On the Way There

Join Amina for the finale of the first season of the On the Way There podcast where she interviews Faiza Jamil, an IT professional from the DC area doing system analysis at Sunrise Senior Living. Faiza tells us what inspired her to go into the IT field, how she went about learning the skills needed to be where she is today, and gives away valuable advice on what she has learned along the way that would be useful for others to know along with how to get started in joining the field.

After this interview, Amina also gives a brief conclusion about key takeaways and common themes across many of the interviews as well as hints about season 2 of this podcast series. 

Join Amina as she interviews Leezan Omerbell, an aspiring writer who tell us more about the current book she is working on, what inspired her to work on this coming-of-age novel, and tells us more about her own life story and experiences which helped influence her writing. She also tells us more about how she came to discover she loved to write, and tells us more about the process which can often take years. 

Join Amina as she interviews Bassem Nasir, an Education Specialist at UNICEF. Bassem walks us through his career journey and gives away valuable advice on how to transfer skills you learn from different paths into the one you realize is best for you. Bassem explains how he realized engineering wasn't his passion after completing his undergraduate degree and tells us more about how his passion for the arts, especially in acting, along with the skills he learned through his degree, along with past experiences as an educator at a computer center in Palestine prepared him to be an Education Specialist at UNICEF. 

Join Amina as she interviews Lina Bhatti who is currently studying Islamic Studies and working on creating some beautiful artwork. Lina tells us about her journey to digital art which she creates on an iPad as well as her block printing and embroidery work, which are all inspired by her love for her roots in Pakistan and the Punjab region. You can support her work @linaoftheindus. Lina also tells us more about her journey into academia and her interests in studying Islam in South Asia in particular and her perspectives on pluralism and celebrating diversity. 

Join Amina as she interviews Dr. Ilham Nasser, an expert in education, teacher training, and research and a Director and Senior Researcher for the Human Development Program at IIIT. She was the principal investigator for the Mapping the Terrain Study part of the Advancing Education in Muslim Societies initiative at the International Institute of Islamic Thought, a non-profit organization in the Washington DC area. Dr. Nasser tells us more about this project and walks us through her career journey and gives away important lessons she has learned as she completed her PhD, shifted from being a Professor to a Researcher taking the lead on various projects and offering consulting services to various NGOs in the education space. She also gives away some of the most important lessons or skills she has learned "on the way there" that would be helpful for others to know.

This time instead of doing an interview, Amina Derbi, host and producer of the On the Way There podcast, walks listeners through how to make their own podcast. 

Join Amina as she interviews Noor-alhuda Elbackush, a student at George Mason University pursuing a career in STEM. Noor-alhuda tells us why it is important for women to empower other women, particularly in this field, and also goes into important lessons she has learned from her experiences as a student and why it is important for people of all ages to prioritize their wellbeing and mental health. 

Join Amina as she interviews Ayesha Cheema who gives away vital insights on how to become an attorney while running your own side business, giving the example of her own photography business. You can check out her website here: https://www.ayeshacheemaphotos.com. 

Join Amina as she interviews Amy Dykstra, a Learning and Development Project Manager for the Motley Fool's organizational development team. Amy gives away valuable advice about how to push past fear to challenge yourself and grow within your career path, speaking from her own experiences as she shifted from wanting to be an Opera singer to finding the greatest fulfillment as a learning and development project manager for an organization she has grown within over time. 

Join Amina as she interviews Hiba Ismeail, Assistant Director of Curriculum Design & Instructional Design at Fairfax University of America (FXUA). Hiba tells us more about her amazing career journey and why she is so passionate about her current work, and gives valuable insight on how others can pursue a career in instructional design. 

Join Amina as she interviews Saulat Pervez, a researcher and writer who gives us an update about a fascinating research project on creating reading cultures in Pakistan. Saulat also provides us with more information about the fascinating background history of the project and also tells us more about her academic and career journey which led her to want to work on the project. She also gives listeners vital information about what she has learned "on the way there" that could be helpful to others, including the value of having what she calls outsider experience and insider insight. 

Join Amina as she interviews Dr. Esaam Kamareddine, the founder of IronSharp Performance and Physical Therapy in Orange County, California. Esaam tells us more about IronSharp and the types of treatment and services they offer. Listeners can learn more by visiting ironsharppt.com. He also walks us through the journey he went on to become a PT and to open his own practice, and also gives important advice for someone considering going into this field in terms of what skills they should focus their attention on developing, what they should study, and what type of work they should do before being able to open their own practice.

Join Amina as she interviews Monica Chowdhury, a science policy analyst working for the government who will tell us more about her very important and fascinating research on antibodies and how one of her projects directly involved her working on COVID-19 research. She also tells us more about her career journey going from research to policy and lessons she has learned along the way that would be helpful for others. 

Join Amina as she interviews Tibyan Mohamed who is currently studying to become a dentist. Tibyan walks us through her career journey, highlighting what she has learned along the way and shares insights for others interested in a similar path on best practices while navigating through this path. Tibyan also provides great advice on how to stay motivated and persistent along the way there.

Join Amina as she interviews Mavra Ahmed, a Graphic/Visual Designer from the DC area currently working as an in-house designer for Creative Services at a large organization. Mavra walks us through her career journey and gives away important tips about how to become a successful graphic designer and what skills to focus on developing, including personal branding. 

Join Amina as she interviews, Ola Alghazzouli, a swim instructor and functional fitness specialist who runs her own business called BeFit4Akhirah and is the host of the podcast, Purposeful Fitness with Coach Ola. Ola gives away important tips about running your own business and what inspired her to start BeFit4Akhirah and why it is important for her to take a faith-based approach to fitness. To learn more about Ola's work, you can visit BeFit4Akhirah.com.

Join Amina as she interviews Juhee Jain, a Senior UX Designer at Total Brain. Juhee walks us through her career journey, including a shift she made along the way and offers advice about key skills or areas to work on for aspiring UX designers. She also runs her own design business and listeners can check out her work at www.juheejain.com.

Join Amina as she interviews Professor James Van Meer, the Founder of Thinkpoint Creative , a full-service studio which offers design, branding, and marketing communications where he is also the Creative Director. He is an expert in graphic design, branding, and marketing in addition to being a great educator at George Mason University. Professor Van Meer gives away important tips on what skills are needed to be a Creative Director, and walks us through his career journey. To learn more about Thinkpoint Creative, listeners can visit www.thinkpointcreative.com.

Join Amina as she gives a recap of what has been covered on the podcast so far and interviews Esie Cheng, a Design & Production Coordinator, Painting Instructor and Freelance Artist who talks about their career journey and artwork which listeners can check out at www.esiedoodles.com. Esie gives valuable advice on the importance of planning and pushing past fear of failure and self-criticism in order to grow while also sharing how art can be used to express emotions, particularly sadness. 

Join Amina as she interviews Dr. Tavis Jules, an award-winning Associate Professor of Cultural and Educational Policy at Loyola University Chicago, specifically focusing on Comparative and International Education and International Higher Education. Dr. Jules gives away the secrets to getting tenure when pursuing a career in academia including publishing and writing strategies as well as tips on how to stay motivated and push past rejection while enjoying the process. He also walks us through his career journey, starting from when he came to the US from Guyana in South America at the age of 20, studied at Columbia University for his Master's and PhD, and then became an Assistant Professor and later Associate Professor at Loyola. 

Join Amina as she kicks off the first season of the On the Way Podcast with special guest, Noor Tagouri, an award-winning journalist and producer. The first part of this episode contains more information from Amina about the podcast which came about through reflections and conversations taking place during the time of COVID-19 pandemic, and the second part features an interview with Noor who tells us more about her career journey into journalism, how she has built an engaged community of followers including over 2 million collectively on social media, and different steps along the way she has taken on her career journey, including launching At Your Service, her own production company and consultancy focused on telling stories through a lens of service. To learn more about Noor's work, listeners can visit www.noortagouri.com.

This is a preview of the On the Way There podcast, a podcast for people who believe in learning together and celebrating each other. It's a celebration of us all as lifelong students, learning from each other, as we are all on the way there.  Twice a week, you will hear stories from people at various stages of their career or chasing their dreams. These are informal conversations meant to provide bite-sized nuggets of wisdom from people's own lived experiences that perhaps may be beneficial for your own journey. 

The upcoming interviews will contain insights from experts in their field about  how they found their way there, wherever there may be. There will also be stories about up and coming artists, writers, designers, entrepreneurs, scientists, and creatives who are still at the beginning or middle of their career journey, and may not have much of a following yet, so we can celebrate them and contribute to their growth.  Some of the people you will hear from in the next coming weeks are creative directors, fitness trainers, physical therapists, science policy analysts, professors, artists, graphic designers, user experience designers, doctors, students, writers, and more!