Episode 14: Be Consistently “Not Stupid” - Embracing Uncertainty with Dr. Liz Krider
We're back with Season 2 of the Spark Something New Podcast! And boy, do I have a great conversation for you to launch into this new year.
I'm chatting with the fabulous Dr. Liz Krider, a PhD chemist, speaker, and founder of KSA Catalyst. Liz is on a mission to help students discover their purpose through experiential learning, projects, and internships. We dive into how embracing life's uncertainties can lead to discovering your purpose.
Liz shares her journey of how her "experimental" and "experiential" approach to life, influenced by her Caltech background, can be applied to personal growth and community impact. We discuss inverted reasoning, tinkering with your life, and the importance of avoiding "what contributes to a miserable life" to find deeper fulfillment in your life and work.
Whether you're a student or a career professional, this episode is packed with wisdom and practical tips to inspire you to live with intention and purpose!
Episode Chapters
00:28 Meet Dr. Liz Kreider
03:48 Discovering Purpose Through Experience
05:54 Liz's Personal Journey and Insights
09:12 Empowering Students with Purpose
14:06 Embracing Uncertainty as a Catalyst
18:44 Real-Life Applications and Advocacy
24:29 Exploring Personal Solutions
24:42 Prototyping and Experimentation
25:08 Mindset Shift: Embracing Tinkering
27:03 Learning from Entrepreneurs
32:07 The Power of Inverted Reasoning
34:07 Applying Inverted Reasoning in Life
41:43 Finding Purpose Through Experimentation
47:04 Conclusion and Reflections
Episode Resources
Connect with Dr. Liz Krider on LinkedIn
Learn more about KSA Catalyst and Passion Projects
Transcript of Charlie Munger's 1986 Harvard Commencement Speech: "How to Guarantee a Life of Misery"
Episode Guest
About Dr. Liz Krider
Dr. Liz Krider is a parent, speaker, researcher, teacher and the founder of KSA Catalyst – a boutique consulting group with the mission of teaching 5000 students how to develop purpose through projects and internships. She's not your typical Caltech PhD.
She uses her Caltech Ph.D., professional advocacy expertise and 20 years of mentorship to coach students in 1:1 and group settings to complete projects and internships that matter to them. Her students thrive at top 20 and top 75 colleges and beyond, primarily because of the advanced skills and confidence they gained from working with her. Her students have matriculated to Stanford, Yale, Cornell, Brown, Georgetown, Duke, UC Berkeley, UCLA, Johns Hopkins University, Rice, NYU, Tufts, University of Notre Dame, Purdue, and many other top 100 colleges.
She earned a Ph.D. in Chemistry from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and her research experience spans bioinorganic chemistry, environmental science, and microbiology. She served as Caltech’s Director of Government and Community Relations for five years and currently teaches career development to Caltech undergraduates. In addition to teaching for 8 years at Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy (La Cañada, CA), she has spent more than 20 years mentoring students in Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, church groups, robotics and mountain biking. She is the recipient of several awards for environmental advocacy, community service, and teaching in Southern California, and is the author of scientific publications.
She is nationally recognized for her work on independent projects, which have become the differentiator for college admissions for high school students and for internship placements for undergraduates. She is the creator of the Impact Symposium, an in-person, live event where high school students present their community impact and research projects through TED-style talks. She co-directs the Catalyst Research Program, a summer laboratory research program featuring undergraduate-level projects designed and conducted by high school students.
Dr. Liz speaks about cultivating purpose through projects at national conferences, association meetings, and on college campuses. She hosts small-group workshops online and throughout Southern California for parents, students, and community leaders. She lives in Southern California with her husband, where they like to volunteer and to mountain bike, as well as do projects.