#WhereAreTheyNow? Alexis Claytor
Empowering through storytelling of struggle and success: The First Year Project
By Janet Padilla
Starting new endeavors in life can be difficult. Transitions can be intimidating and difficult to navigate around, especially when there is no or very little knowledge of what to expect from these new experiences.
Alexis Claytor, an EpiCenter #Acceleratebos Alum, founder, host, producer, and creator of the First Year Project has created a platform for people to speak about their first year experiences in their work field. It’s a space for individuals to connect with other community folks. Alexis has created a podcast where folks of all professions from digital production, music production, and even comedy, can share good, bad, and life changing experiences.
After navigating certain changes in her profession as an educator and later a producer, Alexis was ready to start conversations about these transitions. The podcast began back in March of 2016 and has become a source of empowerment for many millennials while trying to figure life out whether it be shifting career wise, starting a new family, right out of college, or whatever that transition may be for them. The First Year Project has acknowledged the idea that other people maybe facing similar situations as yourself and makes one not feel alone during these times.
This sharing of stories and narratives by people has created a support system for those who maybe struggling to seek help and just reassuring everyone that multiple transitions is part of finding the best version of yourself without fearing failure.
The First Year Project has also proven to be very prevalent among brown and black communities ranging from ages 20 to 33 in large cities such as Los Angeles, Boston, and New York. This is crucial because most often than not, these communities aren’t provided with the necessary tools to be successful and achieve their greatest potential. The podcast gives community outreach a whole other meaning by becoming that catalyst for these millennials to succeed, even when the world works against them.
In order to adequately deliver their message and promote their mission, the First Year Project hosts people from all creative backgrounds. But most importantly makes sure these individuals emphasize the idea of creativeness and that they believe in their work and embody the project’s mission.
The creation and production of season 2 was very pivotal and not a very easy task for Alexis. It came with it’s own challenges not only when she was experiencing housing displacement in New York but just figuring out content for the second season. Juggling all these positions and responsibilities was nothing easy but producing the second season to her podcast helped her overcome everything she was going through just by listening to everyone else speak about their experiences.
Finding magic and power in other individuals vulnerabilities has made the First Year Project more unique than any other podcast. A great factor in this success has been Alexis’ ability to have a genuine conversation with the people she interviews. Some would even say it doesn’t even feel like an interview. Alexis’ outgoing spirit and genuine interest in someone’s experiences makes the listener feel like they too are part of the conversation, which has a completely different impact on someone.
Alexis just makes it easy to connect with these individuals and it makes their stories real like no other platform. These authentic conversations and easy networking have broadened Alexis’ opportunities and future ventures for the First Year Project in every possible way.
During the construction and production of the First Year Project, everything Alexis learned throughout the accelerator program workshops was applied in one way or another. Traveling from New York to Boston every other weekend was nothing easy for Alexis, however, she says it was the push she needed to really take the program and her business idea seriously. “I think that accelerate boston program and others like so, do a really good job of really contextualizing how creating a business can be a reality, even if it’s a business in the creative economy” which Alexis continues to be thankful for.
Furthermore, a very important step Alexis wishes to take in the future is “to find a partnership where I can retain ownership of all my content but also a partnership where this person needs content and just trying to get this dope content to millennials”. With this said, we can all expect to be seeing some badass pieces being released very soon and just continue to see First Year Project expand.
Definitely give their podcast a listen on their website, itunes, and soundcloud sometime soon. They’ve interviewed some awesome folks like Gia Peppers, a multi-talented entertainment journalist, Yvonne Orji, writer and actress, and our very own Malia Lazu, founder of EpiCenter Community. The incredibly talented Alexis Claytor has also recently designed and released First Year Project’s new clothing line, so check that out too!
