Episodios

  • Sometimes the Job Isn’t the Destination — It’s Funding the Next Opportunity

    Sometimes the Job Isn’t the Destination — It’s Funding the Next Opportunity
    Aug 19 2026
    Sometimes the job you’re in isn’t where you’re ultimately supposed to stay. Sometimes its real value is what it makes possible next.

    In this episode, I share how my first job with the State of Florida became the vehicle that helped me earn my Master of Public Health while taking on very little additional student debt. At the time, I wasn’t making much money.

    The job wasn’t necessarily where I wanted to remain long term. But once I discovered the educational benefits available to me, I realized something important: leaving immediately might actually cost me more than staying. So I made a trade-off. I endured some short-term financial discomfort, took advantage of the educational payment and leave programs available to me, and focused on walking away with something that could create greater opportunities later.

    This episode is about more than graduate school. It’s about recognizing the hidden value in where you are right now. Sometimes the question isn’t simply: “Should I leave?” Sometimes the better question is: “What can I extract from this opportunity before I move on?” Because the thing you’re ready to leave behind may actually be helping finance, prepare, or position you for what comes next.

    Call to Action:
    If this episode connects with where you are right now, share it with someone who’s trying to decide whether it’s time to move on—or whether there’s still something valuable to gain from where they are. And follow IN THE KNOW with Tony Reeves on Spreaker so you don’t miss the next conversation.

    Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/in-the-know-with-tony-reeves--5596987/support.
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    13 m
  • Who Am I at 30? When Your Career Stops Defining You

    Who Am I at 30? When Your Career Stops Defining You
    Aug 17 2026
    What happens when you finally reach the career you worked so hard for—and realize you still have to figure out who you are?

    In this episode of IN THE KNOW with Tony Reeves, I reflect on entering the legal profession in my early 30s after already having careers in state government and the military. I had the degree. I passed the bar. I had the title. But I was still trying to understand what it actually meant to be a professional—and whether I needed to change myself to fit the image of what I thought an attorney was supposed to be.

    Eventually, I learned something that changed the way I viewed my career: being an attorney was what I did, but it did not define who I was.

    Your 20s often give you the experiences that teach you who you are not. Your 30s can become the point where you begin intentionally deciding who you want to become.

    This episode is about career identity, authenticity, professional growth, and learning how to move into a new chapter without losing yourself along the way.

    If you’ve ever reached a point in your career where you had to ask, “Who am I beyond my job title?”, I’d love to hear your story. Share this episode with someone navigating a new professional chapter, and follow IN THE KNOW with Tony Reeves for more conversations about career, growth, life transitions, and the lessons we pick up along the way.

    Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/in-the-know-with-tony-reeves--5596987/support.
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    20 m
  • The Advice I Didn’t Understand Until Years Later

    The Advice I Didn’t Understand Until Years Later
    Aug 12 2026
    There are moments in life that don’t seem particularly significant when they’re happening. Then you look back 10, 20, or 30 years later and realize:

    That conversation changed everything. During my junior year of college, I was struggling with some of my science courses and seriously considering leaving my biology major. I wasn’t failing to understand the material. I was struggling to produce the grades I expected from myself—and I started interpreting that struggle as evidence that maybe I didn’t belong.

    Then I had a conversation with my advisor, Dr. Fred Punzo. He didn’t promise me that staying in biology would make me a doctor. He didn’t tell me exactly what career I would have. Instead, he helped me look at my situation from 30,000 feet. He recognized that there weren’t many Black and Latino students completing STEM degrees and believed that staying the course could create opportunities for me that I couldn’t see yet.

    Decades later, I can trace pieces of my journey—from government work and graduate school to the military, law school, private practice, entrepreneurship, and becoming a judge—back to completing that biology degree. And when I graduated, of the Black men who had started in that STEM environment with me, I was the only one who finished as a STEM major. This episode isn’t simply about staying in a difficult major. It’s about understanding the importance of having people in your life who can see possibilities that you can’t see yet.

    Sometimes you don’t need someone to give you a roadmap. You need someone with enough experience to show you that the road you’re standing on goes farther than you think.

    CALL TO ACTION Think about the people who gave you advice that changed the trajectory of your life. Did you recognize its importance immediately—or did it take years before you understood what they were trying to tell you?

    Share this episode with someone who’s questioning their abilities or wondering whether their current struggle means they’re on the wrong path. And remember: struggling with something doesn’t necessarily mean you don’t belong there. Sometimes you just haven’t reached the part of the journey where you understand why staying mattered.

    Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/in-the-know-with-tony-reeves--5596987/support.
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    10 m
  • The Party Wasn’t for Me — But the Lesson Was

    The Party Wasn’t for Me — But the Lesson Was
    Aug 10 2026
    In the fall of 1987, just days into my freshman year at the University of Tampa, I was invited to my first real off-campus college party on Davis Island. I had an idea of what a college party was supposed to look like. Music. Food. Dancing. People having a good time.

    What I found was a beach, a couple of kegs, no food, no music, and an environment where I was one of only a few Black students — and I didn’t drink. At the time, I could have easily dismissed the entire experience as a bad party.

    Looking back nearly 40 years later, however, I realize that night taught me something much more important: how to maneuver in spaces that weren’t necessarily designed with me in mind. I didn’t have to drink. I didn’t have to pretend the party was my kind of party. And I didn’t have to change who I was. I simply had to recognize the opportunity that came from being there. That lesson followed me from college into the military, the workplace, the legal profession, and countless professional and social environments throughout my life. Sometimes the room isn’t designed for you. That doesn’t mean there isn’t something for you in the room.

    Have you ever walked into a room and immediately realized, “This space wasn’t designed with me in mind”?

    What did you do?

    Did you leave? Did you try to fit in? Or did you figure out how to be yourself while still taking advantage of the opportunity?

    I’d love to hear your story.

    🎧 Listen to the full episode of IN THE KNOW with Tony Reeves, and then share your experience with me.

    Sometimes you don’t have to fit the room.
    You just have to learn how to move through it.

    Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/in-the-know-with-tony-reeves--5596987/support.
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    16 m
  • The New Normal We Built: Why Gen X Must Pass the Access Forward

    The New Normal We Built: Why Gen X Must Pass the Access Forward
    Aug 5 2026
    For many members of Generation X, success did not come with a roadmap. We entered colleges, professions, leadership positions, and social spaces that were unfamiliar to our families. We learned through experience, experimentation, mistakes, and persistence. Along the way, we became the attorneys, doctors, judges, executives, educators, entrepreneurs, and mentors we may not have personally known when we were younger. That matters because the generations coming behind us are no longer starting where we started. They have access to us. In this companion podcast,

    I reflect on the responsibility Gen X has to make our experiences, relationships, and knowledge available to younger generations. I also discuss why young people should be encouraged to study abroad, explore beyond their immediate surroundings, build relationships, and use each opportunity as a gateway to the next one. We are not telling them to repeat our journey. We are helping them understand that the doors we struggled to open are now part of their normal reality—and they have a responsibility to walk through them and keep moving forward.

    Call to Action:
    After listening, identify one young person who could benefit from your experience, guidance, or network. Reach out, make an introduction, share what you know, or help them see an opportunity they may not yet recognize. Our progress becomes permanent when the next generation knows how to use it.

    Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/in-the-know-with-tony-reeves--5596987/support.
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    7 m
  • The Conversation That Almost Ended My College Journey

    The Conversation That Almost Ended My College Journey
    Aug 3 2026
    A few weeks into my freshman year, I was pulled out of class and told that I owed the university $900. It was 1987.

    My student loan had not been processed, my mother could not pay the bill without jeopardizing her own ability to survive, and I was warned that I could be removed from school. I was only 18 years old.

    In this episode of IN THE KNOW with Tony Reeves, I reflect on the emotional weight of that conversation, the painful reality many students face when financial aid falls short, and the moment I realized that I would have to take responsibility for finding a way to finance my own education.

    Although the situation eventually worked out, that experience changed me. It pushed me into survival mode, shaped the way I approached college, and influenced how I continue to think about financial security today.

    Sometimes one conversation does more than interrupt your plans. It changes how you prepare for the rest of your life.

    Listen to the full episode and share it with a student, parent, educator, or family who may be struggling with the financial realities of college. Then ask yourself: What conversation forced you to grow up faster than you expected?

    Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/in-the-know-with-tony-reeves--5596987/support.
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    15 m
  • Starting Over Isn’t the End—It’s Where You Find Yourself | Reflections on The Fall of 1988

    Starting Over Isn’t the End—It’s Where You Find Yourself | Reflections on The Fall of 1988
    Jul 29 2026
    In this companion podcast to my YouTube video, “The Fall of 1988: When I Had to Rebuild My Life Without My Friends,” I reflect on one of the biggest lessons I learned from returning to college after nearly everyone in my support system had disappeared. When I came back to the University of Tampa as a Resident Assistant, I expected to continue building on the friendships I’d made during my freshman year. Instead, I found myself almost completely alone. My closest friends had transferred or chosen not to return, leaving me to rebuild my life from the ground up. In this episode, I go beyond the story and explore what that season taught me:
    • Why we sometimes build our identity around the people closest to us.
    • How losing your support system can force you to discover who you really are.
    • Why starting over is often more frightening than it is dangerous.
    • How unexpected relationships can expand your world in ways you never imagined.
    • Why the greatest periods of personal growth often begin with uncertainty rather than confidence.
    Looking back, I realize that what felt like one of the loneliest moments of my young adulthood became one of the most transformative. Sometimes the relationships we lose make room for the relationships—and the person—we were always meant to become.
    🎥 Watch the original YouTube video:
    The Fall of 1988: When I Had to Rebuild My Life Without My Friends
    https://youtu.be/cd2lFns1usQ

    Call to Action
    Have you ever had to rebuild your life after losing the people or circumstances you depended on? I’d love to hear your story. Leave a comment on the YouTube video or connect with me on social media and share what your “starting over” season taught you. If you enjoy these reflections on resilience, personal growth, and the lessons life teaches us, please subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share this episode with someone who’s facing a new beginning. Every new chapter carries possibilities we often can’t see until we’re living them.

    Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/in-the-know-with-tony-reeves--5596987/support.
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    10 m
  • The Terrifying Beginning of My Sophomore Year: Starting Over Without My Friends

    The Terrifying Beginning of My Sophomore Year: Starting Over Without My Friends
    Jul 27 2026
    Returning to the University of Tampa for my sophomore year should have felt familiar—but almost everyone I had depended on was gone.

    My best friend and roommate did not return. Other friendships I had begun building disappeared as well. I arrived back on campus after a 24-hour Greyhound bus ride, carrying a military duffel bag on my back and a footlocker on my head, knowing that I would have to figure out this new chapter largely on my own.

    At the same time, I was stepping into new responsibilities as a resident assistant, continuing ROTC, beginning more challenging science courses, and working through college work-study. Beneath all of that was a deeper fear: I was a poor Black student from Arkansas surrounded by people I believed came from very different backgrounds, and I questioned whether I had anything valuable to offer them.

    In this episode, I reflect on what it felt like to return to college terrified, uncertain, and alone—and how that frightening reset became one of the most important adult-shaping experiences of my life.

    Sometimes starting over is not proof that everything has fallen apart. Sometimes it is the beginning of discovering who you are capable of becoming.

    Call to Action Have you ever returned to a familiar place only to discover that everything had changed? Share your own experience with starting over, and follow the podcast for more stories about growth, resilience, college life, and the experiences that shaped the person I became.

    Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/in-the-know-with-tony-reeves--5596987/support.
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    15 m