[SOUND] [MUSIC] >> Rachel: Wyoming has a very rugged beauty to it.

I mean every piece of the state is unique and different.

>> Josh: I think Wyoming is beautiful but unforgiving.

We have pristine mountains and vast desert.

But then on that same token that weather can get pretty severe here.

There's wild animals everywhere.

Grizzly bears are a thing, believe it or not.

[LAUGH] >> Richard: We have cowboy hats, ropes, cowboy boots, cattle ranching.

It's just very traditional here.

There hasn't been much outside force to press upon us.

>> Josh: I think people see us as less advanced than the rest of civilization like we're still kind of the old west.

>> Richard: And we just have such an industry here that it's kind of hard to be fresh.

>> Rachel: There's a stigma that you have to leave Wyoming to be able to make something of yourself.

But I think that the quality of life here is pretty unmatched.

>> Josh: There's a lot of appeal to living in Wyoming.

There just needs to be a good reason to be here.

So I'm hoping that eventually I can actually find a job that I'm interested in pursuing further and really enjoy >> [MUSIC] >> Josh: My name is Josh Fitzsimmons, I'm 24 years old and I'm studying computer engineering.

So the trip that we're about to go on is gonna be a roughly two-week trip around the state of Wyoming.

I'm mostly looking forward to kind of picking the brains of some of the people that we're gonna be able to meet.

I feel like this trip will help me discover more of what's going on in my state because I am a little bit pessimistic.

Do I want to use the degree that I've worked hard to get and leave or do I stay and do something else?

And so being able to see a lot of companies doing new and exciting things here might inspire me to either work for them or build my own company here or something like that.

>> Richard: My name is Richard.

I'm from Cheyenne, Wyoming, and I'm 19.

I graduated class of 2020.

My graduation was, of course kind of strange because of the whole COVID thing.

It was like March hit, no school, graduation, and then that's it.

I'm looking for direction.

I'm looking for answers on this road trip.

If I can really get a new, revitalized, refreshed look of Wyoming and say, wow, there's too much industry here to miss, I can't leave, then that's what I want it to do.

I get to talk to new people.

I get to be around fresh faces, new feelings.

It's gonna be exciting to see what my state has to offer.

>> Josh: Yo, how's it going?

>> Richard: Yo, what's up?

>> Josh: You ready to roll?

>> Richard: Absolutely.

>> Rachel: I'm Rachel Purdy, I am 25 and I'm from Pine Bluffs, Wyoming.

On the very surface, what I'm looking forward to is just seeing more of my home state, getting out, and seeing beyond Cheyenne.

But I'm also looking forward to seeing people who have been successful and found their own path in Wyoming.

People that maybe pivoted or are doing something outside of their degree.

>> Josh: How is it going Rachel?

>> Rachel: Hey, how are you guys?

Right now I am comfortable.

My job, I am stable.

I'm good at it, and it's hard to want to give that up for an uncertain path.

With change, there's a good possibility that I leap into the unknown and end up somewhere worse.

That is basically what's holding me back.

>> [MUSIC] >> Richard: We are in Laramie, Wyoming, getting ready to depart on our road trip.

>> Rachel: We have some pretty cool interviews lined up.

I'm really excited to hear from the leaders.

>> [MUSIC] >> Josh: Well we getting ready to interview Affie Ellis, the state senator.

I'm pretty excited to talk to her just about the politics of Wyoming and get her take on how she sees things going here.

>> Affie: One question we get asked in the legislature all the time is, are you having fun?

And I tell people no, this isn't fun, but the legislator's rewarding.

It's such a great opportunity to give back and to have an impact.

My name is Affie Ellis, I'm a state senator in Wyoming.

I represent Southwest Laramie County.

I live in Cheyenne and I'm a practicing attorney.

>> Josh: Can you tell us a little bit about your early life and moving towards being in the State Senate in Wyoming.

>> Affie: I grew up in Jackson and when I tell people that, they usually think millionaire but Jackson's a tough town to make ends meet.

I can tell you that my parents both have very humble backgrounds.

Both of my parents are full blooded Navajo.

My dad, his father was a renowned Navajo Silversmith.

And at the time our country was in need of welders and so they encouraged him to learn how to weld.

And so I did bring just kind of fun.

My dad, he was always proud of this, this is my grandfather.

He was a National Geographic magazine talking about his trade of being a Silversmith.

So, when I tell people I'm from Jackson, it has to come with that caveat story that my dad's a welder and my mom worked in a dry cleaner.

Again, being in Jackson I think the expectation was that everyone would go to an Ivy League or some kind of fancy school.

And so I wasn't excited about the idea of going to Wyoming.

I wanted to go to Georgetown.

When I graduated, things kind of fell apart on that end and so I said, well, I guess U-Dub it is and it ended up being the best decision of my life.

>> Rachel: I was hoping you could talk a little bit about the emotions that you might have felt when you realized Georgetown wasn't going to work out, and I guess how you came to be at peace with your decision to go to the University of Wyoming.

>> Affie: When I first found out I couldn't make it to Georgetown, I told my dad, and I remember the next day he went out and bought himself a new truck.

I think the thought of me going to a big fancy expensive school was weighing heavy on his mind.

He wanted to find a way to make that work.

And so when I made the decision to go to the University of Wyoming, he was relieved.

Just seeing the stress that I didn't even know I was putting not only on myself but my family, I just felt a little bit freer like the weight of the world wasn't on my shoulders to be the best student or to perform or I'm not gonna flunk out.

And in doing that, just started enjoying all those things that you should be enjoying because the university experience isn't just about going to class and learning.

It's about relationships and it's about growing as an individual and it's about finally figuring out what you wanna do.

When I first entered college, I didn't know what I wanted to do.

But I think that the University lifestyle is such that you can still kind of discover yourself if you're really open to what you're interested in.

>> Richard: Where do you see the future of Wyoming?

Being a traditional state, do you think it's gonna stay pretty traditional or do you think it's gonna get very progressive or maybe somewhere more in the middle?

>> Affie: I love this state and I think that the things I like about it are the things that sometimes hurt us.

Being young and being in Cheyenne, we see a lot of the influence of the Front Range of Colorado.

I think creeping up more and more.

I think other areas of Wyoming are really reluctant to embrace population growth and just what that means.

So I think as a state, we're gonna have that discussion of what does growth look like when it's just happening maybe in the south east part of our state, what does that mean for the rest of Wyoming?

Certainly in the last several years, we've invested a lot in trying to grow our technology sector.

And so as we look at our legacy industries in oil and gas, in mining in agriculture and tourism, I think there is always gonna be that undercurrent of how is technology going to change how these industries operate?

People can either be fearful of that, and stick their head in the sand, or they can embrace it.

>> Josh: Going into computer engineering was a very conscious decision of mine because I saw that that's kind of where the future was headed is basically computation and automation and things like that.

And so I figured this would be a good career field for me to get into.

And as I look around the state, there's very limited options.

I guess if you could elaborate a little bit more on things that could be done just socially to help move Wyoming in that direction.

>> Affie: I think the absence of what you're finding in Wyoming might be some of the benefit of it too.

That begs the question of what do you wanna do?

And can you be the one to start the company, to build out the dream that you want?

The lack of things here are also opportunities for people to bring things here.

I'm sure you've heard that saying about, you know, small minds talk about people and average minds talk about events and the great minds talk about ideas.

I think that's what you've got to search for are those networks where you are finding people that are like you that wanna talk about your ideas.

Is it gonna be hard?

Yes, that's just an inevitable part of getting to the good.

But don't give up, just keep looking and you'll find it.

>> [MUSIC] >> Josh: Talking with Senator Ellis was really interesting.

She had a kind of incredible perspective.

She didn't have a lot in Jackson, but she made a life her own way.

I think it really was a core part of who she built herself from is seeing what people can achieve and wanting to chase that.

And now she is a lawyer and a state senator.

She worked hard for where she is and she's in a position where she can make change that she sees is needed in our state.

>> Richard: It was nice to hear her story, it was just a different perspective.

She was a really genuine person and she's doing a lot for Wyoming and she wants to see change.

>> Josh: It was really engaging and a pretty good learning experience for me.

>> [MUSIC] >> Josh: If someone were to describe me, I'd reckon they would say I'm an outdoorsy person, an engineering student.

I don't really know what else there is to it.

[LAUGH] >> [MUSIC] >> Josh: I currently live in Laramie, Wyoming, but I'm from Cody, Wyoming.

If I could have a preference, it's being outside any day I can.

Biking, snowboarding, skiing, climbing, hiking, camping, stuff like that and then just a lot of coding and a lot of math.

>> [MUSIC] >> Josh: So I'm currently a senior at University of Wyoming, studying computer engineering.

Computer engineering and just computers in general are gonna impact everything.

If you're just kind of looking at the general trends of where society is going, everything's becoming more automated, more electronic.

So being well versed in computer engineering and understanding computers well just makes you well prepared for the future I think.

If I could, I would like to stay in my home state obviously, I love it here.

But the tricky thing is there's not a whole lot of technical jobs.

And so do I stick around and look for a job here, or do I just give up on using my major here and do something else?

Or do I kind of find that bull's eye and be able to stay and use my degree?

[LAUGH] I don't know what those jobs are looking like, I haven't found many, I've been looking, they're out there, they're hard to find.

>> [MUSIC] >> Josh: We're getting ready to talk with Jason Kintzler with Lifekey.

>> Jason: How's it going?

>> Rachel: Hi.

>> Jason: Good to meet you.

>> Josh: Curious to hear about his story.

I'm pretty sure he was a news anchor before going into Lifekey.

So kind of curious about that pivot.

>> Jason: I started with the college newspaper then became a reporter my junior year of college.

And gotten asked to be a news anchor in Butte, Bozeman, and Helena during the nightly newscast.

So I did that for a number of years in Wyoming and Montana.

To move on or move up in your career you have to go to a sort of mid to upper size market.

Well, that's on the East Coast, but I didn't wanna leave Wyoming, right?

Like what if I go there, and I get a job and I'm kind of stuck there?

And then how do I get back?

And then also, what if there's no opportunities when I wanna be here?

And so you end up sort of creating your opportunities.

Honestly, I think that's very Wyoming.

That really set me off in kind of the entrepreneur thing.

My name is Jason Kintzler, and I'm the founder and CEO of a company called Lifekey.

But, ultimately created this company called Pitch Engine.

In the first year, it blew up to 20,000 brands.

So it's been 12 years since we launched Pitch Engine.

I learned so much, so much, and it was exposed to everybody and everything and it was amazing.

And it really gave me incentive to do some other things.

When our office was in Riverton, our CFO and COO was in Lander and he would ride his bike to work every day, road bike.

Kind of a super sketchy highway, wild dogs and the whole deal.

And I'm like, man, you sure you're okay with this, and what do you do if something happens?

And he's like, I got this bracelet, and it had his wife's phone number engraved on it, and that's all it had.

But I really started to think about all of the information we have, all the data we all have that's not accessible to anybody.

And so that's what prompted it, I'm like, what can I store and how can I access it in a wearable?

The idea is anybody's smartphone could tap on this device and then I could unlock information.

You can do things like tap on a label, on a fabric label, and access information about a product instead of paper hang tags and all the stuff you see in a store.

You could just learn about a product just by tapping on it with your phone and then turn it into a safety device.

So the idea was just really the old silver medical ID bracelets that people used to wear like it's the next generation of that.

Can you talk a little bit more about, because this is something that I struggle with quite a bit.

So when you were a news anchor and you're kind of looking at moving to the east coast and kind of moving up as a news anchor, the kind of dilemma that you faced with, do I wanna pursue this career more to a higher caliber or stay where I wanna be?

It's really good to go experience other cultures, other lifestyles, other things, but I know this is where I belong, it just feels right.

And so I think we have an obligation in our own state to make sure that people have those opportunities to be here.

I think we're a state of pioneers, I think we are gritty, I think we can outwork any other state hands down, no questions asked.

But also kind of an independence, right?

Just think of your parents, think of your somebody in your family, there's an independence there.

They just decided I'm gonna do this, I mean, Pine Bluffs isn't for everybody.

But for the people that are there, they're passionate about it, they're proud of it, it's a community.

Those are things that people in cities long for.

>> Josh: So that is also one thing that I really have difficulty with is I don't see much opportunity for me here.

It may be just me not looking hard enough, but I'm wondering if you could speak to that a little bit of is there really just opportunity hidden in the weeds and we're just not looking hard enough?

>> Jason: Those opportunities are there.

And what I would say to you is, you take a place like Dubois, I think the population is 900 people.

I've met so many people that are either remote working or C suite level executives at large corporations that are like zooming every day.

I think the world we live in now is that world, I think, if you've got the skill sets, those companies they'll hire in these places.

And a lot of those companies are looking for these places, the work ethic, the independence, those are super powerful when you go out into the real world.

>> Josh: Talking with Jason was pretty cool.

There's a lot of pivots that happen and that's something that I'm extraordinarily anxious about in my life.

So being able to talk to him and maybe network with him a bit to be able to find other opportunities in Wyoming seems like a very real possibility.

Jason really does seem like a well connected person who was honestly a bit of a visionary for our state.

I was like okay, this guy's for real like he actually understands what he's doing.

>> [MUSIC] >> Rachel: We are sad to announce that Josh is no longer with us.

He doesn't love us anymore and has left us to return to the university.

>> Richard: He's not dead or nothing, he just had to go back to school.

[LAUGH] >> Rachel: [LAUGH] But we're sure that Josh is just gonna ace those finals and come back as a hot shot, I can feel it.

>> [MUSIC] >> Rachel: I feel like I'm still kinda processing the trip.

It's been busy.

I'm feeling good.

I still kind of can't get over just physically the beauty of Wyoming and how different Wyoming can be as you drive across it.

>> Richard: I'm feeling pretty good about the trip.

It's almost hard to describe how it feels.

>> Rachel: [APPLAUSE] Go Rich [LAUGH].

I think just this whole experience being thrust into an RV with strangers and going and interviewing all of these leaders about their lives brings up this kind of question within any of us.

I think it's important just sitting with yourself, thinking about things.

Your body does react if something's not a good fit.

If you start feeling anxious just thinking about it, maybe don't go in that direction.

>> [MUSIC] >> Rachel: My parents raised me to be someone who works hard, tries their best, and can be relied on.

I think a lot of that has to do with growing up in Wyoming.

My upbringing was not probably the typical American experience.

My pet growing up was a goat, and then once we got older, we were helping out.

And so, it was just a lot of working with your parents, working as a family.

That was kind of our family time is just working together.

Some of my hobbies are riding my horse.

I have a llama that I like training.

>> [MUSIC] >> Rachel: Kay was born in 2009 and we've been best buddies ever since.

[SOUND] I also like to do the stained glass.

It's really cool to have something that's made from the process of breaking something else and putting it back together.

It's kind of like a puzzle, which I think is kind of cool.

>> [MUSIC] >> Rachel: So at the University of Wyoming, I majored in economics and agribusiness.

And then I went on and got my master's at Purdue University in agricultural and applied economics.

I currently work as an extension economist and I help farmers manage the financial side of their business.

What I'm struggling with is basically right now I am comfortable.

It's hard to want to give that up for an uncertain path.

>> [MUSIC] >> Rachel: When I think about my goals for the future, a lot of them are oriented around the kind of life that I want for myself.

And part of that is what brings me back to Wyoming.

The freedom and flexibility to have my horse and be able to spend the time that I want to outside doing those sort of things.

>> [MUSIC] >> Rachel: I guess where I feel right now is more curious about what else is out there.

It can be scary.

It's hard to pick a direction to go.

I don't know where I'm going to end up or what path I'm on, but I'm just riding it out.

>> [MUSIC] >> Rachel: So next we're going to talk to Tom Balding.

>> [MUSIC] >> Rachel: He manufactures bits and spurs.

I'm really excited to ask Tom how he got to the point where he is manufacturing these items.

>> Tom: What makes ours the best, if you boil it down, it's just an attention to detail.

Pretty much everything I ever built, even when I was a little kid, I was into model airplanes and I was just constantly building stuff.

And it all had to be perfectly straight and finished perfect.

Well, I'm Tom Balding.

I founded and started Tom Balding Bits & Spurs in 1984.

A bit is typically used to cue or send a signal to the horse.

I've welded basically for at least 50 years and I really still enjoy it.

And I'm always trying to get that perfect weld.

Well, this is the first bit I ever made.

Digging through a five gallon bucket of scrap and I found some rings and some little pieces of rod.

I welded it all together and this is actually the first bit that I ever made.

I grew up in the 60s.

And as a kid, I [COUGH] delivered the newspaper to a company that manufactured racecar exhaust systems.

And I could see the guys in there welding and I was fascinated by that.

So the day I turned 18, I put my application into this company and they hired me and that was kinda the beginning of my welding career.

And then in the early 70s, I got certified to weld government aircraft parts.

I had a boss that I'd asked for a raise and he said that really the only way you're gonna make the money you deserve is if you had your own business.

And he asked me, what are you gonna do?

And I said, I'm gonna start my own welding business.

So, I looked into saddle making and raising horses.

And this lady asked me to fix this bit and I realized, well, I can build it.

So then I was getting books and studying, and anybody that I could talk to.

If you owned a horse, I was asking you questions about bits.

And by not copying anything, I explored different ways to manufacture bits and spurs.

It was just a long, slow process and eventually the goal of the business shifted from being successful and making money to providing a home for my five or six employees.

>> Rachel: It sounds like it was a really uncertain time for you.

How did you stay focused on finding what you needed to do?

>> Tom: For me, building things is kind of the easy part, but then I realized I had to market myself.

And the traveling, and setting up booths, and trying to get brochures, and trying to make catalogs.

And I mean, it was just, I'd call it hand to mouth.

Every morning I'd run out and look in the mailbox and just hope there was a check [LAUGH].

>> Rachel: Can you talk a little bit about, you know, must have been a pretty big leap to go from this precision welding into one day starting to make bits.

Can you talk a little bit about the emotions you dealt with and how you handled that?

>> Tom: I guess it was 79.

I'd seen a movie on TV called The Black Stallion.

Then there's a scene where he's riding the horse and I'd never ridden a horse, but at that moment I realized that that's what I wanted to do.

And within a month of that moment, basically walked away from my business and loaded up a U-Haul and moved to Ucross, Wyoming.

I can remember when I left California, my mom, she's what are you gonna do?

And I go, well, I'll figure something out [LAUGH].

And ended up working for different ranches in the area, building fence and stacking hay, and pretty much just doing whatever I could to try and get by.

>> Rachel: So if you had one parting piece of advice for us or anybody watching this, what would it be?

>> Tom: When I moved here, I was like a door to door salesman for thermometers and just I tried anything and everything.

I always said I never failed.

Some things just didn't work out that good but I always learned.

I learned a lot.

Like my appreciation of nature and being able to live here, I was already kind of successful.

And just be willing to do anything and get up early and work real hard, [LAUGH] and hopefully you'll be successful.

>> Rachel: Tom's interview was wild because his life path is so windy and he seems to be so at peace with it.

Tom still ended up finding something that really worked for him and his skill set and excelled at it.

And that there's something to be said about just having that courage to take the leap and follow what interests you.

>> [MUSIC] >> Rachel: So Sheriff Appelhans has a bit of a twisty path from what I read.

And so how do you get from being an admissions officer to being a sheriff?

I wanna know more about his journey and how he got here.

>> Aaron: My name is Aaron Appelhans, I'm the Sheriff of Albany County.

I'm originally from Colorado and then came to school here at UW.

I graduated with a degree in civil engineering and then I worked in civil engineering for about a year or two and decided that that's not exactly what I wanted to do.

And so, I ended up working for the university and I did recruitment marketing, admissions, and career counseling.

And then I got recruited to get into law enforcement.

Really wasn't interested in law enforcement.

Chief that recruited me at the time basically said that he can teach people how to become cops, you can't necessarily teach people how to talk and interact with people and so that's really why he wanted me to come work for them.

So I made a second career change.

I wanted to get into a profession where I felt like I could help people.

It was just trying to decide, you know, is this gonna be the best fit for me?

And can I do the job that they're asking me to do?

My job path, it is unusual.

Yes, I'm in charge of law enforcement here and the detention center but my official designation is a peace officer.

We're here to keep the peace.

You got to find a good way to interact with people if you wanna get things done.

So, we're really trying to be more transparent, making sure that community knows not only what we're doing, but why we're doing it.

Kind of reframing that idea of what law enforcement is.

We're employed by everybody here in the county so I got to make sure that I'm accountable to them.

>> Richard: What were your initial feelings when you were first, when the offer was first thrown and you were asked to be a cop?

>> Aaron: My first feelings were like absolutely not, so [LAUGH] I wasn't a big fan of law enforcement and I really saw kind of the back end of the criminal justice system with some of my friends, family members, and stuff.

And so, when I talked to them, they're like, you have an opportunity to come in and change a lot of stuff that you see that you don't like.

And so I really took that to heart.

Here in the county we really just trying to focus more on our interaction with the community, making sure that we're de-escalating situations to where they could be nonviolent.

And then the second part of that is really trying to get as much out of law enforcement's hands as possible.

Law enforcement, we're pretty good at a couple things.

Keeping people safe and enforcing the law.

We're pretty bad at a lot of other things.

So we're not doctors, or psychiatrists, or counselors.

And so when we deal with people that are in a mental health crisis, a law enforcement officer isn't the best option.

So really trying to change our systems here to where when we come across somebody like that, we can give them the resources they need and keep them out of law enforcement hands.

>> Rachel: It sounds like you've pivoted a couple times.

What were you looking for when you were pivoting?

>> Aaron: For me, like I said, I was really looking to help people and then also getting a job that I enjoyed and challenged me a little bit.

So sometimes your degree doesn't necessarily dictate who you are.

I'm kind of like on my third career a little bit so, but I still use a lot of the things that I've learned in engineering.

All of that really flows into what I do now.

Don't necessarily think about the profession that you want to do.

Think about the aspects of your job that you enjoy, that you find fulfillment in, and then find a job that matches that.

Think about, what do I want to experience?

>> [MUSIC] >> Josh: Talking with Sheriff Appelhans was pretty interesting.

He saw that he could make a meaningful impact in his community.

If he sees an issue, instead of just sitting back and complaining about it, he's like what, I'm gonna just lead by example and be the change that we have to see.

>> Rachel: I really liked hearing him talk about having pride in UW and his community.

And when you think about what degree a sheriff might have, you don't think civil engineer, so that was really cool that he was like, yeah, this isn't for me, I'm gonna do some something else.

>> Josh: He recognizes that there's mental health issues going on and there's a lot more extenuating circumstances to why people act the way they do, which I think is huge.

>> Richard:I'm really glad that he's pushing for the more community idea of police not being these enforcers, but to protect and serve the community.

So this is Cheyenne Central High School.

This is where I went to school, I graduated class of 2020, best class obviously.

Right now, i'm really just, I'm trying to figure out what's next after high school.

High school was okay for me, but I'm really hoping that college will teach me something that I actually really wanna learn about.

Growing up in Cheyenne, it's a very small quaint town.

There's not a whole lot to do but there's also not a whole lot of trouble either.

I grew up mainly in a single household.

I was with my mother most of the time.

I did get to see my dad though, which was a blessing, but me and him were never, you know, the closest.

I really just rocked with my mom a lot.

I had a few neighborhood friends, we'd go climb the tree in front of my yard, airsoft wars.

Now that I'm older, it's a lot more outdoorsy things, going out hiking, fishing, motorcross.

Because there's so little to do here, you almost have to go outdoors, but that's all right because that's the way of life here.

As far as my future endeavors for my life, I don't exactly know what I'm looking for.

I want my business degree so I can learn about money, but if there's another opportunity that wants to sweep school off its feet, I might take that instead.

I'm an opportunistic hunter.

I wait for a good opportunity to come and get me.

My interest with stocks is the fact that investing your money and getting a return back is extremely important for a financial gain in the future.

My ambitions are really towards making money and being successful and not being stuck in my greatest fear, which is the dead end job.

That just sounds terrible.

I wanna spend my life living.

My ambition comes from a lot of seeing kind of what my family's done, my dad's side of the family, things were a little bit more on the struggle side.

I see the way some members of my family are, and it's like, I just, I don't wanna be that.

And then I see my mom's side of the family, and I see what they're doing.

And it's like, yeah, that looks all right.

But maybe I don't wanna be that either.

I don't wanna fail either family, I wanna be this good child for my dad to look at and be like, that's my son right there.

And then I want my mother to look at me and say, he made it.

I wanna prove to my parents that I can be something.

I just really remember all the, just all the bad things people say to me, it's the you will never do this.

I can, like I'll show you.

I'm gonna go show my family that I did it, I wanna show my friends that I did it.

I wanna be successful, I want to enjoy what I'm doing every day.

>> [MUSIC] >> Richard: Although I feel uncertain about the future of life, there are opportunities all around you.

You truly just have to do what you love and the money will follow.

If you're doing something fun, you're never gonna work a day in your life.

>> [MUSIC] >> Richard: We're getting ready to talk with Daniella with Vista Counseling, it should be pretty interesting interview.

>> [MUSIC] >> Daniela: Hey, how are you?

>> Richard: I'm well, how are you?

>> Daniela: Hi.

>> Richard: We're gonna learn about drug and trauma counseling and her use of kinda new technology in the field of counseling.

>> Daniela: Why don't we go to the office next door, okay?

>> Richard: All right.

>> Josh: Sounds good.

>> Daniela: All right, so what we do now, we are gonna work with T3, T4.

So T3, T4 is like going across the brain, both sides of the brain.

Usually we do 30 minutes.

We can do 15 minutes.

I'm Daniela Peterson.

I'm a licensed professional counselor.

I do run a group practice, it's called Vista Counseling.

We are a team of seven clinicians.

We do a lot of trauma work, domestic violence and substance abuse.

And I've been working for 17 years in my career and I love it.

So I've been in Jackson for 17 years.

Originally I'm from Chile.

>> Josh: What brought you here from Chile?

>> Daniela: Love, [LAUGH] my husband.

I met my husband, he's a fly fishing guide, and I met him in Patagonia, Chile.

In that year, part of my path, I had to stop school college for about a year because I had to work, save money because I was going to a private school.

So I had to go to Patagonia.

I got a job over there saving money and then I met him.

And that's how we ended up here in Jackson.

>> Rachel: So can you tell us a little bit about the transition from Chile to Jackson, Wyoming?

>> Daniela: Wyoming, right, because I grew up in Santiago.

And I was like, I don't think I can make it here, it's just I'm a city girl, I don't think I can make it.

So I thought I had no opportunities here.

I was just working like cleaning cabins at a fly fishing lodge.

So that was my first job, cleaning cabins, I was like doing toilets and cleaning everything.

Because I really didn't know that I was going to be able to work in my career from a foreign, having a foreign education.

So then I found a job here in Jackson working with little kids and making sure that they had all their needs met.

And since then I love it here, I'm not going back to my country to live, just to visit, but this is my home >> Rachel: Earlier, you had just said that when you moved here, you didn't think there were opportunities here.

How did you find opportunities?

How can people find opportunities in these rural areas?

>> Daniela: I was interpreting people in the counseling center between therapists who spoke English and clients that speak Spanish.

And I was like, okay, well, I can do that.

And then the clinical supervisor said, I cannot believe you have a psychology degree, you have to work with us.

I'm like I don't think it's possible because I didn't go to school here in the US.

She said, I'm gonna help you.

And then I did all my equivalency of my education here in the US.

And I was able to apply for my counseling license.

When I was told that there was a substance abuse treatment looking for Spanish speaking counselor to create the first Spanish speaking program in Wyoming, I was like okay, it sounds fascinating but no thanks.

I grew up with an alcoholic father.

I don't wanna deal with addicts because I had enough, and it's just too much for me.

But then I was like, you know what?

I'm gonna go to the job interview and talk to the director and see what they have to offer.

So I was open minded, and he started like telling me, and I said really, I don't know it's just too much of a trigger for me.

It's kind of like reliving my own past, I don't think I'm ready.

And I said I'm gonna give it a try.

Give me three months and if I feel comfortable doing the job, I'll continue.

But if I don't and if I feel like it's too much, I'm just gonna quit.

And the executive director said, yes, I'd rather take that than nothing.

So when I started doing it, I was fascinated.

My past traumatic and different experiences helped me to take it and say, okay, I'm gonna use this to do better.

>> Richard: What is someone or something that motivated you, that you looked up to and helped you along the way?

>> Daniela: My mom, now she's my cheerleader number one, everything I am right now is mostly because my mom.

My dad, on the other hand, he was struggling with his own issues.

And also he wanted to be a psychologist.

Isn't it funny?

He was always reading like Sigmund Freud books and stuff like that, philosophers.

And I grew up seeing him like that, listening to classical music.

So I learned all that from him without telling me, do this.

Another big person in my life that helped me to go through and finish what I started is my husband.

He met me when I was very depressed, very sad, very lonely and he's my other cheerleader.

He helped me to build my second home, which is my practice.

He never understood about substance abuse and I had to tell him what I had to go through when I was little.

He never knew what scarcity means because growing up in the US is just so different, even though I was middle class in Chile.

So my husband is every day saying, I'm proud of you helping this community.

I'm proud of you doing what you're doing and he's always there.

So I feel like it's really important to find someone that will be by your side, pushing you to do better instead of pulling you down.

So healthy relationships is the key for you to be successful in life.

And I found him and he's my man.

He's my angel in earth besides my mom.

>> Richard: Yeah, you already made me, you already brought out a lot of feelings in me, all right?

[LAUGH] >> Daniela: And you brought my feelings out too because I was holding it in.

>> Richard: Because I can really relate to what you say, it just, it really hits close.

So I really appreciate your time.

Is there any advice you would like to give?

>> Daniela: Continue pursuing your happiness.

If someone says no to you, you keep knocking on doors.

If someone say your English is not good enough.

I heard that before, I said, I'll continue working on my English.

That's okay, I know I'm smart.

I know I know a lot and I know there's always room for improvement and continue the learning.

So just keep searching for your happiness, and do not give up.

And if you continue blaming your past for who you are today, no, don't blame your past, say because my past, I decided to be who I am today.

You might have some very harsh life lessons, take that as a learning experience.

Say thanks to that, I'm doing all the opposite right now.

And choosing your career, it gives you a sense of freedom.

It will give you the control you wanna have in your life.

I control my life right now by doing what I want to do.

>> [MUSIC] >> Richard: I really resonated with Daniela a lot.

Her story just felt similar to mine in a way.

The relationship with our father really wasn't the best.

Our moms really came through.

My mom was a really like a big motivator for me.

She let me learn my lessons the hard way.

Talking to Daniela, it was just incredible to me.

I almost don't have words.

For sure makes me feel like I'm not alone more than anything.

>> [MUSIC] >> Josh: We're getting ready to talk with Paul Bonifas with 9H Energy.

>> Paul: The vision of the 9H Research Foundation is to drive innovation in clean energy engineering and just for students to see what one avenue of Wyoming's economy could be.

This is more than 2000 solar panels.

So once we have those three megawatts up, the College of Engineering and Applied Science will be 100% powered by solar.

On a day-to-day basis, what I do is a lot of project management.

I didn't really know the ins and outs of how a solar plant worked.

What I had were skills that I had acquired through mental formation, mental gymnastics of being like, okay, so here's the problem.

So as Wyoming, we can encourage the development of these large solar facilities that will bring jobs with them.

Maybe they'll attract significant industry that wants to be powered by renewable power.

>> Richard: Do you ever fear like Wyoming being such a gas, like a petroleum focused state that you'll just get shut down.

>> Paul: I don't see any pushback from petroleum.

In fact, I'm still a petroleum engineer.

And so you wanna talk about pivoting, I'm a petroleum engineer that now works in solar.

So now the wave in the United States is focused on renewables.

So a lot of investment is going there.

>> Richard: Paul was really, really cool.

I went into the interview, and I was like solar panels in Wyoming, that's so, it seems strange, but after talking to him, he said Wyoming is one of the best places for solar power.

It really blew my mind, and I was really kind of, I was shocked by it.

>> Josh: It's really exciting to me to be able to talk to basically a fellow young person who's trying to make it work here in Wyoming in our industry.

We're kind of in that transition mode between oil and gas and modernization, but right now it's mostly just dying out oil and gas.

And people not really sure what to do.

And I think honestly some of it just boils down to people's unwillingness to accept change.

People just aren't too excited about new things here.

They kind of just wanna keep it the way it is.

>> Rachel: It can be scary that all of what Wyoming has had throughout its history is evolving, but also there's a lot of room for innovation.

>> Josh: I think there's a lot of opportunity in the state.

People just need to be willing to adapt to it.

>> Richard: I almost see Wyoming as like a gold mine pretty much just sitting there waiting to be tapped for something.

>> Josh: Getting some new ideas and some new business started would definitely keep a lot of the talented and professional young people in the state.

And most likely even bring some in from out of state.

>> [MUSIC] >> Josh: We are at the end of the trip, and now we're getting ready to talk with Amber Pollock at Backwards Distilling.

I know a little bit about Backwards.

I've had some of their drinks before.

Just kind of excited to hear their story.

>> Amber: Hey, how's it going?

>> Richard: Well, >>Richard: I kind of wanna know, like how she started as a teacher and then just said, let's do a distillery.

>> Amber: So have any of you been to a brewery before, brewery tour?

A lot of the same type of process here, particularly on this set of operations.

So this mostly [COUGH] you see very similar equipment in a brewery.

Our next chapters are yet to be written.

And I think that if you do have a vision for Wyoming, having a voice in that is really important.

So finding where that voice is for you, trying to find that you know, lane for yourself where it's like yeah, this is where I'm going to devote some energy.

We need that energy to get us over this hump and into our next what I think will be a very exciting and innovation based phase for Wyoming.

My name's Amber Pollock.

I am one of the cofounders of Backwards Distilling Company here in Casper, Wyoming.

I grew up here in Casper, and I initially went to college in St. Louis to be a mechanical engineer.

And I did that for about a semester and a half, realized it was not my thing, transferred back, decided I wanted to be a music teacher.

So I went and got my bachelor's degree at the University of Wyoming in music education.

And then took one of the best options that I had at the time, which was to come back here to Casper, where I grew up, and teach elementary music.

Somewhere along the way, I also got a master's degree in music ed.

While that was kind of happening, we came up with the idea for opening a distillery with my family.

So my mom, my dad, my brother, and me, and we were just kind of chatting over dinner and I loved cocktails.

My brother was a spirit's collector, and my brother was like, why can't I find any more types of absinthe?

I've gone to all the liquor stores in town, I've traveled, there's not enough types.

And my mom said, well, why don't you make some, and we kind of had like a lightbulb moment.

Like that was like a little initial spark.

And so we pretty much went.

Once we came up with the idea, we're like, yep, that fits, feels right.

Tried it on for size, let's go.

>> Josh: Can you talk a little bit about the process of opening that small business, because this is, I'm guessing it was learned along the way kind of thing and kind of curious how that went for you?

>> Amber: We really had to kind of start from scratch and learn the whole thing as we went.

My dad did go to school for business, and he was running a business before we started this business.

So he had some background, but really everything else we basically had to learn.

I've kind of found in teaching, I went to school for teaching, and you learn a lot, but it's not until you go out and you're actually doing it that it becomes more than just something in a textbook and something you have to apply to real life and so.

I didn't feel like I was really at a disadvantage, particularly on the business side, where it's so dynamic and so diverse.

You really can't get that from a book or a class.

You just kind of gotta jump in.

It's intense, but, I mean, I've learned things that I never knew that I needed to know.

And so you just figure it out.

>> Rachel: Looking back on your degrees, what emotions do you have when you look back on them?

Is there kind of regret about pursuing them?

Or do you think that it does help you?

>> Amber: I see tons of crossover from what I learned getting my degrees.

What I learned in my first job to now, even though you would think like, those are two completely separate things.

A lot of what I do, and I think a lot of business people do is education in a way, like I'm just teaching about something else than what I was teaching about before.

But still interacting with people in that way where you're trying to convey something new to them.

And if you can make that mind shift, doesn't really matter what degree you got because there's value in all of those skills and education concepts.

So just being able to adapt them to new contexts, I think that's the most important thing.

In grad school, that's where I really learned to think more broadly about the world.

That's where I learned to research, which is important in my job now.

So I don't have any regrets about that at all.

>> Richard: Can you talk about some of the work you've done for the community?

>> Amber: Right after starting a business, there were some decisions being made at the state level in economic development that we felt would be damaging to our brand-new business that we just started, that we just like bootstrapped, that we invested our own money into.

My parent's retirement is like wrapped up in this business, and it's like, we've got to get our voice to the table and let them know that like this is not gonna work for us.

And it was an extremely intense moment where I was just thrust into having to speak to big important boards and things like that in the state.

And just tried to explain my side of the story and ultimately got the decision reversed.

And so that was my first moment where I was, okay, you've got to be participating in the conversation so that people know what you think, and they know how these things will impact you.

And so that just kind of like forced me into getting comfortable in that arena.

And then started working to try to engage youth more because I think that it's so important that we create an environment where there are opportunities for youth here.

And so I started working with a group called ENGAGE, which stands for Empowering Next Generations to Advance and Grow the Economy and we work on a lot of issues.

We host a summit every year that brings together 18- to 35-year-olds to talk about, like, what is the vision and how do we make sure that we have youth at the table when we're having those types of discussions.

And then I ran for city council here in Casper to put my money where my mouth was in a sense and say, okay, if we're wanting a seat at the table, who's gonna take it?

And so I put my name onto the ballot and got elected here.

Just started serving in January so now I am one of nine city council people here in town.

So, those are a few of the things that I do and it takes up a lot of my time but I really do believe that it's critical to me operating a business here and it's critical to me living here.

>> Josh: Could you speak more to what you think needs to be done for economic and social development in Wyoming because personally, I look around and I feel like most of our state is kind of stagnating or moving backwards a bit and it doesn't help me want to stay here more.

I love my state but then if it's gonna kick the bucket, then I'm gonna just jump ship.

>> Amber: Yeah.

>> Josh: You're kind of going in the opposite direction, you're like, I see this isn't going well I better change it myself.

>> Amber: Yeah, I mean I think that is the decision point, right?

Is it like I'm gonna cut my losses and peace out or I'm gonna dig in my heels and try to fight for the vision that I have.

And that's a tough choice because it's not without a lot of challenge and frustration.

I mean, I'm frustrated all the time about it.

But I think the thing that excites me most is that if you want to push for the vision that you want, you can actually do it here in Wyoming.

In other places there's so many people that maybe one person can make a difference but I think it's a lot harder to.

And in our state it's like one person is a lot of people.

>> Rachel: [LAUGH] >> Amber: Relative to how many people we have here.

And so I just feel like there are a lot of drivers' seats in Wyoming where if you want to take it, you can take it, you can do stuff here, you can create something from scratch.

There's so many different ways that you can influence how our next years look and I think we really need the influence of young people.

>> Josh: I was extremely inspired by Amber.

She a has a cool business, and then b is actually a mover and shaker in one of the bigger cities in Wyoming, she's actually in the nitty gritty making changes.

>> Rachel: I know that Wyoming is a small state but Casper is our biggest city and so it's not a small accomplishment to be on city council there.

>> Josh: Talking to Amber gave me a lot of hope for the ability of people to make change at a local level.

>> Richard: I really enjoyed how she made it seem so simple almost that legislation can be changed with the young crowd.

>> Josh: I have a lot of ideas that I think would benefit everybody as far as tech and modernizing Wyoming goes.

And I'm hoping that maybe I can get that courage to do it one day too once I get out of school and I'm kind of looking down the barrel of that and see change that I need to have happen and actually getting out and doing it.

>> Josh: We are here in Laramie, Wyoming.

>> Richard: It's just weird that the trip is ending, you know?

This was such a good experience, it's just a lot to unpack.

What I really like about coming out here is it's serene, it lets me unwind, calm down, I don't have to worry about the stress of life or really anything.

>> Rachel: I think that road trip really forces you to evaluate where you're at in life.

To have those quiet moments of reflection is probably something really good.

So I need to really reflect and think if I do really enjoy what I do or if it's just what I'm doing to get the paycheck.

>> [MUSIC] >> Richard: One thing that I really learned on this road trip was society wants you to fit in this box of what they want you to be.

That's not it, you need to do something different, you need to do something interesting, and do something that will engage you, and you need to do something that makes you, you.

>> Josh: I had a lot less optimism about opportunity in our state, and then I've kinda turned around on that.

It's just exciting to see that there's actually innovative things happening here, which is not something I thought before the trip.

>> Rachel: The only person that knows my path is me because I'm walking it.

Tom just watched a movie and was like I'm headed to the Mountain West and, maybe you don't need to be so analytical about everything.

And I think that there's something to be said about just having that courage to take the leap and follow what interests you.

>> Josh: Almost all of the people we interviewed had pivoted at some point and most of them did a complete 180 from what they were initially doing, and they were all pretty happy with that change.

>> Rachel: Nothing you do is really a waste of time, as long as you're learning from it.

>> Josh: Every time, my parents, my parents friends are like, well, what are you going to do when you get your degree?

That I have to have some sure shot answer for it and the truth is, they probably don't even know what they're doing and they're 65.

So it's allowed me to kind of tap the brakes a little bit and be like, hey, it doesn't actually matter as much as it seems like society makes it matter, that you need to know exactly what you're doing and be chasing that non-stop.

>> Rachel: I think that we've talked to a lot of people that are doing things in their careers that are completely different than the area they studied, and so, if you're not happy, change, it's not the end of the world.

If you're waiting for opportunity to knock, maybe it's time to build a door and take the leap.

>>Wondering what to do with your life?

Well we've been there and we're here to help Our website has some awesome tools to help you find your path And you can check out all our documentaries, interviews and more Start exploring at roadtripnation.com