Anitra Deen is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Anitra Deen Consulting. She serves her clients as a fractional Chief Operating Officer (COO) and strategic planner to organize her clients' operations, plans, and processes for their business growth. She’s on a mission to support women entrepreneurs and small business owners to move from bei…

Originally from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Casby Bias earned a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism at Marquette University and a Master of Arts in Television, Radio, and Film at Syracuse University. She is currently a podcast producer for iHeartMedia as well as the podcast animator, Executive Producer and host of “Adulting 101 with Casby Bias,” a podcast tha…

Born and raised in Los Angeles, CA, Brian McLaughlin earned a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Notre Dame and a Master of Business Administration from Boston University. He was also an Army major who commanded a paratrooper unit, served in Afghanistan in special operations, and later returned as the media production adviso…

Today, we build upon our discussion from episode 106, “Certainty is Rare: How to Prepare Beyond Job Outlook.” While having a holistic approach to life and career planning is important, having concrete steps to take to provide security for our futures is also important as well. In this episode, we look at three steps to take to prepare for your next…

When considering careers or preparing for a career change, we oftentimes want to be as certain as possible we're pursuing a field that'll offer strong opportunities for employment as well as opportunities for growth and promotion into new positions with greater pay. Even when we do our research and choose a career with strong indicators of continuo…

Happy New Year everyone! In this first episode of 2023, we take a look at a tool called YearCompass that helps you close 2022 with deep reflection on all you experienced and plan the year ahead with intention. There are many helpful tools to help plan your future, but this tool is different in that it gives you space to consider your past experienc…

In our last episode, our guest Nicholas Sapp shared his college journey that included taking a leave of absence after having withdrawn from one too many classes. He highlighted the fact that there’s much conversation about the importance of going to college while there’s less discussion about what it takes to actually be successful in college. Toda…

Born and raised in Atlanta, GA, Nicholas Sapp grew up in the city’s Cascade neighborhood. He graduated from the University of Chicago with a major in Comparative Human Development. While on a leave of absence from his undergraduate studies, Nicholas’ interest in Student Affairs was sparked by the programming offered by Georgia State University’s Of…

You may have heard the saying that we all have the same 24 hours in a day. Yet, we know that some seem to get a lot done while others seem to get very little done in this same amount of time. A critical factor in getting the most from our time is practicing good time management. In today’s episode, we discuss: What is time management? What is it im…

Raised in Fort Wayne, Indiana, Sean currently works as Director of Enrollment Analytics for Queens University of Charlotte in Charlotte, NC. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in History from St. Ambrose University in Iowa and a Master of Arts in Higher Education from Ashford University. Sean’s career journey was fueled with an unrelenting ambition to …

Today, we round out our discussion of embracing self-awareness and self-acceptance (in episode 98) while also considering the fact that various jobs and career fields offer different pay (episode 99) with a solution for those considering a career in traditionally lower paying fields: increase your income by creating a portfolio of work. We also rev…

In this episode, we discuss the hard fact that salaries vary across industries. Therefore, it's important to consider this reality when choosing a job. Doing so ensures the career you choose will support the lifestyle you want to have. At the same time, however, pay shouldn't be the only factor you consider when deciding on a career. We review sala…

In this episode, we take a pause from discussing career-focused topics to revisit a topic introduced in episode 8: developing and embracing self-awareness. We also discuss the importance of self-acceptance and how developing it following the development of self-awareness is critical to doing what we can do have a better experience this school year …

Dr. Kristin Cederquist was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia. After graduating with a Bachelor of Science in chemistry from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee and a Ph.D. in chemistry from Penn State University in central Pennsylvania, she traveled to Toronto, Canada for a postdoctoral fellowship. She’s been working to develop and furt…

Born in Portland, Oregon, Travis Opocensky graduated from Portland State University with a degree in psychology after dabbling in mathematics, journalism, and jazz drumset for many years. After graduation, he moved to Shanghai to work as a music education consultant teaching Chinese teachers how to teach American style marching band. Then, he moved…

We're practicing what we preached in episode 95 and making the time to take a moment to reflect on the current events. Episode 96 will release on Wednesday, June 8, 2022. Take care.By Jetaun Davis

Along with graduation season comes excitement and anticipation of the adventures and success that lie ahead. We just can’t help but think about what’s next. While looking to the future is a generally good practice, there is also great importance in taking the time to live in the moment. In this episode, we discuss Alan Watt’s 1959 speech "Live Full…

Graduation season is upon us, so like we do each year, we have some words of wisdom to help graduates along their journey to Jupiter. The two tips shared: Define what success looks like for you (4:41) Steer your career for the trajectory/path you want (9:54) Also mentioned in this episode: Episode 8: What’s More Important Than College In Your Life …

Ryan Scott earned his Bachelor of Arts from the University of Notre Dame in 2005 with a major in political science and completed his Masters of Business Administration with a concentration in finance and macro economics at Columbia University in 2014 all the while working full-time at Morgan Stanley. During his time at Columbia Business School, he …

In light of the nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson and the repassing of the Crown Act in the House of Representatives, we revisit the topic of executive presence from Episode 51 and reflect on what these events mean for the future of what is deemed “professional”. Also mentioned in this episode: Episode 50 – The Journey of a Free Spirit in T…

We're two weeks away from the end of the first quarter in 2022, so we're taking a moment to check-in to see how everyone is doing on their assignment from episode 87: to make a 1% improvement toward your purpose and/or curiosities each day. Also mentioned in this episode: Episode 44 - The Journey of a Trailblazer & University Fundraiser: Meet Mike …

Crystal Martinez currently serves as the Director of Federal Education Policy for the University of California (UC) System. She is responsible for providing legislative and regulatory guidance for the Office of the President which supports all ten University of California campuses. During her tenure, Crystal has secured $1.3 billion in federal pand…

Darren Morgan serves as the Executive Director of Arkansas Commitment – a Little Rock-based nonprofit that works to identify, develop, and assist high-achieving students in reaching their goal of enrolling in college. Under his guidance, 120+ students a year are provided with supplemental college counseling, intensive ACT preparation courses, and e…

Brandon Gardner earned his BA in mass media arts from Clark Atlanta University and is an active member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity. He currently serves as the Associate Director of Community Engagement for Emory University, where he contributes to cultivating new and existing community partnerships aligned with Emory’s strategic community engagem…

Surely as we have goals for the new year, life will surely present obstacles in our path that'll throw us off our game. We start off the first episode of 2022 reviewing ideas from the New York Times' best-selling book Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear. Purchase your copy of the book currently o…

As the year comes to a close and we reflect on our goals for 2022, I encourage you to consider how the person who accomplishes the goals you’re setting for yourself actually lives their life each day. Then, emulate that daily process even if on a very small scale. The late designer Virgil Abloh said, “I wake up every day & see any opportunity to cr…

Keisha A. Brown is an assistant professor of history at Tennessee State University in the Department of History, Political Science, Geography, and Africana Studies. She graduated with her bachelor’s degree from the University of Notre Dame, earned her doctorate from the University of Southern California, and was a 2018–2019 postdoctoral fellow at t…

Hey there! Thanks for tuning into this episode of Open Floor. After quite a while with no episode, we hope that our conversation with Mr. Flynn can help give you a perspective on the importance of teachers, education and history within our society! Mr. Patrick Flynn is a World History teacher at Lexington High School. Aside from having graduated fr…

Adam Keys received a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology with a minor in Business/Economics from the University of Notre Dame in May 2021. While a student, Adam spent time mentoring his younger peers through the Balfour-Hesburgh Scholars Program. When deciding what to do after graduation, he recognized his ability to effectively communicate and bring out…

Selim Nurudeen is the Owner and Creative Director at SinVista Creations, LLC, a graphic design and multimedia firm. He is a two-time Olympian who participated and was a semi-finalist in the 2008 (Beijing) and 2012 (London) Olympics in the Track and Field 110m hurdles representing his native country, Nigeria. Selim earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts (…

Every year, many first-year college students have a difficult time making the transition from high school to college. In this episode, I acknowledge that having these challenges is normal and more common place than some think, it's something to be faced head on rather than passively hoping things will work out on their own, and things to consider w…

Jason L. Jeffries currently serves as Senior Vice President in the Enterprise Technology Strategic Services group within Truist Financial Corporation, formerly known as Suntrust. He is responsible for designing the Technology workforce strategy for technology teammates and contingent workers. Prior to this role, he’s held several leadership positio…

September is National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. In this episode, we look at some statistics to understand the pervasiveness of suicide and review some resources for anyone experiencing suicidal thoughts. If you or someone you know is in an emergency, call 911 immediately. If you are in crisis or experiencing difficult or suicidal thoughts…

Hey there! Thanks for tuning into Episode 17 of the Open Floor podcast! We hope you enjoyed our discussion with Emory Admissions Officer Ms. Jetaun Davis as much as we did! High School Seniors: we wish you the best of luck on your journey to higher education and, as Ms. Davis said, "everything will be OK in the end"! Jetaun Davis is the Associate D…

Dr. Kay Hubbard obtained her doctorate in Naturopathic Medicine from the National University of Health Sciences in 2019, and is currently enrolled in a M.A. program for Clinical Psychology. She also holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Duke University with majors in Public Policy and African American studies. After professional roles in media publi…

Nicole Jones earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from Georgia State University. She is a project manager, entrepreneur, the host of motivational podcast Mediocre to Masterful, and the author of the educational book Unlearn: Ditch Failed Money Habits and Discover Financial Freedom in which she shares her personal journey of eliminating $80,000 of d…

Hey there, thanks for tuning into another episode of the Open Floor Podcast! We really enjoyed talking with Annika about her experiences of education during the pandemic, and we hope you did too! Annika Johnson is a rising senior at Lexington High School. She is involved in many extracurricular activities and is interested in law and environmental …

Hey there! Thanks for listening to Episode 15 of the podcast! Although it has been a while, we hope you enjoyed listening to Mr. Pato's perspectives on politics in Lexington! Joe Pato has been a Lexington, MA Board Select member since 2013 and has focused on issues such as environmental sustainability and infrastructure development. Check out his w…

Stayce Wagner is a business etiquette expert, speaker, and author of Modern Business Etiquette for Young & Fabulous Professionals. She holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science from UC Berkeley and a Certificate in Litigation from UCLA's Attorney Assistant Training Program. Her corporate experience includes more than 20 years as a senior…

Raised in Bolton, CT, Henry Marrion attended Tulane University where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science in 2012. He then went on to serve as a City Year corps member in New Orleans with the FirstLine Schools Charter Network and as a middle school teacher with KIPP New Orleans Schools. Following his four years in teaching, Henry retur…

Elena Atkinson graduated from American University in Washington, D.C. in 2010 with a Bachelor's of Arts majoring in International Relations and minoring in Economics. In 2013, she graduated from the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico (UNAM) in Mexico City with a Master's of Health Science, with a focus on Epidemiology. Since graduating, Elena'…

Dr. Brandy L. Simula (she/her/hers) is a professional developer and a Board-Certified career, professional and life design coach who works with graduate students, postdocs, faculty, and higher education leaders. She currently leads the Office of Faculty Professional Development at the Georgia Institute of Technology and is a 2020-22 Leadership Fell…

ANNOUNCEMENT For the month of June, Journey to Jupiter will be participating in a Clubhouse Crossover with The Sisterhood Collective Clubhouse Room. Join host Jetaun Davis in discussion with both past and future Journey to Jupiter guests: Thursday, June 10 at 7 pm ET Topic: Steering Your Career - How to Take Control of Your Success Guests: Karrah H…

Graduation season is upon us…..Congratulations to all the graduates! For those who are graduating high school and college to enter the workforce, you are now entering the phase of life known as adulting. After you’ve finished taking in this momentous occasion, tune in to get a little perspective on an experience that’s relatively common early in yo…

(This episode was recorded on Saturday, March 13, 2021.) Raised in Hammond, Louisiana, Marcus Jackson is an information technology professional serving as the Director of Acquisitions and Divestitures for Supply Chain Technology at Johnson & Johnson (J&J). He joined J&J in 2006 through the Information Technology Leadership Development Program and h…

Chadwick Hixon earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Emory University. Following graduation, he worked in the legal field for 5 years as a paralegal before deciding to pursue work in higher education and earning a Master of Education in Higher Education Leadership from Mercer University. He subsequently held roles in college ad…

Hey there! Thanks for listening to a (very delayed) Episode 14 of the podcast! It has been too long since our last episode, but we hope that the awesome insights provided by Mr. Casey help to make up for that time! Education during such a challenging time has been difficult, and thus we found it important to get the crucial perspectives of a teache…

It’s been over a year now since COVID-19 reached the U.S. and turned things upside down. Thankfully, today is a new day as many have become vaccinated or are making plans to do so. It seems then that we’re working our way to back to normalcy…..but are we, really? Mentioned in this episode: March 2021 Jobs Report Update McKinsey Global Institute’s “…

Thank you all for tuning in to Journey to Jupiter during our second year! Here's a quick message giving thanks for your support in year #2 and some ideas about the show's future. ----- Stay connected with Journey to Jupiter! Email: jetaun@jetaundavis.com Join our mailing list Website: jetaundavis.com Instagram: @JourneyJupiter Twitter: @JourneyJupi…

A first-generation college graduate, Moryah Jackson earned a Bachelor of Arts from Columbia College and went on to earn a Master of Public Administration from the University of South Carolina in Columbia. She has held several roles within the higher education and non-profit sectors but now serves as the Vice President for Community Development and …