Anatole Faykin on Career Benefits of Writing College Application Essays

In Chapter 7 of 16 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, Internet entrepreneur Anatole Faykin answers "What Skills Are You Working on Right Now to Become Better at Your Job?" Faykin shares how writing graduate school application essays has helped him think more deeply about his career goals and why he is choosing a specific school and a specific field of study at a specific point in his life. He finds this introspective writing process transferable to a business career where asking similar questions can help him grasp bigger picture ideas and potential outcomes.

Anatole Faykin is an Internet entrepreneur and digital marketer exploring new career options. A passionate world traveler and problem solver, Faykin plans to return to graduate school to earn a biosciences masters degree. Previously, Faykin has started multiple companies, including Tuanpin, a Shanghai startup he sold in 2011. He holds an MBA from NYU and a BS in computer science and biology from the California Institute of Technology.

Michael Olsen on Choosing a Career in Health Care Management

In Chapter 3 of 20 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, management consultant Michael Olsen answers "When are You at Your Best?" Olsen finds he is at his best when working on something important that directly impacts people he serves. He finds working in health care a more direct way to help people than, for instance, working in finance or insurance, and consequently earns his MPH MBA degree and commits to health care management consulting.

Michael Olsen is a management consultant at Accenture. Previous to Accenture, Olsen earned dual MBA and MPH degrees at Emory University in Atlanta. Olsen earned a BA in symbolic systems from Stanford University and spent the next five years founding an IT consulting company, Redwood Strategies. 

Michael Olsen on How Parents Influence Long-Term Career Goals

In Chapter 5 of 20 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, management consultant Michael Olsen answers "How Are Your Personal Experiences Shaping Your Professional Aspirations?" Following the lead from his role model parents appreciation for service and travel, Growing up in a stable household, Olsen pushes himself to serve others in need and make that the professional priority in his life. This leads him to work in health care consulting that allows him to travel often and help many different groups of people.

Michael Olsen is a management consultant at Accenture.  Previous to Accenture, Olsen earned dual MBA and MPH degrees at Emory University in Atlanta. Olsen earned a BA in symbolic systems from Stanford University and spent the next five years founding an IT consulting company, Redwood Strategies. 

Michael Olsen on Job Skills You Learn Studying Public Health

In Chapter 8 of 20 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, management consultant Michael Olsen answers "What Skills Did You Learn Studying Public Health That You Hope to Use in Your Career?" Studying in a dual degree business and public health masters program, Olsen shares how public health studies taught him to understand scientific evidence and use structure to improve problem solving. Additionally, he finds studying public health helps him better understand how he can make a difference in the world, in particular in developing regions. He sees firsthand how global health disease states such as child mortality, HIV and malaria are dropping and it inspires him to be part of that movement as a global health professional.

Michael Olsen is a management consultant at Accenture. Previous to Accenture, Olsen earned dual MBA and MPH degrees at Emory University in Atlanta. Olsen earned a BA in symbolic systems from Stanford University and spent the next five years founding an IT consulting company, Redwood Strategies. 

Getting a Strategy Job at Google to Help Change the World

In Chapter 17 of 23 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, business strategist Bryan Law answers "What Do You Enjoy Most About What You Do?" Through years working internationally in economic development and management consulting, Law finds his passion and his purpose is providing access to new information to help less fortunate individuals. He joins Google to build upon this through a private sector company committed to bringing information access to those in need.

Bryan Law is a Principal in the Global Business Strategy Group at Google and a board member at Angola University. Previously, he was a manager at Monitor, management consulting firm. He has worked in consulting roles at Watson Wyatt and Mercer. He earned an MBA from the Northwestern University Kellogg School of Business and a BA from Georgetown University. 

Bryan Law on Finding a Life Changing Volunteer Project

In Chapter 19 of 23 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, business strategist Bryan Law answers "How Has Volunteering Impacted Your Learning and Development?" As an MBA student at Kellogg business school at Northwestern University, Law meets an Angolan student, Guerra Freitas, and joins him on a volunteer project building a university in Angola. The experience volunteering in Angola proves life-changing for Law, as interaction with the community teaches him a new appreciation for what matters in life and what kind of impact he can create in his volunteer work.

Bryan Law is a Principal in the Global Business Strategy Group at Google and a board member at Angola University. Previously, he was a manager at Monitor, management consulting firm. He has worked in consulting roles at Watson Wyatt and Mercer. He earned an MBA from the Northwestern University Kellogg School of Business and a BA from Georgetown University. 

Ramsey Pryor on Why to Do Work That Matters to You Personally

In Chapter 9 of 16 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, product management executive Ramsey Pryor answers "How Are Your Personal Experiences Shaping Your Professional Aspirations?" Pryor finds these are completely interrelated. As he gets older, he tries to do things in his professional life that matter to him personally. As he builds a business career working in technology, he finds work that aligns to a greater purpose of making an impact in the world.

Ramsey Pryor is a product management executive at IBM focused on cloud-based collaboration and security software products. Previously he was VP Product Marketing at Outblaze, acquired by IBM. Pryor earned an MBA from IESE Business School in Barcelona, Spain and a BA in Economics and Spanish from Northwestern University. 

What Makes Teacher Coaching Meaningful Work

In Chapter 3 of 22 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, education technology entrepreneur Adam Geller answers "What Makes Your Work Meaningful?" Geller finds meaning in his work through seeing how his business is giving teachers tools to develop and improve. Serving many young teachers pursuing certification gives Geller an opportunity to see how his coaching platform can make a difference helping young teachers succeed.

Adam Geller is founder and CEO of Edthena, a video platform enabling online teacher coaching, peer review, and group learning. He is a recent Education Ventures fellow at the Kauffman Foundation and the founder of Teach For Us, a network connecting Teach for America corps members and alumni. He earned a BA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a MA from the University of Missouri-Saint Louis.

How Teach for America Prepares Future Leaders

In Chapter 8 of 22 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, education technology entrepreneur Adam Geller answers "How Did Teaching in the Teach for America Program Inform the Next Steps in Your Career?" Teaching disadvantaged students in the classroom inspires Geller to make a career fixing K-12 education or as he terms it "Big E Education." This leads him to build on Teach for America teaching and get a masters degree in education as well as formal teacher certification. He joins Teach for America's national organization to work on strategy and organizational development and learn at more systematic ways to improve Big E Education.

Adam Geller is founder and CEO of Edthena, a video platform enabling online teacher coaching, peer review, and group learning. He is a recent Education Ventures fellow at the Kauffman Foundation and the founder of Teach For Us, a network connecting Teach for America corps members and alumni. He earned a BA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a MA from the University of Missouri-Saint Louis.

How to Prepare Teachers for Nontraditional Education Jobs

In Chapter 11 of 22 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, education technology entrepreneur Adam Geller answers "What Has Your Work Experience Taught You About How Education Careers are Changing?" As a former teacher now running an EdTech startup that provides a video platform to train teachers, Geller finds the more time he spends in education, the more ways he sees to affect change in a nontraditional education career. From online video to game design, the world of job opportunities in education continues to expand beyond teaching and administration job roles Geller learned about as a science teacher.

Adam Geller is founder and CEO of Edthena, a video platform enabling online teacher coaching, peer review, and group learning. He is a recent Education Ventures fellow at the Kauffman Foundation and the founder of Teach For Us, a network connecting Teach for America corps members and alumni. He earned a BA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a MA from the University of Missouri-Saint Louis.

Staying Inspired by Keeping in Touch With Teachers

In Chapter 19 of 22 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, education technology entrepreneur Adam Geller answers "How Are Your Personal Experiences Shaping Your Professional Aspirations?" Geller stays connected to fellow teachers and school administrators from his previous work experience. These connections and the updates they share on Facebook provide Geller a constant reminder of why he does what he does working to improve education by improving teacher training.

Adam Geller is founder and CEO of Edthena, a video platform enabling online teacher coaching, peer review, and group learning. He is a recent Education Ventures fellow at the Kauffman Foundation and the founder of Teach For Us, a network connecting Teach for America corps members and alumni. He earned a BA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a MA from the University of Missouri-Saint Louis.

Geoff Hamm on Learning Work Ethic From Self-Made Parents

In Chapter 8 of 20 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, mobile business executive Geoff Hamm answers "Where Did You Learn Your Work Ethic?" Hamm learns his work ethic from role  model parents who instill the value of hard work. At age 15 Hamm gets his first job at a hardware store and learns to appreciate working with his hands. He finds having a job gives him purpose and the means to better others who also work with purpose.

Geoff Hamm is a business development executive and VP Strategic Alliances at mobile marketing platform start-up Applovin in San Francisco, CA. Previous to Applovin, Hamm held senior sales management positions at Tapjoy, Scribd, Electronic Arts, Yahoo!, Orbitz, IAC and Excite where he built deep relationships with advertisers and brands. Hamm graduated from the University of Illinois.

How Teaching First Grade Inspires Mission of Faith

In Chapter 1 of 22 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, elementary charter school network CEO Preston Smith answers "To What Do You Aspire?" Going into Teach for America, Smith is assigned to teach first grade instead of his preference for fourth or fifth grade. Teaching the children to read proves to be a transformational moment that connects Smith to student families and leads him deeper into a mission to provide great schools for every child.

Preston Smith is co-founder and CEO of Rocketship Education, the highest performing low-income school system in California. After graduating the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Smith joined Teach for America. After three years teaching 1st Grade, he founded a district school in San Jose and became its principal. Smith was selected as a member of the 2010 class of Aspen Institute New Schools Fellows.

Finding Meaningful Work in Elementary Education

In Chapter 2 of 22 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, elementary charter school network CEO Preston Smith answers "What Makes Your Work Meaningful?" Smith shares how he gets fulfillment helping kids and families come together around a shared education purpose. Teaching elementary school creates lifetime bonds between Smith, his students and their families serve to constantly remind him of the bigger mission in his work long after he has left the classroom teaching for a CEO job.

Preston Smith is co-founder and CEO of Rocketship Education, the highest performing low-income school system in California. After graduating the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Smith joined Teach for America. After three years teaching 1st Grade, he founded a district school in San Jose and became its principal. Smith was selected as a member of the 2010 class of Aspen Institute New Schools Fellows.

Preston Smith on Joining Teach for America After Graduating College

In Chapter 3 of 22 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, elementary charter school network CEO Preston Smith answers "Why Did You Join Teach for America After Graduating College?" Smith shares how growing up in a low income community with underperforming schools helped him connect to the Teach for America mission. He finds the program an opportunity to make a community impact right after college. The program helps him pay back his student loans and leads while making a difference and finding inspiration to build an education career.

Preston Smith is co-founder and CEO of Rocketship Education, the highest performing low-income school system in California. After graduating the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Smith joined Teach for America. After three years teaching 1st Grade, he founded a district school in San Jose and became its principal. Smith was selected as a member of the 2010 class of Aspen Institute New Schools Fellows.

Preston Smith on Making an Impact in Your Local Community

In Chapter 9 of 22 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, elementary charter school network CEO Preston Smith answers "How Does Your Work Allow You to Impact the Community You Love and Make a Difference?" After 14 years living in San Jose, Smith finds purpose and meaning in serving over 5,000 families by providing quality education. He is reminded of his contribution daily, engaging parents and their children around the community at church and around town. He finds inspiration knowing there is an opportunity to expand his local school model from San Jose, California into Milwaukee, Wisconsin and Nashville, Tennessee.

Preston Smith is co-founder and CEO of Rocketship Education, the highest performing low-income school system in California. After graduating the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Smith joined Teach for America. After three years teaching 1st Grade, he founded a district school in San Jose and became its principal. Smith was selected as a member of the 2010 class of Aspen Institute New Schools Fellows. 

Louise Langheier on Preparing for Maternity Leave

In Chapter 21 of 21 in her 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, social entrepreneur Louise Langheier answers "How Are You Preparing for Maternity Leave?" Langheier shares how, after pursuing and receiving advice, she works with her team to put a plan in place and set team member expectations for her upcoming maternity leave. She shares how grateful she is to be having an intentional pregnancy with the control that comes with it.

Louise Davis Langheier is founder and CEO of Peer Health Exchange, a non-profit that trains college students to teach health education in public high schools. Louise was selected as a member of the 2011 class of Aspen Entrepreneurial Education Fellows, and was named an Ashoka Fellow in 2012. She graduated from Yale University. 

Conrad Doucette on 3 Things to Know Before Becoming a Dad

In Chapter 5 of 17 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, musician and digital strategist Conrad Doucette answers "What Are Three Things You Wish You Knew Before Becoming a Dad?" Doucette shares what he learned in the first weeks of fatherhood and gives advice to expecting dads. First, he learns not to be so worried in the first few days after the baby comes home. Second he learns that a baby and its belongings take up a lot more space than you would think. Third he learns how much he loves being a dad and how it has made him kinder and more present in his life.

Conrad Doucette is a Brooklyn musician and the drummer for the band Takka Takka. He has performed with Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead, The National, Alina Simone, and many other leading acts. When not performing music, Doucette is the communications and brand director at music licensing and publishing startup Jingle Punks. Doucette earned a BA in History from the University of Michigan.