 Welcome to the Millennial Mind on ThinkTech, and I'm your host today, Carol Mon-Lee. Our show is called The Formation of One Millennial, and we're going to talk about the varied influences and experiences affecting a Hawaii young millennial. If you want to ask a question or participate in the discussion, you can tweet us at ThinkTech HI or call us at 808-374-2014. Our guest for today's show is Anna Yor, who is summer interning at NAI Cheney Brooks. She's a junior at Harvard College and a graduate of Yolani School. We'll explore her combination of interests, including academic, athletic, and community, and whether it represents and reflects her generation. What skills and values do you develop in a world of contradictions? What experiences have helped form your views? So welcome to the show, Anna. Thank you so much for having me. We're so glad to have you. Well, I know you don't speak for all millennials, and you were born in the late 90s, so you're what we call a young millennial. The millennials, though, however, are the largest living generation in the United States at this point. Over 80 million strong. Did you know that? I did not. And prior to that, it used to be the baby boomers my generation, and of course many of the baby boomers are now parents to millennials. So you are from Hawaii, and now you're at Harvard. You graduated from Yolani. So you decided to come back to Hawaii for summer? Yeah, so I thought this was probably my last summer. I could have the opportunity to come home as in next summer. I'm trying to work somewhere on the East Coast. And it's been really great being home, spending time with my little sister who is going to be a senior at Yolani, and spending time with my parents because they don't get to see them often in the school year. And also going to the beach and eating local food has been really fun. And I'm also working at NAI Cheney Brooks, which is a commercial real estate company here in Hawaii. And my parents actually set me up with the managing director, Joe Haas, and I've been working alongside him all summer. What kind of work did you do as an intern? I've done various things, attending his meetings and going to property showings and writing press releases. What's your major at Harvard? Has this been part of the experience to help you get more involvement in what you're actually going to major in? Yeah, so my major is cognitive neuroscience and evolutionary psychology. I originally came into Harvard pre-med. Both my parents are doctors. And my older sister is attending medical school this fall. So I kind of thought that was like the default and what I would do. But I ended up, my favorite class at Harvard was internal psychology. And I think that's what really kind of changed my direction away from medicine and into psychology. And I also joined Harvard Women in Business, which has really opened my eyes to the whole business side and how I can potentially use psychology to kind of make my way into that field. And so that's why this summer doing more business rather than medicine or psychology, I see. And now you're going to go back to Harvard. And what kind of classes are you going to be taking? What areas outside of classes, too, are you involved in? So at Harvard, it's a liberal arts college. So we take a lot of different classes, having to do with culture and religion and various other types of classes. So I think this semester I want to take an economics class. They have this really cool class called Economic Sociology. And there's a lot of writing, which I love to write. So I'm really excited for that. And just kind of exploring my interest in the upper level psychology classes. And I think I'm really excited for the upper level classes that I can take. So long term, do you see a combination then you said, mentioned psychology and how it might affect business. So is that beyond college, what would you want to do with those skills and interests? Psychology doesn't give me the technical skills in business. And I am at sort of a disadvantage from other kids at schools that study, like marketing or finance, or that's their major. But I do think psychology gives me a broader perspective on just how we work and how we interact, which I think is really important to any field that I go into. And I think that those technical skills that I can learn on the job, and I think it'll help me just have a broader perspective and maybe be able to understand the people I work with better and the clients that I work with. I see. Well, you know, the show The Millennium Mind, we're not saying that you, of course, represent all millennials. But the millennial generation, of course, is so important and vital right now. Of course, we all know Mark Zuckerberg is kind of probably the most famous millennial. Probably. And he's changed the face and Facebook of all of us. So how has technology and media and communications, how has that influenced you? Because it's basically started with at least moved great strides with Mark and your generation. So I think my generation was definitely born with it. And as we're growing, technology is also growing. And from a personal experience, I think that technology, especially social media, has a very good and bad side. What do you use in social media? Are you one of those who's on everything? Pretty much everything except for Twitter. I have a Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat. Those are the main three things I use. And I think they're all for different purposes, which I like. But I think there's a fine line between overuse and using it smartly and kind of using it as a way to express yourself and connect with friends. And then I think there's also a pretty dark side of social media, which involves comparing yourself to others and cyberbullying and bullying, using it as a distraction. And I went through times where I was just on social media all the time and I would just compare myself to other girls that I would see on Instagram or Facebook. And it does nothing but put you down. And I think... So was this your line when you were in college or were you in high school? Mostly high school. I think college has kind of... I've definitely used social media less for comparing myself and more for connecting with other college-age people and my friends at home and also my parents. I think older generations use Facebook more than they do Instagram or Snapchat. So I think Facebook is a great way for me to connect to my parents and my grandparents even and my parents' friends while I'm away at college because I think we use it... Facebook is more of an informational... like just keeping up with everyday life, like where your child is going to college or where your family vacation is. And I think Instagram and Snapchat is more of a day-to-day... like not necessarily very important things you're posting there. I see. So how about you have two sisters? Yes. And parents and grandparents. So how have you... And then of course I'm sure you have friends and colleagues both at school, both at undergraduate and high school. So how have you seen social media affect them? Have you seen it evolve like it has evolved for you in terms of trying to pick the better uses of it rather than absorbing your time to be taking you down? Yeah, I think the older generation I think uses it much more wisely than the younger generation because they know what life was like without it and they don't rely on it to connect with other people. And they, I guess, necessarily don't trust it as much as we do, I think. So I find like with my older sister... I'm sorry, my younger sister and her friends... I think they're on social media more than myself and my older sister and I think they're even more connected to it than I am. So I think they almost have a higher potential of using it in the wrong way which is kind of scary, but I think there's just a fine balance between... It's learning too, yeah. How do you get your news? Do you use it for news? Occasionally, mostly Facebook for news. So what do you read on Facebook that gives you daily news? No, not daily news, more like just interesting articles that my parents will share or like friends at Harvard would share. I also try to like read the Wall Street Journal every once in a while and things like that. Yeah, on the app. Oh, on the app. So is that how you, and what about your sisters? Do you all get the news the same way? You don't buy hard copy newspapers, do you? No, I don't think my parents do. I've seen one. I don't think my parents buy hard copies either. They either watch the news, the nightly news, or read it online. What about reading other types of material for entertainment or for leisure reading? If I do read books, which is, I don't really have much free time to do that, but I'm trying to get that into my schedule. But if I read books, I usually read on my iPad. I really don't have any hard copy books. And then do you find you're interested in fiction, autobiographies, biographies, fantasy? I like sci-fi actually a lot. I have kind of an interest in astronomy and kind of an outside interest that I don't take any classes for it or anything, but it just kind of interests me. So is that something that you find among your friends, is that the common way then for them to read, to either gather their news or to keep up in community and social and political events? Yeah, for sure. At school, we have the Harvard Crimson, which is a famous paper. Daily, yeah, school newspaper, student newspaper. So they have hard copy and I get emails every day that have the articles. And my roommate is actually the senior editor for it. So she kind of shoves the articles on, especially that she writes or edits onto her roommates. And we read that a lot together. OK, well, we're going to take a short break, Anna. And we are with my guest, Anna Yor, who is here on the Millennial Mind. And we'll be right back. We have this crazy thing going on today. I was just walking by and all these DJs and producers are set up all around the city. I just walked by and I said, what's happening, guys? They told me they were making music. So talented and then sat down and kind of I said, we'll do it. Welcome back. This is Carol Mann Lee on the Millennial Mind with my guest, Junior from Harvard College and a graduate of Yolani School, Anna Yor. And Anna has just been interning this summer at NEI Cheneybrook. So welcome back. Just during the break, we talked a little bit about one of the characteristics that one of our other former interns who was here at Think Tech, a millennial, mentioned to me was that she felt her generation was characterized by the amount of stress that she felt. And I asked you whether you feel that kind of stress or what kind of stress you might feel. I've definitely felt a lot of stress, especially in the last couple of years going to Harvard and having to balance the rigorous academics and athletics and social life has been really a challenge. And there are times where I am really stressed if I have a paper due and I finish practice late or things like that. But I think overall, my generation will speaking just for myself. I kind of get stressed about the future and where exactly I don't know exactly. I see myself where there's a career, like where I want to live. And I think, especially at Harvard, where I find a lot of the students they think they know exactly where they want to work and live and what exactly they want to do with their major. I think it's very stressful to not know that. And I have to remind myself that it's OK not to know. And I think comparing myself to others and just being unsure about the future is a big stressor. Is the uncertainty about the future any related in any way to our current political environment? For me, not necessarily. I think the stress about the future is just not knowing exactly where my passion lies and not being and not being exactly sure of what industry that is in. And if I'm going to run out of time trying to find it or I guess just how competitive it is to get a job. And I see things like that. Well, we talked about I know that you actually have explored a lots of different things. And was it in high school that you went to Cambodia? Yes, it was in my junior year I went to Cambodia over our spring break with my family and the Rotary Club of Honolulu. And what did you do there? So we spent about 10 days helping to build a school in rural Cambodia. We would like help build a certain building within the school and then interact with the children. There were a lot of Hawaii kids on that trip. And while our parents were building, we would play volleyball with them or like teach them how to play sports or things like that, which was really fun. So did it change your view of the community, the world? How did it affect you? Sure. How did it affect you? I think that was one of the most eye-opening experiences I've had so far, just from just realizing how lucky we are to have clean water, air conditioning. Have you maintained ongoing, whether it's interest in the area or how have you used that to maybe form or help you decide what else you might be interested in doing? I haven't necessarily maintained a special connection with that school in Cambodia, but I think it has overall changed my mindset. And just whenever I'm stressed or worried about something, I just think how lucky I am to even have these stresses. It's a luxury to have a stress. It is a luxury sometimes to have a stress just thinking about these kids that have nothing. And they're still happy. They're smiling. They're playing with their friends and things like that. I think it really keeps you grounded, going back to that experience. I know you mentioned volleyball. I know you played volleyball in high school. Yeah, I've played since I was 10. Are you playing now? Yeah, I play at Harvard. And what kind of a team is that? Is that the intramural team? I don't know. It's a varsity team. It's a varsity team. So that means you go and compete with other schools. Right. We're in the Ivy League division. So what position do you play? I'm a defensive specialist. Here I've been an outside hitter all my life because I'm considered on the taller side here. In Hawaii, right? In Hawaii, yes. But at school, I'm actually the second shortest. So I don't play front row anymore. So let's talk a little bit about attitude, maybe both yours and maybe your sisters as compared to maybe your parents and other generations. Do you consider yourself more liberal, more conservative? And how do you view the current political environment in terms of enabling you to do what's best for your community and yourself? Well, Harvard is definitely one of the most liberal places in the United States. And I think that has really shaped my opinions, whether politically or in other areas. And I don't play that much close attention to politics because I'm busy with other things. And it just doesn't interest me as much as other things do. Are there a lot of demonstrations? Do you get involved? And I know there are some. But is that something that you've been involved in? I've never been involved in a demonstration, but I do. Is there pressure for students right now at college to do things like that? Sign petitions, wave signs, march? I think there is. I personally don't take part in that. But that doesn't mean I don't hold those views. I'm just, there haven't really been much at Harvard. I think there's been more at other schools. But people definitely voice their opinions on social media too when I take part in that also. So social media, let's go back to social media because we talked about Mark Zuckerberg and the major contributors to our economy right now seems to be those who are using the internet and the developers of Airbnb and all these things are all from the millennial group. So as an entrepreneur, do you see yourself or your friends or your siblings in that role? Are those at Harvard getting more into the entrepreneurship model as opposed to community work, teaching, science? I guess science can be entrepreneurial. I personally am not an entrepreneur, I would say. But I do see kids at Harvard, especially computer science, majors building off of what they see Mark Zuckerberg do and things like that. And I do think that our generation is using technology to market better to people and kind of do the simple, easy work that people used to do either by hand or using slower computer programs. But now we have ways to make that a lot quicker so we can focus our strength on other things instead of doing that boring work on the computer. So I think that the direction I see a lot of millennials going is just using the technology to make easier things easier and quicker. But I don't think technology will ever really replace the human interaction and especially with my sister going to medical school. People always come out and tell her that we won't need doctors anymore because robots are going to take over. I don't believe that. I think robots will help us make more precise incisions and things like that. But we will always need human minds and that human interaction. So what has formed your values, do you think, because one of the defining events of the last few years of course was the 2008 recession and all that meant for the economy, jobs, and the future for a lot of people. So has that been something that you find that you were in grade school? Yeah, a little. I think my family was, I think in terms of that, my parents were both very successful people and they've worked really hard. And I think having them as role models has really helped me to kind of shape my values and I think the mentors and coaches that I've had have really helped me with that too. And I think that as opposed to, sorry, what was the question again? Well, we're talking about values. Values, OK. What might have changed, and you of course mentioned your parents and mentors, and I do want to talk about your mentors in life, who have been your mentors in addition, of course, to your parents and teachers. But any particular mentor or group of mentors who stood out for you as helping you define basically who you are? I think my coaches definitely, I think sports has taught me more than I have learned in any classroom, to be honest. This is the volleyball coaches. I've played with a bunch of different teams and a bunch of different players and I think that has showed me how to interact with people and how to be respectful of other people and how to work well as a team. I think that's important in anything that we do. And also, coaches have had a huge impact on me. And I used to come home and cry if my coach would yell at me or give me constructive criticism when I was younger. And now I'm thankful for that because I know taking the criticism well is one of the best skills that I've learned so far. And I think that coaches are great because they're only trying to make you better. They don't really benefit from telling you to do a certain move or have a different mindset. So they're really doing it for you and you just need to realize that and then be coachable. OK, so are you also teaching sports? Are you involved as a coach? I am not. I did in Cambodia a little, but that was the extent to which I've done that. But I'm very open to volunteering and on things like that. I just haven't really had the opportunity yet. So OK, so we've covered your sports and some of your community activity and your courses at Harvard. And what else are you looking forward to when you go back to school? Are you going to be doing more internships like the one you just did this summer? I unfortunately can't do an internship during the year, but next year I hope to get an internship in either marketing, thinking, or consulting. Would you come back to Hawaii? I'm not sure if I would next summer. I'm looking to be in New York or a big city where I can kind of grow more, but I will definitely miss Hawaii. Well, we've been speaking with Millennial Ana Yor, who is a junior at Rising Junior at Harvard College, graduate of Yolani School, where she was on the volleyball team, and just finished completing an internship at NEI Cheney Books. So although Ana does not represent the entire Millennial generation, she is a wonderful representation of someone who has used the opportunities that she's received, the education you received, and the values of, I'm sure, a strong network of people and friends and family. So thank you so much for coming, Ana. And we wish you the best next year. Thank you so much. And come back when you graduate again. I will. All right. This has been Carol Mon Lee. This brings us to the end of the show. We hope you've enjoyed it. And our guest, Ana Yor, from Harvard College, we've been talking about the formation of one millennial and young millennials on the way to saving the world, thanks to our production engineer, Ray Sangalang, our floor manager, Robin McLean, and all the people who care and contribute to our think tech production. If you want to see the show again, or go to thinktecawaii.com or youtube.com slash thinktecawaii, where there will be a link to more shows just like this one. Thank you for watching, and we'll see you next time. Aloha.