BeTempered
BeTempered
BeTempered Episode 50 - Building a Legacy at 20 with Nathan Hogg
Meet Nathan Hogg, a 20-year-old from Richmond, Indiana, already stepping into leadership with a voice wise beyond his years. In this powerful episode of BeTempered, co-hosts Dan Schmidt and Ben Spahr sit down with Nathan for a raw, inspiring conversation about resilience, identity, and the impact one young person can make.
Nathan opens up about his entrepreneurial journey, which started at just six years old with a lemonade stand and a dream to own a restaurant. But when COVID-19 disrupted his freshman year of high school, he spiraled into burnout—until a TikTok video introduced him to the power of daily affirmations. "I would write 'I am worthy' twelve times, 'I am blessed' twelve times... three times a day," Nathan shares. That simple practice became a turning point.
Out of his desire to help others, Nathan launched Hogg Helps, connecting young people with local job opportunities and mentorships. His initiative caught the attention of community leaders, and today, he's a communications major at IU East with minors in political science and public administration—still pouring into the next generation by teaching affirmations to 5th and 6th graders.
For Nathan, success isn't about status—it's about surrounding yourself with people who lift you up. His favorite quote from Shirley Chisholm says it all: "If they don't give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair."
Tune in to hear how Nathan Hogg is building his own table—and inviting others to sit with him.
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Speaker 2:Welcome to the Be Tempered Podcast, where we explore the art of finding balance in a chaotic world.
Speaker 3:Join us as we delve into insightful conversations, practical tips and inspiring stories to help you navigate life's ups and downs with grace and resilience.
Speaker 2:We're your hosts, Dan Schmidt and Ben Spahr. Let's embark on a journey to live our best lives.
Speaker 3:This is Be Tempered.
Speaker 2:What's up everybody? Welcome to the Be Tempered podcast, Episode number 50.
Speaker 3:Big 50. Big 5-0.
Speaker 2:Big 50. Getting closer to that, episode 52. Oh yeah, coming around the corner, which we'll go ahead and make that announcement, that episode 52, which will be a podcast on May 2nd, we are actually going to record a live roundtable event on Monday, april 28th.
Speaker 3:Now, we can't go back on it.
Speaker 2:No, now we have to do it. So we'll put all that information out on all the socials, but we're going to have a live event that we hope can be interactive with um any of our, our fans or those of you out there that listen. You'd be able to, uh, to listen and to watch and to do all those things you know, while we are alive. So we'll be under a little bit of pressure, but that's okay. That'll be episode 52, our year in advance, and we're excited.
Speaker 2:But today, on the Be Tempered podcast, we have the privilege of sitting down with a young man from right here in our region, richmond, indiana, who's already making an impact with his work ethic, his heart and his perspective on life. Nathan Hogg is someone who represents the next generation of leaders, not just because of what he says, but because of how he shows up. Whether it's in the way he carries himself, the challenges he's faced or the goals he's chasing, nathan brings a level of maturity and drive that's worth paying attention to. I'm excited to dive into his story, his mindset and what shaped him into the man he is today. Nathan, welcome to the Be Tempered Podcast.
Speaker 4:Thank you, Dan, for having me.
Speaker 2:How are you?
Speaker 4:Yeah, we're doing great man Good, it's truly an honor.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we're glad to have you up here and excited to share your story. You are our youngest interviewee, uh, we appreciate that. You know you and I had met uh through a mutual, mutual friend and uh, you came into the office and we sat down and talked and, man, you walked out the door and I'm like I'm inspired. I'm inspired by you. You are a uh, you're a young leader, you're enthusiastic, you've got a lot of uh visions and goals of where you want your life to go and I'm excited for you to share your story. So, as we get going, we like to start this off by you telling us your story about growing up here in Richmond, indiana, what life was like for you as a child, and then where you are today.
Speaker 4:Okay, so yeah, my name is Nathan Hogg. You know, I'm from Richmond, indiana, born and raised at the old hospital actually, and my brother was born at the new hospital, so we tend to go back and forth about that as somebody who works at Reed right now. So I have a big family, actually the second biggest African-American family, the Hog family, so really huge family. I have seven siblings, so a lot of siblings as well. I'm six, I'm six out of seven, so, and I'm the total opposite of all of them.
Speaker 4:So I'm the one that's out talking and moving and shaking, and then the rest of them are really, really introverted. So we're just total opposites a lot of times.
Speaker 2:So so what brought that out of you? If your whole family's introverted, why are you extrovert?
Speaker 4:I don't really know. I've always just loved talking, like my dad would always, you know, get on me Like all right, you're talking too much, you're talking too much, and so I was just always the talker and the rest, like my brothers, were in sports. So that was never me, I never was really into that. So I was just like I got to find my own way somehow and so for me, that was talking, that was writing in my diary, that was just. You know, how I express myself is through my words.
Speaker 2:Okay, so talk about some pivotal moments in your childhood, growing up, that may be shaped to who you are right now.
Speaker 4:Oh yeah. So ever since a young boy I knew I always wanted to be an entrepreneur. So I remember like I would always have my mom sit outside on the corner with me and we would sell brownies and lemonade. I mean, like a young boy, like five, six, and I always knew I wanted to have this restaurant called Hog Daddy's always. And so I still have some of the signs to this day, which I created at six years old, talking about, you know, Hog Daddy's home of the best I've done shoe cleaning kits. I've done the lemonade stands. I've sold cakes, cookies, pies Um, I had a t-shirt business.
Speaker 4:So, just all around, I knew, um, growing up, like my dad was like, hey, if you want pool money, if you want this, you better do some chores, you better do something to get that money. And so I knew early on that that that was only way to go was, you know, to find my own hustle. And and it brung out something in me because I felt like I've really worked for this money. You know what I'm saying, Not just, oh, my dad handed me this, no, I really worked for it. And so for me, that's what I spent a lot of my summers doing. Is is making money and doing the side jobs or whatever I needed to do.
Speaker 2:And community service is nothing new to me which we'll talk about that later, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 4:So where did that drive to be an entrepreneur come from, do you think? Uh, I don't really know. I, I, that's just me. I, I think maybe because I wasn't surrounded by it. Like my dad worked at a factory, my mom always worked at, like you know, little odd jobs just to try to make ends meet. So I knew I wanted to stand out in that in that way and I knew, like, like I was telling you guys earlier, I'm not meant to sit behind a cubicle. I always joke like that. I love being people center and so really being an entrepreneur to me, or just being public facing, allows you to talk to different people and meet different people and create a good network. So that's always what it's been about to me in a way.
Speaker 2:Were there any challenges as a young kid that you had that? That maybe shaped that as well.
Speaker 4:Yeah, so I think really it was just finding my way, finding those people who are who, who are like-minded, um, and finding that community was a challenge for me until I got to high school and then I started finding that community.
Speaker 2:Okay, there was a pivotal time in your life that you told me there a week or so ago where we met, where you watched a TikTok about writing in a journal. Can you kind of tell that story, how it started and what inspired you to do what you did and then talk about doing that?
Speaker 4:Yeah, so I when we were in high school, you know I had a very weird high school journey just because of COVID. So I finished my first semester of freshman year and the second semester COVID happened. So you know, you're in a time of uncertainty, you really don't know what's going on, like you know whatever, and so we were kind of isolated. It was kind of this state of you know. Our parents were scared, so we really didn't get to hang out or anything. So I would say, around the end of my sophomore or junior year I went through just a bad burnout, like I just was very, very sad, I just didn't have any purpose, like I went through just a bad burnout, like I just was very, very sad, just I just didn't have any purpose, like I didn't have anything to ignite that fire.
Speaker 4:And so I remember, late at night one day I was late at night one night I was watching Tik TOK and it talked about manifestation. So I was really really worried or kind of nervous about what manifestation was, cause I was like I've never heard of this. You know, is it witchcraft? Like I just genuinely didn't know. So I started just looking at it and kind of seeing in it and it ended up changing my life forever and I and I didn't realize it. So I have the, I had this journal and I would write to myself 12 times, three times a day, and I would write I am worthy, write it out 12 times, I am blessed, 12 times, yada, so forth, and I would repeat that to myself three times a day. And so what it basically did was shift my mindset when I'm telling myself I believe it and I internalized it and I and it and it changed my life in ways that is really indescribable and it helped me really get out of that funk.
Speaker 2:That's amazing for a 14, 15, 16 year old kid to uh to do that and um talk about from from that time once, once you had done that manifestation, what came from that for you know, when you went back into school, maybe your junior and senior year?
Speaker 4:Yeah. So once I got into my it was the end of my junior year Um, I again, I just was after writing that stuff down and telling myself that because there wasn't at this time you know, I didn't really know a whole lot of people, so there were really wasn't a lot of people telling me that kind of stuff so it I had to take it upon myself to tell myself that, to internalize it and to believe it. Once I did, it boosted my confidence. So I ended up getting connected with Carl Reinhart and we, um, he owns a nonprofit called future achievers, so we just started talking. We did a black history month project together and I've never really been good with like graphics or like videos, and so he really challenged me to do that and that's how we ended up becoming really close. He challenged me, I did it and, and it was great, I put it out on Facebook. It got like 15 shares. So to me that was a big deal, um, but the real blessing came out of, you know, just by having that connection talking to him again, somebody that was like-minded.
Speaker 4:Um, I attended a conference with him called Wayne County cares and it was through Purdue university, and it was through Purdue University and it was like this big community meeting. So we're in this group of like a hundred something people, massive group of all community leaders, people I've never even seen before or heard of, and so there was like different topics on like workforce development, hunger, transportation, y, yada, yada, yada, and you were supposed to like bring a project out of these different areas. So I was on the workforce development because I didn't know what that was. So I was interested in seeing what that was going to be like. So I had a job at 14 years old.
Speaker 4:I worked at the Leland at the time and a lot of kids my age would be like oh my gosh, like you're working, you've got your own money. Like we can't believe it, how can I get a job? And so all throughout high school I would hear people ask me where can I get a job? Where can I get a job? And so that kind of birthed the idea of Hog Helps. And after working with Carl and I was on the workforce development team and with all these community leaders and you know they're instilling in me like you can do it, you can do it. That committee was moving too slow for me. I'm in high school, I'm like I got stuff to do.
Speaker 3:I've got stuff to do.
Speaker 4:So then I created a website in a matter of like four days, created a website, started going to local businesses. I was doing it and that birth hog helps, and it was to empower youth for future careers and future careers and knowledge in the workforce development or something along those lines. So it was really just connecting those local businesses and those connections that I was starting to cultivate. It was connecting my peers and youth to those connections, and so it was. It was a great blessing, big blessing.
Speaker 2:Can you talk about any successes that came from that? Do you know off the top of your head of maybe some friends or someone who had some success by using that?
Speaker 4:Oh yeah. So some of my friends, you know, got really good jobs. Like my dad, I worked with my dad through Primex and you know we had like a little partnership. It was nothing official because I mean I was in high school, so nothing like business, but I was just connecting people. One of the major successes that came out of for me was I then got connected to my mentor and my second mother, really, sherry Harlan, and so I ended up getting an internship at Reed through all my community engagement initiatives that I've been doing. And so here we are four years later and I'm still doing that. So just great, great relationships that were cultivated through Hog Helps and I didn't know it was possible because I didn't have people like minded, like me in the home. You know that was, you know, into that kind of stuff, and so, like I said, it birthed that community in which, which I value so deeply.
Speaker 2:And it's amazing to hear this from you who? What are you? 21, now 20. You're 20. And at the time, you'd have been 17, 18 years old 16, 17.
Speaker 2:To have to have that vision at that young of an age to want to help others who are like you, want to get a job and make that connection with the community and not only just make the connection. But you had to go out and meet with those businesses, right? Oh yeah, talk about those struggles walking in the door of a business and what was your sales pitch?
Speaker 4:So you know, I think, when, well, when I put the uh hog helps out on Facebook, it got like over 200 shares, so this outpouring like community support.
Speaker 4:And so people were just hitting me like I got involved with the chamber of commerce and I'm like, well, wait a minute, what is the chamber?
Speaker 4:And so people were just holding my hand, showing me talking, so it's kind of that um and and that was kind of how the relationships got formed, so like a successful um relationship that I say really helped me was Roxy Deer invited me to the uh to a chamber breakfast and it was with the Lieutenant Governor of Indiana. Uh, ms Suzanne Crouch up giving the lieutenant governor a shirt. She saw hog help, so, um, and what I was doing out in the community and so for me again like 17, 18, to be noticed by the lieutenant governor was like whoa, huge. And she ended up like following up and staying in touch with me, which was great um, but I would have never had that had it not been for just sticking my neck out on the line and saying I'm willing to take the risk and meeting people like roxy, sherry, carl, whoever that's really helping me out because they see a young man with passion and drive who's trying to make a change.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's, that's amazing. So you get through high school. What's next for you?
Speaker 4:Yeah. So when I, um, like I said, told you I had that bad burnout and so I had no desire, so this Hog Helps helped me get out of that funk. Really, my mentor, sherry, really, really helped me, because I had no plans on going to college, I was kind of just like, oh, I'm going to do this. And she talked some sense into me and she's like no baby, you're going to college. And so again, just having that somebody who's you know, continuously pushing out on you and telling you, hey, you need to do this, you need to get out of your zone, you need to, you need to, and so for me that was huge. And so she's an IU grad and she encouraged me to go to IU East, and so that was like one of the best decisions I've ever made.
Speaker 4:I went through a summer program called Group Scholars at IU East and little did I know that program would change my life. So the Group Scholars program is a summer bridge program for freshmen at IU East and it's within all the IU schools, but it was founded in Bloomington in 1968. And so I was the first groups cohort at IU East. So we made history. So, coming into East, we're making history, being part of this first groups cohort, I got connected to, you know, other people who I never even met before.
Speaker 4:That went to other schools in the county. We went on local business field trips. You know, just met and, you know, got to network with faculty and staff on campus and just the main thing it did was boost my GPA from like a 2.5 to a 3.7. Wow, so really, really helped me. You know, I got involved on the campus because that program means so much to me, got connected and now I have a work-study job in the office of the chancellor and so I work for the chief of staff. So just those relationships were cultivated and looking back now I would have slapped myself in the face for saying I'm not going to college because college and higher educate well knowledge is power yes and so, to me, the more I know, the more I can do in the, and if I know better, I do better, and so I'm.
Speaker 4:Higher education has really, really helped me overcome a lot of challenges. You know, when I think about that burnout that I went through in high school, it's like almost silly, because I'm like here you are bearing on more than what you can, than you could ever imagine now, and you and and you just keep going, you keep pushing, and that was what college was is about. To me is just pushing along and and, like I said, those relationships and that community that I built has been so instrumental in my life. So I love IU East and I love everybody who has been part of my journey this far.
Speaker 2:Yeah, there's no doubt they love you. Yeah, for sure. So we talk a lot on our podcast about success, failure, about going through the fire. Is there a time in your life you can can reflect back on on your young life? I'm used to asking this question to 40, 50, 60, 70 year olds.
Speaker 2:So got to put it in perspective with a young man like yourself, being 20, but are there? Are there fails, failures in your life that have helped to, to shape you, to shape your, your vision forward, uh, to guide you to want to be better or to do more? Is there specific instances you can think of?
Speaker 4:Oh yeah, so, um, what I'm trying to say. So a lot of people on Facebook they see the smiling me, they see me with a plaque, they see me with an award, they see me with an award, they see me with I'm in this newspaper, I'm on this billboard, I'm doing this, I'm doing writing. They don't see all the homework I have to do, they don't know all the board service that I'm doing. And so a recent bump in the road I don't want to call it a failure because it's not a failure to me. It was a learning experience. It's really not. It's a bump in the road, and so I'm going to call it a bump in the road.
Speaker 4:I was nominated to run as a student trustee for Indiana University, so that means you're a board member of IU. It would have been a huge honor. I would have been the first person from a regional campus, first student from a regional campus, and one and one of the youngest students to get it. So again, that was why community is so important. So one of the women at IU East drove me around, so I went. Iu has nine campuses. I went to six of nine IU campuses had a letter from local business leaders. You know state leaders to do this, and so you know, and part of me was, you know, I've always been getting stuff on my first try or I've been successful this, this and that.
Speaker 4:So I call it a bump in the road because I didn't get it, and so it kind of like I wouldn't say star struck me a little bit, but it shaped my perspective.
Speaker 4:And to know that it's okay to have a bump in the road but that doesn't mean life's over, it doesn't mean that your journey's over, the journey is actually forward and great things are going to continue to happen, and so that really, really shaped my perspective.
Speaker 4:And when I put it on Facebook, I didn't want people to be like, oh, he failed, really put it out there to show, or I really put that Facebook post on Facebook to show that, um, you know, there are bumps in the road, and it's not always just smiling, it's not always just I've won this award, but to really, um, be vulnerable with people and show that it's not everything isn't going to be success, um, that that you're going to trip up and fall off in your, in your journey, and that was so important for me to share. And and again, I was tired after going through all that I mean there was, it was a pretty lengthy process, and so then again, that's why community is so important, because even though I was sad I didn't get it, but also seeing like all these people say you know, you mean so much to Wayne County, you've done great, you've done that, and so that that filled my cup, that really did, and so I'm thankful for for that community. That has really uplifted me.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's great. It reminds me of uh, you know, we just recorded another podcast and we talked about rejection and we've said it on the show before is rejection is God's protection.
Speaker 4:That's what I was going to say. Yeah, rejection is God's divine protection.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so you know there's a reason that you didn't get it right, but what did you learn from it? And you just said you know you learned how important community is. So talk about success then. What does success look like for a young 21-year-old man?
Speaker 4:Honestly, I don't know. Like I said, the journey is forward and there's so much more that I have to do and I need to do. I would say success for me so far is just looking, just being able to get up and breathe and just to to really have I keep hitting this word community, but just to have people that are there in your corner we're going to uplift you on the hard days, who are going to tell you everything's going to be okay. That's, that's really been success to me. It's nothing really materialistic, or all the wards I have or the plaques I mean that stuff's great, yes.
Speaker 4:However, I do believe that people that know you and value you and want to hear your like this is success to me. You have asked me to come here and share my perspective and share my story with you guys and I don't even know you guys but just for giving me a platform in which to share and, hopefully, to motivate our viewers and motivate other people, that's success. It's not, like I said, it's not materialistic, it's not. You know, those plaques are nice. However, I think being people centered and being here in places like this, where I get to talk to people and share, that's success to me.
Speaker 2:That's a great answer and I hope all the young people out there listening hear that answer because you know we talked about it. You talked about it a little bit. What people see on social media may look like and seeing your billboard on the east side of town, you know you got that awesome smile and and all that charisma that that you have, um, but they don't see those those early mornings or those late nights or that grind that you're in constantly because your close friends do.
Speaker 2:Yeah, cause you're pushing yourself to be better. Can you talk about any other mentors? You've mentioned a couple, uh any any mentors that? Mentors that have continued to help shape you on a daily basis?
Speaker 4:Oh yeah, I would definitely say, like you know, Sherry has been a huge mentor. I mean, there are so many, so why?
Speaker 2:Sherry, what does she do that helps you so much?
Speaker 4:Well, there are many people. So, you know, I'll kind of highlight all of them that I can think of.
Speaker 4:So excuse me if I, if I don't call you out by name, charge it to my mind, but don't charge it to my heart, not my mind, um, you know, but Sherry stands out because she, she caught me when I was young, 16, and again, right through the middle of that burnout, um, I think of her like a second mother, like you know that just that person I didn't have. And when I say like minded, you know she really took my hand. It wasn't just here, go to this and you kind of I'll just help you and you just do it. No, she took me by my hand and showed me and walked with me, prayed with me, cried with me. She is there. Whenever I call, she is there.
Speaker 4:When I didn't have a car, she made sure I got to school when I didn't have, you know, if I needed money, she was helping me. I mean, just whatever I needed, she was there. And it was those day-to-day conversations in which we had and, like I said, I call her every morning when I get off work at 9 am to make sure she's okay or does she need anything, and we really have that relationship. She got me involved in church and so I ended up getting baptized because of her and you know, just like I said, her being an IU grad and she knows what it's like firsthand to be a college student, so she puts me in rooms of opportunity. She put, I mean, just like I said, just a God sent angel that I didn't know I needed in this life until until I met her.
Speaker 2:That's awesome Talk a little bit about your faith. Is that something that's new found to you?
Speaker 4:Um, I've always been surrounded by it. Like I always say, I'm built upon my grandma's prayer. So my grandma's 85, my great grandmother's 85. Um, so you know, prayer is nothing new or anything. However, I just didn't go to church being younger because I really just didn't know until I started meeting Sherry and we went to church together and I was going through some things kind of like my freshman year, and so I think one thing that stood out is when she walked me up to the altar and we sat and prayed together. That's kind of how I knew right then. And there she I mean that that this relate, this, this connection that we have is real and, um, you know, people always see us again, always see us smiling, always see us with the plaques and awards, but they don't know what I mean, what we do day to day, and so she she was the reason why I got my internship at the hospital at 17 years old. So, just all around, a great person.
Speaker 4:Another mentor that I have is, you know, yemi from IU East. Like I said, we really started building connection when she drove me across the state through the student trustee. I can't tell you how many times I cried because, again, you're dealing with nine campuses, you know you got people hitting you all way which way, and so she would, you know, help me. We, um, we would walk through it. You know, she would help me sort my life out like I can't tell you how many times she was there when I needed her, and and so those experiences, like I said, those experiences shape you into who you are in that community being cultivated. I know I keep saying the word community, but it's so important to build.
Speaker 4:Another male figure that I have is Dr Cal. So, dr Cal, I met him before I even went to IU East and so I took one of his classes, and he continuously puts me in opportunities. We've been on conferences together, where we went to Indianapolis, we go to lunch every Tuesday, we talk, and so that's a male figure that I'm thankful for. My dad, you know, my brothers, my uncles I mean there are just so many. My VP, my boss Jess. I brothers, my uncles, I mean there are just so many. My VP, uh, my boss Jess, I mean the chancellor there. There are just so many people, my best friend, amir, um, that are that are just. You know, like I said, god sent angels that really came, come through for me.
Speaker 2:Well, and I think it shows you at a young age how important mentors have been in your life and what that'll do for you to be a mentor to others Right. Can you talk about some of that? I'm sure you've done some of that mentorship with the younger, younger kids Can you talk about that.
Speaker 4:Actually, it was just funny because I thought you saw my Facebook posting. That's where you was going with that. So I was asked to be a mentor through communities and schools. Are you guys familiar with what that is? No, go ahead and explain it.
Speaker 4:So communities and schools is a non-profit. That that's in like all the county schools and this may not be like exact, but I know they help you with like resources. They have a mentorship program. Um, they have like snacks that they so kind of like how sherry is to me, but just in a classroom or just being out of school. So that way kids have somebody that maybe isn't their classroom teacher or whatever, or principal or whatever. So they do amazing work. But they asked me to be a mentor. So I agreed to be a mentor, kind of a lunch buddy, so I meet with them every Wednesday and we have lunch together. We talk about what it means to be a student, we talk about leadership and just what it's like to be a kid, and so I'm sure a lot of the mentors are probably older, I would assume. I think I'm one of the youngest ones, so you know fifth and sixth graders. I got seven of them, and so they all knew me through the billboard.
Speaker 4:And they were talking to me as if they know me, and it was through the billboard. And so we just started talking and I did some leadership exercises with them and had them draw out a web and like, write their name in the middle of the circle and like, who do you look up to? You know what is? What is a good leader? Describe a good leader, what makes a good leader? All this different stuff.
Speaker 4:I do daily affirmations with them, so that manifestation. So at the end of our lunch I'll go all right. Everybody repeat after me I am worthy, I am blessed, I am thankful you know that kind of stuff to instill that into them and it works, and just to see their faces light up when I come and see them. But they were raving about this billboard and so I had printed off the billboard picture and wrote a personalized message to them. So I wrote to so-and-so, keep reading because that's going to get you far. And then I signed it and so each one of them got to see, you know, got to have their own personalized picture, and to see their faces light up was priceless. And you know, something so small means so much to people, cause I'm like in sixth grade I can't even remember, you know what, whatever we were talking about in sixth grade, but I mean it was. It fills my cup up weekly being with these kids because they need somebody.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and that's awesome. I, I, I think of, uh, the phrase when you're feeling helpless, get helpful. And I think you know you've already recognized that as a as a young 20 year old, you know that um, the impact that those mentors had on you and your life and continue to have to this day, because you are still very young and you got a long way to go, but you are doing some amazing things. Talk about what the future looks like for you. When you look ahead into the future, what do you see yourself? Five, 10 years, 20 years down the road?
Speaker 4:Oh yeah, so you know, um, well, I didn't. I forgot to explain what I'm studying in college. So I'm studying communications with a double minor in political science and public administration. I always joke. I know I'm not meant to be behind a cubicle or being on the telephone or whatever. I know I'm meant to be people, people focused, and and I live by that. So I know I want to do some kind of community engagement. I'm good at it, I value that, um, and so that's that's kind of what I'm thinking about doing is doing some kind of community engagement, whether that be for a local business or out of the state or just whatever. I know I want to do some kind of that, some type of community engagement or advocacy work.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's great, that's great. What do you do for fun? Um, what do you do for fun?
Speaker 4:So I like to go on vacation. I love shoes, I'm a sneaker head, Um. I love shopping, so I'm just. Whenever I I try to make sure that I do self-care things, so I like going to the outlet malls in Cincinnati, you know those type of things, or just simply just laying down and sleeping.
Speaker 2:Do you set goals? Yeah, can you talk about any of those?
Speaker 4:So I like to have like a journal of, like weekly goals that I want to accomplish and so, whatever that may be, if it's like right now it's finals week and so right now or it's finals month, I should say so right now goals are for me is pass your finals and get and get out of there so you can start summer break. So, um, I try to encourage myself to make sure you know you work at least on a half assignment, a quarter of assignment. Just try to do something every day so you're not stressed um at the end and you're, and you're, you're, you're ahead.
Speaker 2:Sure You're prepared. What's the summer look like for you and?
Speaker 4:you're, you're, you're ahead. Sure, you're prepared. What's the summer look like for you? So, through the group scholars program, so we're going on year three, um, so I'm going to be working with those group scholars this year and and as a first cohort member, I'm going to be working with them. We're going to go on field trips, I'm going to be in the classroom with them, and so I've been helping the group scholar advisor, michelle holiday. Um, I'm still going to be doing stuff for re working with mentor working with my mentor Sherry. So I know I'm going to be doing that kind of stuff, um, and then I and then I'm going to try to plan me some vacations, any, any place specific you want to go?
Speaker 4:Um, I'm thinking about going to see, going to see my old pastor in Washington DC, so I'm thinking I'm going to do that. And then I have another cousin that lives in the tip top of Georgia, so I'm going to drive and go see her as well.
Speaker 2:So oh, that's good. Yeah, that's important.
Speaker 4:I need the self-care. Yeah, you do you do.
Speaker 2:It's important and you know you're a very driven young man and a lot of goals and aspirations, you know with where you want your life to go, but it's important to take a step away to you know, for your, for your mental capacity to reset. So, ben, you got any questions you can think of?
Speaker 3:So what's been? How long have you been doing this school, Like where you've been going and sitting with the fifth and sixth graders?
Speaker 4:So I just started last month.
Speaker 3:So I'm going to finish.
Speaker 4:They end in May, so I'm going to finish up with them at the end of the year. I told them, if they're good for me and they're interactive, and they do what I ask them to do not in a mean way but if you're interactive with what I have to bring, I'll bring them pizza and we'll have a pizza party, and so this is all they're looking forward to is this pizza party.
Speaker 3:So has there any been like any like eyeopening conversations or anything with them that were like man, like I? Wouldn't expect that from a fifth or sixth grader.
Speaker 4:Oh yeah, so just some of the challenges. I think mental health is is bigger than what we think it we think it is, and it impacts younger people. So I have a little girl who reminds me that she, she, has depression, anxiety, and so that's where that manifestation comes in. You know you're worthy, you know you're great, you're going to do big things. And so I make her tell herself that. So, instead of saying I have anxiety and depression, no, no, no, no, you're great, you're worthy, you're going to do big things, you're going to pass. And so I make her say it to herself and she does, and why that may not work, you know, or she, but just those seeds that are being dropped in the bucket. How?
Speaker 3:how, what was done to me? Right, and it's just at that age group. I, you know, I remember helping kids, like we used to have um, where seniors would go back and talk to that grade, and there's things that that were said, and I was like man, like I don't remember dealing with that when I was that age, you know, and hearing like depression, anxiety at fifth and sixth grade. It's just something where this regime we're in, is you?
Speaker 4:know it's it's. We're in different times. I think the world is just so heavy. You know the media is, is, is always get feeding you your worst fear, and so just you know the world is heavy right now. You know what people see at home. What people see online is heavy right now. You know what people see at home. Um, what people see online. You know I, one of the kids in my group always talks about being on fortnight and I'm like, dang boy, do you not ride a bike like?
Speaker 4:I roll down the streets of richmond and I don't even see anybody on a bike, and me and my brother were always so happy to get a new bike right, I'm like, well, wait a minute, you know.
Speaker 4:so, instead of like doing screen time, like what else are you guys doing? And so we talked about growth and fixed mindset, and so I made them identify issues that or challenges that they've had, which almost all of them compared to video games, but kind of just expanding your mind and doing other things in which you normally wouldn't do.
Speaker 3:Yeah, that's awesome.
Speaker 2:So talk about you mentioned growth. How do you push yourself to grow? Because it's that's not an easy thing to do, right? I mean, you are. It's obvious that you're driven, that you're motivated, that you want more. But there's times when I'm sure you kind of get stuck in the mud and talk about how you push yourself to grow and to push through those times.
Speaker 4:Yeah. So the biggest thing that I would say is, when I go through something hard, what I like to do and a lot of times it's when I'm really feeling really heavy, loaded with all the external world things or just day-to-day things and what I like to do is like power my phone off and I really prioritize sleeping. That's kind of like a cope mechanism for me because I'm so busy I'm always doing things. I really prioritize sleeping. That's kind of like a cope mechanism for me because I'm so busy, I'm always doing things. I really don't really sleep like that.
Speaker 4:Anyways I do, but you know I work early in the morning, so I like to, you know, just try to get myself away from things. I like to just sit on my couch and so I try to prioritize once a week where I just have a lazy day and I don't answer phone calls, I don't answer emails, I don't work. I just simply just lay in the house or go do something that I want to do, and so for me that that helps push my growth. I think telling myself it's OK, you know you're able to take days and you're prioritizing yourself, is so important. And once I tell myself that, then I'm fine yourself is so important.
Speaker 2:And once I tell myself that then I'm fine. Yeah, you know well, you went through COVID, you know when you were a freshman sophomore in high school, right, and you know I have a daughter who is just a year younger than you in college and, um, you know, I I reflect back on that time as a parent and you didn't realize it at the time how it was affecting, you know, the kids in school by not being in school and by doing the e-learning or those online classes and those different things. But that's one aspect of it. But the other aspect is how did it affect them mentally? You know you were able to push through that, but how many other kids came out of that more secluded, because they were away from people?
Speaker 2:And I think we see that. I see that a lot in some of my daughter's friends and my kids' friends who are, you know, are very quiet, very reserved. You know nothing like you. You know where you're out in the community, there, you know you shake their hand and it's like a limp noodle and they don't make eye contact. You know what I'm saying, but but you, you are different from that. But how do you see it? I'm sure you've got friends that are the opposite of you right? Talk about that a little bit and maybe how you try to help them to be a little more.
Speaker 4:Um, I, I, I wholeheartedly agree with you that there are kids that are that fell through the crack and um, and it's actually called opportunity youth. So it's like 16 to 24, you know, they're not in school, they're not, they're just kind of floating. So that is a real thing. Like I said, it all just goes back to that community, I think, is what is what I always lean on when I'm going through something or when I just need help with something and, like I said, I'm thankful to have that because not everybody has that. However, all my friends know when you're with me, we're going to roll, we're going to go do something through through me. You know they've met, they've made connections. You know I tell them hey, we're going to do this or do you want to come? So I always, always, always, always try to include my friends in whatever I do, if I can. I always try to do that because I know the value of it and I know that not everybody gets that opportunity. So if I can share that experience and that opportunity, I absolutely will.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's awesome If you could have a conversation with someone, living or deceased. Who would it be and why?
Speaker 4:That's a really good, really good question. Well, kind of a backstory is. So my cousin, tyra, had severe epilepsy and so I think kind of that's where that kind-hearted caringness that I have kind of has been, because me and my cousin are 30 days apart, so she was born on August 13th, I was born on September 14th, so our moms were pregnant at the same year. So, you know, my cousin couldn't talk, couldn't walk, you know, was stripped away, and so I think she, you know she had 30 seizures a day. And so I will remember just seeing this as a young child and I would always ask what is going on, what is going on? And so for me it was so important to be her keeper, and so I remember a lot of times I would just go sit with her, or I would just go get her her sippy cup, or I would go do whatever, and um, you know just kind of how that it would fill my heart with joy. And everybody got to know Tyra through me because I would always be like, you know, in the summertime I'm taking my cousin on a walk and we're the same like you know she was. We're the same like height, weight, you know. So she's just as big as I am. But you know I continuously do that. I worked with her nurses, you know. So I was always looking out for my big cousin.
Speaker 4:So her 18th birthday, I remember I was like, dang, my cousin ain't never had a birthday party this big. So I remember I called everybody I knew because this is when I'm just starting to get those connections I call everybody, I'm like, hey, this is what I need, we're having a party. I remember because I had an event that day. I remember, coming back, the whole block was filled with cars, there were so many people in the yard and I didn't know that would be her last birthday. Um, cause she died right A couple of days. No, it was a couple of days after her birthday. No, it was a couple of days after my birthday. Sorry, um, she died on September 17th and so she was 19.
Speaker 4:So I remember that that loss that was really really hard for me, really really heavy for me, and so if I could talk to her right now or she could talk to me, I know that I'm being guided through her, I really do, and I believe that a lot of the blessings that I may may receive has been through her Because as a young boy, you know, I'm helping my cousin who couldn't help, and so I always tell people Jesus helped the homeless, jesus helped the hungry, jesus helped the disadvantaged, the marginalized, the underrepresented, and so, um, I kind of keep that same mindset to help those folks.
Speaker 4:And you know, obviously my cousin was helpless but I, you know, I'm a big believer. She's got her wings and she's helping me write my story page by page, and she's writing it with her pen and she's really helping me. And when I'm feeling lost or hopeless I think of her and I think of her life and I'm like man, I don't have it nearly as bad and that that makes me want to push that much harder, but I know she is watching me, that's beautiful man, that's amazing.
Speaker 2:That is beautiful. Are there any closing thoughts, any words of wisdom, any quotes you live by? You know when, when times are tough to get you through.
Speaker 4:Yeah, so actually I was at a conference a couple of weeks ago, uh, at IU, indianapolis, and what? And I seen a Shirley Chisholm quote that my professor gave to me and it said if you, if they don't give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair. And I like that because and I would encourage anybody never stop, don't ever give up on your passion, no matter who tells you you can't do it, because, best believe, I've been told, oh, you're too young, you don't know whatever, and it's like no, that actually feeds me. I'm going to keep going, no matter what you say. And so I would say, even when they tell you no, keep showing up, keep making your voice heard, because that is where the real representation comes, is when your voice is being heard. So I always encourage people to make sure your voice is heard and bring that folding chair, because, guess what, you can fold that chair up and move it from table to table, no matter who wants to hear you or not. If they don't want to hear you, fold your chair up and take it to another, take it to another, take it to another. And so that's what I really like about that quote. But I would you know I've been hitting community.
Speaker 4:This whole podcast has been about community, community, community, and you know it's not just a word. I float around freely, even though it may seem like that. But build that community, cultivate that community and cherish those in that community in which cherish, cherish those relationships, because if there are people who are willing to give you a chance, don't mess it up. Take it and take every opportunity that has been given to you. That's what I do is, even if I don't feel like doing it, I don't know what I'm going to learn out of it.
Speaker 4:You know I don't know, but I'm going to take it and I'm going to run with it. And even if I meet one person, that's one less connection I didn't have, that's one more connection that I do have now. And so take advantage of the opportunities. Don't be scared. Like I don't know, I didn't know Dan at the time, you know he said hey, come to my business, I want to talk to you. I'm like I don't know what I'm getting myself into but I'm going to do it, I'm going to take advantage of that opportunity.
Speaker 4:You know, our mutual friend came to IUE, shook my hand on his birthday, brung me a book and said hey, I want to give you this. I've been following you, you know, throughout all the last couple of years. I'm like what, I don't even know you, but he, you know, he gave me the opportunity and I took that opportunity and ran with it and here I am being able to share my story. So there's. So there's God's in the blessing business. I always that's the best way I can put it. God's in the blessing business. I always that's the best way I can put it. God's in the blessing business.
Speaker 2:For sure, tell us those manifestations again, those three manifestations that you wrote down.
Speaker 4:So I wrote down a whole bunch of them. But I am worthy, I am great, I am blessed, I deserve to be here. I think there was like 10 of them that I would write, but I would alternate, but I still have that journey journal to this day. Um, so when I, when I think about how far I've come, I reflect back on that journal with my 10th grade writing in it, you know, and to see that, hey, you're a sophomore, you was a sophomore who was going through a burnout. You know you were ready to graduate. You didn't know what, quite what you wanted to do. But going into my junior year of college, I'm like, thank God you didn't give up, thank God you did not throw in the towel and you kept going and you kept pushing, no matter what it looks like, you kept going. And so to my younger self, thank you for never giving up. And to my older self, I hope you never give up and I hope you keep pushing, no matter what it looks like. And bring that folding chair 20 years old.
Speaker 2:20 years old. True leadership Isn't about age. It's about the courage to stand firm in your values, the grit to keep going when it's tough and the vision to make tomorrow better than today. Amen, that's you, brother.
Speaker 4:Thank you so much, I so appreciate this.
Speaker 2:I can't thank you enough for coming on here. I can't thank Brian Ballinger enough, our mutual friend, the one that gave you that book on his birthday. He's the one that told me about you. So thank you, brian. I know you're listening and we appreciate you making this connection.
Speaker 4:Absolutely. Thank you, brian, yeah.
Speaker 2:And you know, obviously, if you've listened to Nathan and his story, you know there's big things ahead for this young man and I'm excited for you, you know. I hope our friendship can grow from this. Oh, you've got a friend in me.
Speaker 4:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And you can help me, and I can help you, and, and I'm excited to see where it goes, and, uh, excited for you and and for those that you come in contact with.
Speaker 4:Well, thank you so much for having me. I really appreciate it, yeah.
Speaker 2:All right, everybody be sure to share this episode. If there's some young people out there high schoolers, college age kids you need to hear Nathan's story, so be sure to share, to comment, to like and do all those things and go out and be tempered.
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