Andrea Weaver is a resilient and brilliant human. In Part 1 of her interview, she shares with us the many adversities she has faced from her mother being diagnosed with cancer, a few months later her brother being diagnosed with cancer, and then Andrea herself finding out she is pregnant while in an abusive relationship. She shares with us the steps she took to acknowledge these heartwrenching situations and how she has learned from them and is on a path of healing (shout out therapy). Andrea also shares with us how she has advocated for herself and her worth throughout different points in her career path. Check out the full interview to get a quick intro to Andrea's life, and stay tuned for the next interview!
Life's Not Linear with Michael Hostad
Michael Hostad is a retired IT professional that has used his coding work for some pretty amazing community projects. Michael began building websites at age 14, posting clips from The Simpson for fun. After college, he worked for a financial company, building websites. After realizing this didn't bring him a lot of intrinsic joy, he took an IT position at UW-Milwaukee. This position grew and grew as he said yes and fast forward, he ends up working for a large nonprofit in Milwaukee and then starting a non-profit called The Commons, a free accelerator for students to bring students together across Southeast WI to learn the entrepreneurial mindset, why failure is important, and creative problem-solving. During this time, Michael started a passion project called Light The Hoan. The Hoan Bridge is the Golden Gate of Milwaukee. Michael has worked for 4.5 years on this project with his partner Ian, and at the end of August, the west side will be lit! To top it off, Michael comes full circle in building a coding curriculum for students to program different light patterns so they, too, can Light The Hoan. Michael is a strong advocate of the community and Milwaukee.
Life's Not Linear with Erin Maggenis
Erin had to learn at a young age to advocate for herself and to listen to her body. She went from being a premier athlete to barely being able to walk up the driveway during her freshman year of high school. After some time of tests and doctors, they discovered that Erin has POTS. Since then, Erin has been on a journey of listening to her body and learning what it needs. Through both Western medicine and holistic healing, Erin has become a pro at listening to her body and acting on its needs. Erin went to college for neuroscience with the plans of going to medical school, but one semester before graduating, she decided she wanted to experience the world for herself. She also saw that there's a lot of room for growth in the medical curriculum and it wasn't aligned with what she wanted at the time. Erin is a serial social impact entrepreneur, with many eggs in many baskets. Her personal mission is to help people live a happier, healthier life - and that is exactly what she's doing. Check out her website at erinmagennis.com to connect with her and to learn more about what she's been up to! Watch to learn more!