VOA – CONNECT
EPISODE 19
((AIR DATE: 05 25 2018))
((TRANSCRIPT))
OPEN ((VO/NAT))
((Banner))
Jobs,
((SOT))
I enjoy driving all of the equipment. It’s probably the funnest thing there is to do on the planet.
((Animation Transition))
((Banner))
Jobs,
((SOT))
When the gunfire starts happening and, you know, you put a 17, 18- year old in front of gunfire, sometimes they will cry.
((Animation Transition))
((Banner))
And More Jobs
((SOT))
Hi, my name is Susan Bennett and I’m a voice actor and the original voice of Siri.
((Open Animation))
BLOCK A
((Banner: The Working World))
((PKG)) WOODWORKER
((Banner: The Entrepreneur))
((Reporter: Faiza Elmasry))
((Camera: Adam Greenbaum))
((Adapted by: Zdenko Novacki))
((Map: Ashburn and Herndon, Virginia))
((Locator: Ashburn, Virginia))
((Virginia Wallen, Former IT Worker, Now Carpenter))
When I got laid off, I was devastated. I didn't quite know what to do with myself. I was applying for jobs everywhere. I cannot just sit around and do nothing. And I was driving my husband crazy and I was just looking, you know, for things to do.
It started out with anything and everything that was related to wood, and I quickly learned that was a mistake, only because there was only one of me. I only have so much time. So, what I’ve done is I’ve pared down that product line to pets for now. So, my pet line includes every size crate known to man and if you have a pet that fits in the crate, I can build it.
((Kevin Wallen, Virginia’s Husband))
She came up with the idea, saying “maybe I'll start building these”. I thought she was crazy at first. But after the first one was well-received, it was great. You know I was like, “Ok, well this is going to take off, this is going to take off.”
((Virginia Wallen, Former IT Worker, Now Carpenter))
That week, I had five people reach out to me asking if I would build them one. It wasn't so much as a passion, growing up doing woodworking, as much as a requirement, you know, help me mend fences or, you know, work on the farm or do things like that.
((Kevin Wallen, Husband))
So I, kind of, took over Mr. Mom. I, kind of, stepped in and had to be more hands on with the kids and more hands on with the school stuff and dinners and stuff like that.
((Locator: Herndon, Virginia))
((Heather Abbott, Psychologist & Montessori Academy Owner))
I saw Ginny Bins - Virginia’s work, business - and I saw her dog crates and how they actually fit into the home and they look like they are a part of the furniture that belongs in a home. And I contacted her, and I said, you know, I’m looking for a local artist that could perhaps, a woodworker, that could perhaps make, the first piece was a table. And I sent her kind of the specs that I wanted, and she said, “You know what? I will do this, and we’ll work on it together.”
((Banner: Ginny Bins expanded the business to other furniture))
One of the things that I really was looking for to is there is a book shelf that looks like a tree and the table for the staff kitchen, because I wanted them to have a nice place, and the angle of the room was weird, so she had to make it small enough to fit in. That teaches our teachers, our students, our families that pass by through. They know that Virginia made those pieces and they can say this is a stereotype that we are breaking down.
((Virginia Wallen, Former IT Worker, Now Carpenter))
When you own your own business, it’s not a 9 to 5, it’s a 24/7. So, there is no end. There is no end. I’m always working all the time or I’m always thinking about work or how to improve it. I love it. Every dayI wake up and it’s not a job. It’s fun.
((PKG)) FIREFIGHTER
((Banner: The Firefighter))
((Reporter/Camera: Cristina Caicedo Smit))
((Map: Germantown Maryland))
((Carla Hidalgo-Gato, Montgomery County Fire and Rescue))
Hi, I’m Carla Hidalgo-Gato with Montgomery County Fire and Rescue and I’m a firefighter here. Come on in.
We run everything from a broken toe to a building on fire. This is the watch office where our calls come in and we do all of our reporting.
Hi, it’s Carla at 22. How are you?
About 85 percent of the calls that we run are EMS (Emergency Medical Service) calls, which is medical and the other 15 percent or so are fire calls.
This is our training room and conference room. We have our lineup board which is all of the riding positions and what equipment we’re all responsible for.
This is our kitchen and dining room. We generally cook together as a shift, and especially for dinner. We have dinner together.
We all sleep in the same room. I’ve been doing this for 25 years and I’ve slept in open bunkrooms. Almost every firehouse in Montgomery County has an open bunkroom. All the people I’ve ever worked with, it’s been a very pleasant experience.
As a firefighter, I knew that it would be harder as a woman just because it was a man’s world. I think that men come into this line of work and they’re given a certain amount of respect and expectations, and as a woman I feel like maybe we need to earn that. But, I have found that once I had it, it wasn’t so easy to lose it.
My mom thought I had lost my mind. She thought I was crazy. There’s never been a firefighter in our family, much less a woman firefighter.
So, this is the Nomex hood that we put on to protect our head. We keep our boots already inside of our pants so that we can put our pants and boots on quickly. Coat, it’s several layers. And last but not least, my helmet. That’s it.
I enjoy driving all of the equipment. It’s probably the funnest thing there is to do on the planet. They do a lot of recruiting of females and it just doesn’t always work out. I think it’s a misconception. Maybe they’re not sure exactly what we do. Maybe it’s just not a career path that any woman in their family has ever taken. They don’t perhaps know any women firefighters. You know, it could be any number of things.
((Carla Hidalgo-Gato, Montgomery County Fire and Rescue))
I think we have so much to contribute. I think we enhance and enrich the department and the job that’s being done. We bring a different perspective. We approach situations from a completely different angle. Anytime you’ve got six people in a room, just having a different perspective could make a difference in the outcome of the situation.
((Banner: The US has more than a quarter million firefighters. Less than 4 percent are women))
TEASE ((VO/NAT))
Coming up….
((Banner))
Training Days
((SOT))
So, today we’re going to give a demonstration just to show people what the capabilities are at the National Training Center.
BREAK ONE
BUMP IN ((ANIM))
BLOCK B
((PKG)) SOLDIERS / FORT IRWIN
((Banner: The Soldiers))
((Reporter/Camera: Genia Dulot))
((Map: Fort Irwin, California))
((Cody Britton, Sergeant First Class))
You asked me earlier if I think NTC (National Training Center) was needed? I say most definitely. To most people this just looks like a place with a bunch of buildings. To a combat vet or people who have been out here before, this is about as realistic as we can get it.
You have to know how to talk to the people in the bazaars. You can’t go over there, I mean they’re people too. They’re trying to make a living just like everybody else. You can’t go over there and be rude and be mean. If you do a good deed, sometimes they’ll show you where the bad guy is.
((Wisam AlJeboory, Defense Contract Employee))
In 2003, I worked with a US company in construction in Iraq and then I switched to the US Army. I train or help someone here before they go overseas and make a mistake. So, we kind of culture advise, like, don’t do that, be aware of this. Something he is not introduced to as a soldier and it could just help him.
((Travis Lindeman, First Lieutenant))
So, today we’re going to give a demonstration just to show people what the capabilities are at the National Training Center. I’m going to show the sight, sounds and smells. So, people are going to hear the call to prayer, maybe dogs barking, just the different ways in which we can give training soldiers a sensory overload to try and simulate what it might be like to be in a deployed nation.
((Cody Britton, Sergeant First Class))
As you start to go up, you can already see that the building is already fogged out. So, when you go up there, your sense is going to be completely going. You’ve got to figure out what’s supposed to be going on. So, if you had somebody hiding in that stairwell over there, you know, how could you accomplish the mission on going through the building and finding the bad guys.
((Cody Britton, Sergeant First Class))
When the gunfire starts happening and, you know, you put a 17, 18 year old in front of gunfire, sometimes they will cry, sometimes they’ll curl up in a ball or sometimes they just freeze. They don't know what to do. The other reaction, they'll just fight. It's a fight-or-flight method. And a lot of them, some of them will fight, some of them will get scared. And that's the type of stuff you need to hash out before you go overseas.
((NATS))
((Reporter))
How does it feel to be on the other side?
((Abigail Bergosa, Army Private, Role Playing Enemy Combatant))
I mean, it feels weird because we are supposed to protect people, but you know, it’s a training as well as to see things from both sides.
((Cody Britton, Sergeant First Class))
After coming here to NTC and then going overseas, I was prepared. It was kind of a culture shock, but it was kind of like, hey, I’m back at NTC again. A lot of things were different, but it wasn’t that sudden, oh, here you are, you know, good luck. And then when stuff kicked off, you know, of course you’re going to get that mindset, but you had the training here and so you were more acceptable of accepting it when you were over there.
((PKG)) US CRAB WORKERS
((Banner: Guest Workers))
((Reporter: Aline Barros))
((Camera: Adam Greenbaum))
((Adapted by: Martin Secrest))
((Map: Hooper’s Island, Maryland))
((Banner: Since the 1980s, crab houses in Maryland have hired temporary workers from Mexico. In 2018, the guest worker visa grants were changed to a lottery system))
((Olivia Rubio, Visa Recipient))
We have the opportunity to come here to work and support our family, help our children move forward.
((Robin Hall, Co-Owner, GW Hall & Son Seafood))
Well, right now, I have 30 visas. 30 ladies will be coming in here to work. I don’t have them all here right now, but they’re on their way. They should be here actually tomorrow, the rest of them. I don't know what we would do, or the whole area would do, without them. They keep it all moving. All the people in this whole area have built their business on them, and their livelihoods, and you just get cut off. How do you run a business, and tomorrow they just throw a switch and say, “No, that’s it, you don’t get anybody.” It doesn’t work that way. This whole area, and all the people that make the baskets, and the boxes, and the plastic cups, all of them are going to be devastated by it too. That’s a lot of, a lot of income they’re going to lose.
((Banner: A nearby company, Russell Hall Seafood, received no worker visas in the new lottery. The facility is idle.))
((Harry Phillips, Owner, Russell Hall Seafood))
Well, we need 50 visas to bring our workers from Mexico. We’ve applied for American workers, and there’s no luck at all. They’re not going to pick the crabs like we need, the way things are now. The lottery system, through the visa program, is really what kicked us out of the program, and we’re just waiting for more visas to be offered, so, maybe we got another chance.
((Reporter))
How long do usually the workers stay here, and how long is their work day?
((Harry Phillips, Owner, Russell Hall Seafood))
They come in April, and leave end of November, to the middle of December. It’s like an eight-month job, and that’s another reason why we can’t hire American workers, because it’s not a full time job. It’s only eight months out of the year.
OK, these are the crab crates that we would normally be putting the crabs in to steam, then they would be put on the table for the ladies to pick the crabs. And as you can see, we’re all ready. We have baskets here, empty baskets, but we have no workers. Got everything but the workers.
((Banner: Harry Phillips receives a call from Mexico about worker visa grants))
((Harry Phillips, Owner, Russell Hall Seafood))
Edgar, we’ll call you and let you know, but they’re going to release 15-thousand visas next week.
You know, they want to be here real bad, you know. A lot of them don’t even work in the winter time, they don’t, they don’t have jobs, and the money they make, they make here in the summer time. And most of it goes back to Mexico, other than what they spend for stuff here, you know.
TEASE ((VO/NAT))
Coming up….
((Banner))
Robo Worker
((SOT))
I’ve never seen anything like this before. It’s really fun to watch here coffee getting made by a robot. It’s amazing.
BREAK TWO
BUMP IN ((ANIM))
BLOCK C
((PKG)) PIA / BENNETT – SIRI
((Banner: A Modern Job))
((Executive Producer: Marsha James))
((Camera: Kaveh Rezaei))
((Map: Atlanta, Georgia))
((Susan Bennett, Voiceover Artist, Original Voice of Siri))
Hi, my name is Susan Bennett and I’m a voice actor and the original voice of Siri.
For a really long time in my life, I didn’t really know what I wanted to do. And I started doing, working in clubs, singing and playing, and one day, as far as getting into voice work, it was basically kind of accidental. We had finished singing a jingle that day. I think there was a group of six of us and the voice actor didn’t show up to read the copy of the spot. So, the owner of the studio said, “Susan, you don’t have an accent. Come over here and read this copy.” And I went, oh, ding, ding, ding. So, I got a voice coach and a talent agent and I’ve been doing that ever since.
I did the original Siri recordings in 2005 and Siri appeared on October 4th, 2011. And I didn’t know anything about it until a fellow voice actor emailed me and said, “Hey, we’re playing around with this new iPhone app, isn’t this you?” And I went, really!
So, I went on the Apple site and I listened and I went, oh, oh my!
On the one hand I thought wow, I’m basically the new voice of Apple. That’s pretty cool. But the fact that I apparently had auditioned without knowing it, that really took me aback. And it took me two whole years to reveal myself as Siri because of that. Because I knew it was going to affect my career and I just wasn’t sure how it was going to happen. You know, on the one hand, a lot of people who are not in the business will go, “You’re Siri that’s so cool, that’s so great.” The people in the business are going, “You’re Siri,” and, maybe can’t hear anything beyond the Siri voice. And so, it’s like anybody that gets characterized as one particular thing.
((NATS: Susan Bennett, Voiceover Artist, Original Voice of Siri))
Siri, what are the top 10 books of 2017?
Here’s what I found on the web for what are the top 10 books of 2017.
((Susan Bennett, Voiceover Artist, Original Voice of Siri))
Siri was a life lesson for me because I had to face certain insecurities. The fact that I’m basically an introvert and I’m a very private person. Oh, do I want to be this person that’s on everybody’s device all over the world? And so, you have to accept it and figure out a way to spin it to the positive for yourself and which I’ve done and it has actually turned into a whole new career for me. I had no idea.
Like everything in life, you know, Siri had a big positive and a big negative and I have no way of measuring the negative, except I can see that since I did come out as Siri, a huge percentage of the work that I do is Siri related. On the other hand, I have done auditions for a Siri like voice and not gotten it.
The first two iterations of Siri, she really had a little bit of an attitude. I know that the first time I talked to Siri, I said, well, “Hi Siri, how are you? What are you doing?” And she goes, “I’m talking to you.”
I think Siri would like to make an appearance and say a couple of things. Always face your fears. Always keep the faith. But most of all, always have a sense of humor, LOL.
((PKG)) ROBOT BARISTA
((Banner: A Modern Worker))
((Reporter/Camera: Elizabeth Lee))
((Map: Austin, Texas))
((Wendy Cummings, Coffee Drinker))
I think it’s super cool. It’s so innovative. I’ve never seen anything like this before. It’s really fun to, like, watch your coffee getting made by a robot. It’s amazing.
((NATS: Charles Studor, Founder, Briggo))
So you can select whatever you want. You just “Place Order.” Now hit “Submit,” and you’re good. Come back when you get a text.
((Charles Studor, Founder, Briggo))
So I started the company in 2008. We’ve been developing the machines over time. We’ve had people from all over the world, since we started, asking for this. Coffee is ubiquitous, right? And this problem that we’re solving is common around the world. The problem is, very high quality coffee that’s convenient, that’s consistent, done just the way you like, and that is very efficient in the use of the beans and the raw material. I started the company really thinking about the way we consume quality products in the West. We’re often very wasteful, and we don’t really understand what it’s taken to get those quality beans, in this case beans, to our mouth essentially, and we want to be able to connect at the end of the day – not just solve the problem of quality coffee, convenient – but also the connection back to origin. So we buy coffee direct from Central America. And the idea is that in the end, we can use this platform, Connect, through the end customer, to the farmers. And maybe the farmers have some issues, and maybe we can do programs where we connect to you, and say, “Help with the water project” or “Help with a motor blower that’s gone down in the small cooperative.” So, how do we use the technology of this century to connect people in lots of different ways? And coffee is a common ground that everyone can relate to.
((Astrid Chacon, Coffee Drinker))
It’s going to take a little bit of time, but I’m sure we’re going to be having this, instead of having Starbucks out there.
((Wendy Cummings, Coffee Drinker))
I think that, in certain places, for sure. Especially, like, office buildings, it’s easy to have them just be, you know, in a smaller area, where they don’t have to staff an entire barista at all times.
((Voice of Charles Studor, Founder, Briggo))
It’s a big market. And so, there are specialty coffee shops where there are high quality, trained baristas that I don’t think we’ll ever replace.
((Charles Studor, Founder, Briggo))
I mean, there is a place and time for those. But there’s a lot of places around. Think of a hospital in the middle of the night. Where is the quality coffee there? Where is it at 5:30 in the morning at the airport? And so, we want to get that quality experience in all those spaces that are really underserved.
((Astrid Chacon, Coffee Drinker))
It seems like a really good idea to have them everywhere, because, like, it’s perfect to just avoiding lines, just getting there, picking your coffee, and you’re good to go for the day.
((VO/NATS)) VARIOUS OF COMMUTERS
((Banner: And…..Going to Work))
((Banner: Washington area commuters on average spend 98 minutes a day using public transportation, but there is another way…..))
((PKG)) ROWING TO WORK
((Banner: The Commute))
((Reporter: Masha Morton))
((Camera: Mikheil Maisuradze))
((Map: Greater Washington, D.C. Area))
((Voice of Gabe Horchler, River Commuter))
This is just my way of getting to and from work.
((Gabe Horchler, River Commuter))
I ran into a bridge one day and I ran into the floating trees and things and so, you know, sometimes you would get into a, you know, mindset and you forgot what was going on and you forgot to look around.
To get away from the traffic and just be out on the water. I have always loved to be on the water. And there are always lots of birds and beaver and fish and, you know, turtles, so there is always something and every day is a little different.
I tried to get my kids interested but I couldn’t get them interested in rowing. They have been out here a few times but never really took a big interest in it. They thought I was a little crazy too, but they were, sort of, proud of their dad so they could brag about him.
((Locator: Library of Congress))
Then I went to Library School at Columbia University and at that time in 1967, the Library of Congress was actually recruiting people. So, they came to Columbia to recruit and I was recruited by the Library of Congress.
((Gabe Horchler, River Commuter))
Make sure that you have things to do that you love to do.
CLOSING ((ANIM))
(Join) Facebook, (Follow) Twitter, (Watch) YouTube
BREAK THREE
BUMP IN ((ANIM))
SHOW ENDS