Episode Details

Dr. Deji Ayoade (ah-yo-AH-day) is the first African immigrant to become a nuclear missile operator in the United States Air Force and serve in three U.S. military branches. He's a trained veterinary surgeon, combat medic, Nuclear Weapon System SME, Senior Program Analyst, and U.S. Space Force Department of Defense Civilian at the Pentagon. He turned to storytelling as solace from an early life of poverty and loss. His new book is Underground: A Memoir of Hope, Faith, and the American Dream. Learn more at: https://dejiayoade.com/, Deji Ayoade | The Memoir Blogger

We talk about:

• How Dr. Angela Lee Duckworth's (my previous Lowell High School, Algebra 2 teacher) Ted Talk on Grit resonated with him because grit is what contributed to his successes
• Challenges he faced beginning in childhood in Nigeria and throughout his journey (initiating conversations with colleagues about his accent)
• The therapeutic value of story-telling
• How having an American Dream facilitates hope and motivation

SOCIAL MEDIA:

https://www.facebook.com/thememoirblogger

https://www.linkedin.com/in/deijyng/

https://twitter.com/dememoirblogger

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/23086380.Deji_Ayoade

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