“I might be the smartest kid alive, but if I don’t do anything to reach out to opportunities around me I’m never going to get anywhere.”
Kids these days. All they care about is themselves and their Snapchats. Too busy staring at their cellphones to even acknowledge anyone else. I mean, where will the world be headed with this next generation at the helm? Am I right?! Psych! (that’s what the kids say these days) This week’s episodes showcase how off base and misguided statements like that can be. In todays episode I speak with college student, and much smarter than me human being, Flavio Pacheco. Flavio is a true testament to where having your head on straight at a young age, in a country like America, can get you. After being born in America, Flavio spent the rest of his childhood growing up in Brazil. He moved back to America by himself at the ripe age of 17 and started attending junior college with scholarships he attained. Flavio proceeded to learn how to fluently speak English in only 2 years, graduated Summa Cum Laude from said junior college (while trying to learn to speak English), and is now on his way to a full ride scholarship at an Ivy League University. He also locked down an internship as a lab research assistant to ultimately help people with high cholesterol…at a lab that, up until Flavio persisted them into submission, did not allow anyone less than a PhD student to be a lab assistant. Again, all from a guy that didn’t even know how to speak English a couple years ago. Grab some popcorn and prepare to feel bad about yourself, but hopeful for the future.
“A job is just a job, but if you like what you do it’s more like a hobby.”
“Never expect things to work the way they should. You might expect a result but it works out in a completely different way, but sometimes the new way leads you to things that are even better.”
Interview Contents
4:00 - Flavio’s backstory and getting a scholarship.
9:00 - Flavio vs. other kids his age, and how growing up in Brazil helped shape him.
13:30 - Settling on a major.
15:30 - How does Flavio excel so much?
17:00 - Having a great energy level and not needing much sleep.
23:00 - Flavio’s first memory of being interested in science.
25:30 - The research that Flavio is doing.
32:00 - The scientific culture.
39:30 - Is doing research boring?
42:30 - The day to day job.
44:30 - Life lessons from research.
45:30 - Advice.
Links
THIS EPISODE WAS MADE WITH THE SUPPORT OF
Brittany & Matt Marcotte
Roxanna
Michelle & Jim Wortner
Janelle Swanson
Jimmy Seymour
