Saying Goodbye to our Host, Helen Kim ’16

ALLISON LEDWON: Welcome to Northwestern Intersections, where we talk to alumni about how key experiences have propelled them in their life's work. My name is Allison Ledwon from the Northwestern Alumni Association, and I'm not your usual host. I'm usually behind the scenes as the producer and editor of this podcast. But today, I'm jumping into your feed to share some exciting but sad news. Our host, Helen Kim, will be leaving the NAA for her next adventure as a customer onboarding manager for a customer engagement software company here in Chicago.

Helen has spent the past three years improving the NAA's digital programming slate and in total has hosted 40 episodes of this podcast, edited over 60 episodes, and has managed over 40 of the NAA's career webinars. To put it plainly, Helen is responsible for a lot of the programming you know and love from the NAA and she'll be sorely missed. But before she closes this chapter, we needed to record one last episode together.

Helen, thank you for joining this episode of Intersections.

HELEN KIM: Thank you so much. It's interesting being on the other side. Before this interview, I was thinking about how exactly about two years ago around this time was when I interviewed Cassie, our previous host, for our transition episode. And to come to a full circle after two years, I'm very honored.

ALLISON LEDWON: Well, before we dive too deep in, on behalf of the entire NAA, I just want to say congratulations on beginning this next chapter. Super exciting for you.

HELEN KIM: Thank you. Your career path has not been linear, like most of our guests. Can you talk a little bit about your career path?

HELEN KIM: I went to Northwestern for percussion performance from 2012 to 2016. Got my bachelor's of music there. And I always, always wanted to be a performer. I wanted to travel around the world, play as many percussion instruments I could, and become famous-- until around junior year. I kept getting injured because of overuse, injuries. So it was really difficult for me to actually even try to finish school.

And it got me thinking, I don't think my body can actually handle it. And it was such a sad moment because when you come to college, especially for music, you work so hard. You practice countless numbers of hours to be there, at such a great music school, too. And to think that your body cannot handle it, you're just kind of sitting there confused and not knowing what to do, especially because I was ending my junior year.

So I was thinking about other options I could try as someone in the music field. I had no experience with resume writing, cover letter writing. All of that was new to me. So what I did was maybe I can try to work with orchestras downtown or a nonprofit arts organization in Chicago to see what I can do.

So I took on a bunch of internships around senior year and realized I really enjoyed working with people. Like even though I wasn't performing, I liked being around musicians, I liked being around people who thought like me. I did a lot of operation side, contracting guest artists for big concerts, and that was my career for like 2016 to 2017.

And at the same time, to be honest with everyone, financially I wasn't able to make ends meet. I had to juggle between three side jobs and barely make it. I don't think this is feasible for me at least. I just couldn't do it. So I was like, OK, maybe I can try looking for something more stable where I don't have to figure out my schedule for three different companies though.

I heard about this job at Northwestern Alumni Relations and Development through a friend, and she actually connected me. And honestly, it was through networking and informational interviews that got me here. I just grabbed coffee at Starbucks with somebody who worked here and told them my situation and asked about their job at Northwestern. And luckily, my resume got through.

And another interesting thing is that I've actually met with the HR staff at Alumni Relations and Development while I was on my internship downtown for our music organization. So it's such a small world. And I got the job as a program assistant on our current team right now for the alumni engagement side of the Northwestern Alumni Association.

And to think that that was almost four years ago is crazy to me. Honestly, I've worked with many, many groups of people in my life, especially with music, but this team was extremely special because they're the ones who supported me through all my professional development. They took me in. I didn't have a lot of experience with working with alumni. There was a lot of learning curve that I had to take on, and I truly enjoyed it. I'm always looking for ways to improve, always looking for ways to learn. So this is great.

And then I got a promotion couple years later, ended up in this current role as the assistant director doing podcasting. And folks, to be honest with you, I had zero experience in podcasting. But you will all learn. So if you're out there thinking about starting a new podcast, go for it. I am telling you it is doable. Takes a lot of hours, but it is doable.

Moving forward to now, at this point in my life, I learned that marketing and working with people one on one, face to face have been two of my favorite parts about this job-- learning people's stories and uplifting their voices to make sure their stories are heard. Those things are some of my favorite parts about this job. So I felt that I was ready to do that outside of Northwestern after having been here, including my student years, for almost seven to eight years.

So that's how I got to where I am today. I'm so thankful, and obviously so grateful for everyone who was involved in this journey, including you and just working with you as the producer and editor of this podcast. She's been on here. So--

ALLISON LEDWON: My goal is to get through this episode without crying. I don't think I will. But what's the next step?

HELEN KIM: So the next step will be I'll be a customer onboarding manager at a customer engagement platform software company here in Chicago. There are a lot of locations based in US and outside of US, but I'll be working with clients from global small to medium businesses and just helping them get on board with our product. So I'm so excited for that. It will be a different world working in the tech world after having been in nonprofit and higher education. So I've jumped around a lot going from a performing musician to working in higher ed and now going into the tech world.

ALLISON LEDWON: Wow. You are so accomplished and so good. And as someone who was onboarded by Helen, I can attest to how great of an onboard manager you are, and I know you're going to excel in this next step. But to hearken back to something you previously mentioned, you've been at Northwestern for seven years. That is a long time to be connected to any place, even though we all know that Northwestern after you're a student is a part of your life for forever in some capacity. But what is the most valuable lesson that you've learned in your seven years at Northwestern?

HELEN KIM: I would say the most valuable lesson I've learned at Northwestern is that timing is key. And I say that because after you graduate from Northwestern, such a prestigious, amazing university, a lot of folks who don't have anything lined up right after graduation, it's a stressful time.

I also stayed in Evanston a year after I graduated. So for me to feel like I didn't have anything in line and still was in my college town living there for a year is really stressful. I felt like I didn't have anything put together. I thought I worked so hard for four years to have come to a place where I'm working three jobs year round. And it was really difficult for my mental health as well at the same time.

But once I let everything go-- because I was just holding on to everything, trying to control every single little thing as possible because that makes you feel good, right, if you know what's about to happen. As someone who needs structure and who needs a plan all the time, it wasn't a case for me where I just had to let things go on its own timing. But once I just let it go, everything started to fall into place on its own at the right time. So like a certain job that I got or a certain internship that I got, I don't think I could-- I'm sure I could have been able to do it well enough, but the preparation that other things led me to that internship was so much needed, and I needed that time to process everything.

So there were many times where I was just so frustrated that things weren't working out, but once I let go of a lot of things and a lot of stress, that's when things started to work out on its own. And I was like, OK, this will be a great lesson. Still haven't learned it where I trust myself every time there's a stressful situation and I have to let it go, but I think that's one of the most valuable lessons learned since my time at Northwestern.

ALLISON LEDWON: I'm so glad that you called attention to that because I think that is something that we hear a lot from all the various guests that have been on the show is that when you least expect it, something kicks up. Or as soon as you stop stressing out about something and overthinking everything and sort of are just yourself, that's when the best things happen. And I just really appreciate you being a testament to that, especially as a person who has that same tendency that you have of overthinking and overstressing about everything. It's just very helpful to see someone who's done it and has done it successfully.

HELEN KIM: Yeah, and it's hard-- it's so much easier said than done, you know? I have to tell myself that when I am going through those stressful times. I'm like, OK, I can let it go, but also I am allowed to grieve about something, let's say a job that I didn't get or like a friendship that's been lost. But I give myself time to grieve, but I also give myself time to just, OK, I know it's there, I know that the stress is there, but I'm just going to let it go for a second. I can come back to it, but just-- it's just there. And my therapist always tells me just leave it alone, acknowledge it, name it, and then you'll be able to figure it out.

ALLISON LEDWON: Again, that's something that we hear a lot from our guests is just sort of rolling with it and giving yourself grace and everything shakes out in some way, even if it wasn't the way that you thought it would be.

HELEN KIM: Yeah.

ALLISON LEDWON: So speaking of all of our wonderful guests that we've had, you have been here since episode one of--

HELEN KIM: Yup.

ALLISON LEDWON: --Northwestern Intersections. So all of our guests are wonderful and they all have a plethora of knowledge to share. But if you had to recommend one episode of Northwestern Intersections to a new listener, what episode would it be?

HELEN KIM: It is so hard to choose one out of 103 episodes we have so far. Oh my gosh. But I would say one of my most memorable ones was with our guests Lori Hall and Jessica Lane. It's our 101st episode, "Dismantling Racism In Your Industry." And I chose that one because one, they're like two of the most amazing, intelligent, great women I've ever spoken with in my entire life. And just from this episode I learned so much through them, and also did a webinar for us and I learned a lot through that, too.

But I think just the way that they took a big risk of starting a marketing agency during-- or actually, beginning of the pandemic, a little bit earlier than March 2020, they have just inspired me in so many different ways. And what I love about them is that they are a successful Black-owned, woman-led, multicultural marketing agency. And how many of those do we see? They're starting something amazing. I know that they're growing and I'm just going to keep watching over them and see what they're up to next because we need more people like them in this world.

And what they told me and all our listeners is that you don't have to be an official activist to be an activist in your industry. You can fight for other people and you can be an ally in your industry, it doesn't matter which one, and wherever you are, whoever you are, what level you are. And we are all here to fight for another.

ALLISON LEDWON: It's one of my favorite episodes as well. I'll be sure to link their episode in the show notes on our website if you all want to take a listen. So Helen, in true Northwestern Intersections fashion, do you have a piece of advice that you'd like to share with the Northwestern network?

HELEN KIM: Yes, I do. And after having been here for almost seven years, one piece of advice that I want to share is to be kind to yourself. And I know, and I know that sounds so cliché and it doesn't seem like a tangible advice. But I think we all live in a world where we're already so stressed out and we're always trying to compete, always trying to do better, and then we forget that we don't give ourselves enough credit a lot of the times.

And I say that out of experience because it took me seven years to feel confident in where I am right now. A lot of folks go through imposter syndrome. I went through that. I still go through that at a lot of times. But meanwhile, people around you, they admire you. They think you're great. They know you're doing great. But I think you can't believe that fully until you believe that about yourself.

So I had to practice a lot just being kind to myself and imagining, would I talk to my best friend the way I talk to myself? Absolutely not. Because the way I talk to myself when I made a single mistake at an event or anything like that, I would be criticizing myself for every little thing. But would I ever tell my best friend that? No, I would never.

So I think we just need to be kind to ourselves in this cruel world that we live in where it's always about competition, and just know that you will get there. Like there were so many times where I wanted to give up and felt like I wasn't good enough. I wasn't good enough to audition for a certain place or apply for a certain place. Just do it. Just do the best that you can.

And even if you don't get it, maybe it just wasn't meant to be. Maybe you weren't meant to be there because you're going to go to this other wonderful place and be a manager at this company. So allow yourself to just let go of a lot of stress and also be kind to yourself.

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ALLISON LEDWON: Thank you for tuning in to this episode of Northwestern Intersections. We'll be back in September with new episodes to share. For more information about our podcast, visit northwestern.edu/intersections. Until next time, stay safe and take care of yourself and your families.