Overview: Alumnae Yuri Unno ’95 Behrend and Amanda Blunt ’09 Lib join Following the Gong to discuss working for major automotive companies Toyota and GM, respectively, in Washington D.C. They both share their stories of finding Penn State – Yuri as an international student, Amanda as someone from “outside Philly” – and how they found interests working in trade policy, lobbying, legal affairs, and more. Both share their insights on graduate and professional school, careers in these fields, educating government administrators and legislators, and navigating the complexities of the nation’s capital. This episode is great for any Scholar, and especially those interested in these topics, international students, and those who live or plan to live and work in and around DC. Both Amanda and Yuri’s bios are available below along with chapter markers detailing the topics discussed. Guest Bios: Yuri Unno ’95 Behrend is a federal lobbyist for Toyota Motor North America's Government Office in Washington, D.C., serving as the Director for Trade and Supply Chain. She is responsible for representing Toyota in front of the Administration and Congress on these issues. She earned her BA in Political Science with Honors and BA in Economics from the Penn State Behrend College. She also earned her MA from the Elliott School of International Studies at Gorge Washington University. Prior to her extensive career at Toyota, Yuri worked at a small consulting firm called G7 Group. Amanda Blunt ’09 Liberal Arts is Counsel for Legal Affairs and Trade at Detroit-based car company General Motors's Washington, D.C. office. She is an international trade attorney for the company and, sitting in DC, works closely with the company's lobbyists in the Global Public Policy office. She also teaches international negotiations at Georgetown Law, where she earned her JD. Before joining GM in 2021 she worked at the White House for 5 years under 3 Presidential administrations at the Office of the US Trade Representative. USTR is responsible for US trade policy, including negotiating trade deals with other countries and litigating disputes at the World Trade Organization in Geneva, Switzerland. While at USTR she won a case against China at the WTO, and negotiated agreements with China, the EU, Japan, and other countries as well as in international bodies like the United Nations. Prior to government service she began her career at a large law firm. She earned her BA in Political Science with Honors from Penn State’s College of the Liberal Arts. She likes speaking with students about law school, politics and careers in Washington, as well as international affairs and of course, trade. Her LinkedIn is: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanda-blunt-b933317/ Episode Topic & Chapters  0:00         Introductions 00:44       Choosing Penn State and the Schreyer Honors College 03:07       Advice for Scholars finishing at a campus other than University Park 03:59       Advice for international students 04:56       Amanda's Penn State origin story 06:01       Being in a sorority as a Scholar 07:29       The Honors Thesis 09:18       Transitioning from college to industry 10:29       Deciding on law school 12:43       Staying at one company for the bulk of your career 16:09       Lobbying at various levels of government 19:29       Amanda's early career in big law and the White House 20:57       Advice for Scholars looking to work in the public sector 21:46       Working in business with a liberal arts degree 24:30       Working for a "car company" but not being a "car guy" 26:15       Being the "utility infielder" for the gov relations staff 27:17       Effectively lobbying legislators and other offi...