Julie Gates (00:06):
Welcome to the Always a Logger podcast. We're so excited to have you with us today. This is a podcast for the University of Puget Sound where we talk to our alumni who have taken their careers and their pursuits to the heights. Today we're talking to Seem Sueko-Low from Class of 1994. She studied politics and government. She lives in Honolulu and she has a phenomenal career. Seema is an award-winning theater professional, a director, an actor, producer, writer, and consultant. She does it all. And she has many awards that honor her great work over the years. She has an Actors' Equity Association... Is it Actor's Equity Association ... Is it association? Is it the Actors Aquity Association?
Seema Sueko-Low (00:44):
Yep.
Julie Gates (00:45):
Actors' Equity Association Award, an award from the California State Assembly, the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, Jeff Acting Awards from Chicago, and the Alan Schneider Director Award. So welcome, Seema. I can't wait to talk to you about your great career in theater.
Seema Sueko-Low (01:02):
Oh, thank you so much, Julie. It's really great to see you here. And also, I don't know if everybody knows your amazing background, so you just went on and on about me, but I'm so thrilled to talk to you because you are world famous. You've done so much in the world of broadcast. And what you're doing for Puget Sound with this podcast is really a beautiful gift. So thank you, and it's an honor to be here with you.
Julie Gates (01:27):
It is so fun for us to talk to all our alums about the great things they're doing. It's really fun, isn't it?
Seema Sueko-Low (01:33):
It is. It is.
Julie Gates (01:34):
I'm enjoying this. Yeah. So let's talk about theater. From what I've been reading online, you actually fell into it by accident. That was not your initial plan, right? Tell me a little bit about that.
Seema Sueko-Low (01:46):
Well, when I was at Puget Sound, I had two loves, politics and theater. And I majored in politics and government, but was able to do theater and sing in the Adelphians and a bunch of other stuff on the side. I mean, that was the beauty of being at University of Puget Sound. And then I went to grad school focusing on international relations at University of Chicago. And that's when all the artistic stuff I had no time for anymore. And it was at that point that I realized, oh, that's what I want to do. And so I remember in sort of a bit of frustration saying to my fiance at the time, "Oh, I just want to do theater for the rest of my life." And he said, "Then do it. " And so I was in Chicago, a great theater town, just started auditioning and had a chance to learn from some wonderful actors and directors and just grow with every single opportunity that came my way.
Julie Gates (02:51):
So you did get your master's though, right? What did you get your master's from?
Seema Sueko-Low (02:54):
I did. Yeah. And international relations with a focus on Middle East politics from University of Chicago. Yeah. Well, it was a one-year master's program. Oh, thank goodness because by the second trimester, trimester, second semester, I knew that I wanted to go into theater, but I finished the program, graduated with honors, and kept in touch with those professors as well.
Julie Gates (03:20):
That's great. So then you dove into the acting part right on the gate. I did. Okay.
Seema Sueko-Low (03:25):
Yeah.
Julie Gates (03:26):
Tell us about that.
Seema Sueko-Low (03:27):
The first thing. Chicago's a great theater town. And well, actually, maybe I'll tell you about my very first audition because it was terrible. It was terrible. You prepare a monologue and usually a two-minute monologue. And I remember I went there to the theater and as I was doing the monologue, I'm saying to myself, wow, this is a really long monologue. And oh my gosh, I can hear the air conditioning over there. And wow, I'm bored. I bet they're bored, too, watching me do this monologue. So I came back and there was a theater advisor at the university and I told him how terrible it went. And he just looked at me and he said, "Well, you'll never do that again, will you?" So, you know. Failure is a big part of learning. So I'm very good at failure.
Julie Gates (04:17):
Let's just pause for a moment because what you just mentioned, I think happens to every single one of us. We can be presenting at a board meeting. We could be on stage at a conference talking about best practices in our industry. We could be in a sorority or fraternity trying to lead a chapter meeting, and all of a sudden you hear the air conditioning running and you get the voice in your head that tells you, "Hey, you're rambling, you're rambling. Wrap it up."
Seema Sueko-Low (04:40):
Yes!
Julie Gates (04:40):
As somebody who coaches and directs actors and puts productions together, what advice do you have for the voices and the distractions while you're trying to focus on presenting?
Seema Sueko-Low (04:50):
Wow, that's such a good question. I guess one thing I'll say is always make it about the other person. And so essentially what was happening is I was judging myself as I was doing it, as I was doing that monologue. I was judging the room, judging myself. And instead of being in that particular moment of the monologue, making it about the other character to whom my character was speaking. So that I always find. And for people who are presenting, make it all about who you're presenting to. It's not about you, it's about them. And I think that takes the pressure off and also helps stay on target and on focus.
Julie Gates (05:34):
Good advice. It's always about your audience, no matter what you're doing in any profession, but particularly in theater. That's great. Well, let's talk about your career. You've done some amazing things. So you kicked it off in Chicago professionally. You won three Jeff Awards for acting. I mean, you must have been pinching yourself.
Seema Sueko-Low (05:52):
I was lucky to work with really great directors, really great colleagues and on some good projects. There's some sort of saying about awards. You have to be given the opportunity in the first place. And also some of that is proximity. I was in a good theater town. So I feel very, very lucky that there were circumstances that allowed that to happen. And more so, it wasn't the award, it was the shows. I learned so much working with all those other folks on those shows. So yeah.
Julie Gates (06:29):
When did you start transitioning into the other work, the managing, the leading, the artistic director work?
Seema Sueko-Low (06:35):
Yes. Well, this might be more by accident, actually. So my husband at the time, and I landed in Chicago, he's also a Logger, by the way, Troy Hirsch, Class of 1994 as well. And he's a sportscaster. And he got a job in San Diego. And I had been splitting time between ... Prior to that, we were in Seattle, so splitting time between Seattle and New York. So moved down to San Diego, started auditioning around town, and I kept hearing, "Oh, I'd hire you if you weren't equity," which is a member of the union. So it was clear to me there wasn't enough union work for local actors. And then as I looked around at the shows that were being done, I could also see there wasn't really much work for somebody who looked like me. So I thought, well, I've got some choices here. I could just try to continue being bi-coastal, but we had adopted a dog. And once I had this dog in my life, Sarah Dog, I could not imagine leaving the dog for half a year. Troy jokingly said, "But you can leave me for half a year?" I'm like, "Yeah, you can poop and pee on your own. The dog needs me." Anyway, so-
Julie Gates (07:49):
That's amazing.
Seema Sueko-Low (07:50):
Yeah. So that led to realizing I could sit around and complain or I could try to form what I thought was missing. And so with my best friend from elementary school, Kim Palma, now Kim Richmond, we've co-founded a theater company called Mo'olelo Performing Arts Company in San Diego. And in the first year, I did just continue acting. By the third year, I used to find directors for our plays by pitching the play to them and seeing if it was something they'd want to direct for us. And I found this play called Since Africa by Mia McCullough. It was about a lost boy of Sudan and his resettlement in Chicago, actually. And I pitched it to a few directors and it didn't resonate with any of them, but I felt very strongly that it was the right play for us to produce at that time. It was 2006. And so I said, "Darn it, I'll direct it. " And I promptly bought every single book I could find, went to the library, found every book on directing, read it cover to cover. And I would say I directed that first play quite literally by the book. I'd be like, "What did John Jury say I should do? Okay, I'm going to do that. " And it ended up being this amazing success that sold out before we even opened, not because of my directing, but because of my casting. I cast an actual Lost Boy of Sudan. His name is Alephonsion Deng. I cast him in the role of The Lost Boy, and he was great. And unbeknownst to me, he was like a local celebrity because he and his brothers had written a book called They Poured Fire On Us From the Sky, which was about their experiences as Lost Boys. And they would go and speak at schools. And at the end they'd say, "Oh, and Alephonsion is going to be in a play this fall." And then the school would call us up and buy out the house. So I ended up having beginner's luck with regards to that. And then The Old Globe, which is a larger theater in San Diego, saw the production and invited me then to direct it, remounted at their theater a couple years later. So that was how I got into directing.
Julie Gates (10:13):
That's a phenomenal story because so many people would have imposter syndrome. You literally taught yourself how to direct.
Seema Sueko-Low (10:22):
Well, yes. And I called all my favorite directors too and asked them, "What do you do? How do you prepare? What should I be doing?" And they were patient and gave a lot of good advice. Oh, and imposter syndrome, totally. Yeah, absolutely. One hundred percent. But it's like, well, I'm going to try it and we'll see what happens.
Julie Gates (10:42):
Good for you. Well, it sounds like mentorship was a key part of your success.
Seema Sueko-Low (10:46):
One hundred percent, yes. Throughout my life, I'd say I definitely depend on mentors.
Julie Gates (10:52):
You were addressing something that I find would be interesting to talk about the intersection of your identities. You have a really neat crisscrossing of backgrounds. Share a little bit about that and how they've helped shape your career.
Seema Sueko-Low (11:05):
Sure. I guess I have a lot of identities, like all of us do. I am a Gen Xer and that definitely shapes my identity. I grew up here in Honolulu, Hawai`i. My father is Pakistani and my mother is third generation Japanese American here in Hawai`i. And what else? I'm a Durani. You know, if you grew up in the '80s like me and loved Duran Duran, you would be a Durani. So that's an identity.
Julie Gates (11:39):
It is. Right. It influences everything.
Seema Sueko-Low (11:43):
Absolutely. I'm a Logger, University of Puget Sound. So all of those experiences, I guess, shape. And then I'm a theater person, which one hundred percent shapes how I move through the world. Yeah. Oh, and I also—
Julie Gates (12:01):
Which gives you empathy for telling stories.
Seema Sueko-Low (12:04):
Say that again.
Julie Gates (12:05):
It must teach you empathy for telling stories when you think about all the different voices and backgrounds.
Seema Sueko-Low (12:11):
Yeah, I guess that's a really good way of looking at it. Growing up here in Hawaii`, there's so many different backgrounds and identities. And I always used to say, we'll celebrate everybody's holiday. Why not? And along the way, you get to learn about people's culture, what's important to individuals and families and communities. So I feel very fortunate with the background and the upbringing that I had.
Julie Gates (12:45):
So San Diego, I think you were there for quite a while. How long, you founded this theater group? How long were you working there?
Seema Sueko-Low (12:52):
Just a little under a decade. So founded in 2004 and moved on from the theater in 2014. And it was a great decade in San Diego. That community was very supportive of this new theater, which was ... We said we were a community focused, socially conscious, equity theater company. And so it was important for us to pay all our artists union-level wages or higher, health and pension. And we always used to say people over wood, that we would always invest. The first line items were always people's salaries and not buildings and wood. Of course, we still had to pay for buildings and woods too, but not at the sacrifice of people.
Julie Gates (13:43):
That's beautiful. So I think the next destination was the Pasadena Playhouse. Was that what was next?
Seema Sueko-Low (13:49):
That was, yes. By way, first of a short stint as a visiting artist at Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. That was a little less than a year. And then Pasadena Playhouse as associate artistic director for two and a half years. And then back to Arena Stage in Washington, D.C., as deputy artistic director from, oh, I guess 2016 until 2020 when I was part of the great resignation and had a bunch of aha moments and decided to freelance. And then I returned to Honolulu in 2022.
Julie Gates (14:22):
What did you learn? What were the aha moments for you?
Seema Sueko-Low (14:27):
Well, we just touched on it. "People over wood" actually was one of those Arena stages, this amazing theater, a flagship theater in the American nonprofit theater movement. And I was so lucky to work there. It was a dream job. And it had this amazing facility, three theaters under this beautiful roof in Southwest Washington, D.C. And when the pandemic hit, we had to let go or furlough 75 members of our staff, and I had to make some of those calls. And that was tough. Now, the day we made those calls happened to be the day when the government said they would extend the unemployment. There was like an extra, was it 300 or 600? I can't recall. And so they had all gotten that good news. And so everybody I had to call was very compassionate and said, "Oh, thank you so much. We feel more for you because you have to keep working." But it was hard. And then I was seeing our building sit empty and also recognizing the amount we were still paying to keep that empty building running. And I knew that was much more ... I was weighing keeping an empty building running so that it'll be there when we're back from the pandemic versus the salaries of people that we cut. And I understood why the executive director and artistic director and board made that decision. But in my heart, I also recognized that it was not the decision that I wanted to make or the decision I would have made. And so there was a value misalignment there and that and a couple of other things led me to think like, "I think my time here is pow, is done." And so I did not want to burn any bridges or hurt Arena Stage or my colleagues there because they're good people. So I spoke with my boss about it and we talked for a few months trying to figure out how to do this in a very compassionate way. I stayed an extra four months and then for six months she kept me on as a consultant and it gave a cushion for me because I was taking a leap to nothing, into the unknown. And it also provided a cushion for her. So there was a lot of information that I could turn over and help support the organization as I transitioned out. So we tried to do it in a compassionate, people-friendly way.
Julie Gates (17:16):
That seems to be the hallmark of the work you do. I was looking over various programs you created. You created a methodology called Consensus Organizing for Theater. What is that?
Seema Sueko-Low (17:28):
Yeah, it borrows from a type of community organizing that's used primarily in social work to build community redevelopment. And I adapted it to theater and to the arts, but it's the idea of building stake in multiple pockets of communities and those communities build stake back in the theater or in the art form or the art project based on mutual self-interest. And it's, uh, at its core is social justice and helping people and communities together. So that's sort of a, I don't know, that might be an obtuse sort of definition, but that's it at its core.
Julie Gates (18:09):
That's beautiful. You also came up with the Green Theater Choices Toolkit. What's that?
Seema Sueko-Low (18:16):
Yeah. In 2009, as I was running Mo’olelo, that was when ... Do you remember Al Gore's movie, An Inconvenient Truth when that came up? Well, that really struck me, that movie. And I was reflecting on our work in theater and I realized we create these temporary worlds and majority of it is not recycled or reused. And a lot of the materials we use also from styrofoam to spandex to wood, there was a lot that I thought we could needed to improve upon. So I had a board member at Mo’olelo who was a green architect and she helped connect us to some people to first create a, what was it, a green guidelines. And then we found a consulting company called Brown and Willmen's that had created these Green Choices toolkit for Patagonia and REI and a few other businesses. So we reached out to them. I got a grant from Theater Communications Group to see if they would work with us to try to create a Green Theater Choices toolkit so that our industry could make better choices, more environmentally-friendly and community-friendly choices in the way we do our work.
Julie Gates (19:38):
Look at these legacies. I'm just impressed. A lot of people build things. A lot of times ego can be involved with career. And all I hear from you is community, community, building community, giving back, doing the right thing. It's just beautiful. Thank you for doing that.
Seema Sueko-Low (19:52):
Oh, that's so nice. No, I have a big old ego. I'm just trying to look good here for everybody. I got a big old ego.
Julie Gates (20:05):
You also tapped into something that can happen at a season of your career that I think is typical for people who hit probably, I don't want to name the age group, but we live in it, where a lot of times folks will transition out of working for companies and moving into consulting. I'd love to hear how that transition has gone for you and maybe some advice you have for Puget Sound alums who might be in the same season.
Seema Sueko-Low (20:27):
Yeah. Yes. The C word consulting. It's
Julie Gates (20:32):
Valuable though. Well, let's
Seema Sueko-Low (20:33):
See. Yeah. I owe a lot to Molly Smith, my boss at Arena Stage for that cushion she gave me in those six months. It gave me time to form an LLC and start to spread the word to folks. And then it was things just kind of organically happened. I know that's really not good advice because it all built upon, I guess, previous relationships and opportunities. I did some work for an executive search firm. I did a lot of directing work. And so those were other artistic directors who knew me from when I worked at Arena or Pasadena or Moleo, and they reached out with some opportunities. I guess maybe I don't have advice. Yeah, she
Julie Gates (21:28):
You are giving advice. I think it's really about, and people hate the word networking, build your network, but honestly, that's really what it's about. It's having genuine relationships. The fact that you, and a lot of us should listen to this, we're able to negotiate your exit is something that most people should really look at. Just because a company says we need to lay off people doesn't mean you can't have a conversation about how might we make this transition work versus just saying, okay, negotiate when you start a role, we should also negotiate as we are exiting roles.
Seema Sueko-Low (22:00):
Yes, yes. And to that point, I wasn't laid off. I was actually choosing to leave. But I had a mentor who said, well, actually two things. My boss, Molly Smith, had once said, "Nothing matters more than how you exit an organization." And she said that years ago prior to this, and then I had another friend who was doing some coaching of CEOs on their legacy and how they exit. And these were folks who had been at the top of leading major corporations and she was working with them and figuring out, well, how do they gracefully exit? And so we would go on walks and I would just pick her brain on what was she telling the CEOs? And then I would try to adapt that to my own life. And she said, "Well, think about what legacy you do want to leave there and think about what you want to be doing moving forward." And she said, "Name it and say it. Don't be shy about it." So that was very helpful.
Julie Gates (23:06):
That's great. Thank you for sharing that. There was something in your website that made me chuckle because it was so lovely and human and real. We had been talking about you as this award winner and how you're leading big teams and theater, but you also worked at a mortuary, an investment advisory firm, and as a mail carrier for the U.S. Postal Service.
Seema Sueko-Low (23:31):
Yes.
Julie Gates (23:32):
How did these things help influence you on your journey?
Seema Sueko-Low (23:36):
Well, thank you so much for pulling that out because I put that in there very specifically for folks to know. Well, those are all recent things actually. So I moved back to Honolulu in 2022 to help my parents. They're in their 80s now and I love them and they have been wonderful parents and I wanted to be here with them at this time in their lives. And so I knew leaving the U.S. continent that my directing work would diminish, would reduce because people think it's much more expensive to fly you out from Hawai`i, and it is. And then also I hit a point where I did not want to be gone from Hawai`i for four weeks, eight weeks, nine weeks, because I wanted to be here to support my parents. It's the day-to-day stuff that's harder the older you get, but I needed to find a way to make some money. And here in Honolulu, in Hawai`i, the theater sector is very, very thin. There's lots of great Hawai`i theater artists who've gone on and done things on Broadway, across the world, et cetera. But our sector itself is still, there's not a robust professional sector here. So I knew I wouldn't be working in theater here. So one of the first things I did was apply to the U.S. Post Office and become a mail carrier. And a lot of that has to do with community. When I was growing up, I remember going to the post office with my mom and she seemed to know everybody there and it felt like a community hub. And I thought, what better way to get reacquainted with Honolulu after being gone for 32 years than being a mail carrier and just relearning it street by street. So I drove the truck, I delivered the mail, I would walk the highway pushing, what do you call it, a hand dolly and having a satchel in my hand and mail in the other hand. And I once had to deliver a box that weighed 95 pounds. And so I discovered I was stronger than I thought I was. And I did get a chance to meet people. People talk to their mail carriers and share intimate things. One lady, I delivered her mail and it was a stack and she said, "Oh, it's all from my late husband." And I said, "Oh, I'm so sorry." I said, "I know it's sometimes hard to get off those mailing lists." And then she looked at me, she said, "Yeah, I haven't asked them to remove him from the list yet." And we just had a moment together and I appreciated that connection. Another woman, I delivered what was clearly prescription and she said, "Oh, my son is on this cancer trial and he gets this medicine from the Mayo Clinic, and so thank you for delivering it." Things like that. And then driving the truck, I'd see Monarch butterflies passing my pathway. So I loved it. I learned a lot doing that. It was also my first honest-to-goodness blue-collar job. And I also learned that what I wanted to do at the end of the day was shower, eat, and just be with my family, which was eye-opening for a theater person who was always trying to get people after work to come see my show and to realize, wow, wow, maybe not. So I ended up leaving that job because in your first two years as a mail carrier, you never know your day off until the night before. And I was unable to help my parents then. My mom started doing my laundry and I'd work these 12-hour shifts and she'd make me a lunch. And I'm like, "Mom, no, I came home to help you." So I had to leave that. And then I started working for the State Arts Agency here instead. But prior to that, I did some temp work and that's when I worked for the mortuary, Oahu Mortuary, for about three weeks just doing temp work there. And a person came in one day, this is a historic cemetery and lots of famous people are buried there. And so there was this book that talked about the history of this cemetery and they would work with an organization that would do, what do they call it when they ... monologues. They'd hire people to speak the stories of some of the famous people who were buried there and tell their stories. So one guy, he and his family were coming in because they lost a loved one and they were making some plans. And I was just working the front desk and he looked at me and I explained, I'm like, "I'm just here temporary." And he said, "Do you know they do plays here?" He had no idea I was a theater person, right? He said, "Plays, they do plays here." I was like, "Tell me about it. " And he told me all about it. I said, "Have you ever gone to them?" He's like, "Oh no, I haven't." But I found it so interesting that he was so excited about that and that this was now going to be where his loved one was also going to be buried. So I learned a lot about humanity on those odd jobs.
Julie Gates (29:15):
I appreciate just your sense of purpose in everything you do and just being really present where life is taking you. Speaking of that, I do feel like that's what something that the University of Puget Sound teaches us because—
Seema Sueko-Low (29:29):
One hundred percent.
Julie Gates (29:29):
We learned so many things there. Will you share a little bit about your experience at the university?
Seema Sueko-Low (29:35):
Oh, sure. I feel very lucky to have gone to University of Puget Sound. Academically, I feel like I learned how to write. I remember when I was in grad school, some of my colleagues who were from Ivy League schools were struggling with the writing, but we had to write so much at University of Puget Sound. But then all my other activities to be involved with, Adelphians, theater, speech and debate, diversity club. There was so much. Some great speakers they brought to campus, great professors who opened the door for so many opportunities. Because I was focused on Middle East politics, I wanted to study somewhere in the Middle East and we didn't have a study abroad program, but the study abroad program office helped me find one at Tel Aviv University and supported me when I went there for a semester. So lots of good memories. Oh, I remember the espresso milkshakes that they had at the Cellar. Do you remember that? Did they have that? Do they still have that?
Julie Gates (30:43):
Yeah.
Seema Sueko-Low (30:44):
Yes.
Julie Gates (30:46):
The Cellar was great.
Seema Sueko-Low (30:48):
Yeah, really, really fantastic. Yeah, it was a great place. I also think I learned flexibility and maybe humility. To come back and be like, "Yeah, I'll be a postal carrier or yeah, I'll temp for a while. I just need to do whatever it is to make ends meet and support my family." And I think some of that comes from Puget Sound where they supported us to dream big and try to achieve whatever, and also to be good humans. So, you know, a title doesn't really matter.
Julie Gates (31:36):
That's really profound. Yeah. I had the same experience there. Really, we were taught to be well-rounded good human beings who give back to your community and make a difference. And so that takes a lot of shapes. And there's so many chapters in our lives. There's the, I'm a big baller career chapter. And then there's the, my parents are aging. I want to be there for them. And it all is a part of you and all a part of your holistic liberal arts, well-rounded education. It all ties together.
Seema Sueko-Low (32:02):
One hundred percent. Yeah.
Julie Gates (32:04):
Well, I know everyone's going to want to stay in touch with you and follow what you're up to. Do you have a website or social media channels you'd like to share, Seema?
Seema Sueko-Low (32:12):
Oh, sure. Let's see. I have a website. It's seemasueko.com. And if you go to the About Page, there's a form and folks can zap a note and that's the best way to reach me. I am on the socials. Let's see. Because I'm a Gen Xer, I'm on Facebook. And so I think it's Seema Sueko, Facebook. Oh no, Seema Sue. It's Seema Sue there. And then Instagram, I'm on Instagram. I think that one Seema_Sueko. But yeah, reach out. I'd love to hear from folks. And I'd love to get any advice. You've asked me to share advice about how to get into consulting or things like that. Maybe one of the biggest pieces of advice is never stop taking advice. So as I'm here in Honolulu, one of the things I'm working on, I mentioned the theater sector here is thin. So I'm starting a project now to try to identify and count and surface all the Hawai`i theater people that are here on the islands and also in the diaspora. And so I just started building a survey tool. I'm beta testing it now. And so if anybody is watching this and they consider themselves a Hawai`i theater person, reach out to me and I'd love for you to beta test the survey and give me some advice on how to make it better.
Julie Gates (33:41):
That's great. They can do that by contacting you through your website. Is that the best way?
Seema Sueko-Low (33:45):
One hundred percent, yes.
Julie Gates (33:46):
Thank you. Okay. Last question for those who are attending University of Puget Sound who are interested in getting into theater, what advice do you want to share?
Seema Sueko-Low (33:55):
Oh gosh, just do it. Yes. And it's really important to have a good support system. I said not only my fiance, my husband at the time, but my parents, they were very supportive when I turned to them and said, "I just want to do theater for the rest of my life." And that makes a big difference because it's an industry of rejection. Whether you're an actor, a director, whether you're running a theater company, there's somebody who at any point can pick you or not pick you. And rejection is a big part of it. And to be able to then have a support system that's like, great, every rejection just gets you closer to the next opportunity or great, we love you. On to the next. All of that really, really helps. And that every rejection or obstacle or failure really gives you tools for the future.
Julie Gates (34:59):
That's where we learn.
Seema Sueko-Low (35:01):
Yes.
Julie Gates (35:01):
We don't really learn with all the yeses. It's the hard nose when we fall on our faces where we learn the most.
Seema Sueko-Low (35:07):
One hundred percent. Yeah.
Julie Gates (35:09):
What a delight to talk to you, Seema. Thank you for joining the podcast today. Really enjoyed our conversation.
Seema Sueko-Low (35:15):
Thank you. Yes. And I want to interview you because you're the one with the really amazing career. Viewers, if you have not Googled and Google stalked Julie Jacobson Gates, please do so because she is quite phenomenal.
Julie Gates (35:31):
This just shows how much you give.
Seema Sueko-Low (35:34):
Well, and this gift you're giving to the Puget Sound community with this podcast. And this gift you've given me. Hey, like I told you, I got a big ego. You let me talk about myself for a while. So how lucky I am. Anyway, thank you.
Julie Gates (35:49):
So fun to have you on. All right. Well, Seema and I are looking for other people who want to be on this Always a Logger podcast. So if you know someone who maybe you graduated with or an alum that you think has a great story to share, definitely send me an email and it is ... I have to look it up. My address is juliegates@pugetsound.edu. Thanks, Seema.
Seema Sueko-Low (36:10):
Thanks, Julie. Take care. Aloha, everybody.
