Kimberly Baker grew up in New Jersey with a lot of opportunities in front of her, until one lifechanging day when she got to shadow a neonatologist. At only 11 years old, Kim basically knew she wanted to be in the healthcare space in some capacity. She graduated from Stevens Institute of Technology with her BS in Engineering, after doing a 5 year program that also incorporated co-op programs and graduate level certificates. The co-op portion of her collegiate career played...

Chirayu Baxi grew up with a physician as a father and dentist as a mother, so he knew from an early age that helping people in the healthcare space was something he wanted to do long-term. He graduated from the Loyola University Chicago with her Bachelors of Science in Biology in 2009 and completed his MD from St. Georges University School of Medicine in 2015. Chirayu initially went to college thinking she was going to pursue pharmacy as a career path, but then he decided to switch h...

Liz Ewen was just a middle school student when she first came across genetics in her journey, reading a book on Cystic Fibrosis that would basically change her life. That book and her classroom learnings on Punnett squares basically set her on a course for her entire career. She graduated from the University of Connecticut with her Bachelors of Science in Genetics in 2000 and completed her PhD in Molecular Biology from Boston University in 2010. Liz initially went to college thinking...

Nav Iyengar came to the United States, from India, before he was 5 years old. Starting his life growing up in Michigan and Wisconsin, Nav initially thought he would grow up to be a doctor. After enjoying Debate in high school, he then thought that lawyer was the right profession. Neither ended up being the path he'd take... but his journey has worked out incredibly anyway! He graduated from Loyola University Chicago with his BA in Finance in 2015. Starting his story in the cur...

Allison Edwards grew up and wanted to be a veterinarian. She knew at a young age that she loved animals and thought that being a veterinarian was the right job for her. Now, 25 years later... she's doing just that! She graduated from the University of Rhode Island with her BS in Animal Science and then went on to complete her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from the University of Tennessee. Unlike many other people that have had journeys with numerous twists, turns, and stops......

Stephanie Scearce grew up in Massachusetts thinking she was going to be a dancer. She thought that dancing or teaching dance was her path in life. Then, an ankle injury showed her how quickly that could all be taken away from you. Since then, her life has taken a number of turns but all towards happiness! She graduated from Roger Williams University with her BA in Anthropology and Sociology, after having a professor that opened her eyes up to what that field was all about. ...

Jon Esmail really had no idea what he was going to do with his life when he was growing up. He knew he loved sports, but that was about it. He had assumed that sports would take him beyond high school and would be his opportunity to get to college and beyond. What he didn't know was exactly how sports would the foundation for his career. Jon began his post-high school career at Worcester State College, but didn't return to campus after suffering an on-field injury during his freshman year. ...

Dan Tompkins knew he loved science, and so he grew up thinking about going into medicine. What he didn't know then was what type of medicine he would be doing. Years of working at a local garden & nursery shop inevitably led him down his career path of agricultural science. He graduated from Delaware Valley College with his BS in environmental design and ornamental horticulture and then went on to the University of Florida for his Doctorate in Plant Medicine. Currently, Dan has ...

Tune in as Kristen tells us how she went from making her own skirts as she thought about going to medical school... to owning her own design studio. She graduated from Framingham State University with his BS in Design with a Minor in Art. Kristen went from making clothes for her Barbie Dolls and sewing her own clothes in high school to then actually becoming a designer for big name intimate and swim wear lines like Lane Bryant, Avon, and Victoria's Secret. After numerous jobs in Boston a...

Alan "AJ" Pelletier didn't go the "normal" route of high school to college to job. He listened to advice that his dad gave him and decided to go to Trade School and bypass the college degree. Today... he regrets that decision. A.J. started his path towards a trade school by electing to attend a technical high school instead of general one. He was focusing on manufacturing as the path he wanted with the expectation that he would progress in it. After completing high school, A.J. instea...

Janan Dave grew up in New Jersey watching various baking and cooking shows on the Food Network, thinking that she'd grow up to be a pastry chef. As you can imagine, that hasn't happened yet. Instead... Janan has built her career on focusing on helping people dealing with the behemoth that is the U.S. healthcare system. She went into the College of Arts and Sciences at University of Pennsylvania as undeclared, but left with her BA in Health and Societies. After having worked for numer...

Ryan Marut grew up with dreams of being the replacement to Tom Brady as the QB1 for the New England Patriots. With those dreams not really working out, he knew he still wanted to work in and around sports. He initially went to St. Johns University to study Sports Management, but ended up transferring to Florida International University to be a part of a D-1 football program in addition to his studies. After completing his Bachelors Degree in Sports Management, Ryan also went on to get his M...

Andrea Baggetta really liked her AP psychology class in high school. She would never have thought that one class would have then set her off on to the journey that her career has taken. She graduated from Sacred Heart University with her BA in Psychology and then went on to get her MA in Psychology with a Concentration in Child Development from Boston University. After finishing her MA, Andrea realized psychology wasn't going to get into a direct job and took whatever position was av...

Anuja Martinez went into college thinking she was going to do something in business or computer science. She left college with a completely different perspective on where her life was going to go. She graduated from Indiana University with her BA in Religion and then went on to get her MA in Clinical Social Work with a Concentration in Sex Therapy from the University of Chicago. While getting her degree from IU, Anuja was volunteering and putting in hours at different shelters for vi...

J. Salome Martinez went to see The Wiz as a child and the rest, as they say, is history. He knew that he wanted to be a performer, but there is no way that he thought that would lead him to a career a bona fide screen, theater, and voice actor. He graduated from Barat College with his BA in Acting and immediately went on to get his MFA in Acting & Directing from the University of Florida. Since finishing up in Florida, Salome has acted in 20+ tv shows and feature movies along wit...

Kate Orefice was pretty much driven towards studying speech pathology from her early childhood years. That interest was further strengthened after she and her family dealt with a tragedy when Kate was in high school. By the time she was off to college, Kate pretty much knew what she was going to be. She graduated early from Southern Connecticut State University with her BS in Communication Sciences & Disorders and went on to get her MS in Special Education with a Teaching Certification ...

Sheila Kelly was unsure of what she wanted to be when she grew up. What she did know was that she didn't really want to have the same jobs her parents did. Well, she definitely accomplished that. She graduated early from Brandeis University with her BA in English and Economics and immediately went on to get her Masters in Public Health from Boston University. As you'll hear, a tragic event occurred in her undergraduate experience which set her off on the path that Sheila is on today. ...

As My Life Be Like wraps up Season 1, I just want to thank everyone who took the time to participate this season. Also, a huge shout out to everyone who took the time to listen and support My Life Be Like!

Have you ever been to a show on Broadway or watched live musicals in the theater? Curious to know about what the life is like of someone who lives that life!? Matthew Smedal grew up wanting to be an astronaut, but that quickly changed as he veered his life away from space and into the music scene! He graduated from West Virginia Wesleyan College with her BA in Music, got her MA in and all but his PhD Dissertation in Piano Performance/Music from West Virginia University. He stepped...

Vikas Chokshi always knew he wanted to work in sports, it just took him a little longer to get there than he thought he would. Starting in the IT industry, Vikas has an incredible journey finding him finally opening up his own sports marketing consultancy, publishing articles as a sportswriter, and hosting his own sports based podcast! He received her BS in Information Technology from Marquette University and is currently working on getting his MBA from the University of Illinois! Vi...