Level Up Academy by Dr. Leyland

In this episode of Level Up Academy, I talked to Tatiana and her journey to her U.S. life from Nicaragua. She and her husband were both International students, worked hard, and now owned their own successful businesses helping other while giving back to her community. She co-founded a social media marketing call Hite Digital. In this episode, we talked about so many topics like skills to build your business, she talked about being an International student, where she is now, what kind of characteristics you need as an entrepreneur along with the necessary skills you need to scale up. She also talked about how she planned to become a Philanthropist someday and so much more. Tune in and listen to so many added value conversations.

This episode of Level Up Academy is a great conversation between Sande and I. Sande Hart, author of The Liminal Odyssey, The Alchemical Power of The Spaces In-Between, is an award-winning leader in the fields of women’s empowerment and interfaith community building. She founded the women’s interfaith grassroots international organization S.A.R.A.H. (The Spiritual And Religious Alliance for Hope) the morning of 911, an instinct to gather women of diverse faiths to protect all that they consider sacred. This episode we talked about many skills that business leaders today should have. It also serves as the beginning of our conversations of why there are plenty of quite quitting happening in today's world of business and what that look like. We are expanding this conversation live with three other gentlemen this Monday 12/12. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/483926054857See you soon!

In this episode of Level Up Academy's podcast, our conversation with Josh Sanchez, a master student, it reveals to us how one's journey of self-discovery leads to multiple opportunities to get to know yourself. Our conversation is about how he persevere when he doesn't have the proper tools or budget to continue his courses at school. His determination led him to graduate with his bachelor's degree. This story might be familiar to some of our student listener's who wants to graduate but their current situation impedes their ability to continue or does it? Find out how Josh is making it happen.

Michele Thompson comes from a humble beginning. She strived to be the best at whatever she does. Through her adversity and professional experience, she found her passion for helping others through creating courses/programs that helps business leaders to be the best person they can be to level up. In this episode of level up, we have conversations of how business leaders can change their skills through shifting their mindset and priorities. What are some of the ways you can do that has also been discussed in this episode. Stay tuned. Listen up!

Ishani Behl is a curious person who was born in new Delhi, India from an amazing parents. She grew up being told that she needs to be independent, stay curious, and do what you love. From this upbringing, Ishani has developed a passion for helping and feeding her curiosity. She moved to London to find herself and her passion. She didn't know what she wanted to do with her life but she knows she wants to help others, create a company someday, and educate herself on the tools she needs to get what she wants. Today, Ishani talks about her life's project, sustainr. Self discovery and curiosity is the key to finding yourself. If you are a student out there who don't know where you are heading or what you want to do, Ishani Behl has talked about many tips and added value in this podcast. Listen Up!

He is a first generation graduate in his family. His goal was to always go to London. He has practiced litigation law both in London and Australia and ended up going to school in Texas, USA at Baylor University. In this episode of level up, we talked about many things both from a student perspective, a teachers perspective, and of course as an academic counselor. He provided guidance to someone who wants to be a lawyer on when to shift career and figure out what you want to do. He is now a successful business owner of Prelawpro.com where he helps his clients with career advice and law school admissions. What are you waiting for? Listen up.Announcement: Next week, I am providing a 1 hour FREE workshop/webinar on stress and burnout prevention. For more info, go here and click on workshop to sign up. https://linktr.ee/luabydocleyland

This podcast is full of inspirational adversities and tips on how to increase your potential both as a personal journey and as a business leader. Bret has been managing over 2000 employees. In this podcast he went over 3 ways to increase your adversity quotient, as he used these to solve and help businesses around the world during the Asian financial crisis, 911, and now the pandemic. He talks about how Bruce Lee stated in one of his interview, "Be like water my friend". See how he sees managing vs. leading using the iPhone analogy. Brilliantly compared. He talks about tasks vs. teams and many more lessons learned. So listen up! Tell me what you think and if you would like to ask Bret to answer anything for you on my next podcast, email them to [email protected] subject: Bret Packard.

He has a great background of grit, commitment, and resilience. He was let go at middle school and didn't do so well in High School but with a help of a teacher who believes in him and his capabilities, he rise to his potential. Today, Dr. Dufresne, is well known for his abilities to provide hope and inspiration to many students. In this podcast, he talked about one of his students he helped. This podcast provided many aspects of how to help our student's. Are you ready to listen? What are you waiting for? Let's go!

Adva was once a K-12 educator. She never felt that she fit in within the institution so she tried to figure out what she is passionate about. Within that journey, she found that she wanted to support her fellow educators from onboarding to classroom management and anything in between. She is on a mission to help as many people as she can with her own business. I commend her for trying and doing something about a current issue with our educational system and that is the lack of support. Listen up!

This conversation was so refreshing to have. Billy talks about how it is okay not to have a plan with your life but be intentional on everything that you do. Much like leadership, we can have many skills and abilities and it is up to us to create a path that is conducive not only to us but to our team. We also talk about how taking care of ourselves is not selfish but selfless. We need to start taking care of ourselves first so we can take care of our team. Do you want to know more about our conversation? Listen up!

Scott is a certified leadership coach with over 30 years of professional experience as a coach, teacher, and facilitator. He has taught people to skydive, trained volunteers at a tiger rescue sanctuary, and helped students gain admission to top law schools. In addition to his learning & development experience, He has extensive experience leading teams of highly skilled professionals performing critical functions in demanding environments. In our interview in this episode of level up, we talked about his approach to life through his journey and how he helps his clients with managing their time. One of his advice is to be a professional toddler and be genuinely curious and work hard. Ultimately, we decided to end our conversation with, it is okay not to have a purpose in life and just be happy with your journey as it is an adventure. Listen up!

Meet my next guest, Shane Thrapp. In this episode we talked about how his journey from a Program Manager to becoming an adult ADHD Life and Career coach happened. First we went through his journey of being homeless, then he got addicted to drugs, then he found out that he has ADHD as an adult but not before going through an abusive marriage. The life choices he made got him to where he is today. He wants to help his fellow human beings cope with ADHD to be able to function and embrace their neurodivergent unique abilities. I love where we talked about life, being an authentic leader, what are some of the ways to lead others as he has done this with Cisco. Curious of what else we talked about? Listen up.

For over 15 years, Denise has helped hundreds of clients expand their brilliance and discover what they are destined to be. Her message, teachings, experience, knowledge and coaching have eliminated the safety-value approach to living and transformed into an inner candle flame that won’t flicker even when the worst situations befall you. She is a catalyst for choice, commitment and community. She is not about finding yourself, she is about creating yourself! Her inner mojo shifts your heart to look within and debunk limited beliefs. This conversation she went over the 5 skill sets to level up yourself. We talked about how leaders can help their team. What are you waiting for? Listen up!

In this episode with Level Up Academy, I have talked to Francis about leadership and tools to add value to our community. Her bio speaks for itself.From being an active student leader to now, national corporate leader, Francis is an inspiring millennial in the Philippines. She has 10 years of experience in the fields of recruitment, training, management, marketing, and communications. With the goal of using her voice and life story to help fellow millennials and younger generations in navigating the young adult life, she and her friends recently published the book, The Millennial Black Box. Francis holds a master’s degree in management and was accepted to the Harvard Project for Asian and International Relations Conference last 2021.

Eduardo grew up and went to school in the Philippines. He has now migrated to the U.S. and teach several subjects but his passion lies in architecture. He has high hopes for the future of his students. His take on how to engage his students is super smart using what is trending today and get his students interest piqued. Do you want to listen more about what our childhood was like? We also talk about how he uses music and movies to teach architecture students. What are you waiting for? I also have a new intro and outro. Check it out.

Urmi has a passion for the Finance Industry. But it didn't start that way. She took some business classes and didn't really like it. But she had loved at first class when she took a class for finance. From there, she excelled and hope to move forward within this industry. She has a book on Amazon, she has a Youtube channel where she talks about finance. Her ideal community is to be the leader within this industry and encourage women to have a passion for finance and their future. We talked about the beginning of her leadership, career and how she thinks business leaders should think about when it comes leading others. Are you curious yet? Listen up!

Heidi started as a college professor. After her son was born, she needed a consistent work schedule from 9-5. Instead she ended up working retail. Then she went back to school to get her PhD in Instructional Design. An amazing thing happened, she got an ID job while still going to school . This didn't really ignited her passion, instead she found a job as a leader leading other ID's where she makes the most impact. In this podcast, she talks about learning about human consulting and performance, tips on how to get an ID job, what skills transferred from being a professor to becoming an ID. She provided tips on what she looks for when hiring ID's. She even went as to tell us what skills she prefers when looking at hiring ID's. If you don't have an experience as an ID, how do you get one? Heidi talked about the how. She also talks about the hustle culture and how to keep it real. Do you want to know more tips on how to be an ID? Listen up.

At a young age of 9, Dr. Page has had 3 jobs and at age 13, he had an accident that put him in the burn unit for awhile. While there, he had dream big and believed in himself of creating a living through music. At a young age, he understood that by giving 1 hour of practice time over and over can create opportunities for him to become skilled. Today, Dr. Page is creating opportunities as a leader in education and learned his life skills and lesson through his own adversity. Take a listen on his strategies and how he shows grit.

I want you all to know that I had a great time recording this interview with Zavahir, Jospeh, and Jason. We did our first LinkedIn LIVE discussing the four elements that we all hear all the time toss around on conversations and written in journals and blogs. I asked them for their input on what these four elements look like to them and provided added value conversations. This is an unedited version to get our raw recording. Human Centric Leadership, grit, failure, and self-awareness are part of a leadership skill cabinet that should be pulled out all the time. Listen up to this recording.

For all my young listeners out there and for those who are transitioning or thinking of transitioning your careers out there, here is an inspiring leader who went from being a wall street journalist into curriculum design because of her passion. We don't always get what we want sometimes, but always work on what you are passionate about. This podcast gave me a lot to reflect and made me realize that making a difference as a leader isn't that hard, but you have to be intentional on your efforts to help others. Randi also mentioned about honesty and transparency with a clear objective are a leader's most valuable character trait. We also had a conversation about how American women can either be a mentor or tormentor's and that as women, we should help each other do better by being aware of the choices of words we use, showing confidence and watching our non-verbal cues. Want to hear more about what else in our conversation you can take away from? Listen up!

She has always dreamed of going to college, but life took her into a different route. As a mother of two, she had to take care of her babies and now she has the chance to take her of herself. Her dream of doing visual and media design has taken her back to her passion. She took a class with me and this class has given her the inspiration to pursue her dreams and create opportunities to work towards her passion. She is now working on being intentional getting a job in the field she loves. She provided great insights for teachers on how to engage their students. Listen up!

Cancer, Death of her best friend and being told you have 30 days to live is a nightmare that most people can't even imagine let alone live it. Education has created a way for her to stay inspired and be the first person in her family to get a degree. Her cancer, her disorder, and her grandparents instilled in her how education is important. Her inspiration is her best friend before he died to continue their educational journey together. None of what life has thrown at her can stop her from getting her education. Listen up to her inspiring story.

WE had a great conversation about when she migrated to the U.S. and how she became a bilingual educator and her passion for helping her students. Then, as COVID changes the demands, she is transitional into becoming an Instructional Designer. But her journey to this transition hasn't been easy. Her resilience, perseverance, grit, and determination got her here today. She talks about ways she engages her students in her classroom Care to know how she did it? Listen up!

As a coach, a father, and a leader in his space, Jason talks about how leadership should start from being a parent. Children emulate what they see and if they see mom / dad lead through examples, it is easier to pick up those character traits and habits for their future. We talked about his commercial insurance position and how he treats his customers as a leader in his space. Jason talks about “where your actions betray your words” in our conversation and explains how leaders can remedy that. We talked about brand ambassadors, culture in organizations can make or break any organizations regardless of industry. I said, leaders should go back to kindergarten to know the basics of being nice and respect each other. Listen up as we talked about certain behavior and tools you can practice as a leader.

I am so grateful for everyone on my journey to inspiring the world. WE have more work to do. Thank you for all that you do to share the podcasts. I truly appreciate you level up squad. I am not getting paid for it, I just want to inspire others through your own adversity. I also have a big announcement at the end so listen up!

Life is full of surprises, hardships, laughter, anger, sadness, challenges, and love. What is constant is our ability to choose our journey. It seems like once we finish one problem in our lives, we get another one and another one. It is our choice to lay down and give up or stand up and face it head-on. Kristy Bowman did just that. She suffered from addiction and lived on the streets for 8 years, but her family saved her life. Her ability to make choices to get up and fight for her potential is what brings her in today as a Master's student in an MBA program. To say that she is an amazing human being is an understatement. One of Kristy's advice is "you can't base your future of what your past is" "look forward and quit looking backwards" What is it like to be homeless with a drug addiction and now a Master student? What are her lessons learned? Listen up to the Level up squad.

We have many conversations in this episode about how leadership has evolved in the recent past years. Zavahir talks about how schools need to focus on emotional intelligence and self-awareness programs in the elementary phase before focusing on academics. I talked about how in my class I marry theory and competency-based to engage my students. He talks about how he is intentional in making a difference in his students' lives through the different tools he uses. He also mentioned practicing gratitude and priorities along with being intentional in everything we do. Listen up for a deep dive into how the educational systems in India are changing the way they are trying to change their students' lives.

I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Gonzalez on LinkedIn through his high energy daily videos. After talking with him, we created this podcast full of information for both leaders and individuals on how you can level up your self worth. He talks about how to value yourself not by changing your surroundings, but changing your role in people. He talks about his coaching tools on how to overcome mental barriers that he uses on his mentorship. We talked about how the great resignation where the best people are going to the best companies. He talks about his purpose in life and how you too can create and know your purpose in life by giving back. Do you want to know more? Do you want to level up? Listen to this episode.

This interview was such a great and productive chat about student engagement and using psychology and communications to help teach students in class and outside. One thing that Professor Dekle said, “how you think really impacts how you talk or behave” got me thinking that we should really be mindful of our thoughts. With what is going on today with our world and our country, it’s easy to get sad and angry, but by being present in your class and focus on providing transferable skills to our students, it gets them to focus on what is important in their academic career goals. She talks about how she presents her class that is inviting with transferable skills that her students can use right away. She also considers and recognizes that her students have their own story and their own journey. She invites them to their best through encouragement. Listen up to what else we talked about in terms of student engagement tools.

Living in Chicago and growing up in Chicago is a difficult journey and it's hard for some of us to picture in our head if we don't live there. Much like most of us, when we are younger, we don't have any direction of what we want to be when we grow up. We have an ideal thought, but most of us don't believe in it. Dr. Johnson didn't know what he would want to do. But with mentors and people who believes in him, he is now a community leader, a detective, and a professor. In my interview with Dr. Johnson, when asked, what do you like about teaching? He responded by saying, "I like to give back". At a core of our being, we want to give back and shape our future through teaching. Dr. Johnson does that and more. Listen up to what he has to say about student engagement and how as teachers should be getting our students be future ready as our future is in their hands.

Hello Level up Listeners! Ever wonder how to engage your students in the classroom while providing all the course outcomes?Growing up in Costa Rica and acquiring a degree in Electronic Engineering and working for Intel, this amazing CEO started his simulation company with his 2nd grade best friend and a business partner based on what they saw was a need to innovate. Unlike any business out there, they started as a software mobile games developer to what is now used by Universities such as MIT for student engagement.As professor's, we often wonder how we can engage our students and learn at the same time. Well, look no further as Javier's simulation is used worldwide by professor's and Universities to actively learn in the classroom using critical thinking skills, decision-making abilities, and solving capabilities while increasing student engagement.His goal is to be the Netflix of simulation for learning from K-12 up to Higher Education. His company is always looking for ways to increase the use of their simulation to Universities while always striving to innovate for more ideas on student engagement and critical thinking. Curious yet, listen up!

Hello Level Up Listeners,Thank you for tuning in today. This is a dream of a young student who wants to make a difference. Her goal is to someday become a congresswoman in California.This young lady was one of my mentee through a mentorship program. In this episode of Level up we have an insight of how one young lady grew up in one of the roughest parts of Los Angeles, California yet she thrives and dream to make a change in her neighborhood. Equalizing the children who are underserved through education.She talks about how even in brick and mortar schools, professors are having a hard time connecting and engaging with their students. She provided some insights for teachers on how they can engage with their students. She also provided advice for her fellow students on how they can better themselves. Some of the questions she provided for her professor to provide on the first day of class is to answer the question of why did you decide to be a teacher? Do you want to know more tips? Go on listen up and share our inspirational stories.

Her commitment, determination, and never giving up attitude got her through her cancer treatment, her domestic violence experiences, being a stay-at-home mom, and of course as a student. This episode is full of inspirational ideas, positive attitudes, and tips on how to be a successful student. She shares her time management skills, tools, and ideas on how to stay positive despite all of her adversities. If you are a stay-at-home parent or just thinking of going back to school, she shares her tips on what she has done to find the right school for her. Her number one tip is don't live your life in FEAR. What are you waiting for? Listen up....

Dr. Hascall has held many leadership positions in his career, including an Industrial Engineer to Campus President and now a graduate professor. He loves to teach because of “the opportunity to learn new perspectives and use new tools and provide tools for the workplace and at home.” He also added his way of engaging students in asynchronous classes. He said, “ I never agree with anybody in the discussion board”. Find out why by listening to his interview.Some of his mantras are:“I always surround myself with people smarter than me”When it comes to Ethics, “ If I do it today, can I talk about it tomorrow?”The attitude of “if it's not broken, don’t fix it” he believes would get any company to run you out of business. Always continue to innovate“That’s good enough”—Dr. Hascall believes this will see you on the sidelinesMy favorite of all times “Good is the enemy of excellence”Lastly, “A leader should inspire, inform, and educate”Curious what else he says? Listen up!

Ever wonder how your classes online/on ground are created? Who creates them? Not all classes are created equal. Today, let’s hear Dr. Hobson’s humble beginnings from a non-traditional student to an MIT ID and Program Manager. What are some of the ways that Instructional Designer (ID) creates/design your curriculum? How long does it take to create a comprehensive curriculum? What about how to test it properly for the right audience? He started as a high school drop out. Want to learn more? Listen up to this episode and hope that you will get inspired and let me know what you think.

There was once a 16-year-old international student away from home. Her goal was to pursue her college degree. She settled in Florida and then 23 years later, went back to school to get her graduate degree. She had a newborn, a 6-year-old, and took care of her mom who suffered from Alzheimer’s. Her mom was a renowned athlete to win the first gold medal and perform with Frank Sinatra. Care to know how she overcame her adversity and became an amazing professor? Listen to Dr. Racquel Thompson-Elliott's inspiring story and tips for both students and faculty.

Dr. Dominika Falsey shared her experiences as a 20 year global professor's change in the Higher Ed community. How does she engage with her students? She believes, "student's like to be challenged". She shares her passion for our military personnel as she aims to make a difference in their lives through higher education efforts. She motivates her students through calmness, flexibility, positivity, and letting them know that "we are in it together". She takes her role as an instructor as an opportunity to help her global community. Take a listen on the ways she engages her students and what she is grateful for that we should always think about.

This episode of level up is about one of my international student who is originally from Nigeria. She has a law degree already, but traveled thousands of miles away to come to America to find a better future for her. Listen to her inspiring and heartfelt story that many of our international students go through to be here and find a better future. Her father passed away, but she can't go home and pay respects to him because of COVID, yet she found strengths in her studies knowing that her father would be so proud of her efforts, ideas, and willingness to continuously improve her chances of a better future. She shares her ideal class set up and what keeps her motivated and engage in the classroom and what professors could do to keep her and other students engage in the classroom.

If you are an entrepreneur, a husband, a father, and a student, this is definitely a great inspirational podcast for you. Oftentimes during our journey called life, we meet people who are able to change our path. Dr. Libell’s journey to get here today consisted of adversity after his divorce. He had the courage to open up, communicate with his professor’s his needs beyond the classroom. Today, Dr. Libell would like to pass on that wisdom to his students on how to reach out to your professor. You will never know what opportunity it may bring to you. He also wanted his fellow professors to teach beyond the classroom and bring the human side of what we are today after covid has stayed and be part of our lives for two years. Dr. Libell provided many tips and ideas that both students and professors can take away from.

Becoming a parent pushes you to grow up and mature while learning about your capabilities and limitations. My next episode talks about her journey of changing programs from one school into another school due to the loss of school accreditation for her medical degree. She lost hope and trust in the education industry, but having a baby made her think about her family’s future. Demmi stated, “pursuing a degree is not for the weak hearted”. She went through many adversities and hardship, but through it all, education is the one thing that is consistent in her dream. She believes, “getting her degree is her golden ticket”. I encourage you to listen to her tips for student engagement, inspiration, and genuine passion for learning. She also wants $500 million dollars for her compassion project for Memphis, TN. Did you want to hear what it is all about? LISTEN UP…

Today more than ever, mental health is important to keep in check. Most people who struggle with a generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) might not be diagnosed yet. Dr. Hills provides you with tips that help her go through with this disorder and live her full potential and her purpose. She adds tips on how to engage with her students in her classroom and ideas on how to stay inspired and motivated.

An international Published researcher's journey towards her purpose. She started in India and now in America. Her background come from a town in India called Agra to come to America to get a better life for herself and her son. As a researcher and professor, she is giving us tips on how to engage with her students in the classroom, how to stay inspired when times are difficult, and tips for her fellow professors on how to stay engaged and inspired. Take a listen to her journey to inspire and inform our listeners.

I had a pleasure of interviewing one of the many students I had told you from the beginning of this journey. This is her journey and she hopes to inspire and inform other's out there who may be going through a similar situation like hers.Penny's journey as a mom, wife, student, and a passionate employee. Life after being a stay-at-home mom. She hopes to inspire and empower other stay-at-home moms or dad’s out there who have been thinking of going back to school but are afraid of the unknown. Go ahead, listen to her journey, and take a leap of faith that you too can do it if you put your mind to it.Penny hopes that her story and journey will connect you to the right people, inspire you to believe in yourself, and inform you to not be afraid of the unknown. If she can do it, you can too. From one student to another. Here is Penny's story.

I am an immigrant. I couldn't speak English when I came here. How can I possibly inspire others? If I can help be a mentor today coming from a third world country, anyone can. It takes dedication, commitment, and perseverance. I am still on my journey to know my purpose. What is after fear? How do you overcome fear?