, minorities are just interested in research. They all come together, they present their research, there's job recruiters there. It's just a very, it's a great opportunity. The first year that you can do it is your sophomore year, so I did it this year. I really enjoyed it, I plan on going next year again, but I did that, I went to Arizona for that, and then I did GSA actually, the gerontology, the gerontol wiggle, I think it's gerontological, I'm not sure, but gerontology, like gerontology, and then to society of America, aging research. So I did their conference, that was in Florida, I did that within around the same time. That was really good, 'cause after my internship, in my freshman year internship at UT Health, I did Alzheimer's research. So I became really interested in doing aging research overall, so just being in that kind of network was very exciting. I really enjoyed it, I met a lot of really cool people there, and I met a bunch of students that go to Howard one as well, and I still talk to them now, we have a group chat, so just making social connections, also making academic connections, good perks of just getting around academically, what else, GSA, African, oh, and then I went to Columbia during spring break through the honors program here, so that was, yeah, so, 'cause that was the first time I ever left the concert, and Africa's gonna be the second time I ever left. But yeah, going to Columbia was amazing, I'm pretty much at Columbia, they sent out, same thing, very large range of majors, very large range of research interests, we all went to Columbia, and we kind of did our own investigations with the resource that they gave us there, and we kind of came to conclusions, we just made advancements in our own thesis, with our own thesis through just the opportunities there. We did a bunch of walking tours, we went to a bunch of museums, we got the chance to speak to multiple Afro-Columbians, we did interviews with them, we asked no questions based upon our thesis, and the game was personal narratives, it was just an amazing experience, I loved it, the food was really good, like, I really liked it, and yeah, if I'm not mistaken, I believe, I believe that's everything that's far this year. - Well, that is a lot, that's far this year, man, I didn't do that my whole four years plus some. (laughing) That is fantastic, and one of the reasons I've seen your profile, I notice you go to a lot of conferences, you go to a lot of events, and that's what I want to encourage other students who see this program. You know, encourage them to go to conferences, to go to events, to do internships, to do co-ops, anything, especially within your field, and if you get a chance to go out of the country, I don't care what for, if it's a school-related event broader country, please do it, I think you learned so much, and you just learned a lot just about being in Columbia, right, you just felt good, it goes away different, right? - Yeah, absolutely, so I definitely encourage everybody to study abroad. - Yeah, yeah, study abroad, go abroad, and really learn things there, you know, and that's what we want to encourage here, people at the Graduate Science Learning Center. We want to encourage students who are at high school or college, if you have a chance to go abroad, and study, or just go abroad, and just learn different cultures, go to the museums, talk to the people. But like I said, every note of those stereotypical barriers that we have on our minds, or what media perception is, and then you're like, oh, okay, they're just like us, and you're like, you say, you may learn different foods and different tastes that you like there, right? I'm a foodie, so I definitely need to go out of Columbia. (laughing) - Yeah, of course. - Well, Charlie, thank you so much for coming in on our show today, do you have any parting words you want audience today? - Yeah, something that I also thought of is when it comes to studying abroad, I do encourage studying abroad, but it definitely is easier said than done. I am a co-crate student, I came into college thinking that I'm never going to study abroad 'cause I did not have the money for it. But needless to say, like in case it wasn't clear enough, the Columbia trip was free, and in Kenya, they're paying for everything, and I'm getting paid to go there, 'cause it's full-time internship. The resources are there, but you just have to look. You have to look very hard, 'cause it's very competitive. I'm not going to lie. I'd be like, oh, any of I could say abroad, it's very competitive. So if you just, if you use resources, go to your counselors, talk to them, and just make sure that your resume's up to par, your GPA's up to par, people will pay for you to go places, 'cause if you use that experience, and you make a legacy, and you're doing all these great things, they'll have peace in their heart knowing like, oh, I finance, that's right, people want that. So, like just definitely just looking for resources, and I definitely will say, like everything I said, like I make a scene, like I may sound like, oh yeah, 'cause I'm at the angle right now where it's like I already have the experiences, getting there was very difficult. Like there have been a lot, I'm gonna be going to be real, lots of pollinators, lots of crying nights where I'm like, do I even want to be in STEM? It is very, it's difficult, it is difficult, but if you just remember the goal at the end, and like even if you're not Catholic, or even if you're not just like into faith, I'm Catholic, I just thought like God's plan, like there's no possible way that like if I put the work in, like the results are going to follow, because like with God's plan, there's no possible way I could be unsuccessful with the amount of work I'm putting in. So that's just kind of what kept me, like it just kept me going, and just like having a coping mechanism, just having some way just to release. Like I said before, I journal, I think if I did not journal, I would be smart like with all the social. (laughing) - Yes, if you have, I'm a very big overthinker. So like with me, there's a lot of thoughts going on in my mind. If I did not write it down on paper, it would be overwhelming. Like to just, everybody is different. Journaling might help for you, if it doesn't just find your own niche. But for me, I love journaling, I love drawing, just getting things down on paper, just expressing things so that it's down over there. And then like also, if I feel some type of way, and I write it down, and that feeling passes, I see my words, and I know like, okay, maybe this is what caused this, and I know how to progress. So to people watching this, you can do it, just put the work in, like put the work in, and just believe in yourself, 'cause you are going to be your biggest hater, you're gonna be your biggest critiquer. So just like, just believing in yourself, and having self-confidence. Now, having self-confidence in yourself, also having self-confidence in your abilities is the best thing you can do for yourself. So yeah. - Well, thank you so much for the parting words, and I definitely agree with you. I mean, you know, you need a Copa mechanism. You know, my, my, I'm a sports. I'm a sports junkie, and maybe watching sports. I'm also like, movies and terrorism. So probably movies and entertainment. So whatever you can find, a Copa mechanism, doing those stressors times we said earlier. You know, and I know looking for scholarships and grants, we were trying to help students do, even going abroad. You know, 'cause even in every university, I know even in my year's September, I see a lot of pictures that you want abroad. And I said, I don't give people abroad, but like I said, they had to work and the research. You got to have the grades, and you got to have the connections, and then you got to work yourself, you know, finding. User student services, again, I cannot stress enough on this podcast, but students, user student services, 'cause I did, long as I did not, that's why I'm stressing that, right? I did not do it really, an internship. My internship was when I was in Saudi Arabia for war. That is not an internship, ladies and gentlemen. Now I love some of my country, and I'm glad I went, but I said and done something before I even got to that close. I said, "Oh, you're my sophomore junior year." And then I did an internship, and I did not do an internship, Charlie, so I'm just trying to pass on some of the things that I didn't do, and hope it's more beneficial for our students. But thank you so much for coming around so that they, Charlie, I really do appreciate it. Thank you so much. - Thank you so much for having me. I really appreciate it. - And I like to thank our viewers and listeners for joining me on another episode of the Korean Education Letters and the Podcast, where we make your career dreams a reality. God bless. (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music)
