If you were raised by African parents, you certainly can relate to the career stories the hosts of the No Collar Podcast tell of their own journeys and tease out of their different interviewees.
The podcast’s tagline is “Careers that freak our parents out. Mama-Yo-Weh!”
Parents who immigrate to another country are often in search of a better future for their children. They believe such a future lies in providing their children with a college education in specific majors that will position them to get the most stable, well-paying jobs currently available in the market. Often, the parents’ expectations clash with their children’s passions, setting the stage for varying degrees of conflict and subterfuge.
All three podcast hosts, Trevor Kamhiriri, Nella Juma, and Nick Ochieng, are first-generation Americans raised by African parents who expected them to grow up and pursue one of the “approved” careers: Medicine, Law, Engineering, Nursing, etc. In other words, pursue white collar jobs were the only ways their parents knew to guarantee success.
All three devised strategies to appease their parents, while quietly working on the side to pursue their unconventional, no collar passions.
A couple of years back, the three friends met again after not seeing each other for a number of years. Trevor, a photographer, had been hired to take professional pictures at a mother-daughter event hosted by the church they had all attended in their teenage years. Nick accompanied Trevor to assist him with some of the details of that work. Nella was attending the event with her mother and noticed that her two friends needed additional help with their operations, so she jumped in to distribute the pictures and collect payments.
After the event, the three met up at a restaurant to catch up. During that conversation, they discovered that each of their lives had taken different directions from their original expectations, especially their parents’ expectations.
Right out of high school, Nella went to college intending to study Medicine. Several years later, she is the proud holder of an MBA, working as a project manager for a mortgage company, and doing freelance operations management in the fashion industry.
Nella works closely with fashion designer Laurel DeWitt, who dressed Cardi B for her first pregnancy announcement on TV and Beyonce for her Black is King musical film and visual album. DeWitt also worked on some costumes for the Coming 2 America movie sequel. Listen to Nella’s fascinating story in Season 1, Episode 2 of the No Collar Podcast.
Nick’s parents strongly encouraged him to pursue computers in college. A couple of years into his computer engineering degree, the IT department at his school invited students to attend a talk about their offerings. As a result of that talk, Nick took a class in cybersecurity and liked it so much that he ended up switching his major to cybersecurity.
However, his true passion is in working with cars. Lucky for him, he has found a way to make money with this, working with a mentor who is enhancing and restoring vintage BMW cars. He anticipates that business may pick up enough for him to pursue this in a major way, rather than only as a side hustle. His intriguing story is chronicled in Season 1, Episode 3.
Trevor developed a love for cameras and filming at a young age. He had many opportunities to perfect his craft, working in the audiovisual department of a church he attended in his teenage years and completing projects at his high school. These opportunities enabled him to polish his skills in videography and editing.
While plugging away at his Communications degree in college, Trevor kept doing unpaid videography internships not related to his degree. His mom didn’t think there was any money in filming, so she convinced him to pursue nursing. He started taking CNA classes, got licensed and was about to start pursuing an LVN license when he was finally offered a paying job doing media for the marketing department of a California municipality.
A couple of years ago, Trevor decided to try his hand at photography and discovered that he was really good at it. He’s perfecting his skills and growing his photography business. For more interesting details about Trevor’s journey, check out Season 1, Episode 4 of the podcast.
Sharing the stories of their journeys with each other got Trevor, Nella, and Nick thinking how great it would be to record their conversation and make it available to other young immigrants grappling with the same issues. They hope their podcast offers listeners what they wished they could have had in their younger years—mentors to guide them in pursuing these passions that were unfamiliar to their parents and other adults within their networks.
After sharing their stories, the podcast hosts decided to interview other immigrants and children of immigrants pursuing unconventional professions and passions, especially those that did not conform to the recommendations or expectations of their parents. The result is a series of beautiful stories that I believe will resonate with any immigrant, African or not.
The podcast hosts point out that they understand their parents’ position—the desire to ensure that their children have financial stability and independence as they step into adulthood. The hosts also recognize how they have benefited from the guidance of their parents, even when well-intended advice directly opposed their passions. Also, they appreciate the safety nets their parents provided when they were exploring different career directions.
The No Collar Podcast has been on a little hiatus due to the pandemic; however, the hosts are hard at work curating interviewees for a new season of the podcast. They hope to hold more live events in the future.
Until then, cue up the existing podcast episodes from Season 1 and see if you can find stories that resonate with your own journey or give you some new ideas about how to pursue your own passions. Share your stories with the hosts as well as any advice you have received that may be helpful to others pursuing similarly unconventional passions. Here’s to thriving in careers that freak our parents out!
