Obstacles to Opportunities
When faced with life's obstacles, let's channel that negative energy into positivity and forge opportunities. Throughout the nation, business owners will share their experiences of triumphing over daunting challenges in their careers and lives, illustrating how they've harnessed these experiences for growth opportunities.
Obstacles to Opportunities
Raised by Hope, Rooted in Belief:Tanuja Hughes Story
In this moving episode of Obstacles to Opportunities, we sit down with Tanuja Hughes, whose story begins in a crowded apartment filled with 12 people and arrives at a place few imagined a career at Google and a life of deep presence and purpose.
Tanuja opens up about the emotional journey shaped by her mother’s unwavering belief, the impact of a simple “How are you?” at age 8, and how childhood adversity became the foundation for a life led with compassion, not performance.
We explore what it means to rewrite the script we’re handed, and how honoring our parents doesn't mean repeating their story; it means doing better because of it.
Whether you're a mother, daughter, dreamer, or builder, this episode will leave you reflecting on the quiet strength that pushes us forward and the power of intentional living.
Welcome to the Obstacles to Opportunities podcast. I'm Jess Powell, your host, and I'm Heather Cain, your co-host, and I've had the privilege of meeting our guest Gosh. Maybe it's been a year, maybe over a year, I think. So, okay, my gosh, it may. Yeah, I think I'm like going back on my listings and where we met and which open house we named her.
Speaker 2:I'm dying to know. How did you all know? Well, we're gonna get to that.
Speaker 1:Okay, okay, yeah you've got to introduce her. I do, I do so. We have Tanuja Hughes here and she is someone I met and I felt like I wanted everyone to hear her story after we had coffee. I was so impressed with her and just her life story, really, and how she's gotten to where she is today. She works for Google, currently as a recruiter. She's a mother, she's a wife, she is a bright light to any room she walks into and she has, I think, gotten that way because of the journey she's traveled, I really think, and so I want everyone to hear her journey and I have more questions about it. So we are here with Tanuja. She has a of names jasmine if she's ordering coffee, tani if she's, if she's um signing the um the open house sheet oh, so is there like do you have alter egos?
Speaker 2:or like her memory?
Speaker 3:jess's memory is spectacular. I want to talk about how I met jess, about that year. Yes, let's chat, but also, yes, I, yes, I do. To answer your question, heather, I would say names, so, like in Ireland, I was Tawny and that's stuck and I thought that's so easy. But then Jasmine stuck came across in high school when we're ordering, like Starbucks. Remember when Starbucks became cool, you'd go with your girlfriends and you get your name on your cup and I remember thinking, oh my God, I'm holding up the Q because I'm like T, a and they're like what did you say? Tawada, tahuwa, like it's Jasmine. But fun fact, the coffee shop that Jess took me to for the first time when we had coffee that you offered to. I just went there this morning and I gave them my real name.
Speaker 1:Oh, you did, Okay, the first time. Wow, what does that mean? You're settling in here, I think I'm feeling like comfortable, but more also.
Speaker 3:My four-year-old corrects me. Oh, and she stops me and she's like you talk about honesty. Can you give the right name, mommy? I'm like, oh my gosh, okay, I'll go with Tanuja from now on.
Speaker 1:So I'm going with Tanuja. She leads you just to have one name. Okay, she's like I'm I've confused. Other people are going to be confused, Right?
Speaker 3:This is my safe space for me Like she's like be honest.
Speaker 2:I love that. That's so pure. You know they're so pure and they speak true.
Speaker 3:Oh, I was in high school, Gwen, it's like give me a break.
Speaker 1:Yes, yes. So her family walked into an open house that I had, um, and it was a busy one. It was so busy and kids were everywhere. It was one where I did like a big blowout like every neighbor invited kind of thing yeah, mimosas, yeah, yeah, cookie, there there was lots of food. So her girls, that made an impression with them that I had like good food at my open houses and they're very honest, as you just said.
Speaker 2:So they show up for the food they like the food For sure, and they'd say that's Jess.
Speaker 3:Oh my God, we have to get in. It's Jess Through the windows.
Speaker 1:And so I became like the open house gal. So like the girls and they would like be like okay, and they would say, I think we're going to go to another one of Jess's open houses. So you went to three or four of my open houses and so we just got to know each other through that.
Speaker 2:Oh my gosh, that is so. How did you know when her open houses were so we?
Speaker 3:we were searching. For some time We'd been on the market. We were just kind of running into each other Like the universe just kept bringing us to Jess over and over some of the doors in her beautiful community, Some of the doors in her beautiful community some of the doors, if I'm remembering correctly, although we went to so many communities at this point but some of the doors have the glass cut out. So we would see this brilliant dress, beautiful dress, bopping around the house. I'm like, oh my gosh, could it be? Could it be Jess? So I actually said it to her one day I don't know if you remember. I'm like we just look forward to walking into your open house as I can see your dress. You are such a bright burst of sunshine in our day of hunting Like, where some tours aren't as great as others, and we just looked forward to seeing this face and she became that girl to us. We were like we need to see Jess.
Speaker 2:It was so cute. She doesn't realize this about her, but she has an energy about her that can literally light up a room.
Speaker 3:You guys are so cute, for sure, it's palpable. You do, you do, and my daughters recognize it.
Speaker 2:They knew fully what I was talking about. Well, kids know they do. They do Own it, jess.
Speaker 1:Yes, it's so true I'm. You know some days aren't as bright as others, but I, but I do. Whenever I meet fabulous families, it's like. It's like the best part of our job it really is.
Speaker 1:And like I got to meet her girls and I mean they are just the cutest and Patrick is so fantastic and they had this great story and I got to get to it Like some of the story of where she's come from. That was so fascinating to me. But we, I have to say, like as real estate agents, we meet these fabulous people and I could tell like they had a wall up with hiring an agent because there had been some hurt in the back. You know of what had happened and there can be that at any point. So sometimes you're overcoming some of that to gain trust and I remember we sat down and I had coffee. She's like we want you to be our agent.
Speaker 2:And like.
Speaker 1:I seriously I get teary, like when someone puts that trust in you. You're like you do. You're picking me Like out of like 7,000 people, like thank you. We've met so many people I know, right, and you just feel like you got picked, or someone's asking you to prom.
Speaker 2:I mean you really do. I mean you're helping someone with their largest investment. I mean that is it's important, that's an honor.
Speaker 3:It is it is an honor and I remember patrick saying like this is we're gonna have to have complicated conversations, we're gonna have to negotiate, we're gonna like who are we gonna work with other than j? It was so clear to us after running into you several times. Yeah, it made perfect sense and I'm so grateful till this day, jess, just so you know, like weekly we say we can't believe Jess got us into this house, like it's almost like a weekly occurrence that we're all looking at each other, like we did it.
Speaker 1:I'm so excited for you guys. It's just they found like the perfect home for their family and it's just been fabulous to watch them like get into it and make it their own, you know, like your own. So we'd seen it for so long. Yeah, thank you. So that's the back story. So we've got to get into this. We've got it so. So we have to hear like you're growing up, because I I think it's important and I want the perspective of how this all felt to you and I just want to let's start from the beginning. Let's start from like you were born. Then what? No, I mean seriously, where are you?
Speaker 3:born. Yeah, so I was born in the Caribbean. I was born in Trinidad and Tobago, okay, didn't spend a ton of time. It was the eighties that we moved to the U? S. We moved to Miami, florida. Okay, my mom just took a leap of faith and she was like I want not, you know not having the Google searches or not, you know not having the Google maps. Let's be honest Right 1988. Had like an Atlas, right Like where are we going?
Speaker 3:I was like, like, even to this day, I think, how did she get us you? Know, right to miami. There were so many pathways. She found them out. She was like I'm gonna get my kids papers. We figured it all out. Um, I owe it to her and to this village, this, this village of of our family trusting each other and saying, hey, let's make this move together?
Speaker 2:how many people in your family unit?
Speaker 3:So okay. So I would say okay and that's. We came over separately, but once we got to Miami, in my childhood home there was 13 people. So there was 13 of us. Everyone got a job. You know, the kids did kids things, but they did an incredible job of bringing us to the US and giving us opportunities straight away, opportunities that they didn't have.
Speaker 1:So was this a network that would support immigrants that you stayed with? Is it a house, or was it something where your village, from Trinidad, orchestrated this?
Speaker 3:Oh, that's a good question. No, so I think it was more of one of my aunties coming across to the US and saying I've held down a place, I'm going to bring my brother over, my brother came over, I'm going to bring my sister over because my mom Okay. So they just kept the word. They just kept bringing yes, sissy, come over, bring your three munchkins. You know, bring your three babies in your arms 13.
Speaker 2:Let's talk about the size of this home.
Speaker 3:Oh sure well let's let's be honest, it was. It was a very small apartment, so I would say we started in a two-bedroom apartment with 13 of you yes wow, to be fair, as soon as like, so I would say my, when my one of my uncles got a job, he moved out, so it came down to 12. That's, you know. I mean it was still more than 10 of us at all times, more than 10 at all times.
Speaker 2:Wow.
Speaker 1:Um, yeah, so did. Did she get a job right away? Was it like smooth sailing for you guys after that?
Speaker 3:I think it was smooth sailing in that we were safe, okay, so, so there's safety in the U? S in the eighties. Um, there's opportunities. Everyone did get a job. So all my aunties and uncles were immediately working. Okay, my mom was immediately working. Um, it was just such a good, good time to see how we could change our lives. And I was just a baby, so I'm relying on a lot of the stories that they told me, but I think my earliest memories are like coming to the table and everyone's talking about their new job. The kids are in school. Like you know we have shoes. You know we have clothes. You know we're getting things. You're filling the table with food and I'm like, oh my God, we're rich. You felt rich For me. I was looking back now that I have my two daughters and it's 2025. I think to myself, oh my gosh, like in the moment I was so rich Like you couldn't tell me different. But now I know like it was. You know it was a different, it was a struggle.
Speaker 2:There were struggles, for sure, yeah, but you were probably so rich with gratitude. You know what I mean, like because of your experiences. Oh, for sure, there's different versions of rich to me. I always say, like it's rich is, there's a money factor, but that there's a love factor, there's a happiness factor. So much love. You know what I mean. Money is just one of the categories of rich, right? Absolutely, yeah, well said.
Speaker 1:So that season, I mean, was that your whole childhood?
Speaker 3:Okay. So I will say that the first time I had my own room or my own bed, let's say it was in college. Okay, so this, this, we we stayed very close. We had a very tight-knit family. Um, I have a brother and sister, so there was always three of us, um, always three kids at all times and in the home. Um, the adults came and they started to build their own families. So they bought their own homes and I think when I got to college, I looked at my bed and I said I can't sleep in this, oh, really, in my, in your dorm room. And I'm like I, this is not, this is all for me. Like it felt like too much. It felt like too much and I also was like I miss my sister and my brother.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you were used to having people See this but oh, I missed.
Speaker 3:like your sister and brother, become like your people Right and brother, become like your people right. You know through that right, um. But. But there were moments that when I was getting older and I would start to think, okay, this is, this is different than everyone at school, like for some reason it stuck in my mind.
Speaker 1:Did you have a point where you were homeless within when you were? Because?
Speaker 3:so there were, there were multiple times um, and I will say that you can have a structure like you can have a structure over your head, like whether that be a shelter right, or a motel, correct, or a car, you can. You can have a shelter over your home at all times, or a structure rather, but you cannot have a home, but you can feel like you don't have a home. Yeah, um, so that that's something I struggled with, um, I would say as early as like 10 years old, maybe two or maybe even eight years old, up into 15. And you know, you mentioned like kind of looking at kids at school and noticing like well, things are a little different with my home and things are a little different. I think what stood out the most was the divorce. So when my parents got um officially separated, that's when things kind of took a turn for the worst and you know you have to find safety. My mom, that's all she tried to do for us and that was the goal Provide safety for you, and that was the goal.
Speaker 1:Yes, and you mentioned your mom, though casted a vision for your life with some hot cocoa. Oh my gosh, I love that story.
Speaker 2:Can you share that story?
Speaker 1:I love that.
Speaker 3:I've always been a fan of thinking, about thinking, and I think about this a lot. I think about and, through various experiences, I think now, why did that person do that, or why did they say that? And my mom didn't have a ton of time to spend with me? She was busy working and getting us to safety or, you know, doing all the things that a mom does when they when they want the best for their kids, and she didn't spend a lot of time talking to me because she had so much to do right?
Speaker 3:So we're at a diner, we're celebrating, I think I just vaguely remember like a trophy sitting on the like diner table because my brother and sister are academics and like overachievers and like superstars at school and I mean I want a few spelling bees or whatever. So I'm like we're sitting at our favorite diner and the award is on the table and my mom and I'm complaining and I'm like, oh, mom, like she's pouring one cup of hot cocoa that she ordered with the waitress into three mugs for me and my brother and my sister, and I'm like all I want is my own hot cocoa. Like I just want an award. You know, hot cocoa is my life.
Speaker 3:I'm seven years old and I think it wasn't what she said, but how she said it, and because we didn't speak a ton, it just stayed with me forever and what she said was honey, you you'll, you'll have your hot cocoa one day, but but more than that. Don't you understand? Don't you realize? You're going to own this whole place. You'll own whatever you want to own. You'll have multiple businesses my arms are.
Speaker 2:I'm getting massive goosebumps right now and it was.
Speaker 3:It was the way she said it, like she believed it. She saw this whole she saw the vision for where your life was for sure, and she was so compelled to share that with me in that moment, like don't you know that sweetheart, and it just stuck with me and we never really had deep conversations, but that was a moment that just defined me moving forward and I thought, oh my god, she knows that and she's my mom, you know, know, you think it's true, it's going to happen.
Speaker 1:Yeah Right, that's your mom, I'll own this place.
Speaker 3:For sure, and there's not a day when we're when we have the privilege of ordering off of a menu, that I don't think about that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that moment, that moment where you were splitting something.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and then you're like I can order my own food now. Oh my God, the girls can have a whole cup of cocoa, cocoa, yes, yeah, that truly ditches me every time. Yeah, every time. But gosh, to think about the fact that your mom took that leap and brought you here with the trajectory of your life, how different it would be right. And so it really takes that one person to believe in you to change your entire life. Right, so true.
Speaker 1:So she knew that. She knew that you guys were in a hard spot hard spot but she saw where it was going. She's like I'm putting the work in to like to build this for you guys and I see where it's going. So she had the vision, she had the hope she had. You know, that's amazing and I will say I've never seen her like shook up. Really.
Speaker 3:Like, and I would think now, like looking back, I would think, well, gosh, like if I was going through that I'd be visibly. She was just so cool and calm all the time.
Speaker 1:Really.
Speaker 3:And so cool she was like don't you know that you're going to have? You don't have to worry about this cocoa ever again. I love that. So true with Tom. You never saw her sweat, just inspiring.
Speaker 2:So after college, how long have you been with Google?
Speaker 3:Oh gosh, we're coming up on five years. Yeah, so not long. There was a lot of movement after college.
Speaker 2:Okay, do we want to know?
Speaker 1:I mean, there's Hawaii. There's yoga, there's couch surfing oh my God, I mean. That's Hawaii. There's yoga, there's couch surfing oh my God, I mean. That's why we needed to unpack this. I love how you got here. You know it took me a while.
Speaker 3:I will say when the foundation at least from my perspective, if your foundation at home, like as a child, is sort of shaken or rocky or, you know, confusing, potentially Right, I think we pay for that a little bit later when we're trying to figure out wait, what am I doing, right? So I really truly didn't know what I wanted to study in college and like if I would stay in advertising forever.
Speaker 1:Right, you know.
Speaker 3:So you were searching at that point For sure, yeah, I think college was the moment that I was like wait, I can make my own decisions. Yeah, so I have to. You know, I'm going to spend the next few years figuring that out and that's what I did.
Speaker 1:And so you went to Hawaii. That was part of the experience, like figuring out what you wanted to do.
Speaker 3:I think it was for sure. I was in Boston visiting my sister who was going to Harvard for her residency at the time. Wow, and I was stoked for her because, coming from our situation, well, yeah, I'm doing that, it's fantastic and I wanted to scream it from the rooftops and I I say I talk about it like it's my accomplishment and it's not like it's my sissy, but you really, I'm so proud of her and I'm so proud of her. I'll never stop being proud of her and my brother and what they've done. Um, and I was couch surfing yeah, I sure was in boston and a Maui ticket pops up that's affordable and I'm like I'm going to go and see what's out there.
Speaker 1:Just a one-way ticket.
Speaker 3:It was a one-way ticket.
Speaker 1:Just hopped on the plane.
Speaker 3:Yeah, you know what? Because I was like I don't love advertising. I know I studied it in college, but I don't think that's my forever. You know, I did a few things and I was like these aren't my forever jobs. These are like placeholders on the seat. Well, you know, and my sister was so encouraging, she's like you got me here and I was like, no, I did, like I did not take those exams. But truly, the funny story is there is that she broke her leg, so she's on a one of those scooters and Harvard has lots of like cobblestones and yeah, all these uh, it's not exact exactly um accessible in in all the older areas of architecture. So she calls me and she's like hey, I know you don't love your job, will you just like help me get to class?
Speaker 1:Oh so you rolled her to class. I rolled her to class Like you were a part of it. I mean that's amazing. So you were just. You rolled her around, I just rolled her Amazing.
Speaker 3:How funny that people are probably seeing us both and they're like, okay, she doesn't go here, like Tanuja does not go here. One of them goes here. I'm literally just delivering her to her professors, her resident and in rest. So that was like kind of like your job for a while. That's what I did for a while and I bought her groceries because she couldn't in um. So she started in DC at Howard Dental. Okay, so we started in DC because, again, cobblestones, um got her in DC, got her um when she got her acceptance into Harvard. I'm like, absolutely I'll move you up there Cause you're going to need help. Um delivered her to her classes, actually in her residency. She's a dentist, so you're actually working on patients, so I would just roll her around the clinic because there's tools and she's like I can't do this and I'm like perfect timing in my life, I would love to be here for you. It's what we needed to do for each other.
Speaker 2:Oh, it was so fun. That bond gosh. I wish we should all make our kids sleep in the same bed together, like share a room, because the bond that you probably have is, oh yeah, that is unmeasurable. You know, yeah, you wouldn't have without that experience.
Speaker 3:Yeah, we have it with my brother too, who is a lawyer, and he would have dropped everything to help my sister, but it just so happened that I didn't have a job, so I was like the timing worked out Okay.
Speaker 2:So you get on a plane. You go to Maui without any job and not knowing anyone. I mean, what do you end up doing in Maui? So I did my yoga teacher training.
Speaker 3:Okay, and it was at this time in my life where my sister was like so encouraging she's like you've done enough here, Like you can't do this for you know my foot's going to heal, you don't need to do this. Pays for the whole thing Because, by the way, funds the whole trip. Visits me out there and says I believe in you If out there and says I believe in you If you want to open your own yoga studio, you know, just like things that a best friend in the whole world would do for you and your soulmate would do for you. So I did my yoga teacher training, met my best friend out there, who wasn't my best friend at the time. We became best friends from that experience and I realized I want to teach. I think teaching would be really nice and, more importantly, I got back to Boston to my sister's couch, um, eventually, and I started teaching and I thought, oh my gosh at this.
Speaker 3:At this time yoga was $40 a class. I mean it probably still is, if I'm honest in in Boston $40 a class. It might be higher now it was. I was offering it to people who could afford it. Yeah, you know. So it was a select few and the gyms that I worked out were very elite, very prestigious, lovely spaces, beautiful spaces love them all. But I thought there's something missing here. I think there are homeless shelters that would appreciate 60 minutes of I don't know time for themselves, time to check in with themselves, time to say how am I feeling through this. So I did that. I kind of pivoted and I said I don't think this is an income for me. I think I have to spend time at homeless shelters. So I did that instead. The last year I was there in Boston.
Speaker 2:Wow. So then what did you do for income?
Speaker 3:So I, I truly I'm. I've always been very good with money because of the way my mom is, and my mom still is, um, so my sister taught me how to save and invest. Okay, so I was saving and investing during that time and I did keep several jobs, so I did keep like a babysitting gig.
Speaker 2:I had several. A lot of side jobs, yeah. Plus yoga, yes I sure did.
Speaker 1:But yoga became more of a passion project for you, where you were like I want to serve people that don't have access to something like this or yoga.
Speaker 3:For sure, and I thought who better than like moms who are moving their families from? You know challenging situations and my mom would have loved someone to sit with her for 60 minutes and talk about themselves Right, or just lay down and shavasana it's almost a time for you to give back from the experience that you received.
Speaker 2:I think so, yeah. I think so, yeah, I think so. No, it's almost probably healing it was I selfishly.
Speaker 3:I feel like it benefited me more.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah yeah, I could totally see how that would help heal your heart by being able to serve people like your mom that maybe didn't get what your mom got and and kids and like seeing kids say like oh, what is this?
Speaker 3:I've never heard of this. What do you mean? I'm going to check in with myself, like what are big feelings. I'm like, oh, my God, this is so good for me.
Speaker 1:I have big feelings too. Oh, you had big feelings. You think about someone stepping in to say you know, let's sit down and learn how to breathe or talk. You know, I think that's so important, it's such an amazing tool, and yeah, for sure, and so you. So that was your kind of passion project. And then the Google thing and Patrick and all that kind of came about because Patrick was working for Google before you were correct.
Speaker 2:Yes, patrick is the husband, patrick's, my husband. Do you need Patrick? Oh, my God this is.
Speaker 3:I love these stories, I love this conversation because I haven't reflected on this in so long. It's so beautiful that it comes full circle. I'm teaching at the homeless shelters. I'm a nanny trying to pay my bills. Yeah, I'm telling my sister. I'm like okay, boston, I don't think I can be here forever. It's expensive. Right, you're going to graduate soon. What's our next step? Wait, hold the phone. I think I might stay in Boston.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we met over coffee. Okay, how did you meet over coffee, were you just?
Speaker 1:going to the coffee shop. Were you Jasmine, that would have been cuter. That would have been so much cuter if I was Jack. That would have been so cute Like someone spilled coffee and I was like oh my gosh let me pick it up for you Watched way too many Hallmark movies, guys.
Speaker 3:Such a meet cute. I love that. I love that. Nope, it was not a meet cute, okay, so he had sent me. I was on my sister's. Like you're in Boston, you're doing all these things, but you don't have a social life. Okay, let's get you on dating apps.
Speaker 1:And I'm like well, why aren't you on dating apps, right?
Speaker 3:She's like I don't want a date, right now I'm like, okay, I'll take one for the team. Okay, yeah, so I download the apps. Patrick sends me multiple messages and I'm like this is creepy, I don't respond.
Speaker 1:I'm like I don't think he came on too strong Me. He needed to like tone it down a little bit.
Speaker 3:Yes, and now that we a group of guys, he's at parties I'm like I don't even know who's this right.
Speaker 1:You don't even know which one he was. Who?
Speaker 3:one of them is a halloween photo, and they're all wearing that costume. Oh my god, that's what he picked.
Speaker 1:That's what he chose patrick, patrick.
Speaker 3:Okay, she knows him. So she knows, like, so him. So I took a chance and I responded to like the fifth, maybe the sixth. Okay, I'm like, are you like who? Are you serious, do you really? I'm? The most I can do is coffee in the North End. So we met for coffee in the North End. When he walked into that coffee shop, I texted my sister. I said my husband just walked in to the coffee shop, oh my goodness. But I didn't even know who it was. I just remembered some of the photos and there was this guy that jumped out at me and that was him. I walked in and you, the moment you met him, I remember his trousers. I remember his shirt because I described it. I said he's wearing khaki trousers and a gray polo shirt. And this is 100, my husband, I'm gonna be late, because we were my sister and I were due to meet at the bus later to get home and I was like I'm gonna be late and the rest was kind of history from that, like he felt similarly, like it just clicked and then I I hope so- he, he did okay, so we're at coffee and he did ask me to go to dinner after so that's what I said that was oh yeah and I thought
Speaker 3:it was a green light, yeah, and I thought it was kind because he knew that I was meeting my sister at the bus and he, in the middle of dinner, he goes do you want me to pack up your meal to go, because I know you have to go? I was like perfect, he knows just to manage expectations. I'm leaving like yeah, yeah, but I had a great time oh my gosh.
Speaker 1:And then you guys go to Ireland, right, like move to Ireland so we got married in Boston.
Speaker 3:Well, we got married in Rhode Island, where he's where his parents are. That was beautiful. We get the job offer his job offer for Google on our wedding day and he says, sweetie, should we take it? I'm like oh my god, it's Ireland. I went to college there for a summer abroad years and years ago and I always thought I would go back and I said, yes, we don't have any responsibilities love it we can go, I've. I always said I would live there, let's go back.
Speaker 2:So we did, and that's when the girls came so you lived in Ireland and that's where the girls were born. Yes, wow. And then what brought you here?
Speaker 3:oh you, you know what. What brought me here was my stepdad not feeling well and I said, you know what? I really need my girls to meet their grandpa and their grandparents who live in the US. Okay, and it just wasn't sustainable to say like, hey, family, keep traveling overseas to visit us. Yeah, the girls were growing so fast so I really wanted to. I knew it was a critical time, it was so hard to leave, but we knew it probably would be best to be close to my stepdad, who's since left us, who's since transitioned on. But I'm so grateful that we chose to be here in the end.
Speaker 2:They had that time. Are they here in Naples? Do you have family in Naples? They're not. They're in.
Speaker 3:Miami. Everyone stay put. You know, have a nice village in Miami. They're all there, Okay, Not too far. So it's like a nice two one and a half hours Easy.
Speaker 2:We really wanted the sunshine for the girls and we wanted a slower pace. Yeah.
Speaker 3:Cause I grew up in Miami.
Speaker 2:Yeah, there you go yeah, that was our thing, that was our thing too, is like we, if you're gonna be in florida, we like this close. Did you feel that way? I did, yeah, my, I love visiting miami, but I couldn't.
Speaker 1:I couldn't actually live right, it's not as livable like to me.
Speaker 3:I like this too and that and jess's instagrams, now like, inspire me daily. Like jess's socials, inspire us daily. Patrick will pull it up because I like ages ago when we met you, I'm like you have to like jess's socials. Inspire us daily. Patrick will pull it up because I like ages ago when we met you. I'm like you have to follow jess powell, so he'll pull it up randomly and he's like this is why we moved here. And it's like, just, you know, um, a panoramic of the beach vanderbilt beach and I'm like, oh my god, this we made the right decision.
Speaker 1:So cute, patrick is like following me and stuff. But you know what? I just want to pause on this. I know we're into the end of time, but I'm like. One last thing I really wanted to bring up was I was so impressed with you and your whole story. I mean we don't even have to go and say what were the obstacles. Your whole life has presented, obstacles that you have continued to overcome with grace and perseverance and a great perspective and an amazing mother that like cast the vision for your life. It's just like so cool. But like I love this last little chapter that you told me about Google, because let's talk about that. Like that is like I'm going to climb the biggest corporate mountain ever and land a job at Google. I'm going to do that.
Speaker 1:And you were kind of discouraged to do it like a little bit right. Like people were like it's going to be hard. Oh sure you know you that it might be impossible with your background. Like sure you know the teacher, right. So how are you gonna? You're gonna, you're gonna apply to google, okay, okay. So then she tells me yeah, you got, yeah, fire under you to make it happen. Oh my gosh right.
Speaker 3:So so we're in, we're in ireland, I'm, I'm teaching yoga. I'm like, what am I gonna do at this point? I don't't have an Irish working permit. Patrick does, because he's working. He has a business-critical permit to work in the country and they're saying, yeah, you can work here if you find a company that will sponsor you.
Speaker 3:Support you and support all of your immigration Right and all of the legal aspects. So thought who am I gonna shoot? Like, am I gonna shoot? Am I gonna go small? No, I'm gonna go all the way. So I said to patrick I was like I'm gonna get a job at google and he was like well, honey, like you know, you helped me prepare for it for the interviews like there's so many things to consider um, your cv, like should, what do we do with the cv? You know, we have yoga for the last six years, seven years, and I said I'm gonna do this, like I um it's, it's not hard. And he said you know, but everyone says it's really hard. I said, but it's not. So I think that that was the moment that I was like you've been through you've done, hard, you've done hard you know like done hard, you know like yeah, One hundred percent.
Speaker 3:He's like, how are you going to speak to the yoga? I'm like, just watch me. I said that to Jess over. Yeah, I was like I just had an answer. I'm like, just watch me, I know what I can. You know, if you really believe in yourself, if you truly believe in your mother's vision for you and the women that you look up to, if you truly, truly believe, how can anyone stop you? They can't. Yeah, how can anyone disrupt that belief? No, it can't be shaken.
Speaker 2:So I did apply. I did apply.
Speaker 3:She did it. It was a blessing. I met so many awesome people there that I felt like you know what. This is a place that I want to work. Yes, Google Ireland.
Speaker 1:Yes.
Speaker 3:I was so grateful that Patrick, you know I went on all of his networking events. Yeah, she said she networked with everyone at his events, everyone she possibly could at those events. Everyone, until they knew my name and they were like who's your husband, right? Wait, I'm like we love him, but you know, I'm coming to interview you to interview you're like I'm coming in hot, I'd like to be here.
Speaker 1:Yeah, we will be co-workers, we will be co-workers, so it all worked out. Oh, it's so, and I love that now she's doing like recruiting for yeah, remind me people that, okay, yeah, well, that's the way I'm gonna remember, um, people that are technically like into like ai development and you are okay, you tell us, tell us, you tell us it's so technical, but it's like, it's like the next thing, and she's like interviewing them to like I'm not on board, I'm not the technical person, but you're absolutely right, it's very technical.
Speaker 3:So so I would. I would bring them to interviews. So I've um artificial intelligence engineers, so there are. There are so many roles now that we could talk about and so many job profiles, but that's I think that's the overarching theme is ai and that's that's what. That's where google is investing and that's where we're hiring, and we'd like to stay very competitive. I'll say that, but these folks are so impressive oh, I bet so you meet some fascinating people.
Speaker 1:Fascinating, oh, yeah, all over the world.
Speaker 3:oh, beautiful, beautiful, like it's. So I'm so grateful to have, like I don't know, be able to reach folks in this role. Yeah, and I'm grateful to be able to do it with Google.
Speaker 1:I love it. You can sit here all day. I love just sitting and listening to your story. I knew that other people would be inspired by it and I had other questions. I was like gosh, take me back a little to Nujo. Like coming over here from the Caribbean and living in like a home with like 13 people, I mean it's just a testament to like what your mom set forth for your life and it's amazing. So big shout out to the mama and happy Mother's Day to all my mothers. This is actually a really good podcast for Mother's Day, 100%.
Speaker 3:Oh, that's so nice, that is, that's so true. Great timing, and I have a million questions for you both about everything here, so I think we'll have to catch up.
Speaker 1:We will, we're going to do series number two 100.
Speaker 3:Catch up, we will, we're gonna do series number two 100. I have questions and I'm like so, so grateful that you thought you're used to the interview, so maybe we'll have you interview us for the.
Speaker 1:That would be fun. That would actually.
Speaker 3:I'm the recruiter and the candidates are like please stop, I bet not. I'm like, I'm having so much fun getting to know you. But thank you, ladies.
Speaker 1:So much for spending time with me, for taking time out of your day. I know time is precious, so thank you.
Speaker 3:No, it's my pleasure, thank you.
Speaker 2:Signing off. Have a good day.
