Good afternoon. I'm Susan Collins, the John and Sanford Wildeam here at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, and I'm just delighted to see all of you with us this afternoon. It's a great honor for us to welcome back to the University of Michigan, Carrie Hesler-Radelet, who is the Acting Director of the Peace Corps. Before I begin, and I will introduce her more formally in a moment, I did want to acknowledge that there are a number of very special members of our audience, a number of returned Peace Corps volunteers, and this is a special partnership for the Ford School, and more generally for the University, and a wonderful set of dimensions that adds to the school to our engagement in so many different ways. In particular, I wanted to note that the Ford School's Towsley Policymaker in Residence, Richard Boucher, is a returned Peace Corps volunteer, and also the manager of our Education Policy Initiative, Mahima Madhavan, is also a returned Peace Corps volunteer, and so them, as well as all of the many others who are here in our audience, I wanted to thank you for your very important service and for your continued contributions as part of the Peace Corps and all that it entails. I'd also like to thank John Bryce Berger, who, with the International Center, has really helped us to pull this event together, and again we enjoy partnering in many, many ways with the Center, and so thank you for your leadership and for being here today. Well, a returned Peace Corps volunteer herself, Carrie, is something of a legacy in the Peace Corps community. As many here may know, both Carrie and her husband, Steve Rowlett, who I had the pleasure of meeting many, many years ago, both of them are returned Peace Corps volunteers. They served in Western Samoa from 1981 to 1983. That's right. Carrie's aunt, I understand, was the 10,000 Peace Corps volunteer and served in Turkey, and both of her grandparents served in Malaysia, and so that really is quite an important legacy. Well, her nephew is a student at the Ford School, one of our MPP students, Jimmy Shwaidouin, and he's very disappointed that to be here today, following in the broader legacy of global engagement. He is at the moment involved in a research project in Malawi, but I understand that his father is here, and so welcome. And so, again, it really is an extended family and one that we're very proud of. Well, since earning her master's degree in health policy and management from Harvard School of Public Health, Carrie really has devoted her energies to improving the lives of others, particularly in communities affected by HIV AIDS. Prior to her return to the Peace Corps, she directed the D.C. Office of John Snow Incorporated, which is a global health research and consulting firm. And as a Johns Hopkins fellow with USAID, she assisted the Indonesian government in implementing its first national aid strategy. She was the primary author of PEPFAR's first strategic plan under President George W. Bush, and then President Obama appointed Carrie as Deputy Peace Corps Director in 2010. And it was in that capacity that she visited Ann Arbor. We did a celebration that I know many in the room were engaged with to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Peace Corps, which, of course, was launched on our very own steps of the Michigan Union. And some of you may have taken a copy of the monograph that we prepared after the symposium that we did as part of that 50th anniversary, and I encourage you to take a look at Carrie's remarks during that symposium, which I think were very relevant then and as present today as well. Well, now she returns to us as the Acting Director, and she is leading the Peace Corps' first-ever assessment to prepare our next century's volunteers for successful international engagement. And I suspect we'll hear a little bit about that from her today. So I'd like to remind the audience that if you have questions, there are cards that were passed out as you came in, and we will have Ford School volunteers who will be making the rounds a little bit later today to collect those cards. With the help of Mahima as well as some of our Ford School returning Peace Corps volunteer students, we'll read your questions later on in the program. And if you're watching online, and I hope many of you are, please tweet your questions to us and use the hashtag policy talks. With that, it is my great pleasure to welcome the Director of the Peace Corps Acting Director, Carrie. Welcome. Thank you. Am I mic'd up enough? Can you hear me? There we go. It's really a privilege to be here. Great fun to be back in my home state of Michigan. I'm a Michigander. I'm way up north. I am delighted with my entire day here. We just signed a memorandum of understanding with the School of Information, which is our 11th agreement that we have with the University of Michigan. We're so excited. It's a real privilege to be here at the Ford School of Public Policy, and I am so very grateful to Dean Collins for all of her incredible work at the helm of this institution. And to thank you, I would like to present you with this Peace Corps coin. Oh my goodness. Commemorative coin also can be used as a paper weight. Something useful. It has no currency value. Well, it has a very special value. Exactly. So anyway, thank you so much. Thank you very much. U of M is such a great partner always. So thank you for that warm welcome, and I want to just acknowledge a few people who are so fantastic and instrumental to the success of our program here at the University of Michigan. First I want to mention Beth Sobolewski, who leads the Peace Corps Fellows Program at the Ford School, and to all of the Masters International and Fellows coordinators for all of the schools around here, around the University of Michigan. As I said, we have 11 agreements with seven schools, and that's extraordinary. I believe that is the largest partnership that we have with any university. So I just want to clap my hands for all of you. I want to thank John Greisberger, my old friend, and Bill Nolting at the International Center for all of their dedicated management of the International Center, and for helping keep Michigan in the top 10. I think this year you were at least the top tier. You were number three this year, is that right? University of Michigan? Four. Sorry. Four. Four. Next year it will be number one. Anyway, Michigan is always one of our top schools, and you all are so much a part of that. I also want to acknowledge Ambassador Richard Boucher, who Dean Collins just mentioned, who, along with being policymaker in residence, has also returned Peace Corps Volunteer. And I understand that we have Travis Gagnio from the Office of Congressman John Dingell, and Congressman Dingell's support has been so critical to Peace Corps throughout the years, so we're delighted to have him as well. It's really an honor to take place in the policy talks here, and such a pleasure to return to the University of Michigan, where you know that Peace Corps is proud to trace our roots. Nearly every member of the extended Peace Corps family knows by heart the prologue to our story. That is what happened here on this campus more than a half century ago, when President John F. Kennedy, or then Senator John F. Kennedy, climbed the steps at the Michigan Union in the wee hours of the night to deliver a spontaneous campaign speech to 5,000 students who were waiting for him. It was 2 a.m. It was here that Kennedy challenged America's youth to serve their nation by serving others around the world. It was here that Kennedy inspired a call to action, heartfelt, honest, and inspirational, striking a nerve with thousands of students who had waited up to hear him offering an idea and a vision that they wouldn't let go. It was here that the Michigan difference forever became a part of the Peace Corps story. It's a story that began as a bold experiment. At the time of its creation, Peace Corps was a model for overseas engagement that was entirely unknown and untested. And many, many said that it would never work. In fact, Sergeant Shriver is fond of saying that the reason that his brother-in-law, President Kennedy, appointed him to be the first director of the Peace Corps is because he wasn't quite sure this Peace Corps thing would work out and it would be easier to fire his relative than a political appointee. Yet the idea of Peace Corps, the idea that a small group of people, volunteers could serve their country in the cause of peace, struck a chord, first in Ann Arbor and then throughout the world. Since then more than a quarter million Peace Corps volunteers, including more than 2,500 University of Michigan graduates, have served in 139 countries around the world, tackling some of the world's most important challenges, from public health to food security to climate change to fostering the next generation of entrepreneurs. Peace Corps has always made the biggest difference at the last mile. Now at this time in history, we are making a name for ourselves at the edge of innovation as well, which is why I'm so excited about our new partnership with the School of Information, to use technology in ways that are new and different in development. As we speak Peace Corps volunteers are helping farmers in Kenya to use mobile technology to connect to markets. We're partnering with the private sector to sponsor business plans in the Dominican Republic for young entrepreneurs. We're promoting improved agricultural practices in Senegal using podcasts. We're furthering gender equality in Georgia using sports. We're designing text messaging platforms to help high school students in Nicaragua learn about reproductive health. In the face of modern day challenges, from HIV AIDS to climate change, we are better positioned than ever to help communities kindle change where it is most needed. As we move forward our charge is to forge a 21st century Peace Corps that bridges the founding ideals with the realities and opportunities of our modern times. I envision a Peace Corps that remains steadfast to its timeless goals, yet poised to harness today's revolutionary tools and technologies. I envision a Peace Corps that makes a measurable impact in the lives of the world's poor showing the world the generosity and the compassion that has always characterized the American people. I envision a Peace Corps that opens doors and changes lives in far away countries but also here at home. I think about volunteers like Mackenzie Knowing, a recent graduate of the Ford School and a recipient of a Coverdell Fellowship, a graduate fellowship that offers financial assistance for return Peace Corps volunteers. Before she came to Ann Arbor, Mackenzie served as an agricultural marketing volunteer in Guatemala teaching community development and business workshops to more than 500 coffee farmers. In the process Mackenzie learned a lot about economic development and coffee but she learned also how to be patient in building relationships how to work independently, how to spark innovation and sustain growth. All skills that she says are just as applicable here in her graduate studies at Ford as they were in her rural community in Guatemala. The best way we can serve volunteers like Mackenzie is to empower them with the tools and training they need to make a measurable difference in the world. When we talk about the future of the Peace Corps, what's at stake is not just the next chapter of a bold experiment. What's at stake is people's lives, people's potential, people's future here in abroad. Now that's been true from the very beginning of the Peace Corps yet there's no doubt that this is an era that is vastly different than the one in which Peace Corps was conceived. Consider this by the end of 1960 the United Nations had 99 member states. Today it has 193. In 1960 there were 3 billion people on earth. Today there are 7.2 billion. Thanks to technology the nations and peoples of the world are more closely linked than ever before. Now more than ever America's security and economic prosperity is inextricably linked with that of other nations. In a world that has grown simultaneously larger and smaller we have tremendous new opportunities to seize. According to the World Bank the past two decades have brought the most rapid development progress ever witnessed in the history of humankind. Without exception these have been quantified by rising incomes, increasing agricultural productivity and growing life expectancy. Even the poorest countries today have university trained leaders and poverty reduction plans. And our host countries have increasingly high expectations of the Americans who come to their shores. Our host countries expect Peace Corps volunteers will come trained and ready to make a difference in their communities. The work of Peace Corps helping to reduce poverty, fostering economic growth and building relationships in some of the most remote corners of the globe has never been more important. But it needs to be strategic and it needs to demonstrate the impact. In the words of President Kennedy, change is the law of life. Those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future. The world has changed and we are changing with it most definitely. I'm here to tell you today that our gaze is fixed decidedly on the future and from that vantage point our belief is that the future of Peace Corps has never been brighter. Over these past four years as Dean Collins mentioned we have carried out the most extensive reform effort this agency has ever undertaken to modernize all aspects of our operations. Already we have dramatically improved the quality of our support for volunteers. We have strategically targeted Peace Corps resources and country departments to maximize impact using data to guide our decision making. And we have streamlined Peace Corps operations by using technology to create a culture of excellence and innovation. These reforms have positioned Peace Corps to make an even greater impact in the years to come. We're not done yet because the kind of change we're talking about takes many many years to accomplish. For starters we're expanding our reach. We recognize that we are no longer the only pathway for service for those who are drawn to international volunteer work. We are no longer the only avenue for college graduates with dreams of changing lives and making a difference. And that is to be celebrated for sure. There should be many ways for Americans to volunteer. There should be many avenues for dreamers and doers who want to make a difference in this world. And Peace Corps service is honestly not for everyone. But for those who are eager to see the world, to step outside their comfort zones, and to become part of something that's far greater than themselves, Peace Corps is the answer. I see Peace Corps as the gold standard for Americans who are drawn to service abroad, who are interested in not only imagining a better world, but in rolling up their sleeves and doing something about it. That's why we're revitalizing recruitment and outreach so that every single American knows about Peace Corps. We want to reignite the passion and characterize the early days of Peace Corps. Not just among volunteers who are already very passionate, but among the American population writ large. So we're embracing new media platforms to tell our story and casting a wider net than ever before. I've challenged our recruitment team to double the number of applications that we received. Not just to increase our reach, but to feel the volunteer force that reflects the rich diversity of the American people and represents the very best of our country. So we're stepping up our efforts to recruit in underrepresented communities in particular, so that our volunteer force represents the beautiful, multicultural nation that we are. And we're streamlining our selection and assignment process from start to finish, creating more transparent and more personalized systems than ever before. So everyone who has drawn to Peace Corps service has the best possible application service experience. Because even though we need a rigorous and competitive selection process to recruit the best and the brightest, it doesn't mean that it has to get mired in bureaucracy. And that's tough with the government. It's really hard. You're fighting a losing battle. But we have thrown down the gauntlet and have undertaken a sweeping reform of our volunteer application and recruitment process, making it easier, quicker, and more customer friendly. By way of review, we're working towards a shorter application. How many of you have filled out a Peace Corps application? How long did it take you? Yeah, exactly. Exactly. Well, we sat down and took the application. And those of us who know the agency, we sat down and took the application, took us eight hours to complete in one sitting. We're changing that now to one hour online application. It's going to change the whole process. And we're also streamlining how long it takes. We hope we have a goal of making sure that people get out the door in six to nine months. So that's a big change. In addition, our new online platform allows applicants to connect with the projects and countries that are interested, that interest them most. So if you go to our Peace Corps website, you'll see a world map. You can click on a bubble which shows a country. You can see what programs are available in that country, what volunteers are doing. Maybe in July there'll be a video of volunteers. You'll be able to see exactly what people are doing. Connect with blogs. Have a testimony from a host country counterpart. We want to make the experience much more interactive and interesting to our applicants. We want to teach people about our countries through the application process. We're very, very excited about this. So this is all new for Peace Corps. We think it's going to enable us to find the best possible candidates for Peace Corps service and therefore really serve our host countries in the best possible way by making the right match. We're working towards a modernized and flexible application and placement service that reflects both the needs of our applicants who have many choices but also our host country partners that really want to see the most experienced and skilled volunteers in place. Meanwhile, we're also transforming the way that we train and support our volunteers. We've undertaken an extensive reform of our program support and technical training for volunteers so that they can make an even larger development impact. Not just for the sake of the communities they serve, but also because we know that the most fulfilling, transformative experience comes from volunteers who are doing work that makes a real difference in the lives of the community in which they're serving. And as part of that, we're creating partnerships with universities and NGOs and other U.S. government agencies, other donor partners, so that we can match volunteers and align their work with other development efforts in their communities. It's really very exciting. Our volunteers work for the last mile and by working together with other development partners, we're able to ensure that their investments are owned by the community, sustained over time, implemented properly and monitored and evaluated. We're making a real difference at the last mile and we're very excited about that. In addition, our highest priority as an agency is the safety and security of our volunteers and their health as well. That's why we have enacted measures to strengthen the delivery of health systems to improve emergency response and to train volunteers to better assess situations and keep themselves and each other safe. That's a huge priority for us. We've created new Office of Victim Advocacy to support volunteers who become victims of crime. And we're also reinforcing our support for return Peace Corps volunteers who are continue to experience persistent health problems by expanding our post-service unit. So the health and safety of our volunteers is really our top priority. From recruitment to training to volunteer support, Peace Corps is stronger, more strategic and more ready than ever to meet the needs of the 21st century. But 53 years after our founding, I think we have to ask the question, is Peace Corps still relevant? And I'd like to answer that question by starting with a story. About a year ago, a little over a year ago, I had an opportunity to meet with Alpha Conde who is the president of the independent nation of Guinea, a small country in West Africa. He was invited to the United States by President Obama who was celebrating democracy in West Africa. So it's quite common for heads of Peace Corps countries when they come to the United States to request an audience with the Peace Corps director. And so I went and met with him. And it was a very formal sort of meeting. We sat down and we exchanged pleasantries. In my case, I thanked him for providing such a warm welcome to the Peace Corps volunteers that had served in Guinea. And for his point, he thanked us for the many years of Peace Corps service to his countrymen and women. And we exchanged little tokens of appreciation and I thought at that point that the meeting was over because he had a meeting with President Obama in just about 45 minutes. So I leapt to my feet thinking that the meeting was over. He was still seated on the couch. And he looked up at me. He put his hand on my elbow and he said, please, now that we've dispensed with the formalities, I'd like to speak to you from my heart. And this is what he said. When I was a young man, I lived in a small village in Central Guinea. And there was a Peace Corps volunteer who lived next door to me. His name was Joe. And he was an agroforestry volunteer. And he would work with the farmers all night. But in the evenings, he would come home and open his house to anyone, any of the students who wanted homework help. He had a kerosene lantern, plenty of kerosene. So students would come every night. He would help them with their English, with their French, with their bath, and with their science. And President Condi said, I went nearly every day. And at the end of about two years, it was time for me to take my university entrance exam. It's a national exam that all West African students have to take. And because of his help, I passed that exam. I was one of four people in my country that had passed the exam that year. I am confident that I would not have passed that exam without his help. But not only that, he helped me find the right university. I qualified for government scholarship because I had passed the exam. He helped me learn how to shop in a modern supermarket. He helped me celebrate holidays. His family became my family. And he's a lifelong friend to this day. I know that I would not be president if it weren't for his love and encouragement because he was the first person I can remember who ever believed that I had a future outside the boundaries of my village.  Over the last six months I've been traveling to over 300 villages around my country. I went to villages way out east which is where Sierra Leone and Liberia come together with Guinea. It's sort of considered the Wild West although it's safe. He said, my own campaign staff wouldn't go out there with me. But there were Peace Corps volunteers there. I went way up north which is near the boundaries of Mali. It's very dry, doesn't rain for 10 months out of the year. Not much variation in the diet. He said to this day I don't have a pre-fee which is like a district governor. But there are Peace Corps volunteers there. I go to the central part of my country and there's a modern road there so it's easy for NGOs to get to that part of my country. He said they come, a lot of the large NGOs come and they do good work. They bring bags of cement, maybe they build a school, they bring food aid, they do trainings which are valuable. But at the end of the day they hop back in their big white SUVs and drive back to Conagry. And Peace Corps volunteers they stay. By your presence you tell me and you tell my people that the United States of America cares about my people. That we are so important to you that you're willing to leave everything that is near and dear to you. Your homes, your family, your friends. And come and live among us as one. To speak our language even though some of our languages are not written down. To eat our food even though it makes your belly sick. To learn our languages and our culture to work on our priorities side by side. Our priorities not your priorities. By your presence you validate us more than the millions of dollars that your country has sent to my country over the past 50 years. You validate us because we are family to you.  And that makes all the difference. Now I hear the story at every trip I make and I just got back from West Africa two days ago. Sometimes it's a president, it's often a president. There are 12 presidents in Africa alone that credit their start to a Peace Corps volunteer. But sometimes it's a mayor, a taxi driver, a minister, a mom. All who felt that their lives were transformed by a Peace Corps volunteer. Sometimes four decades have passed since the last time that person saw their volunteer and yet they can tell me everything about that person. It's amazing. The interesting thing is that most Peace Corps volunteers don't feel that they made an impact. We all question that. Did I really do something of worth? And I'm here to tell you that you have. Maybe not in the way you think. I have no idea if Joe was a great agro forester. No idea. But I do know that he inspired the president of Guinea, a country that is democratic, it's fragile. But it has, it's oriented towards the United States. It shares our values. It has positive perceptions of the United States. And he credits his start to a Peace Corps volunteer. Most of us feel that we got more than we gave. And I think that that's the magic of Peace Corps. It's the incredible synergy that happens. The whole is truly greater than the sum of its parts. And that's why in the 21st century I really believe that Peace Corps is more relevant than ever before. Our first goal is to help the people of interested their needs for trained men and women. It's a development goal. It's a capacity building goal. Although the past 50 years have demonstrated the period of largest transformation in terms of development progress in the years, billions of people still live in heart-wrenching poverty in conditions that breed instability and foster hopelessness. We spend billions of dollars each year trying to quell insurgencies and combat violence. Not to mention the millions of lives that are lost because of violence and war. Peace Corps works to reduce poverty, to foster economic and social justice, and prevent terrorism by engendering hope at the lowest levels of the community in the small villages and towns across the globe. At the last 10 miles where most development agencies, even most host governments, rarely reach and we're doing so at a fraction of the cost, consider the work of a volunteer named Ian Hennessey. He's a volunteer in Senegal. Following the tragic death of his neighbor's young child his neighbor was his best friend, his name was Sheikh Mohammed, was his best friend, who was a, Sheikh and Ian were community health volunteers and they worked together. And Sheikh had a four-year-old niece whose name was Jenaba, and Jenaba was the apple of his eye. Jenaba died of malaria. They were absolutely devastated. How could this have happened? They had just completed a bed net campaign that blanketed their community and yet Jenaba died of malaria. Well actually the community health team knew what, knew the reasons. They knew that malaria was accepted as a normal part of life in rural Senegal. That people just accepted the symptoms of malaria and so there's a latent reservoir right there. So the people, a mosquito bit a neighbor who had malaria and then it bit Jenaba. Jenaba died. So they developed a very innovative what we call proactive case detection approach. What they did is they went house to house once a week and they asked people in their community or in their each household do you have signs and symptoms of malaria? Do you have a headache? Do you have a fever? Do you have achy bones? Are you nauseous? And if they did they used a rapid diagnostic test kit that was given to them by the National Malaria Control Program. They tested the person on the spot for malaria and if they were positive for malaria they gave them co-artum which is the drug for malaria on the spot. In one rainy season there was a 90% reduction in malaria incidents in that village. And we know that because the centers for disease control did a study, a baseline study of this approach Ian went to Peace Corps and said I want to do this proactive case detection our country director said we'll go talk to the Centers for Disease Control let's see if they're up for it. And they created a case control model where we were able to document that incredible reduction in malaria incidents. So then we thought well maybe this approach is very small one village let's see what happens if we do five villages. So we set up another case control study. Five proactive case detection villages and five control villages. Same result in this case it was 88% reduction. Now right now we're doing on a district level we've got 17 volunteers and thousands of community health workers and they're helping to reduce malaria incidents in rural Senegal. They are actually contemplating the possibility of a malaria free state in southeastern Senegal for the first time ever.  Well Ian and Shayk they save lives. It's just one example of how Peace Corps volunteers are making a meaningful difference in partnership with others. In this case Ian partnered with the National Malaria Control Program of Senegal and with the Centers for Disease Control Peace Corps' second goal is to promote a better understanding of other peoples on the parts of Americans. These are the relationships that every Peace Corps volunteer fosters with their community. They are deep and powerful and profound and they are I think at the heart of every volunteer experience. I want you to consider the story of Martha Fedorowitz who's a University of Michigan graduate who is a Peace Corps volunteer in Morocco. What she has learned in her time working with youth through computer classes and life skills training she says includes not just recognizing what others around the world don't have but acknowledging what they do have and learning to build off of those capacities. If the United States wants to make friends in an increasingly interconnected world we need to develop strong personal relationships with host country nationals not just the leaders of those countries but also the citizens of those countries. Peace Corps volunteers are the face of our country overseas not only among the leaders of the country, the rich the well educated are the powerful but they are the face of our nation among the vulnerable, the underserved those with untapped potential. People like Sheik and the young Alpha Konde who could be a catalyst for good in their community if only in the opportunity. Through the relationships our volunteers build with their communities they ensure that our partner nations share our values have positive perceptions of the United States and want to interact in a productive and positive way not only with our nations but the nations of the world. They're helping to create a much more stable environment and that's a good thing. Peace Corps third goal is to promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of Americans. This is the hardest to capture and this is what all of you return Peace Corps volunteers do every day. In a global age America really needs to have globally competent citizens people can engage effectively with other countries and thrive even as our own country is becoming increasingly diverse. We need people who can speak other language, who can understand other perspectives and can navigate across cultural divides especially the cultural divides within our own country. I ask you who is more competent than a Peace Corps volunteer who spent two years living and working immersed in the language and culture of another country who's worked side by side in their priorities. These Peace Corps volunteers are future leaders. These are all of you.  I think about some of the return Peace Corps volunteers on campus here. People like John who's a Peace Corps volunteer Louise Baldwin also at the University of Michigan International Center who both helped enormously in our wonderful 50th anniversary celebration and who every single day continue to inspire people around them with their global outlook and their concern for others. We're so fortunate to have them among our mists. Or there's Marie Rock who's a graduate of University of Michigan who was inspired to apply for Peace Corps because she knew other return Peace Corps volunteers.  When I asked if they liked their service I usually received a small quiet smile. Now well into our service as a health volunteer at Cameroon. Marisa says, I understand what is behind that thoughtful smile. A world of cultural exchange, lifelong friendships, exciting professional breakthroughs and travel opportunities. That is all that is after all what is so inspiring about the Peace Corps. Two years of pushing boundaries, redefining comfort zones and endless learning. From helping people of our developing nation tackle some of the most pressing challenges of our times to building bridges between our nations and others to bringing home the dividends of Peace Corps service, we believe that Peace Corps remains one of America's best ideas. And what's the price tag for all this? One dollar for every American is our total annual budget. One dollar for every American. I believe that Peace Corps is one of America's most cost effective investments and we remain as committed as ever to proving the return on the investment to Congress and to return Peace Corps volunteers to our host nations and to the American people. People ask me why I'm so passionate about Peace Corps. Why is it that I'm so excited about it? Because I am truly passionate about Peace Corps. And I tell you that every day every single day I meet someone whose life has been changed by Peace Corps. Just last month I had a conversation with a guy named Vick. He had recently returned. He was in Malawi. He served with his wife Adrian and they lived in a small village near Lake Malawi. And he was a math teacher and Adrian was a health educator. And they had a small house in the center of town and because they had a modern American relationship he would help with household chores even though that was considered women's work in Malawi. So he would help with the cleaning and the cooking and he would even sometimes help with the laundry which is really a drag. And then on the weekends they would ride bikes around town and they would explore their countryside and really learn to know the village that they came to call home.  Because I'm always interested in people whether or not they feel they've had an impact. And this is what he said to me. He said as he was packing up his house one of his shyest students came by and this was a student who hardly ever spoke in class. And so he was sort of surprised that this guy had even come by because he barely spoke. But this time he had something he wanted to say and this is what he had to say. He said Mr. Vick when I grow up I want to treat my wife like you treat yours. I see how you treat her, how you treat Miss Adrienne and that's how I want to treat my wife with love and respect. Now I have no idea if Vick was a good math and science teacher but I know that that young man's future wife is going to be really grateful to Vick for showing him a different path of how to be a man in a society where women are often not considered equal partners. That's just one example. You never really know where your impact is going to come. That's the power of Peace Corps. Our stories, the stories of volunteers are really stories of hope and of potential. They show what's possible when willing communities and committed hardworking men and women come together to make positive change across the globe. Working side by side to make a better future in the world that we all share.  And that's why Peace Corps matters now and into the future. So thank you very much and I'm happy to take any questions you might have. Thank you so much Kerry for coming here to speak at the Ford School about a program that I love and plenty of memories that I cherish. So thank you so much. My name is Nathan Geyer. I am a RPCV from Peru served in 2010 through 2012 and I'm a current MPP student here at the Ford School of Public Policy. And we met in Peru. Yes we did. We met in Peru. It was a lovely time. Yeah. So our first question is many Peace Corps country programs and partnerships with universities in country to help train volunteers in technical and cultural knowledge both prior to and during their service. What plans does a Peace Corps have for fostering relationships between its partner universities in the United States with these partner universities in Peace Corps host countries? That is a very good question. We have a new approach to technical training and program support called Focus in Train Up. So basically we have taken all the various things that Peace Corps volunteers do and really have tried to focus on those areas that have proven through evidence to be most effective at achieving development impact. And in each of our six sectors we have six sectors. I'll just mention them. Health, education agriculture, environment, youth development, and community economic development. In each of those sectors we have partners both here in this country and then in the countries where we work. I just returned from Benin, West Africa. I got back on Monday actually. And when I was there I visited a phenomenal Eco Green Village. It's a completely community sustainable village called Song-Ai which is supported by universities in Benin but also is supported by some of the universities here. It's an incredible place that is really a development innovation lab. And so one thing that Peace Corps can do is bring partners together. Peace Corps volunteers have a great opportunity to identify potential. And so they're often able to bring groups of people that would not ordinarily interact together. Another thing that's important is that Peace Corps volunteers can identify potential among rural individuals that may have promise in a way that others aren't. So we're very actively involved in YALI which is Young African's Leadership Initiative which is a big initiative of our government. The International Visitors Leadership Program. A lot of programs that bring international students and professionals to the United States for exchange. We're able to identify people that would normally not be engaged in that at all. Oftentimes it's only the urban, it's the well connected who get to participate in these programs. We're actually able to bring university students from some of the lesser known universities into these programs that then connect with university programs here. So I think that's a different way that we're able to engage. And then I think third of all is just through some of our initiatives in our sectoral areas. We have partners that are experts in agriculture and we have partners that are experts in health. I could imagine for example, I would really love actually to talk to the folks at the School of Public Health here about the possibility of having a fellows program at the School of Public Health because we work with universities of public health around the globe in all of our Peace Corps countries. And so just to be able to partner public health programs across the globe would be wonderful around the training of volunteers and the actual work on the ground. So I think there are lots of ways in which we can partner. My name is Kelsey Kennedy. I'm also a Master of Public Policy student here at the Ford School and also returned Peace Corps volunteer from Peru 2010 to 2012. I have the next question from the audience. This person asks, what do you think is the most tangible long term benefit of the Peace Corps 50 plus year effort?  Stand up. I'll return Peace Corps volunteers. It's tangible long term impact of Peace Corps. Without question. Our next question is, do you foresee any new programs opening up that reflect new global trends such as volunteers specializing in IT or technological skills? You know, all of our volunteers are incredibly technosavvy, far more than I am. Just when I think I've mastered something, it becomes, you know, my son says, oh mom, this is so yesterday. But our volunteers know how to use technology emerging technology and that's one reason why I'm really excited about this new partnership with the School of Information. We just recently just in case you weren't there earlier today when we had our signing. We had four of the students from the School of Information that came out to Peace Corps and spent an alternative spring break with us and they helped us to develop some apps for Peace Corps volunteer use. Our volunteers are using technology in every sector, in every country. And they're doing it without a lot of, let's say, without our bureaucracy. We don't want to tamper too much because we'll ruin it, frankly. You don't want to get the US government involved in trying to manage the social media of our Peace Corps volunteers. But they're doing tremendous things really. And I really think this is the new horizon. I think that what is going to separate countries that are developed from those that are emerging is the technology divide. And our volunteers are really interested and they seem opportunities for development in each of their communities. I was, where was I? I guess it was when I was in Ghana, where there was a statistic that showed that there were more people who had cell phones that had latrines in Ghana. And I think that's true in many countries around the world. And the fastest growing mobile cell market is in Africa in this world today. So technology is part of all our work. We do have new initiatives. We're always doing new things. Just last year we launched the Global Health Service Partnership, which is a new initiative to bring doctors and nurses into Peace Corps service to serve for one year. We're teaching in medical schools and nursing schools or clinical hospitals where they do mentoring of health professionals. We're doing it one sixth the cost of other U.S. government agencies. And I believe that they'll be even more effective because they speak the language and understand the culture. We're very excited about that new program. So those are some of the innovations. And also we're entering new countries. We're just about to enter Kosovo and we just passed our congressional notification and we haven't signed the country agreement yet. So it's not complete but it will happen soon. So we look at all sorts of opportunities in terms of countries where we can serve but also in terms of new technical areas. We take our lead from our host countries. We are there at their invitation and so we do the kinds of projects that they're asking for. The next question asks, how does Peace Corps fight the negative consequences of globalization such as market dependency, resource extraction, and cultural degradation? Good question. You know it's hard because it is such a global economy now that every single, like I said I was just in Benin. I had a bitter cell phone connection in every part of Benin that I do in Washington DC. Honestly, every time I go across the Roosevelt bridge in Washington my call gets dropped but I was in the most remote corners of Benin and I had a very strong cell phone coverage and they knew what was happening in the world. So I don't actually think that it's possible to stop the globalization but I think what we really are trying to do is to keep people in their villages, helping them to be gainfully employed there, giving opportunity at the local level so they don't feel like they have to migrate into the slums for economic opportunities. And that's why I was really excited to visit this village, this eco village, which was completely sustainable. Every aspect of it. They produced more power than they used. They grew everything they needed. They did value chain production. They made all sorts of products that they sold which they then could use to buy their inputs. It was very exciting. I would say one answer to that would be that we're really trying to create economic and social opportunity in communities so that people can have a satisfying and healthy life in their communities and not feel the need to migrate so much. Also just by the fact that Peace Corps volunteers speak local languages I think is a huge testimony. I was in Togo just last week and there are, Togo is a tiny little country it's about the size of Delaware and there are more than 70 languages there. We teach 40 different languages in Peace Corps. Over the whole world we teach more than 200 different languages and the fact that our volunteers can learn local phrases and interact with people in their own language really amazes them. We had a 50th anniversary event at Togo a couple weeks ago and there were a bunch of Peace Corps volunteers who stood up as part of the program and spoke in the language that they had been instructed. Most of which and it was attended by a whole bunch of ministers and the president and what have you. It was a very formal occasion marking our 50th anniversary. The ministers were amazed that they heard Peace Corps volunteers speaking languages that they themselves had not heard spoken in the capital for years. And I think that's probably the best validation. That's what the Alpha Conde story is all about is that we validate them by learning their language and learning their culture and wanting to know about their holidays and being so interested in them. That's very validating. Our next question is what do you see as the most difficult challenges that face the Peace Corps today? Are there issues that keep you up at night as you look forward? The most difficult challenges you know I want to avoid just saying budget although budget is an issue we are very constrained by our budget. We can only grow as much as we have budget for. You know the world it's interesting because I think many people think that the world is a more violent place than it used to be but in fact that's not true. All research has shown that in fact the world is a much less violent place but the thing that keeps me up at night is volunteer safety without question. Health and safety is my biggest concern always. It's what keeps me up at night every night. I have so much confidence in our volunteers to adapt from a development perspective. They are constantly innovating. I'm amazed every time I go to the field to see what they're doing so I don't have concerns in that area. I'm not concerned about getting recruits because we always get amazing volunteers although I have challenged our team to double the size of our applications double the number of applications. I think that Americans are by definition a generous and compassionate people who are interested in the rest of the world so I believe that we're going to always get the people that we need. We have the ability of having a diverse workforce that really reflects our multicultural nation but the thing that keeps me up at night is health and safety. Even though I've had my own folks do this research the truth of the matter is and we just have an epidemiologist on our staff who has run the numbers and we have found that actually in terms of risk and mortality is actually your chances are better as being a Peace Corps volunteer than living in the United States. If we comparing the reports that's actually true. That's actually true. I just got the numbers yesterday. On the subject of recruitment another audience member asks I'm currently a junior at the University of Michigan considering the Peace Corps what would you say to prospective students weighing the Peace Corps against other options in the private or public sectors? I guess what I would say is what is your objective to get out of it? What do you want out of the experience? There are many options out there and probably depends on how much you want to immerse yourself in the culture and work on the priorities of your community. If you're really interested in getting in there, learning another language intensively, living a life that resembles that of your neighbors working on their priorities and growing yourself through that process then I would say Peace Corps is for you. It's not without its hardships. It's definitely not for everyone. If you want to be in a capital city and have access to the nearest movies probably Peace Corps is not your thing but if you want to connect in a deeply profound way with members of that community in a way that's really hard if you're in a capital city and if you don't speak the language. I would say Peace Corps would be for you and if you are interested in development and think you'd like to go on to a career in international development or diplomacy I would say also Peace Corps will definitely give you a head start. So it depends on what your goals are. Once again thank you. We had plenty of great questions from the audience and from Twitter but unfortunately we are running out of time so this is going to be our last question. Do you have any advice for someone submitting their Peace Corps application this weekend? That's my answer. Do it. Yeah. Okay. Thank you so much Harry that was wonderful. Our audience for joining us for all of the questions. I hope that you will join us again on Monday. Ambassador Richard Boucher will be doing another policy talks on Networks to Policy and we would love to see all of you here for that. I hope you'll continue this conversation. We have a reception out in our great hall so please stay and continue the discussion. Our guest will be joining us. And last but not least, please join me in a final thank you for Acting Director Kerry. Thank you so much.


This meta-analysis examines the overall diagnostic accuracy of machine learning, ML, in diagnosing diabetic retinopathy, DR, based on color fundus photographs, and determines that ML algorithms demonstrate high accuracy in detecting DR of various categories, with a pooled area under the receiver operating characteristic, OROC, ranging from 0.97 to 0.99. The study also found that neural network was the most widely used method, and had a pooled OROC of 0.98 for studies that used neural networks to diagnose more than mild DR. However, the results should be interpreted with caution due to methodology flaws in earlier published studies. This article was authored by Joe Su and Wu, T.Y. Alvin Liu, Wanting Su, and others.


Well, well, good morning to you. Welcome back to Y254 TV. This is why in the morning and as well as the visit, we get to crash on all queens. And in this week's segment of Strength of a Woman, we get to highlight Helen Gavoni-Gidinji, who is a fashion entrepreneur running garment of grace. I hope I said it well. Yes, garments of grace. Like the garment of grace. Government of grace? Yeah, a lot of people get it mixed up, but it's garments of grace. Thank you for making time for us. I'm glad to be here. So let's just start right there. Okay. Why did you choose the name garment of grace? Well, I didn't choose it. I think I was given the name garment of grace. Oh, interesting. You want to tell us the background story? Yes, sure. I had the idea of what I wanted to do and then I didn't know what name to use. So I started brainstorming. I was writing names on a list of paper and I was like, oh, this sounds nice. This sounds nice. And then the name garment of grace just came and it sounded perfect. It was in line with what the business is about and I liked it and I went with it. So tell us what is garment of grace? So garment of grace is a modest fashion brand and our aim is to deliver graceful, timeless and feminine pieces to women. You actually look the best. Thank you. Times when you hear you're meeting someone who's in the fashion space, I don't know why we have this much expectation about people. So when did this passion for fashion begin? What's the journey behind? I think my journey with the love for fashion started when I was a little girl. I always thought I'd be a model. I thought I'd be on the runway and then I tried out for modeling. I did. After high school I did some auditions. I went to some modeling agencies but I was always told you're either too big then I was bigger in size.  So my dreams for modeling were killed. And then for some time I was not sure what I wanted to do but I knew I loved clothes. I knew I loved good clothes. I liked looking nice and then I think the whole creating of clothes started when I was in uni. I think around 2nd year or 3rd year there. That's where the inspiration came. I met a girl in school. I really used to look at her and I'm like this girl looks so nice like her dresses are always on point. She's always well dressed. Her dresses are colorful. They are fashionable and I was so curious. So one time I approached her after class. I was like hey how are you? I really like your dresses. Where do you get them? I just wanted her to give me a plug so they can also go and buy my clothes there. Then to my surprise she told me she makes them herself. And I was like wow what do you mean you make them yourself. I get the fabrics, I cut them, I stitch them by myself. And I was so blown away. And I was like you have to teach me because I want to make clothes as well. I want to be able to create pieces like what you're wearing. She was so kind. She took me to where she buys fabrics. She showed me how to cut. And then the amazing thing is at the time she used to stitch her dresses by hand. No machines just by hand. So she was like I do it by hand so you have to learn to do it by hand. Luckily I had background knowledge from home science. So I knew a bit of stitching here and there. So it wasn't hard to catch on with the stitching bit. What was the hardest part was how to actually cut the dress. How to fit the top part to the bottom part. Those were the challenges that I had. But she walked me through and she was so kind. Her name is Wendy. She actually owns her own fashion brand right now. And I'm grateful that she was there to hold my hand and to help me start. I'm just curious. What were you studying in Kampas? Economics and statistics. We were both doing economics and statistics. I pity your parents. Afrikan parents have this mentality right? I sent you to go and do economics. What are you doing? Afrikan parents we love them. It wasn't different for my parents. But the thing I'm grateful for is that my parents were very supportive. Well in school they were supportive of it as you do it as a hobby. And then you focus on your studies.  And I was on board with that because when I started I didn't start it for a business. I wasn't doing it to be in business. I was doing it to be able to create clothes for myself. So I was on board. I was like yeah I'll do it. Don't worry I'll finish the degree. I'll go get a job as everyone else. So that was the plan. And I started the plan for some time. But my parents were supportive to the extent that my dad bought me my first machine. So at least I graduated from my hand to now at least owning a machine in the house where I used to now do stitching. And then at the time people around me my friends liked my clothes and they were like can you also make for me so I started making for my friends as well. And I started to make a little bit of money. But I still didn't think of it as a business. And me it was have extra pocket money. There are these people who think that pursuing especially the embroidery and tailoring is it's only job guany. There's a notion that people have when they talk about you know there's that notion people had in the past but if you've not made the cut to go to the university the most available job to go for tailoring. So how different is the perception right now? Well right now the perception has changed I think. But also I have to say it's all about how you brand yourself. Because you can choose to brand yourself as just someone who left school and did not have the credentials and qualifications to go to uni. And so they just settled for something. But you can look at fashion as art. And fashion in the global market is recognized as art. And it fetches a lot of money. And I think even to just encourage people who feel like they only did fashion or any other tailoring and other small technical causes for those people who might feel like they were disadvantaged because they could not make the cut that's not the case. Because any craft that you have can fetch you whatever amount of money you decide. And so don't despise where you are.  But that didn't work out like that. And now I am in fashion full time and it's what is my full time job. So at what point did you decide to make it a full time job? I think when I was leaving uni without knowing though because when I left, when I was leaving now my undergraduates and I was graduating most of my colleagues almost knew they wanted to either work here or there and for me I was like I actually don't know where I want to work and I don't think I want to get a regular job. I just didn't know it at the time but I think that was in my subconscious it was always there that I'm not sure I'm going to get a regular job. And so I tried, I tried applying, I did internships and all that but I was now doing, I now started like I'd already set it up as a business although I didn't know the basic principles of running a business at the time but I'd started and I was doing it full time. I was making clothes, I had gathered a few, a small clientele for myself and so I was already beginning to do it and I think after I graduated I made up my mind and I was like I want to give it a good shot and see where it can go. So I think at that point is where I made that decision that I want to pursue this as a career. So take us through how did you start? What are the challenges you faced? Wow, how did I start? I think my starting point was the story with the first dress that I made that I was helped by my friend Wendy. That was the first, that was the start but the business maybe started around when I was clearing uni. That's when I began. I set up a business, I had a small stall in downtown. I had one machine and at that time I had stopped doing it by myself because all along I would do the tailoring myself. I had taught myself, maybe I can say I taught myself the basics of tailoring with the help of many other tailors. I was the type of person that would go to a workshop, a fundi's workshop and I'm like can I just sit here and watch you and learn and then I would go with my pieces that I've cut and I've stitched by hand and I remember one time I met this fundi and he was like you stitched that by hand and I was like yeah, he was like why? I was like I don't have a machine and I want to make dresses, so what do you mean why? So he was kind enough, he allowed me to be using his workshop per time and he would show me. I think that was where I started to perfect my skill. He would teach me how to, the basics of garment construction and then YouTube is a good teacher. I taught myself a lot on YouTube and then as the orders would come you realize that you can't do it by yourself. I didn't have enough speed and enough skill at the time, tailoring skill, but with time I sharpened my skills and at that time I discovered something called piecework. So piecework is where you get an order then you subcontract another tailor to do it for you. But you take for him everything, the fabrics, all the accessories needed, so that's how I started my business. That was my first proper structure for starting my business. I discovered I can use fundis so I would get orders and then subcontract another fundi to do it for me. So of course the quality became a bit better and I was able to start like that. How do you, of course fashion keeps changing. What was fashionable five years ago might not be what's fashionable right now. So how do you keep up with the ever-growing trends? You can't. I think fashion keeps changing true but also fashion revolves. I think if you look at what our parents used to wear in the 80s or 90s, I don't know what era that was. Those things are coming back and those things are becoming now fashionable. So if you were to chase trends it would be very frustrating and you can't really keep up. I think what you do is identify what you love to do and what you would want to create in the market and then pursue that. Whether it's trendy or fashionable, you do what you believe in and I think that's what I'm trying to do with Kamens of Grace. I identified that I wanted to do modest fashion. So modest fashion is rarely trendy because it's longer hemlines, you're more covered and all that. So with such you realize you can't really follow the regular trends. You have to create something that is authentic. So maybe an advice to people who are coming up in fashion is to not necessarily follow trends. Of course observe the patterns because people want to be trendy and then incorporate that with what you would want to create for yourself. Do you ever find yourself under pressure to at least dress up? I would say yes and no. So no because I know I can if I want to. I can always make myself a dress. But if there is a function, a birthday, a wedding, a graduation, there is pressure because everyone is looking at you like you have to preach, you have to practice what you preach. So there is always a bit of pressure but luckily I think I pull it off.  I think I don't do that. When I look at my own fashion journey there are times I would see all the pictures of what I thought was fashionable and I would cringe at myself. I can't believe I thought that was fashionable. So I think coming from that and also seeing how year in, year out something that I thought was fashionable this year it's not fashionable the next year I think it maybe allows me to have more grace for people but then maybe what I look at sometimes is I wish people would wear more fitted clothes like just wear something that is don't wear something that's too baggy don't wear something that's too tight I think those are the areas where I'm a bit judgmental when it comes to fashion I'm like just get the right size because you'd be surprised anything can look nice as long as you have the right size. So how do you find the balance between your personal life and your work life? Can you really find balance? I think I love what I do I really do I could do it I could do it 24 hours Honestly there are times I'm left at work late times I'm it's at night and I have to do research I'm just looking at what's happening in the fashion world So I really enjoy it I think so a lot of times it doesn't feel like work but how I balance is maybe honestly I can't say I've figured out how to balance it and it's really a big part of my life right now but also maybe having structures around your life knowing when to work, when to stop working that also helps a bit but generally I don't feel like it's strenuous How do you help ladies become fashionably sensitive? Wow, sensitive in what way? Say the way you probably when you said you don't judge when you don't judge someone based on how they address but you meet someone now when I woke up and they realized I was interviewing Oh no I still didn't think What do I wear? She will come and look at me and she will think Did you have to pair that with that? So how do you help women who you meet out there and you feel like we could do a bit with your fashion How do I do it? So how do you do it? First of all I don't think I put myself out there like that but what I would say is whenever someone now comes onto our platform either our Instagram page or when someone now comes to our shop and now I have the opportunity to interact with them I think for me first of all anyone who has interacted with me and they are like oh I don't think this would look nice on me I usually tell them I think anything can look nice on anyone provided you get the right size I really believe in that concept of just get what is the right size for you and then from there we identify what do you like what don't you like there are people who are like I don't like showing my hands like okay great how can you then wear sleeves and you'll still look nice there are people who are like I like my dresses a bit shorter I'm like okay let's find a sweet spot that you're also not in descent I like them long you know so I just try and meet people at their point of need and see how to improve that or work around that That brings me to this aspect of of course this is a women segment there's a woman out there who have been hearing that there are certain body shapes that you can wear certain body clothes you know you've been told kupura jo la kaka wa fanta you can wear a fanta orange usingangare kubang was a straight and you know you don't have the figure to do the straight straight clothes so do you have something a sort of guidance I don't know probably because this is a women's show and someone is sitting there thinking okay can she probably touch on what different body sizes people can do you know probably in as much as you are you advocate for you as you've said you believe that everyone can wear anything so long as you get the right size but there's that outfit that a plus size would wear that that petite person would look very ok so also just to be sensitive to people's different body shapes and sizes because I think the topic over women's body is very it's a very sensitive topic and I think also my personality I'm not very confrontational I'm not this is your body type so this is what you need to dress and that paired with the fact that I have made different types of outfits over the course of time I've made the straight ones the a-line ones I've done different type of things and I've come to the conclusion that anything can look good on anyone people come to my maybe people come to their workshop and they're like I'm a short girl so I can't wear maxi dresses then I ask them have you tried you know have you tried or have you just excluded yourself and say that I'm a short girl I can't wear maxi dresses maybe around five women ladies come to their shop and they're like I'm a short girl I can't wear maxi dresses so I just wear one and they actually wear and they're like oh wow it actually looks good on me so my conclusion is different body types how do you dress them identify what you're most comfortable in I won't tell you what to wear because what I tell you to wear might not be comfortable for you but look for what you feel most comfortable in and then gravitate towards styles that are like that I was not conscious about my hips I was not conscious about my tummy or anything like that then look for more dresses that are in line with what you felt most comfortable in but in an effort to feel comfortable don't look for oversized things or tight things but look for the thing that you felt most comfortable in and then gravitate maybe build your style around that style do you what are the some of the challenges you have currently now that you are a grown brand wow I think the challenges of a business apart from maybe the business courses in school you're not equipped to be an entrepreneur you're given theoretical everything is theoretical there is no practicality and even for people who maybe do business administration or B-com or anything I don't even know which business courses are offered but anyone who started maybe a business course you will come to the market field and find that things are actually I don't want to say different because I'm not aware they are different but you will find that the practicality of it is different from what you are taught and so you have to constantly teach yourself and I think I was pushed into the business field as I've told you I didn't come into this thinking I would make a business out of it I just thought at best I'll have nice clothes which I'll be making for myself and then now I'm building a business around that and so coming from a background being trained as an entrepreneur my biggest challenge is there are so many things that I don't know and perhaps if I knew better I would be further in business so that's a challenge the lack of knowledge and so I'm always trying to look for videos online trying to look for people who are in business and find out what it is that they are doing but that disconnect the lack of knowledge can be a big challenge that makes me think about right now as you are talking men the aspect of men is not being talked about in the fashion space and right now you will realize that we have male models and you know men are becoming more conscious conscious about fashion in the way they color coordinate but you know nowadays you'll find a man in a red suit and a green suit exactly what do you take about men in fashion I read an article the other day someone who does business and marketing and they were saying in 2023 if she was to start a fashion business she would do men's fashion and then I had a conversation with someone else who said if they were to do fashion they would also do male fashion because they feel that it is ignored and that men are always looking for nice things I've not interacted with a lot of men fashion wise to know what their problems are but what I think is that for you to build a good business you need to identify the challenges and so the article that I was referring to said that she would do men's fashion and she would focus on the shorter men because they have the most challenges finding the right fit so I think men's fashion is largely untapped and most of them I think by ready made clothes I know a few people in the industry who focus on male fashion but I think it's an area that can be touched on you see the way nowadays especially CEOs famous people have communication, PR brand manager do you feel like it's necessary for the same people to have fashion I don't know how to call them I don't know how to call you fashion consultant or something and there is a niche I don't know how well known it is but there is the image branding I think that one also touches on fashion a bit on fashion so I think it's there but I don't think a lot of people have embraced it but it's something that is up and coming and people can embrace it How important do you think it is? Image branding, I think it's very important because first impressions people say that first impressions are everything so it's important to how you present yourself because sometimes the situation where all the people get to see and know about you is how you look they'll not get to hear you they'll not get to know how brilliant you are and all that so how you present yourself is definitely very important so CEOs start looking for brand image consultant image consultant for sure there's something I wanted to ask and it's almost disappearing what do you wish they told you before you began this journey? wow everything I wish I was told that it's going to be difficult but anyway everything in life is not easy so I think that one I should have figured out on my own I wish they told me that when you get into business learn the basics of running a business first because there are some years there even before now I think I've shared up until where how I started and then now I've not shared the story about garments of grace but there was some years there there were some years there where I didn't fully understand the basics of running a business and as much as you have the talent and the skill and I think that's where it comes in you may have the talent and the skill but if you want to use your talent and your skill to make money then you have to teach yourself the basics of running a business or if you don't have the time to do that and you have the capacity to do that then hire someone who has the basics to do it but at the end of the day even you as the talent you as the one with the skill you need to also have those basics so I wish I was told that coming into this that you should have been more prepared should have been more prepared because business is it just doesn't happen it has principles that you follow it has do this then do this this is how you manage your money this is how you market there are so many aspects of a business of running a business and growing it not just running it because I think we all want growth so there is all that and so that one I should have been prepared for myself what would you tell Ayan fashion entrepreneur coming up lady man I would tell them that they are doing the right thing first of all for pursuing their dreams their dreams are valid no dream is too small and no job is too small again to maybe take us back to the conversation we were talking about how you feel like you didn't make the cuts and so you had to do a small cost there is no such thing no job is too small as long as it is a gift that God gave you it can make room for you and it can grow to lengths and depths that you didn't imagine so keep pushing teach yourself everything that you need to learn about running a business about your skill become the best at what you do don't stop until don't stop until you're proud but also most importantly I've been listening to some personal development teachings and they were saying when it comes to your value and your skill don't stop until your audience is kings so until you're serving kings that's when you know that you sharpened your gift to the best of your ability so don't stop keep pushing wow as we bring this conversation to a close of course you've told me what would you wish they told you what would you tell your younger self what would I tell my younger self wow I would tell my younger self that I would thank her for starting the journey because it is my younger self that started the journey for me I would really thank her for being bold in the face of uncertainty and it takes a level of


So David Dobrik over here thinks he's the king. The only thing this dude is the king of is clickbait and we're tired of it. What is up, everybody? This is Chris from the Rewired Soul, where we talk about the problem, but focus on the solution. And if you're new to my channel, my channel is all about mental health and what I like to do is pull different topics from the YouTube community to try to teach you how to improve your mental and emotional well-being. So if you're into that, make sure you subscribe and ring that notification bell. So in this video, if you're new here, you're going to meet a guy named Tough Love, Chris. I'm about to drop some Tough Love on you in this video. But speaking of speaking of Tough Love, my beautiful girlfriend just designed some new merch that is up in the shop right now. Boom, look at that. It is available in hoodies and shirts. Tough Love right there for you. There's a bunch of different colors. Go check it out. And right now use the coupon code Solution to get 10 percent off. All right.   I did. I have a kid to feed. You see that kid right there? It costs money to feed that kid. I also have a cat to feed. Do you see this beautiful little cat named Maya? It costs money to feed this little kitty. But anyways, make sure you stay tuned till the end of the video because I got some more exciting news for you. But yeah, why does everybody hate David Dobrik? That is an interesting question. So David Dobrik, for those of you who don't know, he has a merch line called Clickbait. Clickbait is something that is just fascinating to me. And ever since I became a YouTuber, it is just one of the most interesting topics. So today we're not actually talking about David Dobrik. We are talking about the beautiful topic of Clickbait. So I wanted to do this video because I have a video right now about Illimation blowing up. Like it's gotten like over 100,000 views in the last day, right? And it's titled The Truth About Illimation. And there are so many comments, just so many comments talking about the clickbait of it, right? So as you can see, as you can see, there's so many people, there's so many people who are talking about like what the title implied, like what the title implied, like and what's what's fascinating to me and why I'm so interested in mental health and psychology is just the way our mind works. So just to let you know, like what my thought process was when I made this video and I made this title, I was thinking of all the people who are asking these questions, like why didn't Illy do this? Why didn't Illy do that? Why didn't she do this? So I wanted to bring in psychology and discuss learned helplessness and explain why victims don't do certain things. So that was my thought process. That was my intention, but you see so many people. You see so many people who thought that my intent was to expose Illy. And that is absolutely hilarious to me. So think about it for a second. Think about it for a second. Like this was totally unintended by me, but it's one of the reasons why this video is getting so many views. So the people who think that Illy was lying about this whole thing, they're clicking on the video, thinking that it's going to expose her for something. Then I've gotten a ton of other comments like these ones on the screen where a ton of people were jumping to my video trying to defend her. They were expecting me to talk crap, right? I was actually just talking to Illy and DMs, telling her that she has an amazing fan base because so many people clicked on the video waiting to ready to defend her. Right. So like one of the justifications that people have and so many people like you should really change the title. You should really change the title. And I'm like, why? Why should I change the title? And some people have replied and said, because the way it's titled makes people assume that this is going to be an exposed video. I'm like, huh, that's fascinating to me. So since you expect videos on YouTube to be exposed videos, I should change my title.  Like you got to understand everybody's mental filter is different when you're seeing different words. Like I just told you what my intention was. And my thought process was behind that title. If you are taking a title in a different way, that is on you, not on me. And this is extremely important. Like, why am I talking about this? Why am I talking about this at all? Because I talk to all of you so often about how you need to quit caring so much what people think. Like I have come to a place where I accept. I accept the fact that different people are going to take things different way.  And I'm like, OK, and how is that my problem? Like this sounds like pretty like terrible, not even terrible.  But like, that's just the way it is. Like in order for me to keep this thing saying I need to realize that I cannot appease everybody. So this actually happened on another video I did a few weeks ago. And it was called Why I Hate Spill. That video has like 20 or 30,000 views, something like that. And so many people, so many people are saying the same thing about the clickbait title because the video was actually about jealousy and they clicked on it, expecting for me to talk a bunch of trash about spill. But I was really talking about my own jealousy. Think about that.  But you guys, like I watch your guys's behavior all the time. And people love the drama. People want the drama. People people want something to defend. People want something to argue over. People want to expose certain things like that is fascinating. So inadvertently, a lot of you are getting manipulated because you're getting played by your own emotion. So what's the moral of the story? The moral of this video is that we are people who are constantly getting played left and right by our emotions. You see it on Twitter all the time. You see all this reactionary behavior because people are totally going off of their emotions and I am here to help you not go so much off of your emotions, but to calm down, be mindful and make logical decisions so you can respond rather than react because I will always say this until the day I die, it is a lot easier for you to fix you than it is to try to fix the rest of the world. So if you think that every YouTuber on the platform is going to change their titles because you look at the word truth in one way when it was intended in another way and you don't click on the video, that is a little bit ridiculous. All right. So remember, it is a lot easier for you to fix you than it is to think that you're going to fix the rest of the world. And that is actually one of the chapters in my brand new book. Boom, rewire your anger. So the announcement that I was waiting for until the end of this video, I got a little excited about this new merch design. So check this out up until December 25th, up until Christmas. Anybody who buys a t-shirt or sweater from the rewired soul merch stop, you will get a free copy of this beautiful book, Rewire Your Anger. So the information for how to get your free copy will be down in the description. So if you pick up a sweater or a shirt, boom, get yourself a free copy of a book. All right. But anyways, that's all I got for you with this video. If you liked this video, please give it a thumbs up. If you're angry at me for the clickbait, the unintended clickbait, give it a thumbs down. But anyways, a huge thank you to everybody supporting the channel over on Patreon. You're all amazing. And if you want to see some more of my content, make sure you subscribe and ring that notification bell. And if you're looking for the merch shop, you can click or tap right there.  All right. Thanks again for watching. I'll see you next time.