Inside the ACT-IAC Associates Program: Growth, Networks, and New Horizons

In this episode, we continue our series on the Associates Program with a guest appearance from Jason Pan, a business development analyst at Dev Technology Group. Jason shares his journey from recently graduating college to working full-time in government contracting, and his experiences going through the Associates Program. He discusses the challenges and opportunities he faced, the influence of mentors, and the pivotal moments that defined his professional growth. Jason also highlights the value of networking and collaboration within the program, and his key takeaways that have influenced his career. The episode concludes with a fun game of 'Acronym Wars' and insights into the supportive community within ACT-IAC.

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Intro/Outro Music: See a Brighter Day/Gloria Tells
Courtesy of Epidemic Sound

(Episodes 1-159: Intro/Outro Music: Focal Point/Young Community
Courtesy of Epidemic Sound)

Transcript

Jason Pan
Yohanna: [00:00:00] Hey there. Welcome back.
Yohanna: Okay, great. I hope you enjoy. Hey everybody, welcome back. We're continuing our series with the Associates Program. I have Jason Pan here with me. Hey Jason, introduce yourself. 
Jason : Hi everybody. Uh, thanks for having me. My name is Jason Pan. I'm a business development analyst at Dev Technology Group. Um, and I just recently completed the Associates program.
Jason : I have been working in government contracting for, I think it's coming up on three years now total. So, uh, I'm loving it and I love the Associates program. Really glad to. Have gone through it and excited to be able to [00:01:00] share it. 
Yohanna: So, uh, set the stage. Let's rewind a bit before the Professional Development Associates program, what was already in motion for you in your life?
Jason : Yeah, so right before I applied for the Associates program, I had actually just began working full-time and, uh, not only just government contracting, but just in general. I had just graduated, uh, college, but I was. Already working in government contracting through my internship. And then I worked part-time through senior year of college as well.
Jason : But I had just, uh, started full-time officially before I, I applied for the program and so I was pretty fresh, um, in the working world and also in in government contracting as well. 
Yohanna: What, what's your current role and, and responsibilities right now? 
Jason : Yeah, so right now I'm a business development analyst, so.
Jason : A, a plethora of things. I like to call myself kind of a Swiss Army knife [00:02:00] just because 
Yohanna: mm-hmm. 
Jason : I get to do a lot of different, uh, tasks in different areas. I get a lot of hands-on experience, so that includes, you know, building out our pipeline, maintaining our pipeline, researching opportunities, and I get to do a fair bit of, uh, proposal writing as well.
Jason : And then on top of that, I get to attend a lot of events and, and, you know, join programs like the Associates program. So I, I get to do a lot of different things within the realm of business development and I really enjoy doing that. 
Yohanna: Okay, cool. Yeah. So with that context in mind, where you were and where you are, let's talk about this, the decision point.
Yohanna: What inspired you to apply to the ACT IAC Professional Development Associates Program? 
Jason : Quite a few people at my company are, are involved in numerous ways at ACT iac and. I had a colleague that I worked really closely with leading the internship program that had actually just gone through the Associates Associates program, the class prior.
Jason : Uh, and she recommended it a [00:03:00] lot. And my boss at the time also recommended a lot. And so she kind of, you know, was encouraging me to apply. And I took a look at it, took a look at kind of what it was about, what I would get out of it, and it was, uh, something that really interested me. So I. Went ahead and took a shot and applied.
Yohanna: Well, that's good. That's, that's always nice that you surround yourself with people that like encourage you. A lot of people apply to the program, you know, they apply to programs like this because they feel something isn't quite clicking yet. Were there any specific challenges or gaps in your career that you hope the program would help you address?
Yohanna: I know that people encouraged you. 
Jason : Yeah, 
Yohanna: when you went home and kind of analyzed and thought about it, like what was something that you were like, oh yeah, I should do this because, 
Jason : yeah. I don't know if it was, uh, gaps per se, but more so I sort of looked at it like this could be a great opportunity for me to kind of springboard myself further into, into business development and the government contracting world.
Jason : I think one of the biggest selling points was just being able to, you know, get into the act [00:04:00] to act network and kind of meet a lot of new people and just. Kind of get my name out there, especially starting, starting so early in my career. I kind of. I needed an avenue to, you know, get myself into these networks and, and go to these events and meet these people and sort of things like that.
Jason : Yeah, 
Yohanna: yeah. Okay. So once you were accepted and actually like stepped into the program, now reality meets expectation, you know, what were your initial impressions of the program? Were there any aspects that surprised you? Were there any aspects that you were like, oh, that, that's, that's a, that's a pleasant surprise.
Jason : Yeah. Honestly, I think one of the biggest surprises was obviously with it being a program outside of everybody having their, you know, their day jobs, their nine to five jobs. Uh, I, I sort of didn't expect to get so close with so many people so quickly, especially with the frequency in, in which we were meeting.
Jason : Like we were only having [00:05:00] events probably every two, every three weeks. Um, for, you know, a couple hours and then going out to, to grab drinks or something like that. So I didn't really expect to, to get so close to people and get such strong relationships in such a short period of time. And that was a pretty pleasant surprise.
Yohanna: Yeah. Okay, cool. So there's usually a moment when things really land. Can you describe a pivotal moment or a project during the program that made a significant impact on you? 
Jason : Yeah, I think one, one. Milestone, I guess you could say during the program that kind of made a, an impact was when we really got in our, our teams and really got started on our projects and hit the ground running.
Jason : Um, my team, we worked with the health COI and we were doing some research on privacy, preserving record linkage or PPRL, which a lot of us didn't, uh, have the. Slightest of clue what it was in the beginning. 
Yohanna: Another acronym. 
Jason : Yep. There you go. [00:06:00] Uh, once we got started and actually got down to doing research and hitting the ground running, I think it really felt like we, we gelled and we were cohesive and I think it was real, really rewarding feeling to be able to work on something outside of work with people, you know, outside of my company, but also.
Jason : Gain a lot of experience along the way. 
Yohanna: Yeah. Is it, is this also something that you were working on at your company or is this like maybe an extracurricular experience? 
Jason : No, so this was for our white paper for the program. We decided to do this, this topic, and the reason we had decided to do the topic was once we all had chosen health as the COI that we were interested in supporting, we were kind of given a list of some ideas.
Jason : Maybe things that we could, you know, look into if we were interested in. And this one kind of popped out to a lot of us, and I think it was partly because it's so prevalent in all of our lives outside of work, just, you know, medical records and histories and things like that. At least that's why I was [00:07:00] interested in, I, I don't wanna speak for my team members, but that was kind of the, the gist of why I had chosen this topic.
Jason : And I think overall it was a really cool learning experience to be able to step away from. Just work and work adjacent things and kind of look into, even though it's still, uh, relevant in like the government space, but something that's a little bit. Outside of the swim lanes that we're usually in. 
Yohanna: Oh yeah, for sure.
Yohanna: Just like a little, you know, adjacent. I feel like the, the PDA experience isn't just about curriculum or white papers, it's also, it's also about guidance. So I'm, I'm curious, you know, how did your coach support you, support your team? Navigating, you know, this particular topic or, or, or I guess maybe throughout the program.
Jason : Yeah. Our coach, uh, Rebecca Bert was actually really, really helpful. Um, in a lot of ways outside of just the project, I think she was able to provide a lot of guidance, especially how we, at least for me it was, this [00:08:00] was the first government shutdown that I had worked through and she had a lot of insight to provide, you know, in terms of what things are gonna look like.
Jason : Obviously not everybody knows, or I guess I should say, nobody really knows what, uh, what is gonna happen when you're in a shutdown. But for somebody like me that had just entered, you know, government contracting. Was kind of a little unsure of what was gonna happen or what was going on. I think she was able to provide a lot of insight from her experience and a lot of support as well.
Jason : So that was really, really helpful from her. And she, she was awesome throughout. 
Yohanna: That's really good. I think, Hmm, gosh, sometimes the most powerful lessons are the ones you can, you can kind of use immediately. I'm not trying to sh you know, forecast, but knock on wood, we don't have another government shutdown.
Yohanna: Um, but I'm sure that there were some skills that you learned during that time that you can kind of implement right away. Like in your work were, were there any skills or, I [00:09:00] guess, 
Jason : yeah, I think the main thing I can sort of harp on that I took away was. Controlling what you can control and kind of, if you can't control it, just making sure that you're in the, the best position for whatever outcome actually happens.
Jason : And I think it's a, it's a good lesson for not only work, especially in government contracting, but also just in life in general. Just being able to kind of focus on what you can control and. Uh, adapting to your circumstances is the best you can. 
Yohanna: Yeah. Adapting, I think for, for the PDA program and even just ACT IAC in general, we do a really good job of adapting and, and collaborating.
Yohanna: That's our main, you know, like one of our, one of the unique aspects of the PDA Yeah. Program is the cross sector collaboration. 
Jason : Absolutely. 
Yohanna: Uh, what was the most valuable takeaway from. Collaborating with peers across government and industry. What was your, your group like? 
Jason : It was hectic sometimes. I think [00:10:00] my biggest takeaway was probably that it's, it's very, very difficult to work alongside everybody's schedules.
Jason : Um, 
Yohanna: yeah. 
Jason : But I think I, I learned just how important, important communication and collaboration really is, especially with everybody being very busy and having different, you know. Different things going on, whether it be within work or outside of work in their personal life. So I think communication and collaboration being like such an important pillar of working together, uh, was a huge lesson that I took away.
Yohanna: In what ways has the PDA program influenced your career? 
Jason : Yeah, I think it's, I think going back on what I said about, you know, what made me interested in applying was the networks and, and the people that I met. Or I get, I would get to meet when I was applying and now that I have met, for me, I think one of the biggest ways it's influenced my career path has just been the amount of people that I've been able to get in front of or, or [00:11:00] talk to and kind of learn from their experiences.
Jason : One of the things that I told, you know, my mentor and my coach and a lot of other people in the program was that like being so new in the space, I wanted to kind of. Be a sponge and, and learn from other people who have been in different areas of government contracting or have experienced different things.
Jason : And so I think that's the biggest, uh, the way, the, the biggest way the program has influenced me is just being able to learn from all of these people that have been in all the areas and, and through all these different experiences. 
Yohanna: Yeah. So it sounds like you're gonna maintain your connections with your cohort.
Jason : Yes. Yeah. I, I do plan on doing that. I've actually. Um, I've actually gone out and, and played golf with some, some people in my cohort, and, uh, definitely planning on if we, you know, plan a happy hour or if we all see each other at an event or something like that. Definitely planning on staying in touch with everybody.
Yohanna: That's pretty good. I like that. I like, I like that folks stay [00:12:00] friends. They have really good experience and they see there's, there's value in that network, you know? 
Jason : Absolutely. 
Yohanna: So for any listeners who might be on the fence, what would you say to someone who's, you know, considering applying to the PDA program?
Jason : Yeah, I think I would definitely say it's worth it. Um, I would recommend it, and I don't want to like, come across as like sounding like a paid advertisement or anything, but, um, honestly. I, I think it's, it's worth the time investment and it's not like a overwhelming time investment if you're thinking about that.
Jason : Um, and just the return, I think is, is very, very worth it with, you know, just not only the learning experiences, but the people that you get to meet and the networks that you get to grow. 
Yohanna: Thank you very much. Audience. He has not been paid for his opinion. No kickbacks over. 
Jason : Nope. 
Yohanna: All right, so this leads us to my little game that I like [00:13:00] to call acronym wars.
Jason : All right. 
Yohanna: Are you ready? Are you ready for acronym wars Jason? 
Jason : About as ready as I can be, I think. 
Yohanna: Okay. All right, cool. All right, here we go. Here's the first acronym. NLRB. 
Jason : Oh boy. Okay. I think I've heard, I think I've heard this on the news. Hold on. Gimme, there's no timeline on here, is there? 
Yohanna: No, 
Jason : no, no, 
Yohanna: no.
Yohanna: Okay. 
Jason : NL or V is this the, uh, the national labor? Uh, national Labor Relations Board, bureau Board. Yes, 
it 
Jason : is. It's board. 
Yohanna: Good job. 
Jason : Yep. Okay. 
Yohanna: Yep. 
Jason : Perfect. Perfect. Alright. 
Yohanna: That's a tough one. 
Jason : Watching the news paid off. 
Yohanna: Yes, please be informed. All right, here's the next one. EEOC. 
Jason : Oh, oh, uh, [00:14:00] labor Law. This is equal Employment Opportunity.
Jason : Commiss. Commission. 
Yohanna: Commission. Yep. Nice. 
Jason : Okay. Labor Law. Fun. Labor law. Everybody loves it. 
Yohanna: Good job.
Yohanna: All right. Here's the last one. You're two. You're two for two. 
Jason : Two for two. Let's go for three. 
Yohanna: Here we go. GSA. 
Jason : Oh, general services administration. 
Yohanna: Ding, ding, ding. 
Jason : Got that one. Got that one. Okay. That was ding, 
Speaker 3: ding, ding. That's a good one. Nice 
Yohanna: job. 
Jason : Thank you. That was, those first two were hard. 
Yohanna: I know. They're kind of tough.
Yohanna: I'm trying to, I'm trying to find some ones that maybe we don't know as much of, you know, like 
Jason : Yeah, 
Yohanna: they're kind of hidden. 
Jason : Yeah, those are ones that you know, you hear a couple times and then you gotta go in the back of your mind and reach in there and dig around for it. 
Yohanna: Yeah, for sure. Well, this has been fun, Jason.
Yohanna: Thank you so much for your time. 
Jason : Yeah, thank you so much. 
Yohanna: Yeah. Are you active on LinkedIn? [00:15:00] 
Jason : I am active on LinkedIn. It's just my name, Jason Pan. Go ahead and shoot me a connection. 
Yohanna: All right. Thank you so much. That'll be great. 
Jason : Awesome. Thank you so much for having me. I really appreciate it and doing your time.
Speaker 3: This has been such an insightful conversation. Thank you for sharing your journey and experiences with us and to our listeners. If you are interested in learning more about ACT IAC Professional Development Program, be sure to check out Act I. Dot org slash professional development. Until next time, keep learning, keep growing, and we will see you in the next episode.