What are you building today that your future self may need tomorrow?

In this episode, Shelby and Belinda sit down with diplomat, entrepreneur, and New College Perspective founder Jerica Lamar to talk about what she calls “building your island now”—creating skills, relationships, and opportunities before you need to make your next move.

Jerica shares practical advice on preparing for career pivots, finding and negotiating college scholarships, using LinkedIn before you have an impressive résumé, and navigating AI without giving up your ability to think critically. She also shares the three things that can keep you from getting boxed into a career: reflection, risk, and relationships.

Whether you’re preparing for college, building a career, or wondering what your own next chapter might look like, this conversation is packed with ideas you can put to work now.

A note on some of the acronyms mentioned:

EER = Employee Evaluation Report

D-9 = The Divine 9 Historically Black Greek Letter Fraternities & Sororities

As promised in the episode, here are some freebies:
LinkedIn Checklist + Content Plan for College Students: https://www.thenewcollegeperspective.com/linkedinchecklistcollegestudents
What to ask during a college tour: https://www.thenewcollegeperspective.com/questionstoaskyourcollegetourguide
Video on LinkedIn Mistakes to Avoid as a College Student: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2khp00Voc0
Website: www.thenewcollegeperspective.com

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Sometimes doing the right thing as a leader means disappointing someone you genuinely want to help. In this episode, Shelby and Belinda get candid about tough feedback, workplace politics, protecting your credibility, and knowing when (and when not) to use your influence on someone else’s behalf. Because the higher you go, the grayer the decisions get.

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Support the show

We publish new episodes every other Wednesday.

• Subscribe to the Leadership Tea Podcast
• Subscribe to Leadership Tea on YouTube!

Follow us on Instagram @Leadership_Tea for more inspiration and insights.

He spent 37 years as a software engineer. Then a ruined painting changed everything.

In this bonus episode of Leadership Tea, Shelby and Belinda sit down with artist Erasto Curtis Matthews (@erastoarts) for a conversation that wasn't even supposed to happen. True to form for their 'Leading Unscripted' theme for this season. They met him by chance, minutes before recording their Season 6 premiere. Erasto shares how one destroyed canvas turned into a full-time art career, the mantra that's guided every scary decision since ("whenever something scares me, that's what I'm supposed to do next"), and his blunt advice for anyone building a legacy: get rid of fear, because fear usually gets you the exact opposite of what you want.

A quick, unscripted reminder that some of the best pivots in life start as mistakes.

🎨 Follow Erasto's work on Instagram: @erastoarts
🎙️ New episodes of Leadership Tea drop bi-weekly.

Send us a comment!

Support the show

We publish new episodes every other Wednesday.

• Subscribe to the Leadership Tea Podcast
• Subscribe to Leadership Tea on YouTube!

Follow us on Instagram @Leadership_Tea for more inspiration and insights.