Friday, October 3, 1997
When I grow up I want to … teach yoga?
JOBS: UCLA graduates sometimes find that their careers shift
away from their pre-laid plans
By Carol McKay
Daily Bruin Staff
Political science student LeAnne Schwartz had no idea that she’d
end up in the food business, let alone running a million-dollar
catering company.
Schwartz, who graduated in 1981 from UCLA, had always assumed
she would end up a lawyer. Somewhere along the line, however, her
life took a different turn.
"When you work with lawyers all day long, you can really tell if
that’s what you want to do," said Schwartz, who supported herself
through college as a legal secretary. "And (for me), it
wasn’t."
Schwartz said she had good LSAT scores and was ready to begin
law school when a conversation changed her life.
"(My partner and) I decided one day in the middle of a ski lift.
We had our business plan together in a matter of 8 minutes," she
said, laughing.
However silly the hatching of L.A. Spice seems to be, the
catering company’s success is no laughing matter. Schwartz and her
business partner –"she was a biochemist" — have been running the
small company for a decade.
L.A. Spice, which specializes in California cuisine, employs a
full-time staff of around a dozen employees and brings in $1
million in sales annually.
It also boasts several big-name clients, including Neutrogena,
Virgin Records and Polygram Records. The services range from
catering "from the simple to the elaborate," for which dozens of
additional staff members are hired.
"Security, valet, fire marshalls…. We’ve done some pretty
large-scale special events," Schwartz said.
The company also runs a cafe that feeds new Los Angeles Police
Department Recruits.
"Running your own business is really different. It’s very
exciting," Schwartz said of her switch from politics to business.
She describes her challenges as unique. "I have to figure out, ‘How
much do you feed a 310-pound basketball player? And how much would
you feed five 310-pound basketball players?’"
Like Schwartz, many other UCLA graduates discover that their
ideas of the future would be very different after turning the
tassels on their graduation caps.
Keith Robinson, who graduated in 1981 with a degree in computer
science, was one such student.
Robinson began pursuing a career in his field of study,
designing video games. "In the early 80’s there was a big video
game fad. But the industry collapsed in ’83." And Robinson found
himself without work.
Robinson turned to his cartooning talents, which he had
discovered at The Daily Bruin while occasionally filling in for
full-time cartoonists – "Usually when one of the main cartoonists
was drunk."
Although Robinson said he has never had formal training, his
"exposure" to cartooning at the Bruin helped him begin what is now
a successful career as a syndicated cartoonist.
He is currently self-employed and the creator of "Making It: A
Survival Guide for Today," a syndicated weekly cartoon that he
describes as documenting "the trends and obsessions of the Baby
Boom generation."
Robinson’s artwork has also appeared in Playboy, Cat Fancy and
Dog Fancy magazines. "Cute cat and dog illustrations are my
specialty," he said with a laugh.
Robinson remembers his years at UCLA as one filled with
hostility towards the engineering school.
"People looked down upon it …. They thought it was more of a
trade technical school.
"So I was stuck in the middle. It was sort of a dichotomy
between going to engineering school and going to north campus for
my art interest. So I stayed undercover," he said.
Other UCLA alumni have been prosperous in similarly unusual
careers. Daren Black, who also graduated in 1981, credits his
success to cultural trends.
Black, who started out as a computer science student at UCLA, is
now the owner of two companies, Yoga Power and Nature Power,
businesses that specialize in holistic personal training and
natural herbal formulas. Black deals with both private clients and
group classes at gyms , including Sports Club LA.
"My specialty is fine-tuning people," Black said. But it hasn’t
always been. Although Black said his interest in artistic dance and
body training goes as far back as high school, he never thought
that it was something that would earn him a living. Even after
Black switched his major to dance, he didn’t anticipate a full-time
career in that field.
"The dance world became very competitive, so I incorporated
sports medicine and yoga," he said. Black became a personal trainer
in 1983 and supported himself on that. He was also forced to find
jobs through temporary agencies at times, doing unrelated office
work.
But soon a fad that swept the 80s transformed yoga from an
unusual meditative practice to a mainstream trend.
"That’s when my life changed. I became able to do what I liked
to do to survive," Black said. "My career has followed society’s
evolution."
Inspired after a trip to India, Black began to branch out and
soon he founded Nature Power, an herbal drink company.
"The drinks are custom herbal formulas geared for the
individual," he explained. Black said that he gets his ingredients
from "all over the world," including exotic locations like the
Amazon rainforest.
Two of his drinks, "The Man’s Elixir" and "The Woman’s Elixir"
are specialized for the different genders’ needs. Because of his
more recent interest in the herbal drinks, Black doesn’t see the
need to pursue more individual clients or more group classes.
"I enjoy having the variety of (teaching) both classes and
individuals," Black said. He usually works about six days each
week, although his schedule always varies.
Although Black is no longer constrained by the limits of a desk
job, Black does see disadvantages to running his own business.
"I have to be flexible given people’s personalities and
schedules." Black said that at times he is on-call with some
clients, especially those with busy agendas. A client who runs a
sound studio, for example, provides him with interesting hours.
"Another one of my clients," he said, "pays me to go for walks
with him. I’m his support system. I’m there as a positive feedback
sounding board."
This personal touch is essential for Black, who relies on the
happiness of his clients as advertising. "Word of mouth has kept me
going," he said.
"But I’m not money-oriented. (Somebody who is) a business major
would probably roll their eyes. But I make my payments. Everything
just falls into place."