Paul Meunier 

Hey, it's Paul here. We're thrilled to announce you now have three options for how you want to enjoy the podcast. First, you could watch the full unedited interview with the behind the scenes look at the making of the episode with or without closed captions. Second, you can read the full transcript of the edited interview at your own pace. And third, you can still listen in as usual. These new accessibility options are part of our DEI initiative and our commitment to provide flexible learning opportunities to you. Just check out the show notes for a link to see all three options. Now on to the show...

Dustin Anderson 

I suppose you could call me Smiley. I remember that the mailman would always call me Smiley. The mailman I was trying to think of his name and it's Walter. I remember Walter, great guy. Friends in high school would call me Smiley. And yeah, to this day, I mean, I will go back to my hometown. Hey, Smiley! You know, because I'm always smiling. And sometimes I've been in situations where I've smiled too much and my muscles hurt and my face. But no, it's something that I've thought of that nickname. It could be worse, right? So I'm very happy with that.

Paul Meunier 

Hello, I'm Paul Meunier, the executive director of the Youth Intervention Programs Association and I'm a youth worker at heart. How lucky am I? I have the privilege to meet youth workers from around the globe and learn their stories and share them with the entire world. I'm glad you're listening because together we'll learn how their life experiences shape their youth work. As you listen, I encourage you to consider how your experiences shape what you have to offer young people. Welcome to this edition of The Passionate Youth Worker. Hi, everybody. For this episode, we're joined by Dustin Anderson from Minnesota in the United States. Dustin is an Upward Bound counselor at the University of Minnesota Duluth, and has many years of experience working with the Boys and Girls Clubs. He's a teacher at heart, and it shines through in all that he does. Dustin, thanks for being a guest on the show.

Dustin Anderson 

Well, thanks, Paul. I am very privileged to be here. And I'm excited to talk with you.

Paul Meunier 

That's cool. I'm excited to speak with you as well. Dustin, you're upbeat, energetic and outgoing. And I'm just curious, where does that energy and that positivity come from?

Dustin Anderson 

Well, it really does come from my life in front of me as I live it right now. But a lot of it is from how I was raised and what I embraced in those moments with my parents, specifically my mom. My mom is always upbeat and I want to say that that's who I am. People see my mom in me. One time I did have curly hair, Paul, but I do not anymore.

Paul Meunier 

I had black hair at one time, too, Dustin.

Dustin Anderson 

Well right. So you understand. It's the experiences and what really has made me me and my character. I'm proud of that and how I can portray that.

Paul Meunier 

What was your upbringing like? Can you describe a little bit like your earlier years in life?

Dustin Anderson 

Yeah, I grew up in the UP of Michigan. I'm a UPer at heart, Paul. I'm a UPer at heart and we're very proud of when I say that. Maybe at the time when I was growing up, I didn't really realize what that meant. I grew up in a family with my mom and dad until I was six years old, my parents got divorced. So I don't remember a lot of my mom and dad together. I do remember a couple of fights here and there. But it wasn't till they got divorced, that I started to really get to know each parent and how they were to raise me right and my mom been very upbeat, very energized. Like I said earlier, my dad being you know, very loving, but very, this is how it goes, kind of by the book, right? This is how life is supposed to be. And so I was very privileged in that. And I really started to love the idea of going to different houses, right, and they lived a street apart so it wasn't a big deal. And I really at one point in my life, Paul, like going to all these different Christmases, because you know what that means that all these different presents and all these different opportunities to be with different people. Through middle school that was challenging sometimes because I would go to mom about something and then dad to something about something. And they had two different viewpoints. The critical time in the child's life is middle school where you're starting to really discover who you are and challenge the world a little bit. It worked itself out but my mom ended up moving away to Virginia, in early high school, and I had an opportunity to move out there. But I chose not to. And because I felt deep down, Paul, that I needed to stay back with my dad. I felt like this inner feeling that this would really hurt my dad if I moved away. And I remember talking about that with my dad. And, and I just don't know where that came from. I remember seeing my dad once about how he would have been really upset that the idea was presented to him. But I don't regret staying here. My mom was bummed out, but we you know, we kept in touch. But at times, it was a little bit challenging, not having my mom locally. And that was something that affected me. Obviously, I have a great relationship, I always have had a great relationship, and learned a lot from my parents, and was given opportunities. But I always say, Paul, if I didn't stay back, who knows? If I would have been in the position I am now or if I would have been able to explore kind of my passions and my skills, if I would have moved out to Virginia. So I'm very happy with the opportunity that I stayed back to be a UPer and have those opportunities.

Paul Meunier 

That's interesting, because the way you describe your mom and how you have similar personalities, it seemed like as a person your age at that point in time, it would have been instinctive to go with your mom. But for some reason you didn't. Are you more like your dad now that you get older? Or are you still more like your mom? Or did that experience change things a little bit? Because then obviously, with your mom in Virginia, you spent a lot more time with your dad.

Dustin Anderson 

Yeah, that's a good question, Paul. I think a lot of it was my mom was so open and positive, where she felt like, Hey, listen, I would love for you to be out with me and move with me. But at the same time, I'm very optimistic about your future, I want to give you the opportunity to choose and for those conversations, and so she wasn't hard driven to saying you're staying with me. It really gave me an opportunity to learn more from my dad and think find that balance overall in the end game, essentially until I was an adult. So to answer your question, Paul, I, I am a mix of both and a lot of what I do and how I teach and counsel and advise. I'm very positive, very energized, right. But sometimes there are times when I need to play by the book. I don't want to say lay that hammer down, right. Maslow once said, you know, don't use a hammer, because everything looks like a nail. I don't want to do that. But at the same time, I need to manage behavior. And I noticed more of my dad, with my own kids, now that I'm getting older. But I hope to keep that balance throughout my life because I think that's really important. And I've been privileged in that situation to maintain that balance throughout my life.

Paul Meunier 

Yeah you certainly have kept a positive attitude. Everything I think about Dustin reminds me of positivity. And even when you sent your digital picture to us to post with your podcast episode, it had just you with a huge smile. And if the listeners want to look at it right now they can see it. And I responded to you and I said Dustin, this is you. This is exactly you. And you told me that people call you Smiley. Is that something just when you were younger people call you Smiley, or do they still refer to you and think of you that way?

Dustin Anderson 

No, it was from when I was older or younger into my older years. My cousins would call me Smiley. I remember the mailman would always call me Smiley. The mailman. I was trying to think of his name, and it's Walter. I remember Walter, great guy. Friends in high school would call me Smiley. And yeah, to this day, I mean, I will go back to my hometown, Hey Smiley, you know, because I'm always smiling. And sometimes I've been in situations where I've smiled too much and my muscles hurt and my face. But no, it's something that I'm proud of that nickname. It could be worse right? So I'm very happy with that.

Paul Meunier 

A lot of people get into this field for different reasons. Some people always knew they wanted to be a teacher and other people just kind of accidentally fell into working with young people. What was that like for you, Dustin? Did you know at an early age somehow you were gonna work with young people?

Dustin Anderson 

I remember, I was in second or third grade. But no, my second grade teacher was my favorite teacher Mrs. Matterson. She was wonderful. I really enjoyed elementary school, right, making new friends, experiencing new things. I remember in my neighborhood playing school, right, on our front porch and teaching the neighborhood kids and I always thought there was some power in that. I want to teach. I got a lot of power because you're telling people things, you're experiencing things with them. I have cousins that were always interested in teaching and they became teachers. I looked up to them because I was the youngest of all the cousins. Aunts, uncles worked as principals and different administrators throughout Michigan. Minnesota, and Wisconsin. So it was almost I had this in my blood. But at one time, I wasn't really sure if I wanted to be the in classroom teacher, if I wanted to be some sort of youth counselor. I wasn't sure yet. Through practicum work in my first couple years of college, I really was enjoying being at the level of young kids, right? When they're oohing and aahing over these science experiments, that was just exciting. It's those aha moments, right. But I had my own aha moment that I was just thinking to myself, I want to work in education, I want to be a teacher, but to what capacity, right, and I have been blessed being able to kind of play that out in various ways in various careers, I guess you could say. In various callings I would say. Passion and my road has been about teaching, but I've had various callings throughout that time.

Paul Meunier 

Yeah, when people go into teaching, there's a million ways you could teach. You could teach at a university level, you could teach at a corporate level and be trainers within systems and Google I'm sure has all kinds of trainers. There's people who train in all kinds of ways and teach in all kinds of ways. What was it about young people? Why did you choose young people over I don't know, say, the college academia life?

Dustin Anderson 

In the first part of that journey, or the discovery of my journey, it was almost this feeling inside, that I could make this impact, right. And the people that have made an impact on me were teachers. I mean, I still keep in touch with them. I said before, it's making these aha moments, right? When things start clicking. When I learn something new, I get this excitement. And that's what led it for me, for young people. There's this way of molding the minds and, and that impact that you can make on somebody, and it can help them steer in one direction or the other. And there are people in my own life that I felt that I was passionate about. I mean, I had a teacher that was passionate about the Minnesota Vikings. That's why I'm still a Minnesota Vikings because of that teacher. So I always think back about that. It was just those small moments where they have these open mindsets. And that's what really wanted me to go and work with young people at first. Yes.

Dustin Anderson 

I can see that. And I can see you can bring all that energy, that positivity to work with your young people, and they must just be drawn to you. Is that true? Do young people just tend to gravitate to you, look at that smiley guy, I wanna go by him, he looks safe?

Dustin Anderson 

Well, right. And that's what it comes down to. It's this way of showing how I am safe. And I feel that's important in any situation whether it be walking into a room  and people are like, Who's this guy with a beard and can we trust him? I think a lot of it is this energy, right. And I believe in giving off energy, whether it be positive or negative. I feel like my positive energy is a tool, really, it is a way of blessing me in my opportunities that I've had. And I can walk into a room I can smile, right? There's this way of gauging them. And that in itself can start building a trusting relationship. I believe in relationships are key to opening the doors of learning and knowledge and experiencing more beyond that. So yeah, I think that's a big part of who I am. One person once called me the Pied Piper.

Paul Meunier 

There you go!

Dustin Anderson 

I'm very, very blessed. As I talk right now, Paul, this opens up my ways of how thankful and blessed I am being able to have the experiences because the people that I've worked with and taught in the past 10-15 years ago, and where they're at right now and how they can call on me and communicate with me. They're adults, they're in college now. And they have still talk about these moments of working with them. And how I was able to build that trust, build that relationship with them, and they've impacted me. And that's why I continue to go at it the best I can every single day.

Paul Meunier 

That's great. And I'm sure you do a wonderful job. There's your coach coming out in your right. Right, exactly. I could see that work it out really good. And bringing that energy into your work and building those relationships takes a lot of internal control too. You have to have an understanding of who you are, what your triggers are, all those kinds of things. And when we were getting to know each other a little bit in preparation for our podcast, you talked about being your own CEO. Can you talk a little bit, Dustin, what you mean by that? I've never heard anybody describe themselves as being their own CEO.

Dustin Anderson 

I'm in charge of who I am and what I portray to people, my skills and how I use my skills and how much I want to learn and relearn. That's important. At the end of the day, I'm the one that can either say to myself, Hey, you didn't do a good job today, I'm going to have to let you go. And we're going to get somebody new tomorrow, maybe that's a different CEO. Whether I use the skills and use my values in certain situations or not. I have that power to be able to say, I want to learn more or I don't want to learn more. That's what I mean by Be your own CEO. Sometimes you might not need to step back and say, Hey, I need to suspend you for the day. Let's try this again tomorrow. And I've been in those situations before, where I don't like the way I said that or the way I did something. I need to go to my own board and let's have a discussion. I know it might sound silly, but I really think that's important to be able to self-reflect, and have those conversations. I do a lot of self-talk. And I talk to myself a lot, Paul, and I try not to do it in front of other people. But I think it's important to be able to talk myself through those things.

Paul Meunier 

That self-reflection is such an important part of being an effective youth worker, you have to be aware of what you're doing, and you're clearly very good at it. For one, I'm really glad that you are talking about it and using the metaphor of being a CEO as a way to think about it.  That's a wonderful example. Dustin, we have to take a short break but when we come back, I want to ask you some more questions about you. And then talk a little bit about what you've learned in your work with young people. So we'll be right back.

Jade Schleif 

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Paul Meunier 

Dustin, right before the break I was talking about learning a little bit more about you. One of the things that I know about you and it's pretty easy to tell for the listeners and people watching on the video is that you're clearly an extrovert. And I'm just wondering, that's a wonderful tool to have in a human services industry but does it ever work against you, Dustin, just to be so extroverted?

Dustin Anderson 

Yes, I feel as an extrovert you're on constantly and I feel I have to be presented in this way, right and show this image. People expect me to be a certain way because that's where they're used to this energy, this positivity. There are days where I'm in a funk. And we all have those days and but when I'm in a funk, and it's so hard to be able to be me.  But same time, like I said about the CEO, I'm going to my company, I'm working, I'm presenting myself. And it's tough because there are moments where I really need to be introverted in a way, I need to be able to step back, be over there by myself. And it is hard. I find those very challenging in those moments, Paul, because I'm so used to being out there and engaging and being at the forefront, I guess you could say. I work with those things. I try to work with those all the time. And I've had conversations with other people about that. In my own life, I've had conversations about those types of moments because even in my family, I feel like our blended families and all over the place, and at events there have been times where just I can't be that person. And I don't want to fake through it. I don't want to be that kind of person. But I've learned to start maybe communicating how I'm feeling and understand like, I am not on today. I'm just letting you know I'm working through it. I'll tell you, I'll communicate with you. But yeah, it's tough at times.

Paul Meunier 

Well, you're a teacher at heart. You're always teaching. You're teaching me stuff right now. But I'm wondering, the beautiful thing about working with young people is that they teach you a lot about yourself. And what have young people taught you, about Dustin?

Dustin Anderson 

Well, that's a great question. I love it because there are so many things I can remember one particular moment and most of my life lessons seem like in my professional career. I've been blessed with at the Boys and Girls Club and throughout my career I've worked with young people. And it was until I started working at the Boys and Girls Club where I started to work with teens and dealing with different situations. Some of the situations included a moment where it involved somebody checking me at the door and about my values, and not seeing the world through the eyes of a teenager nowadays. And I heard my dad in my head at a time where I was trying to manage this behavior. And a teen kind of scolded me and told me about making sure that I'm trying to see it from their perspective more. And at that point, I really wasn't used to working with teens. And it bothered me. And I said, you're right, I need to do that, I need to do a better job. I don't know a lot about you, I don't know a lot about your trends of today and the music, and I will do a better job of advocating for you. And I did and I read more about it, I did more research, working with other professionals. That was important for me. And so they taught me to continue to be better at learning more about them. And I really appreciated that because that's something that helps me now today.

Paul Meunier 

Surprising, the gift that keeps on giving. Young people won't let you sit in your comfort zone, they're going to challenge you to write and think about that stuff. Do you have a mentor, Dustin, somebody that you turn to if you need advice or consultation?

Dustin Anderson 

I do. And I think that some of the best ways you can go along in your own journey, whether it be professional, personal, both of them. Brett is a mentor of mine. He was a former principal, and he was my boss, my leader. But we developed into a good friendship. I looked up to him, I still do. He had many great ideas. And he engaged in conversation with everybody. He taught me a lot of lessons about different things. And when I was at the Boys and Girls Club as a director, I would I would go to him and ask him questions and say, What would you do in these situations? But he would throwit  back at me and say, no, what would you do? And then kind of work me through it. And it was great, because there are still times where I'll just have a question about something in life. And I'll give him a call or send him a text message. And we'll have a good conversation. I do look up to Brett, very often. I don't know if he really knows that he's my mentor. I mean, of course he probably does. But I've never said hey, mentor,

Paul Meunier 

Right? Official title.

Dustin Anderson 

Official title, no. And so that really is a big part of who I am, right? I have these different components of what makes up Dustin. He definitely is a big part of that.

Paul Meunier 

Well, I encourage you to share this podcast with him. He'll probably love to hear the words you just said about him.

Dustin Anderson 

I will for sure.

Paul Meunier 

Dustin, you can measure success in working with young people in a variety of ways. But how does Dustin Anderson measure his success with young people? What, what do you look at that would say yeah, I did a good job with that young person?

Dustin Anderson 

You know, I had a student back when they were in second grade. I used to direct a drama program in elementary school and then do the plays for the community. I wrote the plays. I mean, nothing like I was gonna bring to Broadway or anything. But it was a lot of fun. I was really proud of it. I remember Brooke, second grade through fifth grade, she was one of my top actors. She always made me laugh. And I was very proud of her work, right. And I know she had a lot of potential and I was like you gotta go, keep going, keep going. Through middle school, I encouraged her and got her involved with different things. Through high school, got her involved with different things, kept in touch with her. She's a senior in high school right now and the way that our relationship is, and the way what she's doing in her future work she's going into college for fine arts theater. She's very passionate about it. And she'll say, Hey, Mr. Anderson, you're the one who got me into this type of interest in this passion. That's why, that's the impact right there. She's one of my top ones. Even though I do have many top ones. It's hard to pick just one. That right there tells me the impact. I don't have to check off a box or anything. In my heart it says yep, that's a success. You know you're in the right field when people reach back at you and say, Hey, this is what I'm doing in life. And I want to continue to keep you updated because of the impacts. That's exactly why.

Paul Meunier 

Beautifully stated. Well done. You're so positive, you're so full of energy. I just have to turn the coin upside down, Dustin, a little bit. What things make you frustrated or angry or down?

Dustin Anderson 

Yeah, that's a good one. There are obviously a lot of different things now with being a father and you know different things when my kids get sick, that kind of throws me off. And I think a lot of the disrespect that young people have that I've seen with authority figures, that really bums me out. Obviously, we're not living in, in a perfect world or anything but those kinds of things get me frustrated, saying, Please, and thank you, and I know it might sound piddly, not please and thank you but I was raised on using manners. And those are little things that kind of get me going. And I want to say I'm not preaching or lecturing. I don't do that as a part of my, my thing in my teaching. But I feel like there are things like that in our world that show me as old school, okay, because I am. I mean, I was raised in the 90s and early 2000s. That is a big part of how I was raised. And its those kind of things kind of irk me a little bit, you know kind of makes me twitch a little bit too, as well. But you know, but at the same time, that gives me a little bit more power in how I want to teach the ones I am teaching at the point. So there's not a lot that gets me going. The Vikings-Packer rivalry, that gets me going. I'm a competitor. I'm a competitor. I don't, I don't like losing but I try to use losing as a way of learning. I've gotten better throughout my years, because I don't want to stress myself out too much, because I know that affects my health. But those are the kind of things that really do affect me.

Paul Meunier 

Dustin, I know faith is a big part of your life. How does that all transpire into your daily routines?

Dustin Anderson 

I'm a man of faith, and that has grown throughout my years. Faith really has a big part in what I see every single day and how I view people. And faith really isn't something that's written concrete and structure. It's just this way of feeling in your heart, that I'm doing things for the best. And I know that I'm on the right path. I was put on this path for a reason. It all started back in 2018, where my faith was at a good point. But my wife and I experienced a miscarriage. And it was a very tough point in my life. It wasn't like I was questioning my faith. It got me to connect even more with my church family, my faith, and to use prayer and to say, what is my place, asking questions? And it wasn't until one of our pastors gave a Bible verse that really hit me in the heart. I swear my faith in that moment, grew even stronger into the point where, hey, nothing was going to affect it anymore. It was going to be made of a shield and metal. And that is a big part of what I do every single day. I'm very blessed and it adds to that energy that I bring to the table. I think people start to get to know me, they really understand my faith. But it's not something I put out there, you know, what a big label and such. But I'm definitely proud of that.

Paul Meunier 

Well, thank you for sharing that and so much more with us today, Dustin. It is just wonderful to get to know you better. You and I have known each other for a number of years. We've never really had a good chance to talk like we have today. I for one am just so grateful for the work you've done and the impact you have on young people. I've seen young people and you together and I see the impact you have on them. They just look up to you. I could physically see their trust in you. And it's just wonderful. So thank you for pouring so much effort and energy and self-reflection into making yourself the best youth worker you can be.

Dustin Anderson 

I appreciate that, Paul, and I very much am privileged to be in this position. I think that's a wonderful way to put it.

Paul Meunier 

Dustin, before we go, what words of wisdom or inspiration would you like to leave with our listeners?

Dustin Anderson 

I think in any situation and as a youth worker, as a teacher, educator, take a chance to step back and look at those that you are serving, that you are working with, that you are embracing and impacting. But take a look at how they're impacting you and how it's affecting you in your everyday work. That's what I would say, Paul.

Paul Meunier 

If you would like to share your passion for youth work, we'd love to spotlight you as a guest. If you have feedback about the show, please let us know. Just visit training.yipa.org That's training.yipa.org and click on the podcast tab. This podcast is made possible in part due to a generous contribution from M Health Fairview. I'm your host, Paul Meunier. Thanks for listening to The Passionate Youth Worker.