Wave-Maker Spotlight: Lamont Hill
Over the next few months, we will be posting profiles on the amazing alumni that have come out of the Making Waves College and Alumni Program. These profiles are meant to both highlight our inspiring alumni and support other young professionals in understanding their own career path. If you have questions for us or our alumni, please post them below.
Today, the spotlight is on a conversation that we had with Lamont Hill - a 6th Waver, graduate of San Francisco State University, and employee of Bay Area Community Resources (BACR).
Describe your career path. What experiences provided insight along the way? Was your career path straight and planned, did you stumble into it, or was it somewhere in between?
A couple months ago, I started an Assistant Program Coordinator position at BACR (Bay Area Community Resources). My purpose is to turn my high school students into nutrition youth leaders. They will then proceed to do some media campaigning at local elementary schools to get students to consume more fruits and vegetables while also doing presentations to the school district to try to make some changes to the school lunch program.
After graduating from SF State in May, I began an internship a few weeks later through UCB Health Career Connection. During my ten-week internship, I conducted informational interviews with individuals from nutrition/health organizations in Richmond. After I concluded my internship I started job searching. BACR had recently posted a job posting on Craigslist and the person of contact happened to be one of the people I interviewed during my internship. I knew most definitely that I wanted to work in the health industry; however, I somewhat stumbled into this position. It’s always good to network.
What advice do you give to those interested in your field and type of work? Are there any experiences and skills that you recommend them working on while in college?
I would suggest to anyone that may be interested in similar work and/or field to keep learning. Always be willing to be open and learn new things even if you’re uninterested. Many individuals that have been in your interested field for quite some time are almost always ready to lend a helping hand if they observe you trying to help yourself.
When you’re in college it’s important to network and communicate. At times, it’s not what you know but it’s who you know and who’s willing to provide you with an opportunity to further elevate yourself. Always be willing to ask questions if you’re unsure of something and look for things you can do outside of school that can potentially help you with your career. For instance, since I’m in the health field I obtained my CPR card, Servsafe Food Handlers card, volunteered, and completed an internship with the American Heart Association.
What general advice do you have for college students still trying to understand their path?
Always try to be open to new things and don’t limit yourself. If you don’t have everything planned the way you think you should it’s perfectly fine. I changed my mind numerous times before concluding that nutrition is what I’m really interested in. Great things take time so don’t rush and stress yourself over not having everything set in place. Once you know what you want to do go for it and don’t stop until your satisfied.
If you could give a piece of advice to your college self, what would it be?
Your experiences are what you make of them. Don’t overthink situations that don’t take much thought altogether, trust yourself.
Did you or do you currently have a mentor? How did they support you personally and/or professionally?
I’ve had people past and present who have and still do support me. Making Waves has always supported me since the beginning. Some of my college instructors who were official dietitians, nurses, etc. always offered helpful advice as well.
What are your career dreams you have for yourself over the next 5-10 years?
I just want to be happy with whatever I’m doing at the time. Over the next 5-10 years I hope to elevate myself to a position where I can work more with my community and change things for the better. Lack of access to healthcare, food deserts, violence, etc. all effect my community. I hope to bring community members closer together so we can support and take care of one another.
When you are 80 years old, what do you hope people say about you?
I hope people will be able to look and say that I made changes for the better of my community for current and upcoming generations.
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8 年It's an honor to have known Lamont since he was a 5th grader just joining Making Waves! We are proud of your commitment to community activism in the field of nutrition.