S9E2 - Amanda Castello
In this episode of 'More Than Work,' host Rabiah sits down with Amanda Castello, Associate Director of Employee Engagement at UCSD's Rady School of Business, Ayurvedic coach, and yoga teacher. They discuss Amanda's journey from Michigan to San Diego, her career evolution, the importance of communication skills in job seeking, and her work in career coaching. Amanda also delves into her holistic wellness practices, including Ayurveda and yoga, and how they complement her professional life. They touch on the importance of giving your time to the community and finding inspiration from your surroundings.
00:00 Introduction to More Than Work Podcast
00:34 Meet Amanda Castello: Career Coach and Yoga Teacher
02:54 Amanda's Journey to Career Coaching
04:11 Challenges and Insights in Career Coaching
06:57 The Importance of Communication Skills
13:49 Amanda's Personal Journey with Yoga and Ayurveda
21:06 Balancing Multiple Passions and Taking Breaks
22:36 Balancing Passion and Career
23:37 Artistic Expression and Personal Growth
24:56 Ayurveda and Career Integration
26:52 Athena STEM Women and Community Involvement
30:27 Women in Tech and Career Reflections
34:56 Fun Five Questions
40:30 Final Thoughts and Contact Information
Note from Host:
I love interviewing people I haven’t met because it is an opportunity to get to know someone brand new. But it is even more exciting to get to chat with someone I do know a little better and explore subjects that we never have in real life. Amanda was one of the most supportive non-comics on the comedy scene when I was starting out in San Diego. Our paths crossed briefly before I headed to the UK but her now husband was one of my comedy buddies and she was often a face in the crowd and on the sidelines I was always happy to see. I have followed her career over time and we were finally able to connect. She is impressive, she is compassionate and she is someone I know I will keep learning from. Listen up and learn about Ayurveda, career growth and more!
Host Rabiah (London) chats with Ayurveda coach and career advisor Amanda Castello (San Diego, CA).
Transcript
Rabiah (Host): [00:00:00] This is More Than Work, the podcast reminding you that your self worth is made up of more than your job title. Each week, I'll talk to a guest about how they discovered that for themselves. You'll hear about what they did, what they're doing, and who they are. I'm your host, Rabiah. I work in IT, perform stand up comedy, write, and of course, podcast.
Thank you for listening. Here we go!
Welcome to More Than Work this week, everyone. My guest is someone I actually know from San Diego and from comedy, but she's not the comedian. Her other half is, and she's, just was someone who was always awesome and supporting all of us by being in the audience, early in our comedy careers.
But we're going to talk about her today. And it's Amanda Castello. She's Associate Director of Employee Engagement at UCSD at the Rady School of Business. And she's an Ayurvedic coach and yoga [00:01:00] teacher. So we have a lot to talk about.
Welcome to the podcast, Amanda.
Amanda Castello: Awesome. Thanks, Rabiah. Thank you for having me.
Rabiah (Host): Yeah, I'm excited to chat with you. So I did kind of give away where I'm talking to you from, but I'm in London now.
Where am I talking to you from?
Amanda Castello: Yeah, absolutely. So I'm in San Diego, California, near the, you know, couple miles north of downtown. So we're in a heart center of the city and we really love it here. So we're originally from Michigan, but San Diego is definitely a big place for us as a home.
Rabiah (Host): Yeah. Yeah. And how long have you been there now? I mean, it's been at least five years, I guess.
Amanda Castello: We landed here in December 2018, and we had the full intention of, hey, we're gonna stay for a couple months, see how it goes, and then it just kept turning into, oh, it's been a year, oh, it's been two years. But we still love it here, so we're going to continue to stay, and, we have plans to stay for the foreseeable future. Yeah, so we, we really do love it here.
We do miss our family back in Michigan, but, San Diego is definitely [00:02:00] a place for us right now.
Rabiah (Host): Yeah. And I understand like going somewhere for, I was going to be here for 18 months and it's going to be five years. So I totally get that, you know, it's just what happens. So you, you have a variety of things that you do. And I mean, what, what struck me about you was just kind of having met you quite a while ago now and then just kind of seeing how you've evolved over time with your career and stuff.
So I guess first, do you want to talk about what you're doing as someone who's working on people with people on their careers and like you've had kind of various career coaching jobs. And what I want to say is that I've had people on the podcast who are career coaches and things like that, but independently, and you're doing it through a school very actually, I'm a alumni of UCSD, not of the Rady School, but just of the university, but. in a different way. And like, that's such an important role. So can you talk a little bit about how you got into career coaching and where you are
now?
Amanda Castello: Yeah, absolutely. So essentially, I studied international relations in college, and I really wanted [00:03:00] to be involved, maybe in the State Department aspect and really help people. But now as I tell, people that I coach, I did my homework, so I did all the informational interviews. I talked to people.
I signed up for information sessions with organizations that talked about careers and I realized, Oh, this might not be a longterm career path for me. So then I pivoted and I stuck with how can I help people in my region? I love to travel, but I didn't want to make that my career. And because I, Connor and I are very, we love our family so much and it's really important for us to be around as much as we can.
So then I was like, Oh, well now what do I do? So I went through the whole process as a job seeker of applying for jobs, having interviews, really struggling. And you know, through that. I would say maybe a year process really started to understand like how to be a good job seeker. What are the things that I need to be doing to get to an interview?
And [00:04:00] to really communicate who I am to potential employers, so that way they can trust me and want to onboard me on their team. And so this really big pivot to career coaching came when we moved to San Diego. So I started job seeking here. In hindsight, not sure if that was the wisest thing for Conor Knight to do is just to leave and show up, but you know, him and I are very resilient.
So we we figured it out and so I always encourage people, you know, if you have a big leap of faith, it's okay. Go for it. So anyways, I through LinkedIn my first career coaching job was, the previous Director of Career Services reached out to me on LinkedIn and said, hey you have a really interesting background, you might be a good fit for this career coaching position at the school and I kind of was like Really? Okay.
So then I got through the interview process, ended up having the job. I was there for three years and I [00:05:00] really loved the aspect of helping people do something uncomfortable. That really is a big thing for me in my professional work as well as in my personal life. I would say that's a big overarching theme for me.
So then, over time I just kept growing within that industry. So not only coaching my first job was more like coaching nontraditional students. So adults you know, parents even some students who were 18 fresh out of high school. So that wide range was really nice and I really liked that environment.
I did a quick stint working with an executive firm where we helped more higher level candidates find jobs as well. And then ended up landing at UC San Diego where my first job was again, career coaching. And then now what I do is more on the external side. So I work with employers to help hire our students.
So working in industry is, is really nice in a way [00:06:00] because there's a, this essence of a formalized pipeline, especially in graduate business school. And so It's a, it's been a really great opportunity to, you know, thinking on my background of helping our students go not have to go through so many whole like loopholes that I did when I was a job seeker and provide them formalized resources that we work with employers.
So they give us feedback on what they're looking for and insights to how to get into their company. And we communicate that information back to students. So it's a really nice resource that I didn't necessarily have as a job seeker. And so it's just really cool to be on the other side and say, like, here's all the information to help you do something super uncomfortable, which is to find a job, to pay for the bills and to do something that you love. So...
Rabiah (Host): No, that's great. I thought of a few things. But one of them is that I remember when I was at UCSD. So this was 25 years ago, right as undergrad. There was this whole thing about San [00:07:00] Diego State versus UCSD, which is still there. My nephew's at state right now.
And so I don't feel a rivalry with him certainly, but just the idea that UCSD, the employers didn't like hiring us because they felt that we learned more theory and like, just the whole method of teaching at UCSD was different than at State. And they were more taught, more practically at State. And so there, and then there was also the thing of like, they started doing basic communication skills and writing and stuff for science people, because there was this lack of ability to do that. And we thought we were so great at UCSD even though we're getting told these things.
And I mean, is there anything that you noticed, I guess, coming out of I mean, it's definitely different students business school, but anything you've noticed that you've had to like tell people who are really probably high achieving at this point, if they're finishing business school that you were kind of almost surprised you had to like work with them on.
Amanda Castello: Yes and thank you for [00:08:00] that question. It's a great question. And you're right. I would say, you know, I'm not a San Diego, California native. One of my closest friends went to SDSU, which is kind of funny 'cause now she works for UCSD extension , but at, at the end of the day, she's a diehard Aztec and I totally understand and respect that.
But you are right with that essence of U. C. San Diego is known as a research school. So, you know, that research is definitely different than corporate in terms of what the goals are, what skills you need to have and just the environment's different. The thing that I've heard and seen is our students are really smart.
They're very, very smart. And the skill that needs to be focused on more is communication and people skills. Like reading body language when you're talking to somebody. Being able to communicate who you are, what you like to do, and what your future goals are, especially to an employer when you're in an interview.
So [00:09:00] you know, on my team, our career coaches do a great job working with our students directly and helping them do that. We have a lot of workshops and one on one sessions to help them with that. But that's a really big piece. And I hear that feedback from even employers, too. It's like, you know, your students, we know that they have the skill set that they need to do to do the job well, but really, if they can do a better job communicating, you know why their, their capstone project is important or how does this impact the business?
So that's a growing thing that our school is helping to train our students that come in the door of like, you know, at the end of the day, you have to talk to your supervisor about what you're working on and why it's important. So definitely communication and people skills is the biggest, you know, soft skill that we, we try to train to get them prepared.
Rabiah (Host): Yeah.
I've been, you know, in the workforce postgrad, post undergrad for a long time. It is important. I think being able to communicate [00:10:00] well gets you a lot farther eventually, whether you're the smartest one in the room or not.
And certainly when you start telling people you're the smartest one in the room, you're not communicating well because you more demonstrate that and say it, you know?
So for you, when you think back to when you were searching for jobs and now the work you're doing with helping people, is there something that, that happened to you or that you took with you that you always try to pass along to someone that you go, you know what, this is the one thing I always need people to take away from me because this was the thing that was hardest for me?
Amanda Castello: Yeah, that's a great question, man. There's so many things. Let's see. I think I think one thing I would say confidence. You know, it's really hard to be strong. You know, even if you have maybe conflicting opinions of things Or, you know, you're, you're, you have an interview, right? And you feel the nerves coming up before the interview.
Oh man, you get this imposter syndrome feelings coming up, you get I'm [00:11:00] just another interview that they have other interviews for. So I think one thing is practice makes perfect too, in a way, like the more practice you have, the better you can become and really learn how to talk about yourself.
So it was really tough to apply for jobs and not get responses. And so I really feel for people right now who are job searching and I hear, and I see it on LinkedIn of, of the job market being really tough. And so I really feel for you because that is a very uncomfortable situation. Having this confidence through a difficult time is maybe even resilience would be a better word. And I think over time, too, once you start applying for jobs and you read the job descriptions and you write your resume and you write your cover letter, you start to continue to reflect on what is really important to me and the work that I do, whether it's you know, the company values or the day to day work. And nothing's ever perfect either.
So it's always kind [00:12:00] of like, "What is the non negotiable thing?" And being confident of saying like, no, this is what matters to me. And taking time to reflect on that and identify that maybe even before you start looking for another job could be really helpful. So that way as you go through the process and you might not get to where you want to be at a certain time period you can take a look at what, again, is important to you and keep that at the top of mind to stay resilient. Because it is tough, you know? Like, I think it's just accepting that it's, it's a tough thing to do, but having confidence in yourself to put yourself out there and keep trying, I think is the biggest thing that has helped me of just knowing, like, It's a process. It's not an overnight thing. I mean, it would be great if it was, it could happen, you know, but having that expectation is really tough to meet, I think.
Rabiah (Host): Yeah.
no, I agree. I mean, I was just looking recently for a little bit and then I think some circumstances were changing how they've changed back, [00:13:00] but I just, I had forgotten about not hearing back from anyone. Or, you do hear back now. A lot of them have the automated, you didn't get it emails. And that's, it's kind of like a lot of them, you know, in a way you're just applying. But some of them you take time and you really thought, Oh, I wanted that one, you know, and it's tricky.
So that's good advice. And to just, I think that is what you said about values too and what you want is important because I don't think, especially when I started working probably like a decade before you did, like we didn't do that, you know. And then you would stay somewhere because you were loyal. And I think it's ended now that whole thing,
hopefully, you know, has ended because should be glad they have the employees they have not, you shouldn't have to always be grateful. You have a job. I mean, you know, be mutual, right? So, let's talk about the yoga and then the, Ayurvedic coaching because that part, I don't know anything about, but maybe so talk about it however you want to. But how'd you go from, you know, for me, I was [00:14:00] watching, I remember AM Yoga with Rodney Yee or something, these VHS tapes. That's the extent of the yoga I've done, right? And how'd you go from someone like that to being someone who actually coaches it and does holistic stuff?
Amanda Castello: Nice, yeah. That's actually hilarious.
I think my mom had a Rodney Yee video, too. So I know exactly what you're talking about. But yeah, no, it's you know, growing up, like, I played sports, but it was just a fun thing to do with my friends, and I never really I knew how important stretching and breathing techniques were and all of this stuff, so I was just kind of like, yeah, just move and, and you know, in my twenties during college actually, and I was working a lot. That's when like my health really just started to really decline. Especially on the mental health aspect.
And I just didn't feel comfortable, I'm a person who likes a lot of different things too, [00:15:00] and so when I'm really out of balance like that, I'm just all over the place. Like, I don't really know, I didn't know who I was, you know, I'm still learning that, but it was just such a confusing time for me.
On top of the job search process, so that's where, you know, stick to your values and who you are.
But I actually The catalyst for me, you know, on top of like monster energy drinks, pop tarts, and call it like, just not good. I went to a concert and I was crowd surfing, which is really fun, but, you know.
Yeah, and I remember getting dropped. I hit the ground, flat on my back, thank goodness. And I was picked up immediately, and after that, like, I had really bad back pain, like, it was just not fun. I was longboarding at the time, so it was really hard to just move, and I was like, wow, I really need to figure my stuff out, because [00:16:00] I don't want to have these mental health struggles, this anxiety on top of my body feeling tired and just crunchy and just yucky all the time.
And yeah, so at college, they have like a staff physical therapist. So I just went there and he's like, you know, you should get into yoga to start strengthening your back and doing other things. So I did, and I honestly, I hated it. I, I was like, why are we, you know, closing our eyes and trying to meditate?
What is this, you know, cause I, from where I'm from, there is very limited resources about yoga, except for Rodney Yee, like the video my mom did every once in a while. And she's, she's very healthy. And so I, you know, I had her as an example of what health looked like. But. In terms of yoga.
Yeah, so slowly, I just, I don't know what it was, but it's, it really sucked, but I just stuck with it and you know, and then just [00:17:00] kind of clicked of once you keep going, things slowly start to feel better, or I realized like, wow, it's kind of nice to quiet my mind for a minute and not think about other things. It's okay to take time away to not try to figure everything out, which is really tough for me to, to handle. And still, I struggle with that today, but now I know that I have a tendency for that so it's, it's almost like I'm trying to build habits to protect myself from really getting out of balance again. And then I before we moved to San Diego, I did a teacher yoga teacher training back in Grand Rapids at Kula Yoga GR.
Love that studio. I love what they're doing. They have grown so much. so much since I've been there. So it's really cool to see such a great community of for yoga and health and wellness and friendship happen in my hometown essentially. So that's, I'm really grateful for. Yeah, and then I just kept going and I taught here [00:18:00] in San Diego for a little bit.
I'm taking a teaching sabbatical right now just to focus on some other things. So that's really nice. And even though I'm not teaching now, I know yoga is going to be a big part of my life. And then to talk on Ayurveda. Ayurveda is essentially a sister science of yoga. So yoga is essentially the movement side of health, the breathing side of health.
And Ayurveda is the the lifestyle side. So building good habits that match you. This also comes from where yoga is from, which is like the Vedic texts, culture in India. And the idea of, of Ayurveda is that everybody is created uniquely which is something that really resonates with me.
You know, we're all different. We have different mindsets. We have different bodies. We have different personalities. And so for Ayurveda, that was like, Oh my gosh, this is so cool. You almost feel seen in a way. And so I love that. And I [00:19:00] did a like a two year training with that which was a really big growth jump for me. And so you essentially learn different aspects of people through the lens of the elements, essentially. So, at that time, in the Vedic texts, it was about 5,000 years ago. How I like to explain it is that at that time, you know, we didn't have that type of technology we do now. So people are trying to make sense of like what's happening in the body. So you have a three, three doshas who are based on elements. You have things like air, which is essentially movement and breath and fire, which is a Pitta, which is essentially like your bile, your inflammation. And so it's really cool to have more of these I guess higher level maybe even spiritual and metaphysical ways to describe like actual tangible things in your body.
Maybe one day I'll get deeper into that because I think it's so [00:20:00] fascinating. I love reading like journals about like Ayurvedic type of research to see like how are they pairing this Eastern holistic health with the Western medicine and how do these combine because I don't really think for me personally.
It's one or the other. I think it's a nice healthy mix of both So it's just a really dynamic individualized approach to health and wellness. And for me, that resonates so well.
No, that's really cool. And so are you, did you take a break from being a coach of that too, right now? Or?
I would say about two years ago, I was taking on clients. I'm, you know, life has gotten a little crazy with, with the wedding last year. And with my work has changed. I've been almost two, two years now in my current role. And I really would like to pick that up again.
Amanda Castello: And you know, if anyone's interested in, in that at all, I, I still can do consultations and things like that. And I love to do it. So you can always reach out to me, but in the, in the near future it'll be more of a formalized process. [00:21:00]
Rabiah (Host): Cool. No, that's great. What I like about this is, I mean, the podcast, I'm recording it now. My intention is to edit this within a reasonable amount of time, but I I went 100 episodes basically just weekly, weekly, weekly, and all of a sudden I couldn't I needed a break because I just had other stuff going on.
And so I think there is a lot to be said for understanding like hey, I can't give to this fully right now And so I'm not, but it'll be here when I come back. And, you know, I mean, it's a little bit hard because like you hope listeners are there and I appreciate anyone listening if I'm not being consistent, but I think there is something really important about understanding when you've hit your limit or, or you're not able to do something the way you want to do it, so you need to take a break, you know for sure.
Amanda Castello: Yeah. Yeah. I love that you said that. I think it's really important because sometimes you feel when you have a lot of different skills you want to use them all the time. And you know, right now it's kind of this hustle [00:22:00] culture, right?
And for me, like yoga and Ayurveda, it's I don't want it to turn into something that I rely on to keep myself sustained. I do it because I love it and I do it because I want to help people and I want to help myself. And you know, it just helps me grow. So I love that. I love the way that you packaged it because I think it's really important for people, you know, like not everything has to be turned into a business.
Rabiah (Host): People ask me, like, have you monetized? No. Now should I? Sure I would like to have more money, but I also like might not enjoy it if it's like there's this pressure to do it every week and if I don't and then I have sponsors and blah, blah, blah, and I mean, I would like to, like if I could make this my career, this in writing my career and not my IT job, awesome. Can I do that right now? No. This is something that for me, it's enjoyable to get to sit here. You know, first of all, it's a privilege that people are willing to come on and share with me [00:23:00] about themselves, right? There's that. And allow me to share that with other people. That's another privilege. And then that people listen, you know? And so if I have to like, then have this other element that I'm thinking, Oh no, I have to have this conversation or I won't get money, whatever. I think it would change my relationship with it. Now, that being said, if anyone's listening, that's, you know, producing podcasts and you think this was a good idea, let me know.
But you know,
Amanda Castello: Yes.
Rabiah (Host): Yeah, I can see how, I mean, even, I'm sure, I don't know how Connor is and Connor is your husband, which congratulations, which I've said, but I think it's so cool. You guys are just super cool, but how he is with comedy right now. But for me too, I mean, I've been on a visa.
I can't monetize it right now at all, but I do wonder how the relationship with it becomes when you're relying on it for your income. And if you don't gig, then, then you can't eat in a way [00:24:00] versus, like kind of what, at least I'm doing now and I don't know if he's around the same thing still, like still doing it partly because he really just like is having fun doing it.
You know?
Amanda Castello: Yeah, yeah, no, exactly. I mean, I think him and I and where we really bonded when we first got to know each other is like, I think him and I are both like artists in our own way. And I'm still kind of, you know, figuring out myself as an artist. It's like, Oh, I like to move. I like to help people move.
I like to help people express themselves and in a professional and a personal way. And for him, he, he does a great job of making people laugh and like feeling good. And so, together, it's just like a really nice back and forth and we, learn from each other as well. And for both of us, it's it's like such a thing that we feel like we almost have to do to express ourselves. And so I think we're both really careful about it. Like for me, I really feel there's this connection between Ayurveda and careers. I think about it a lot. I write about it a lot [00:25:00] and it's just not ready. I don't have the exact answer yet. So it's almost like, I'm in this research phase of figuring out how can I make this Ayurveda more widely known. But how can I put like my personal spin on it because I think everybody has their unique experience and things to, to share with people.
And for Connor you know, he's continually like writing and trying stuff out. And I think he has his his style essentially down you know, and I, he's very, you know, it's wild to see, like, I'm sure you can resonate with this but like being even just comfortable on stage, especially if like the room is weird, the crowd's being weird, like, I don't know, the other
Rabiah (Host): Yeah.
Amanda Castello: comedians or the host is just kind of like weird energy. And just handling that well.
Especially for Connor I feel like his style of writing he needs to work it out, like, he needs to be on stage and practice so [00:26:00] that's a really big part for him right now. Cause he's also working full time. But he's quite busy with comedy, I mean, Probably two, three shows a week on average, if not four.
And then it's just that extra time of where can I go for like mics to get on stage to do more practicing. And I think it's nice to, as a couple, like we both have our artistic passions and we're both pretty supportive of one another on that. And it's really nice to have in a partner. And I, I mean, I appreciate it big time.
Rabiah (Host): For sure. I think it says a lot about about you and about both of you and just able and also they're such different things. But there is something about it too like I do think that there, there's some kind of service in sharing yourself or part of yourself with people. Right. So
Amanda Castello: Yeah.
exactly.
Rabiah (Host): One thing I noticed on your LinkedIn is that there's this organization, Athena STEM Women listed that you're involved with. Or maybe I don't know, like how involved you are. Can you talk a little bit about what that is? I've been in it for 20 years as a woman and [00:27:00] that's very tricky sometimes.
Amanda Castello: Yes. Yes. So Athena Part of my, my role at Rady is very external facing where we're promoting our school working with employers to help our students be, be known and, and to have opportunities. It's really increasing this access to opportunity. And from being in San Diego for six years now, just time just goes by. It's a very tight knit community here, especially in the startup space and in the professional development space. And the Athena STEM Network is a global organization for women. There is programming for male allies as well, but the primary focus is to help women have access to resources and education in the STEM field.
And San Diego itself is a really large, like biotech hub, as well as adjacently technology and health. So, that organization was [00:28:00] actually founded by women at Rady when they were in the MBA program I think about 20 years ago. And that relationship kind of went its own way. And so with the past couple years of being at Rady with networking with different professionals and trying to find resources for our students.
And there's a lot of people too here in San Diego that are professionals that want to give back to students too. So it's almost like there was this bridge missing. So I joined Athena to help recreate a bridge there back to Rady and Rady back to Athena. So I'm at the really early stages of developing that relationship.
But for me personally, I also wanted to join. Because my background is more in the social sciences field, and I'm slowly getting into the tech field. I may have more education in the future. I'm still working on that piece. So I'm looking to go back to school and, you know, hoping to learn from some of these women about what would make sense for [00:29:00] me.
How do I fit in this world as somebody who didn't I wouldn't say didn't have access to it, but for me, there wasn't an opportunity that like, I don't know, there wasn't any great information sessions of like, you know, women who code is so cool and like, it just wasn't I, I never had it like packaged in a fun, exciting way.
And what I see Athena doing is, yeah. packaging this information in this way that people want to learn from. And so it's just, yeah, so that world is really, really cool. And they also do a great job of promoting these soft skills as well. Like they have a training program for women who want to be on a board of directors for an organization.
So yeah, so they also focus on like more of the soft skills, executive leadership. So it's just a, such a great organization. And I've been a part of a lot of organizations and nonprofits. And I [00:30:00] think for somebody who hasn't been before, I think Athena is a great one to start. But also like any organization in your local community that you might be thinking you're interested. Just reach out and see if anyone's open to meeting for coffee and learning about it first before you jump in. But it's just a really cool organization. And I, and I'm excited to see where we go in the future.
Rabiah (Host): Yeah, that's awesome. And, you know, I mean, look, you'll hear a lot of times about people don't see themselves reflected in media. And certainly that's true. Like, especially when you hear it more around people of color and people in the queer community that they, there weren't characters on TV that reflected them doing positive or good things and that's slowly changing over time. But I think there with career wise, like women weren't seen as leaders in business and women weren't seen as in IT. Like right now I'm, I've been a project manager for years and a product manager. But that's where women have fit in IT a lot of times. I've worked with women who are developers, but [00:31:00] very rarely does that happen. And I'm always glad to hear when women are doing more of that. And I even think about kids now, like, do they do girls still know that they have access to these things and they can do these jobs? And so, yeah, it's super important. And I think it's great if you I mean, I've dabbled in coding a little bit just because of my job.
So that's kind of fun. But like, you know, it's great to like also think, Oh, I'm in my career, but I can still do another career, or I can still get more education. So
Amanda Castello: exactly. I love how you said like you've dabbled in coding. It's also to like important if you want to work in a tech company, for example, maybe in a sales role or customer service role it's really important to understand the technology.
And even if you did like, you know, LinkedIn learning or YouTube of just basic how, how do things work or taking a basic product development class, how to do product marketing and management? So if you want to be in a role like that, you really you need to have a baseline understanding of [00:32:00] what your developing team is creating and the hardware that goes into it
because that's what companies want. Companies want you to be able to understand what they're creating so you can be a better customer service rep or a salesperson. So I'm glad that you mentioned that because I think that's also important for people who have more of these soft skill backgrounds that want to get involved with more of the technical side of what companies create.
Rabiah (Host): No, totally. It's just curiosity. And, and, and, again, like kind of what you mentioned before, just doing something you're uncomfortable with, right? I mean, that's kind of kind of a thing. I was also thinking just I'm glad you mentioned just doing something in your community. I, that's something that's very important to me that I've tried to like say on, on this podcast, certainly, but also just to other people I mean, in general, like, I just think that there's, if you have something to give, give it. And one person corrected me and said, it's not always giving back. Giving back insinuates that you receive something now you're returning. So then I do [00:33:00] like to think of it more as giving now. And maybe because I have abundance in some areas of my life, and I know I'm very lucky in some ways. I don't know. I've been working in it for a long time. I feel really fortunate that I was able to do that or I've been able to have the jobs I've had that allow me to on the weekend be able to give a few hours to an organization or something, you know?
Amanda Castello: Yeah, exactly. And then you think about maybe the people who have impacted you to get you to where you are. And it's, oh, they get, they shared their time with you. They share their resources with you. And so it's this almost like a generational wealth esque type thing of passing down information to the next, to the next wave of, of people you know, regardless of gender or identity.
So it's just like, you know, we're all here to help each other because life can be tough. So, you know, as much as we can support one another, I think is the, the best way to go.
Rabiah (Host): I agree 100,
So one thing I like to ask everybody who is on the podcast and someone like you, it's [00:34:00] difficult because you've already said so much that's very like useful to people and been very generous about your experiences and what advice kind of they've led to, but is there any like advice or mantra that you'd just like to share and leave people with?
Amanda Castello: Yeah I would say keep exploring, you know. It took me a while to figure out what was important to me and what I like to do, so it was a lot of like, trial and error of picking up a hobby or picking up a creative expression project and then realizing, oh, this is fun. Like knitting for example. This is fun, but this is not who I am. So I'm going to just keep going. So I think just something that hopefully is helpful is just to keep exploring and being open to try new things because you never know what you would end up resonating with.
Rabiah (Host): Awesome. So the next thing is the fun five. So these are five questions that I just think are fun to ask people. Not random people, just people on the [00:35:00] podcast. so we'll, we'll do those. So the first one is, what's the oldest t-shirt you have and still wear?
Amanda Castello: Yes. So I have this t shirt that I made in ninth grade. I was a part of this like PALS program where we learned how to be active listeners to help students who are in distress essentially. And so we had an exercise where we like wrote our first name on the front and our last name on the back.
And we wrote like things that we loved about ourselves on the front and things that we're working on on the back and like hobbies on our sleeves. And I still have it. Very old and uncomfortable now to wear, but I still keep it and I'll sleep in it sometimes. But we did this exercise around the time where Taylor Swift's You Belong With Me video came out and she had, like, her Taylor shirt and so I thought it was so cool and I'm never gonna get rid of it.
Never. I even brought it here with me. Like, I have it. It's not even in Michigan.
Rabiah (Host): Nice. That's cool. Did you look at it at any point [00:36:00] in the recent past and see like, wow, I'm still working on that?
Amanda Castello: Yeah, yeah. I think one of it was like letting go of things like not holding grudges and like understanding that, you know, people make mistakes, even if they're your friends, right? Or your family. It's like, just, it doesn't matter at the end of the day.
Rabiah (Host): Cool. All right. So if every day was Groundhog's Day, like it seemed like during the pandemic and it still does seem like sometimes and you started the day the same way every day, like in the film, what song would you have wake you up in the morning?
Amanda Castello: I love Machine Gun Kelly. MGK is my favorite artist. So it'd be anything, you know, because he has such a wide range of styles of music, which I love. So it'd be anything, depending on the day. Like El Pistolero is a new song that he reimagined from an old song and it's just like, it gets back into his rap world, which is so cool. So I'd say that one.
Rabiah (Host): Alright, so, Machine Gun Kelly. I've seen videos of him on my reels and I was like, who is this? So I didn't know. [00:37:00] Cause he has very his tattoos, he seemed to cover them up with a big tattoo.
Amanda Castello: Yeah. Yeah. I I resonate with him because he, like, has a wild background in a way. I think it's just more of an identity crisis in a way of like, he's been all of these things and I heard a interview that he mentioned that it's like, for all of his tattoos it was like writing over the same page again and again and again and it just got crazy and he's like, I don't know why I did that. I was young and dumb and so like this new coverage is almost like a starting over piece and then there's some lines where you can see underneath like the old tattoos and it's still like a window into that world. So I thought it was cool of like, I'm not totally covering up your past, but almost saying like, okay, I'm a new person now, but I still recognize who I was, and I'm not, like, trying to to disassociate from that.
But you know, also recognizing like, I'm not that person anymore, but it's still a part of his [00:38:00] history.
Rabiah (Host): Yeah. people evolve and change, it's just how, I mean, we all do or have. All right, easier question, coffee or tea or neither?
Amanda Castello: Coffee, big time. And this is a Ayurvedic thing that I've been doing. You put cinnamon, nutmeg and cardamom in your coffee with a little bit of milk. And I like it iced right now, which is not great for my dosha, but I understand that. But those spices can help ease how your body metabolizes the caffeine so it's not such like a, a big like jump. It's more of like a nice slower paced increase in, in energy essentially.
Rabiah (Host): okay.
It's pretty good too.
Nice. All right. And can you think of something that just makes you laugh so hard you cry, or what do you think of it, or just something that did that before that you want to share?
Amanda Castello: Honestly, anything from my family or Connor's family. We're all really close. We're hooligans, we laugh, we do wild things, especially my younger brother and Connor are like, [00:39:00] just very out there. So, I mean, anytime, or my dad, anytime they say something or send us a picture, and it's like, you guys are just making fun of everything, and I love it, and it just makes me smile all the time.
Like It's just wild.
Rabiah (Host): That's great. Yeah. Family, like laughing with family, especially with siblings. I mean, there's no one you laugh with like that, you know,
Amanda Castello: Exactly.
Rabiah (Host): Okay. The last one who inspires you right now?
Amanda Castello: I would say I don't have a particular person because I've kind of shifted away from that, honestly, of, of looking at someone thinking that they are all perfect and they're who exactly I want to be. But I find right now a lot of inspiration from a wide range of friends. Some of my coworkers, um, have um, have like, Uh, been examples of leading by example of, being good communicators.
And some of my friends have been very wise about protecting their time and about who they are and what's important to them, [00:40:00] even if it's, it makes other people uncomfortable in terms of not being able to give to like their relationship as much. And so I think I've been finding inspiration from a lot of people in my network of like, I hope I embody what this person has been doing and I want to embody what this person's been doing. So I'm really looking more at as a community aspect
Rabiah (Host): Cool.
You're surrounded with people that reflect what you want to be or are maybe. So that's great.
Amanda Castello: Yeah, exactly.
Rabiah (Host): Cool.
Well, Amanda, this has been fun because I think we've never just gotten to really sit down and chat the two of us anyway, like.
Amanda Castello: Yeah, I know. Especially in the show world, it's like, you want to prepare for your set, so it's like, you know, you can always say, Hey, how are you? Alright, I'm gonna let you do your thing.
So, Yeah, but it's really nice, and thank you for having me.
Rabiah (Host): And one thing I forgot, I need to ask you, where do you want people to find you? And if they want to reach out to you or just kind of see what you're up to.
Amanda Castello: Absolutely. So You can reach out to me on LinkedIn. You can just find me Amanda Castello. You [00:41:00] can reach out to me on Instagram too, which is Amanda dot Ayurvedic health (@amanda.ayurvedichealth). You know, send me a message If you're looking for resources. We can meet, we can chat. to get coffee.
Yeah, I'm an open book, so I'm happy to either point you in the right direction or answer questions.
Rabiah (Host): Awesome. Well, thanks for being on, Amanda.
Amanda Castello: Yeah. Awesome. Thank you.
Rabiah (Host): You can learn more about the guest and what was talked about in the show notes. Joe Maffia created the music you're listening to. You can find him on Spotify at Joe M A F F I A. Rob Metke does all the design, for which I am so grateful. You can find him online by searching for Searching Rob, M-E-T-K-E.
Please leave a review if you like the show and get in touch if you have feedback or guest ideas. The pod is on all the social channels at at More Than Work Pod (@morethanworkpod) or at Rabiah Comedy (@rabiahcomedy) on TikTok. While being kind to others, don't forget to be kind to yourself.
