185 | Nelkas Kwemo | Biggest Life Lessons That I have Learned As a Professional LineBacker

In today’s show, Chris interviews Nelkas Kwemo. Nelkas shares some of the biggest life lessons that he has learned as an elite athlete. You will also learn why he calls Student Works his “most brutal experience” ever. 

We start this show with Nelkas sharing his interesting backstory. An elite athlete, Nelkas is a professional linebacker for Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League. Additionally, he has also played for the Queen’s Gaels from 2014 to 2017.

Growing up, Nelkas shares that his biggest frustration was his lack of purpose. Here, we have an interesting discussion on the pitfalls of a traditional education system which does not allow students to get into exploratory mode and expand their horizons.

“I did not kill it in terms of sales. But I killed it in terms of experience.”

Next, Nelkas talks a bit about his Student Works experience.  He regales listeners with some interesting anecdotes about how he went the extra mile and worked nights to meet a project deadline. 

While you can earn a good amount of money over the summer, what is more important is that Student Works gives you an opportunity to develop some critical and foundational skillsets.

Towards the end, Nelkas has some great advice for folks who are on the verge of starting their professional lives. Specifically, we talk about the importance of developing a hardcore work ethic. 

CFL is inactive at the moment due to COVID. Nelkas has put this downtime to good use by working as an equity analyst.

Other topics discussed in this segment of the show include the importance of building a powerful network, and how being coachable can take you forward.

Enjoy!

What You Will Learn In This Show

• How to pitch and sell to complete strangers
• Critical attributes of high-performers
• The many pitfalls of a traditional education
• And so much more…

Resources

Student Works 

Chris Thomson LinkedIn

Chris’s Email