From Classroom to Congress to Corporate with Tremayne Smith

11/04/19 • 23 min

Word to the Rise | A Career Advice Podcast

Tremayne B. Smith hails from Salisbury, North Carolina where he and his identical twin brother Dewayne were raised by their mother, Patricia Watkins. A 2011 graduate of East Carolina University, he received bachelor’s degrees in Music Education and Political Science. He served for three years as the Head Drum Major of the Marching Pirates and was elected President of the Student Body and member of the University Board of Trustees. In 2016, he was a recipient of the “ECU 40 Under 40 Distinguished Alumni Award”. In 2012, he began as Director of Bands at Rocky Mount High School in Rocky Mount, N.C where he grew the band’s membership by 500% in 3 years. His first year, he was named Rocky Mount Teacher of the Year, Nash-Rocky Mount School System High School District Teacher of the year and received the North Carolina Bandmasters Association Encore Award. He is a 2017 graduate of The George Washington University, receiving his Master’s in Political Management. Tremayne has served in the offices of U.S. Senator Kay R. Hagan, (D-NC), Congressman G. K. Butterfield, (D-NC) and Congressman Conor Lamb, (D-PA). Tremayne is a national speaker for the Jewish National Fund (JNF) a non-political organization that focuses on the nation-state of Israel. Currently, Tremayne is the Special Assistant to the President & CEO of the JPMorgan Chase Institute. Website/social media links for where people can find Tremayne: Twitter: Tremayne_Smith Instagram: Tremayne_Smith

Previous Episode

Moving From Friends to Franchises with Omar Soliman and Nick Friedman

Friends Omar Soliman and Nick Friedman turned a summer junk hauling business into an international franchise. Here's how two "college hunks" built a culture that grew their brand.

It started out like many summer gigs: Childhood friends Omar Soliman and Nick Friedman were sitting around a table, figuring out how to make money while they were home from college.

The duo and their friends had landed on the idea of hauling people's trash in a beat-up cargo van borrowed from Soliman's mother.

"We were drinking beer and throwing out ridiculous, funny names, and my mom said, 'You're like college hunks who haul junk,'" Soliman recalled. "We thought, 'Hey, that's a cool name.'"

Little did they know that this was the beginning of an international franchise, now known as College H.U.N.K.S. Hauling Junk & Moving.

With a brand name and a solid concept, the rag-tag group of college students posted flyers around the suburbs of Washington, D.C. It didn't take long for the calls to start coming in, and the friends spent the next few months waking up at sunrise and driving the van around to haul garbage for local residents. They had earned more than $8,000.

For the first time in their young lives, Soliman and Friedman had found their passion — not moving garbage, but being entrepreneurs.

Noteworthy:

Where To Find Nick & Omar:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/CollegeHunks Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/collegehunks/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CollegeHunksHaulingJunk/ Website: https://www.collegehunkshaulingjunk.com/

Next Episode

Empowering the Next Generation of Public Servants with Audrey Henson

At 26, Audrey Henson founded College to Congress, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that is disrupting the pipeline of who becomes congressional staff by helping high-achieving, low-income students secure full-time internships in Congress and covering the true cost of an unpaid internship.

Audrey was selected out of over 11,000 companies for a WeWork Creator Award and Echoing Green’s 2018 Social Impact Talent Report.

Audrey Henson believes our democracy is only effective when it becomes the representative body it was created to be. She is dedicated to giving people from diverse backgrounds and life experiences a seat at the table, building a government that works better for everyone.

We discussed finding your voice and confidence at a young age, how to own your story, harnessing the passion when faced with big challenges, and why it's vital to always stay true to who you are, no matter what. If you're looking to launch a big idea, this episode is for you.