Sarah Clair
Episode 159

Narrator: Welcome friends, to another episode of The Story and Experience podcast. Join your host, Japhet De Oliveira, with his guest today, and discover the moments that shape us, our families, and communities.

Japhet De Oliveira: Hey, welcome friends to another episode of The Story and Experience Podcast. I'm delighted to be sitting here with our new guest today in Roseville, California. And if you're brand new to the podcast, we have 100 questions. They progressively become more vulnerable closer to 100, and they get to pick where they want to go on this journey to share stories and experiences that shape them into the leader that they are today. I'm going to ask the first 10, and then they'll take it from there.

So could we begin with, could you tell us your name and does anybody ever mispronounce it?

Sarah Clair: My name is Sarah Clair, people don't usually mispronounce it, but I do get called many different names.

Japhet De Oliveira: Do you get called Clair?

Sarah Clair: I get called Clair all the time and I try to give people grace with it just because it isn't not common. It's not common to have like-

Japhet De Oliveira: Sure.

Sarah Clair: I get the comment, like, "Oh, you have two first names," and I'm like, 'No, I have a first name and a last name. They just are both technically could be first names." And I also have an identical twin sister, so I grew up-

Japhet De Oliveira: You do?

Sarah Clair: Yeah, I grew up kind of answering to Sarah Clair and then my sister's name is Eliana, because you never know if people are trying to actually reach you or not.

Japhet De Oliveira: So now that we have this interesting insight into your personality, do you still play jokes?

Sarah Clair: Sometimes.

Japhet De Oliveira: And get away with it?

Sarah Clair: Yeah, but most of the times they're over the phone, so we will have each other's phones and we'll call each other's significant others and talk to them for 10 minutes and just be like, oh, you were talking to the other one the whole time.

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh, no. Okay, all right. Well, all right, that's good. Well, Sarah, glad to hear that. Could you share with us what you do for work?

Sarah Clair: I am a public affairs manager on the government affairs public affairs team. I also do a little bit of the community benefit or community impact work as well. So all the CHNA process, I help them with that. With the public affairs side, we track legislation for anything that kind of deals with hospitals in Oregon, Hawaii and California, and then as well as federally. So it has a lot to do with public policy and seeing how it will impact our hospitals.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay, so you're reading legislation all the time?

Sarah Clair: Yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira: News alerts?

Sarah Clair: Constant news updates, yeah, just tracking the process.

Japhet De Oliveira: Is this something you dreamed up of doing as a child, or?

Sarah Clair: No.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay.

Sarah Clair: Not at all.

Japhet De Oliveira: How did you end up in this kind of role?

Sarah Clair: When I was younger, not necessarily younger, but high school, undergrad, I was moving towards social work and then ultimately decided I didn't like social work. I didn't like the one-on-one aspect that I was doing, so I was leaning more into policy. Got an internship at the Nevada legislature and just kind of went from there. I had no clue what I was doing, but I fell in love with it.

Japhet De Oliveira: Wow.

Sarah Clair: And knew that I wanted to continue working with government and everything around that.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's great. That's great. Well, I'm glad you do. I'm glad you do. Thank you for taking that on for all of us, and then distilling it down for us to be able to understand and digest, so that's good. All right, Sarah, where were you born?

Sarah Clair: Sacramento, California.

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh wow. Local. Okay, okay.

Sarah Clair: Born and raised.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay, and did you grow up here as well?

Sarah Clair: Yeah, I grew up in Elk Grove, so a little bit south of Sacramento center. Grew up there, and the only time I've lived out of there or out of state was my four years in my undergrad at University of Nevada, Reno. So I was in Reno for four years and then moved back and now I'm kind of in East Sac area.

Japhet De Oliveira: All right, well good for you. Look at this. And so when you were a child, what did you imagine you would grow up to be?

Sarah Clair: I have no clue.

Japhet De Oliveira: God, really?

Sarah Clair: I have no clue.

Japhet De Oliveira: Well, okay.

Sarah Clair: I just grew up, I think just think of when I think of my childhood, the first thing that comes to mind is that I would be a mother or have a family, but I don't necessarily remember dreaming of any profession.

Japhet De Oliveira: Career paths.

Sarah Clair: Yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira: We often ask five-year olds, what's... No. Hey, that's okay, that's okay. That's good, but clearly you found your path.

Sarah Clair: Yes, yes, very happy with it.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah, and you joined us. And how long have you been doing this?

Sarah Clair: I've almost been with Adventist Health for three years, but I've been doing kind of-

Japhet De Oliveira: Public affairs stuff.

Sarah Clair: Yeah, for four and a half, five.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay, great, great. Well I'm glad to hear that. All right. So now, are you an early riser or a late night owl?

Sarah Clair: Neither.

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh, okay. Middle earth.

Sarah Clair: Yeah. I would love to be an early riser, I think it's great. I've tried before, it just doesn't work out for me.

Japhet De Oliveira: Not your thing, okay.

Sarah Clair: Yeah, but then I also fall asleep at 9:30, 10:00, so.

Japhet De Oliveira: Very healthy.

Sarah Clair: Middle of the day.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay, good. All right. Well, I mean, you woke up this morning at a reasonable hour. What was your first thought that went through your mind?

Sarah Clair: That I have to get up.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay, okay. So it's not like you're desiring to get up, you have to convince yourself to get up as well?

Sarah Clair: Yes, I have to convince myself to get up. I have this issue recently where I'll just lay in bed for 30 minutes and I just want to relax and I think I'm just like, okay, if I get up, my day is started. And when I'm in bed, I'm next to my dog, everything's peaceful, my mind's not going constantly, so yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira: It's a tough life, I can tell. All right. And then do you have a drink that you start with your day? Like water, coffee, liquid green smoothie?

Sarah Clair: Water.

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh yeah.

Sarah Clair: And then

Japhet De Oliveira: Tap water, or?

Sarah Clair: Tap water, yeah actually.

Japhet De Oliveira: Warm?

Sarah Clair: No. Ice.

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh, okay.

Sarah Clair: Ice, yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira: So you put ice cubes in. All right.

Sarah Clair: Ice and then tap water and then probably like an hour and a half, two hours later, a coffee.

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh, wow. You got it timed down, okay.

Sarah Clair: Yeah, you got to wake up a little bit. Give your body some adjustment time.

Japhet De Oliveira: All right, so if people were to describe your personality, would they say you were an introvert or an extrovert? And would you agree with them?

Sarah Clair: Introvert, and yes, yes.

Japhet De Oliveira: And yes. Okay. All right. Hands down.

Sarah Clair: Yes.

Japhet De Oliveira: All right, good. And then a little bit about habits here, but or a leadership question actually, more than anything else/ are you a backseat driver?

Sarah Clair: Okay. So I've been listening to some of your podcasts prior, and this question. For me, the answer is, it depends on the team and who's driving. So I can be, I cannot be, it just depends on-

Japhet De Oliveira: What the task is.

Sarah Clair: Yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira: What needs to be done.

Sarah Clair: Yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira: All right. that's fair. That's fair. You don't lean one particular way, you're just malleable. All right, brilliant. All right, the floor is open.

Sarah Clair: Okay.

Japhet De Oliveira: Where would you like to go, between 11 and 100?

Sarah Clair: 12.

Japhet De Oliveira: 12. All right. Oh, what's your favorite movie or book of all time and why?

Sarah Clair: First thing that comes to mind is movie, and it's Toy Story two. Honestly, don't know why. I mean, I do know why.

Japhet De Oliveira: You do, okay.

Sarah Clair: I watched it three times once when I was a child on a plane to Europe. And ever since then, it's been my favorite movie, but I don't necessarily watch it often or anything. But that is-

Japhet De Oliveira: So you don't watch it every weekend?

Sarah Clair: No, actually, I don't know the last time I saw it, but I would say

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh yeah, but it's a good memory.

Sarah Clair: It's a good memory. It's a good movie. I love Buzz Lightyear.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's not the one where Andy dies, right? I'm kidding. I'm kidding. I'm just checking.

Sarah Clair: No, there's none.

Japhet De Oliveira: I know there's none.

Sarah Clair: Okay, okay, I was like, what? I think there's four now. Five now? Four?

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah, I think there are four.

Sarah Clair: Four.

Japhet De Oliveira: Maybe there's five. Four for sure.

Sarah Clair: I don't know that I've seen four.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah. Oh, you should.

Sarah Clair: Yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira: Maybe you will.

Sarah Clair: Maybe it'll be my new favorite.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah, absolutely. Right, good, good. All right. Where next? That was 12.

Sarah Clair: 18.

Japhet De Oliveira: 18. Okay, if you had to eat only one meal for an entire month, three meals a day, same meal, what would that meal be?

Sarah Clair: Probably pasta.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah?

Yeah, but does it have to be the same?

Ideally the same, yeah.

Sarah Clair: Because you could have different types of sauces.

Japhet De Oliveira: I see what you're doing.

Sarah Clair: Different types of-

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah, I was thinking I'd eat food and then, yeah, okay.

Sarah Clair: Yeah, can get around it, yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah, sure. No, it's one meal. So how would you do the pasta?

Sarah Clair: My grandmother makes her own gravy, is what we call it. So the pasta sauce, so I'd probably have that.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay. Three times a day.

Sarah Clair: Three times a day, yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira: For 30 days.

Sarah Clair: Oh, yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira: I look forward to hearing about that experiment. All right, Okay, where next?

Sarah Clair: Let's do 24.

Japhet De Oliveira: 24. Tell us about a time you were over or under dressed for an occasion.

Sarah Clair: I can't think of one specifically, but I'm sure it's happened prior. But I know that I would rather be overdressed because then you are already put together, you look great, and you have to ride with the confidence. You have to-

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh, the introvert rides with the confidence.

Sarah Clair: Oh, yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira: I like this.

Sarah Clair: Yes.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay.

Sarah Clair: Just because you're introverted doesn't mean you don't have confidence.

Japhet De Oliveira: No, no, I know. That's great, I like it. Good, all right. Where next? Thanks for taking that answer and that question in a different place.

Sarah Clair: That one was 24?

Japhet De Oliveira: Uh-huh.

Sarah Clair: 26.

Japhet De Oliveira: 26. Tell us about one thing that you love that most people do not.

Sarah Clair: Okay, this is going to sound a little weird.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay.

Sarah Clair: I love the smell of chlorine.

Japhet De Oliveira: In the pool?

Sarah Clair: Yes. I grew up as a swimmer and swam, obviously my whole life was a swim coach, was a lifeguard.

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh, wow, okay.

Sarah Clair: Swim instructor. So honestly, it's kind of like my safe space, the pool is, and just the smell of chlorine. And so I just love the smell of chlorine. A chemical, so it's probably not great for you.

Japhet De Oliveira: Have you got a chlorine-based cologne or perfume?

Sarah Clair: No, no. I don't, haven't found one, but.

Japhet De Oliveira: Anyone out there has one, that's great. I was wondering what the smell of bleach was around. All right. All right, where next?

Sarah Clair: 32.

Japhet De Oliveira: 32. If you were featured on the local news, what would the local news be about?

Sarah Clair: Could not tell you. I mean, I don't try to, I wouldn't seek out to be on.

Japhet De Oliveira: You wouldn't seek out?

Sarah Clair: To be on the local news, personally.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah. No, this is what's kind of great about this, yeah.

Sarah Clair: Maybe win the lottery. I mean, hopefully, that would be good.

Japhet De Oliveira: You do have to play in order to win.

Sarah Clair: I don't play. So that's why I wouldn't be on then.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah, I kind of see where this is going. All right, where next?

Sarah Clair: Okay, let's do 36.

Japhet De Oliveira: 36. Tell us about one thing that you hope never changes.

Sarah Clair: Recently, this is a recent thing for me. I have within the past year, I think tried to look at just life in a different aspect. Think of people not at their worst, but at their best, and go with the flow. And I think I hope that doesn't change, I hope that only grows. I don't know how to expand on that.

Japhet De Oliveira: What made that shift?

Sarah Clair: I think I was just kind of tired of living in negativity. And not that I was constantly living in negativity, but there were some aspects of my life where I was just-

Japhet De Oliveira: Too critical?

Sarah Clair: Too critical of myself and I would see how that criticism of myself would bleed into my relationship with others. And I've kind of just shifted that and put more emphasis on healing myself and healing that aspect, so that my relationships with others can grow.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's great. That's great. And how long has this experiment been going for?

Sarah Clair: Since January.

Japhet De Oliveira: And, oh, is it one of those January one things?

Sarah Clair: December. mid-December.

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh, okay. All right, all right. That's great.

Sarah Clair: A little early.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay. That's good. That's good. And you're feeling really confident about it, it's like it's become permanent for you?

Sarah Clair: Yeah, I feel like my relationships are great recently. I have-

Japhet De Oliveira: That's great.

Sarah Clair: ... really felt connected to all of the individuals that I've been with. Just having more purposeful conversations, even if it's just reaching out real quick, saying, "Hey, thinking about you," because even if we don't have a dialogue, it's still purposeful so that they know that I'm thinking of them and wish them the best.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's fantastic. There's some people who suggested that we tend to attract people in our life that reflect the way we are, think. Feel this way?

Sarah Clair: I have, yes, 100%.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay. All right. Hey, good, good. Well thanks for sharing that. All right, where next?

Sarah Clair: 42.

Japhet De Oliveira: 42. All right. Tell us about a story behind the photo on your phone. The background photo on your phone.

Sarah Clair: I just changed it.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay, all right, good.

Sarah Clair: This is me and my significant other.

Japhet De Oliveira: Great.

Sarah Clair: We are coming up on four years, all long distance.

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh, wow. Okay.

Sarah Clair: Yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira: All long distance?

Sarah Clair: All long distance.

Japhet De Oliveira: Wow.

Sarah Clair: We met each other when we were 19, but didn't start dating until 2020, so we were 23 when we started dating.

Japhet De Oliveira: Through COVID.

Sarah Clair: Through COVID. He actually is a service member, so he was deployed for the first seven months of our relationship. And the background on my phone is just, we went out and got lunch with two other friends of ours and they took a picture of us. And it's a cute picture.

Japhet De Oliveira: Hey, that's great. That's great. Well, congratulations.

Sarah Clair: Yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah, wonderful. What's the next chapter?

Sarah Clair: For me and him? I love bragging about him, but he will graduate with his bachelor's degree in May, and then he's moving here.

Japhet De Oliveira: Sacramento.

Sarah Clair: Yes.

Japhet De Oliveira: All right. Where's he from?

Sarah Clair: Reno.

Japhet De Oliveira: Reno, just down the road. That's great. Fantastic. Hey, this is good. All right. Where next? That was 42.

Sarah Clair: 48.

Japhet De Oliveira: 48.

Sarah Clair: No, 44.

Japhet De Oliveira: 44, all right. What is something that you're proud to have created?

Sarah Clair: I think of this more physically first and then kind of in a bigger picture. So when you say creative or created, I think of creations I've made.

Japhet De Oliveira: Nice, okay.

Sarah Clair: And that I paint shoes. I don't know if you've seen that.

Japhet De Oliveira: You paint shoes? No, no, I have not seen that.

Sarah Clair: So I'll paint custom shoes for people or jackets. So if you have... I'm 27, so a lot of my friends are getting married, so it's wedding season and whatnot. And so custom name jackets with the bride's new name on it or something. Or custom shoes with dates and figures. And I've done kind of logos for teams and whatnot.

Japhet De Oliveira: Wow, okay.

Sarah Clair: And so that's what I think about. But in total, then I start to think about all the other hobbies that I've created for myself and not necessarily created, but I've created this space where I feel comfortable doing these hobbies and doing them alone. And just really enjoying the time for myself and investing in stuff I truly enjoy.

Japhet De Oliveira: So what's your favorite hobby lobby, Michaels store?

Sarah Clair: Amazon.

Japhet De Oliveira: Amazon, that's great.

Sarah Clair: I don't like going into those stores, they overwhelm me.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah. People.

Sarah Clair: Yeah. I mean, yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira: I'm kidding.

Sarah Clair: If I already know what I need, just Amazon it.

Japhet De Oliveira: Great.

Sarah Clair: Yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira: Amazon, yeah. All right, that's just another conversation. All right. All right, where next then?

Sarah Clair: 48.

Japhet De Oliveira: 48, all right. Tell us about your best, best personality trait.

Sarah Clair: I like to think that I'm understanding and gracious. And this happens often with that December, January shift.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah, I was going to say, yeah, yeah.

Sarah Clair: Just the first example that comes to mind is people with driving and road rage. And honestly, someone may cut you off and you'll get a little upset that they cut you off, but you also have cut someone off, and so you just have to think they're human, they make mistakes, and just kind of let it go. Don't let it ruin your-

Japhet De Oliveira: So you don't follow them?

Sarah Clair: No.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay, good.

Sarah Clair: No, not in Sacramento, no. So yeah, just letting it go knowing that they're human and they make mistakes and being gracious. And I am not the best driver and so when I make a mistake and someone gets mad at me, sometimes you feel that guilt. But more recently I haven't because I'm like, you know what? I made a mistake. I know I made a mistake, they probably have too. They can deal with it.

Japhet De Oliveira: They can deal with it. That's good. Good, good. All right. All right, where next?

Sarah Clair: 62.

Japhet De Oliveira: 62. What does a sense of community art mean to you?

Sarah Clair: Community?

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah.

Sarah Clair: The first thing that comes to mind is my religious community. And I wouldn't say I'm super religious, but I was raised Jewish and a lot of that, just my religious school and upbringing, they really did a lot about understanding your own Jewish identity. And for me, my Jewish identity is not necessarily the spiritual aspects, it's more of the community aspect. So when I think of community, I think of having similar people that have gone through similar situations as me, or just even have similar heritage as me, and being able to take our customs and traditions and being able to practice them together.

Japhet De Oliveira: All right, so share with us. That's beautiful. Share with us one traditional custom that you really enjoy.

Sarah Clair: Personally, I love Jewish weddings and so obviously I'm looking forward to mine in the future, but I don't know that there's a specific custom that I truly enjoy. What I do enjoy is sharing those with people who aren't Jewish. So my significant other, he is Methodist, but since we've been dating, he has really embraced just my Jewish heritage and culture and he loves to learn about every custom or every tradition, anything like that. So it's great to see that, how much it brings him joy just to learn about it and how I'm able to kind of bring that into his life. And he as well is also to bring his customs into mine.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's good, that's good. Beautiful, all right. Where next?

Sarah Clair: 68.

Japhet De Oliveira: 68. All right. If you could learn one new professional skill, what would that be?

Sarah Clair: Oh, easy. Small talk.

Japhet De Oliveira: Really?

Sarah Clair: Yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay.

Sarah Clair: I hate small talk.

Japhet De Oliveira: You hate, okay.

Sarah Clair: And it's bad because that's a huge part of public affairs.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah, yeah, I was going to say. Yeah.

Sarah Clair: Yeah, it's really challenging for me because I'm an introvert and so just getting comfortable, making small talk with someone.

Japhet De Oliveira: Maybe little phrases, little questions.

Sarah Clair: Yeah. I recently was talking to someone, one of my friends, and she said that she also really struggles with it, but her first go-to is, what book are you reading? Because sometimes, I mean, almost always, people are usually reading a book.

Japhet De Oliveira: Sure, yeah.

Sarah Clair: But if they aren't, then you go, "Okay, well what shows are you watching?" And so you just kind of bring in.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah, that's good.

Sarah Clair: ... daily life.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's good.

Sarah Clair: Have yet to try it though, because I try to not put myself in situations with small talk, but.

Japhet De Oliveira: Where the news could actually report a story on you.

Sarah Clair: Exactly.

Japhet De Oliveira: All right, we'll see how it goes. All right, where next? That was 68.

Sarah Clair: 72.

Japhet De Oliveira: 72. Tell us about what you want to do when you retire and why you're waiting.

Sarah Clair: I haven't really thought super far ahead, but one of my goals is to get my personal training certificate and become a personal trainer. I could possibly do that now, I may wait until I retire. I'm not sure, but I think just keeping fitness in my life is important. And so that would be one of my goals when I retire, I think. And just being active even if it's outside, inside.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's good. That's really good. Okay, good. I'm glad you're still doing it now.

Sarah Clair: Yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira: All right. Where next?

Sarah Clair: 73.

Japhet De Oliveira: 73. Share something that you had to unlearn in your life.

Sarah Clair: I think one of the biggest things I've had to unlearn is that not everyone's out to get you, and no one's actually really thinking about you, which sounds bad, but if you think about it-

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah, I-

Sarah Clair: I mean, everyone always says, "Don't worry about what other people think of you because they're too busy focused, thinking about themselves."

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah, you're not the center of the entire universe.

Sarah Clair: Exactly, exactly.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah, okay, all right. Hey, that's good, that's good.

Sarah Clair: Yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's good for everybody, yeah. All right. All right. Where next?

Sarah Clair: 77.

Japhet De Oliveira: 77, all right. Share one of your most cup filling experiences with us, other than watching Toy Story two three times.

Sarah Clair: Cup filling experience. I would say it's a recent one. So my significant other's grandmother passed away about a month before we started dating, and I had never met her obviously, but I had heard so much about her. But because it was COVID, so it was 2020, they did not have a type of kind of service for her until last year. And so luckily I was able to be a part of that, and even though I didn't know her, I felt her love and her warmth and the friendship she had with everyone, and just the impact she made on the people around her through this small group of individuals. I think there was maybe 15 of us there. And it filled my cup in a way that I hope to be talked like that, talked about that when I've passed, just because she's still alive in that aspect, just because of how gracious and generous she was as a woman. And just seeing the love that those people have for her just kind of filled my cup.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's good, that's good. Good reminder of how we should all live our lives. Right?

Sarah Clair: Exactly.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah, yeah. Great, all right. Where next?

Sarah Clair: 82.

Japhet De Oliveira: 82. If you could only keep three things, three possessions, what would they be and why?

Sarah Clair: That's a good question.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah.

Sarah Clair: One of them would be, my grandmother passed away when I was six years old and she gave all of her grandchildren a set of glasses to use at special occasions. And so I would keep those toasting glasses.

Japhet De Oliveira: Nice, nice.

Sarah Clair: Just so that I could continue to have them. What three things, okay. The other thing I would probably choose, it's going to sound bad, but my phone.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay, okay. It's not bad. It's not bad. It's okay. That's good.

Sarah Clair: It has everything and it has all my passwords. It's easy, easy to grab.

Japhet De Oliveira: Good.

Sarah Clair: And then, I don't know if this works, but the last thing would be my dog.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's good, that's good. I'm glad you remembered.

Sarah Clair: Yeah. My pride and joy, my best friend.

Japhet De Oliveira: Clearly, it came top of the mind.

Sarah Clair: I mean, because you say that and I'm thinking physical, not live.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah, no, I'm teasing, I'm teasing. It's okay, that's good. Hey, that's good. All right. Practical, beautiful, family, great, and your dog.

Sarah Clair: Yep.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah, yeah. All right, good. We have time for two more. Where'd you want to go with your last two?

Sarah Clair: 88.

Japhet De Oliveira: 88, all right. Tell us about how your life has been different than you actually imagined.

Sarah Clair: I never imagined I would be doing the job I'm doing. I never imagined that I would feel fulfilled in a job. I mean, that's not something I ever thought about, I don't think. I mean, it's always been a goal of mine, but it's not top of the list and I think that's a great thing that has happened that I never imagined would.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's great, that's great.

Sarah Clair: Especially this early on in my life.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah. No, actually that's fantastic. And even though you applied for the job, right? [inaudible 00:25:08] the job, what is it about the job that's actually most fulfilling to you?

Sarah Clair: I think part of it is the organization and just healthcare in general as well, because I mean, I could be doing this work for any other organization as well. But knowing that it is for a health system that truly believes in bettering individuals and helping them in their lowest times, I think is really what-

Japhet De Oliveira: That's great.

Sarah Clair: Yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh, good, good. All right, last number. Sarah Clair.

Sarah Clair: 92.

Japhet De Oliveira: 92. All right. Oh, how would you like to be remembered?

Sarah Clair: Welcoming.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah.

Sarah Clair: It's the first word that comes to mind.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah.

Sarah Clair: I get a lot of people that tell me that they're scared to approach me sometimes, that I'm not-

Japhet De Oliveira: I would never have guessed, yeah.

Sarah Clair: That my face just does not-

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah, every time I see you, I'm like, oh, horror, shock, yeah.

Sarah Clair: Yeah, that I look upset or something.

Japhet De Oliveira: No, no.

Sarah Clair: I don't know. So I think, just I mean, I've had many people tell me like, "Oh, I didn't think you would ever be the person you are just because of how you look." And it's not, I mean, obviously I'm going to try to change that vibe I give off.

Japhet De Oliveira: You're living into it, yeah.

Sarah Clair: Yes, but I think a part of it is you can't judge a book by its cover. And so I would like people to not necessarily think about me as what they first saw, but think about me as the relationship they've had with me.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's beautiful, that's beautiful.

Sarah Clair: Thanks.

Japhet De Oliveira: Sarah, it's been an absolutely delighted to be able to talk to you. Thank you for taking the time.

Sarah Clair: Of course.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah. No, it was great. See, it was a great conversation. I want to encourage people to do the same. Sit down with a friend, ask them some stuff. Maybe have a cup of tea or water with some ice, in your case. And I think we actually, we do learn from each other. We are transformed by it and we are better people for it.

Sarah Clair: Yes.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah, so God bless, God bless everybody else, and we'll connect soon.

Sarah Clair: Thanks.

Narrator: Thank you for joining us for The Story and Experience podcast. We invite you to read, watch, and submit your story and experience at adventisthealth.org/story. The Story and Experience Podcast was brought to you by Adventist Health through the Office of Culture.