Episode 404 – Being Unstoppable Through Change, Creativity, and Lifelong Learning with Mary Dunn and Natalie Belin
I really enjoyed this conversation with Natalie and her mother, Mary, because it reminded me how an unstoppable mindset is often built quietly, over time, through creativity, learning, and persistence. Together, they share what it has been like to navigate life across generations while facing learning disabilities, health challenges, workplace adversity, and the constant need to adapt. We talk about Natalie’s journey with attention deficit disorder and anxiety, how creative outlets like baking, art, music, and storytelling helped her find focus and confidence, and why returning to school later in life became an act of self-trust rather than fear.
Mary’s story adds another powerful layer. She reflects on growing up with low self-esteem, navigating male-dominated workplaces, and dealing with sexual harassment long before there were systems in place to address it. As a mother, artist, and professional, she shares what it means to keep moving forward while supporting her daughter’s growth. Throughout our conversation, we explore accessibility, creative entrepreneurship, lifelong learning, and why accommodations and understanding still matter. I believe you will find this episode both honest and encouraging, especially if your own path has been anything but linear.
Highlights:
00:00 – Hear how creativity and resilience shaped an unstoppable mindset across two generations.08:35 – Learn how attention deficit disorder and anxiety changed the way focus, learning, and confidence developed.14:33 – Discover why stepping away from a demanding career can open the door to new growth.21:23 – Understand how workplace sexual harassment leaves lasting effects long after it happens.35:16 – See why protecting and celebrating local artists became a personal mission.59:09 – Learn why accessibility, accommodations, and empathy still matter in everyday life.
About the Guest:
Mary Dunn:
Mary was born and raised in Pittsburgh, PA. She was the only child of Norman and Lucille Rump. At a young age, she liked to draw and as she grew older she enjoyed painting. Her first painting was in oil and Mary was eleven years old. However, because of the expense of art supplies, it was difficult to pursue a continuous endeavor in that particular form of art.
While in high school, nothing really exciting happened as Mary was on the shy side. She didn’t belong to any groups and she really just wanted to graduate. She graduated in the upper third of her class. The most momentous part of the graduation was that Jeff Goldblum was also a graduate of her class.
After graduation, Mary continued her education at The Pittsburgh Beauty Academy. There she studied cosmetology and acquired a teacher license. Although she never taught, she did work at a few different shops and also managed a shop. These experiences helped Mary to become less shy.
At that time, she met her first husband and had two children. The marriage lasted for eleven years, and Mary was left with two small children. Mary realized that her background in cosmetology would not be sufficient to raise two small children. She decided to go to college.
With the support of her parents, she was accepted to attend Carlow College which is now Carlow University. There she studied business and minored in theology. She almost minored in art, but she needed one more credit to have that as a minor. It was important for her to graduate in order to take care of her children.
While in college she belonged to several organizations. One organization was an honor society called Delta Epsilon Sigma. There she became an assistant chair of the organization. The second organization was OASIS. The organization was for non-tradition students. She was vice-president during her senior year at Carlow. She graduated in 1991 cum laude.
After Carlow, she found her first employment opportunity working the Equitable Gas Company as a “Technical Fieldman”. In this position, Mary would draft pipeline installations, work up costs for those installations, and fill in for supervisors when they went on vacations. The job was difficult as it had usually been filled by men prior to her. She was thrust into a job that she learned on her own and was subject to sexual harassment. At that time, sexual harassment was not spoken about. Mary didn’t even realize that her peers were doing these things to her. When she supervised union personnel, they were nice and valued her expertise. However, when she returned to the office, more harassment continued.
During that period, Mary decided to get a Master’s Degree and enrolled in Carnegie Mellon’s Heinz school of Public Management. Her classes were very valuable as she learned about leadership, information systems, and marketing communications. She graduated in 1996 with distinction.
Even though after she graduated from CMU, she continued to be sexual harassed. She thought it might be a good idea to document the issues that made her position difficult. She began to take notes on these incidents. When she went to Human Resources, Mary was told that she should confront these people and tell them how she was feeling. Mary couldn’t do that because she felt it would make matters worse. She applied for another position within the company. In 1997, Mary became Program Manager of Energy Technology. While there, Mary developed and implemented a marketing plan to promote the use of alternative fuels.
As a Program Manager, Mary became a member of Pittsburgh Region Clean Cities which focused on alternative fueled vehicles. During this time, she became a board member and focused on grants and wrote the Pittsburgh Region Clean Cities Newsletter.
In 1999, her position was eliminated at Equitable. In some ways, Mary was relieved about the elimination, but in other ways, it was the first time this ever happened to her. She was now remarried and was concerned about her children. It was very scary.
Thankfully, Mary was not unemployed for long. She was hired at Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission as a Transportation Planner. In this position she implemented a newly designed client tracking system of their products and services that helped to increase revenue.
Additionally, she worked on a communication plan to implement branding and crisis communications.
Eventually, Mary became a Marketing/Communication Specialist for Southwestern Pennsylvania Communications. She was responsible for multi-media communications connected with branding. Mary designed logos for special projects, arranged special affairs, open houses and conferences. She remained a part of Pittsburgh Region Clean Cities. Mary additionally prepared presentations for executive management to deliver regarding the Joseph A. James Memorial Excellence in Local Government Achievement Award that recognizes a municipal government elected or appointed official in any local government, agency, or Council of Government for a lifetime of exemplary governance or management. Unfortunately, a new Executive was hired to replace the past Executive who had passed away. Because of this, our whole department was eliminated.
After Southwestern, Mary was hired as the Manager of Administration and Human Resources for THE PROGRAM for Female Offenders. While at THE PROGRAM, Mary was responsible for maintaining the policies and daily operations in THE PROGRAM. She implemented a cost effective foodservice program, introduced staff ID cards and implemented the Windows NT network server and computer security using a Digital Subscriber Line which is a type of high-speed internet connection that uses existing copper telephone lines to provide internet access to three PROGRAM facilities.
Additionally, Mary implemented a human resource database for directors and managers that targeted specific employment information. Mary maintained safety equipment and introduced a safe evacuation plan for her building..
Unfortunately, because THE PROGRAM was grant based and when it was time to acquire grant money much of the previous grants were not renewed and Mary lost her job. Mary eventually was hired by Roach and Associates, Inc. as a Project Manager. In this position, she negotiated oil and gas leases for exploration and productions of future gas wells in Clearfield County Pennsylvania.
During this time, Mary was responsible for permitting activities with the state, county and federal agencies as well as prepared training seminars to meet pipeline safety regulations as per U.S. Department of Transportation, CFR49, Parts 192-193. Mary authored documentation regarding pipeline regulations for various housing authorities and gas production companies within Pennsylvania, West Virginia and New York.
Besides working at Roach, Mary became part of the Transition Team for Peduto for Mayor of Pittsburgh. That was such a memorable experience as my team focused on some of the issues facing the newly elected Mayor. It was nice to be a part of change.
After working ten years at Roach and Associates, Inc., Mary decided it was time to retire in 2015.
While working at Roach, Mary began dabbling in art again. It had been quite a while since college and painting. But she began to work in pastels and eventually more in the line of acrylic painting. She became president of the Pittsburgh Pastel Artist League. She no longer is president of that group. Mary now belongs to the Pittsburgh Society of Artists where she was juried into the group. She has had her work display at The Galaxie in Chicago, Pittsburgh Technical Institute, Monroeville Library, Gallery Sim, Boxheart Gallery, Southern Allegheny Museum of Art, Saville Gallery in Maryland and various other galleries around Pittsburgh. Her Study in Pastels won an Award of Excellence from Southern Allegheny Museum of Art. Mary also came in second place in the Jerry’s Artarama Faber Castel Contest.
As time went on, Mary decided to focus more on her art work and began teaching students how to paint with Acrylic. She also began a YouTube channel, Pittsburgh Artist Studio, where she gave free art lessons in acrylic to future artists around the country. Unfortunately, Mary developed chronic back issues, and she had to give up her teaching. She has had two back operations to alleviate the pain, but the second operation really didn’t help. It has caused more painful issues. Therefore, it is difficult for her to paint a long period of time.
Currently, Mary devotes her time to illustrating her oldest daughter’s books for children. The books are a series about a little boy’s adventures in his life. Her books can be found on Amazon under her name “Nicole Leckenby”.
Additionally, she has illustrated a book for her younger daughter, Natalie Sebula, entitled “The Many Colors of Natalie”.
In conclusion, now that Mary is retired, she has had more time to work on different art projects a little at a time. She lives with her husband Steve and two dogs Grumpy and Sally. She belongs to a group of wonderful women who review Bible Psalms each week. Since my minor in theology, I do enjoy reading various books on different religious subjects. I am thankful for each day that I have and continue to work on the gifts God has given me.
Natalie Belin:
I am focusing on the arts. I am a creator with an ambitious attitude. I have no problem thinking BIG and dreaming BIG. While everyone else stays inside the lines, I boldly color outside the lines.
Natalie resides near Pittsburgh, PA. She is 40 years old and loves adventures. Within these 40 years Natalie has experienced highs and lows. However, during the low points she was like water: adaptable, resilient, and always finding a way through.
At toddler age, it was brought to the attention that she had high pressure in her eyes. However, nothing was really done about it because of her age. Typically, high pressures occur in older adults. After many years, one eye doctor took it seriously. He prescribed eye drops and finally recommended a laser technique to open the tear ducts. This alleviated the high pressure and since no eye drops have been needed.
In 5 grade, she was diagnosed with attention deficit disorder. Her mother, Mary Dunn advocated for her until someone listened, and her teachers realized it was a real problem. Steps were taken to help Natalie focus more. As she grew older, it was important to do activities that helped her focus such as cheerleading and possible careers in culinary.
Because of the importance of focusing, Natalie decided that culinary arts would be beneficial. Natalie graduated in October of 2004 from the Pennsylvania Culinary Institute with an associate’s degree in Specialized Technology Le Cordon Bleu Program in Patisserie & Baking. While there, she was elected class president.
The Pennsylvania Culinary Institute offered externships to various prestigious areas to hone the craft. Natalie’s externship was at the Greenbrier Resort in White Sulpher Springs where she was ultimately hired. However, Natalie decided to return to Pittsburgh after a car accident. Natalie continued to work as a pastry chef for about five years.
After, she decided to further her education, and Natalie graduated in December of 2023 from the University of Pittsburgh with a Bachelor of Arts in Humanities. Some of her academic achievements are National Society of Collegiate Scholars, National Society of Leadership and Success, Alpha Sigma lambda-Alpha Chi Chapter at the University of Pittsburgh, Delta Alpha PI Honor Society.
During her academic life, Natalie became an Emmy nominated producer for Pitt to the Point (a class focusing on the news as well as behind the scenes of a news/magazine program that covers the City of Pittsburgh, the University of Pittsburgh regional campuses as well as national and international events.)
Currently, Natalie is in a Graduate Certification Program which is also at the University of Pittsburgh. The Certification is in Sports, Entertainment, and Arts Law (SEAL). She hopes to use this program as a steppingstone to complete her master’s degree in Sports, Entertainment, and Arts Law.
In addition to the SEAL certification, one could say that Natalie is a woman of many colors. She works full-time as an Administrator for the Rehabilitation Science Program in the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh. This is where she provides administrative support for general program management, advising and faculty.
Another aspect of Natalie’s many colors is writing. Several years ago, she wrote a poetry book called The Many Colors of Natalie. This is a book for 18+. There are several illustrations in the book that complement the poems. Mary Dunn, Natalie’s mother, created the illustrations.
In August of 2020, Natalie launched The Many Colors of Natalie Blog. She started this blog to give a new perspective to Pittsburgh other than being known for sports. This allows individuals the ability to educate themselves on different variations of Pittsburgh’s art or artists as well as bringing awareness to the art scene. Natalie’s motto is Love Art & Support Your Local Artist!
Additionally, Natalie has been a model/actor since 2012. Most of her work consists of being an extra in various music videos and movies.
Furthermore, she is an ambassador for Ambassador Sunglasses and Just Strong Clothing. Just Strong Clothing’s Mission “We are a clothing brand on a mission to empower those who are not just strong for a girl, they are just strong. Whether you are an experienced lifter, a new starter or have simply overcome great adversaries in your life, the JustStrong community are here to empower and motivate you to never give up.”
“Ambassador was formed to extract, refine, and exhibit the marriage between what was and what will be in fashion culture. When wearing Ambassador, you break the mold of the mundane to embrace your unmatched individualism.”
Besides being an ambassador, Natalie became a Creative Percussion Artist in 2020. “Creative Percussion is a family-owned business, established in 2018, and run by husband-and-wife team, Kevin and Cheri Feeney.” Her picture is on the site as a CP percussion artist.
Not only is Natalie a musician, but she dabbles in various mediums in art. Her mixed media piece Peace, Love, and Woodstock is currently in the Woodstock Museum located in Saugerties, New York. “The purpose for the Woodstock Museum is: To gather, display, disseminate and develop the concept and reality of Woodstock, encompassing the culture and history of a living colony of the arts, with special emphasis placed on the exhibition of self-sustaining ecological technologies. To encourage and increase public awareness of Woodstock by providing information to the general public through cultural events, displays of artifacts, outreach programs, communication media events and personal experiences, and to contribute, as an international attraction, to the cultural life and prosperity of our region; and to engage in all lawful activities in pursuit of the foregoing purposes.”
Lastly, Natalie and her mother Mary Dunn started a side hustle several years ago. Mother and Daughter Collaboration (vending show name) is a great opportunity for Natalie to showcase her entrepreneurial skills in addition to her art. Their Etsy name is Maker’s Collab Studio.
In conclusion, Nat is excited for the future, and to see what is in store. She considers herself to be dynamic and resilient. Even those who know Natalie would say the same. Regardless of what she has been through, she keeps going. She realizes that the tough times eventually do end. In self-reflection, the “tough time” may have been a life lesson, or a possible steppingstone to what’s next in her life. Only time will tell. Natalie will always be a supporter of the arts, and she will always create in some way. As Natalie ages, she sees the importance of advocating for the disabled. At one point in her life, she was embarrassed about sharing her learning disability because she felt that we live in a society where having a disability isn’t necessarily welcomed and is frowned upon. Do not fear individuals who need special accommodations. Instead, educate yourself. Try being that individual who needs certain accommodations, and the accommodations are not provided or easily accessible. Progress has been made in educating the ignorant. However, there is more work that needs to be done.
Ways to connect with Natalie & Mary**:**
Blog website: Home – The Many Colors of Natalie
Personal website: Home | natalie-sebula-belin
Facebook: (1) Facebook
Instagram: Natalie Sebula (@themanycolorsofnatalie) • Instagram photos and videos
Etsy: MakersCollabStudio – Etsy
About the Host:
Michael Hingson is a New York Times best-selling author, international lecturer, and Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe. Michael, blind since birth, survived the 9/11 attacks with the help of his guide dog Roselle. This story is the subject of his best-selling book, Thunder Dog.
Michael gives over 100 presentations around the world each year speaking to influential groups such as Exxon Mobile, AT&T, Federal Express, Scripps College, Rutgers University, Children’s Hospital, and the American Red Cross just to name a few. He is Ambassador for the National Braille Literacy Campaign for the National Federation of the Blind and also serves as Ambassador for the American Humane Association’s 2012 Hero Dog Awards.
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Transcription Notes:
Michael Hingson 00:00
Access Cast and accessiBe Initiative presents Unstoppable Mindset. The podcast where inclusion, diversity and the unexpected meet. Hi, I’m Michael Hingson, Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe and the author of the number one New York Times bestselling book, Thunder dog, the story of a blind man, his guide dog and the triumph of trust. Thanks for joining me on my podcast as we explore our own blinding fears of inclusion unacceptance and our resistance to change. We will discover the idea that no matter the situation, or the people we encounter, our own fears, and prejudices often are our strongest barriers to moving forward. The unstoppable mindset podcast is sponsored by accessiBe, that’s a c c e s s i capital B e. Visit www.accessibe.com to learn how you can make your website accessible for persons with disabilities. And to help make the internet fully inclusive by the year 2025. Glad you dropped by we’re happy to meet you and to have you here with us.
Michael Hingson 01:21
Hi everyone, and welcome to another edition of unstoppable mindset. We’re doing something that we’ve done a few times before, and we get to do it again today. We have two people as guests on unstoppable mindset this time, mother and daughter, and that’ll be kind of fun they have, between them, lots of experiences in art, but in all sorts of other kinds of things as well. They live in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area, and I’m not going to say a whole lot more, because I want them to tell their stories. So I want you to meet Natalie bellen and her mother, Mary Dunn. So Natalie and Mary, both of you, welcome to unstoppable mindset. We’re glad you’re here.
Natalie Belin & Mary Dunn 02:03
Well, thank you for
Natalie Belin & Mary Dunn 02:03
having us. Yes, we’re happy to be here. Thank you.
Michael Hingson 02:06
Well, let’s see. We’ll start with mom. Why don’t you tell us something about the early Mary growing up, and you know what? What life was like growing up?
Natalie Belin & Mary Dunn 02:18
Well, growing up, I was born in Pittsburgh. I was actually born on in the south side of Pittsburgh, and it was called St Joseph Hospital, and now it’s an apartment building, but we lived here. I’ve lived here all my life. I lived in Hazelwood until I was about the age of three. Then we moved to Whitaker, Pennsylvania, and now I’m in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania. So it’s like we hopped around a bit. Growing up in my family was a little bit difficult. I had been bullied quite a bit by my cousins, so it kind of like left you know how it does with bullying. You know, it’s not like today. Of course, I didn’t want to go out and do something terrible to myself. It’s just that it left my self esteem very low, and I just kind of stayed and was by myself most of the time. So until I grew up, I graduated from high school, I went to West Midland, North High School, I graduated in the same class as Jeff Goldblum. Although I didn’t know him, I knew that he was very talented. I thought he was more talented on a piano than he was with acting, but he is still he’s still very good with the piano, with his jazz music, and that’s basically it. I’ve been in West Mifflin now for she’s been quite a bit
Natalie Belin & Mary Dunn 03:49
since I was in seventh grade, and now I’m 40 years old, so we’ve been here a long time.
Michael Hingson 03:54
Yeah, so it’s sort of like 3027 years or so, or 28 years? Yes, well, Natalie, tell us about you when it was like growing up in and all of that. Sure.
Natalie Belin & Mary Dunn 04:08
No problem. So I grew up in Whitaker for the most part, my yearly eight years, like until about fifth grade, I guess about like fifth grade, and then we moved, well, we just moved to a different house and whatever. Yeah, that when we moved for the second time, it was more in a neighborhood with kids, so that was, like, a lot more fun. And we played like tag and all that. So that my early years, I remember that like playing tags, swimming, I love, like skiing on the water, jet skis, stuff like that. Definitely. I loved running around. And I loved dance as a kid too, that was a lot of fun.
Michael Hingson 05:00
Okay, and so you went to high school?
Natalie Belin & Mary Dunn 05:05
Oh, yeah, I went, Yes. I went to West Midland area high school, and I graduated in 2003 in 2004 I graduated from the Pennsylvania Culinary Institute as a pastry chef and part of the things that I had to do to graduate, I had to do, like, about a six month internship where I resided in white sulfur springs, West Virginia, and I got to do my externship at the Greenbrier, and that was pretty exciting, because it has quite the history. There. People love it there for Well, one of the things that sticks in my mind is Dorothy Draper, who decorated that resort. Her taste is very cool, because she went bold, like with flower print and stripes mixed together for wallpaper. There’s stories in history behind the sulfur water there. And then most people might know the Greenbrier for their golf courses, for the golf course actually, or in history about the sulfur water
Michael Hingson 06:26
now, you had high eye pressure for a while after you were born, right?
Natalie Belin & Mary Dunn 06:31
Oh, yes, the eye pressures. That’s quite the story, let me tell you so at a very young age, like different doctors and eye doctors that I went to. They knew that I had high pressures, but they didn’t seem like it was a big issue. But my mom had the inkling that I needed to go to a different doctor when I was like, I guess you Middle School,
Michael Hingson 06:58
yeah, yeah, you were about now, was there a lot of pain because of the pressure.
Natalie Belin & Mary Dunn 07:02
I didn’t even know was happening, so I wasn’t in discomfort or anything. So they said, don’t they kind of dismissed it. So I wasn’t worried about it,
Natalie Belin & Mary Dunn 07:14
Neither was I. But you know, like eventually we did go to a doctor and he said, Oh, my goodness, you have these high pressures. And it’s, it could be like glaucoma. We don’t ever see that in a young person, you know, they haven’t ever seen anything like that. He was just amazed by it. And go ahead, you can finish this.
Natalie Belin & Mary Dunn 07:36
Dr Al, I have so much respect for him, because he truly took care of my eyes for a very long time. I started seeing him in middle school, and I saw him up until, like my late 30s, and he I would see him quite frequently, because he would always monitor those pressures, because he knew the importance of that and how they could damage my eyes and I can lose my sight. So he always had me do like fields test eye pressure checks, because your pressures in your eyes can fluctuate throughout the day. So I would come in in like different times of the day to make sure they’re not super high and stuff like that. He would prescribe me on different eye pressure medications like eye drops, because the they like the eye drops would help my eyes to it to regulate the pressures to a certain point, and then my eyes would get used to them, it seemed like, so then we would have to go to a different prescription. I caused that doctor a lot of stress, I think, because he was always thinking about my case, because it was so rare. And he went to a conference, actually, and brought that up at a conference, and at that conference, they said for me to get the laser, laser procedure done to
Natalie Belin & Mary Dunn 09:10
open the tear ducts.
Natalie Belin & Mary Dunn 09:12
Yeah, yeah. And luckily, that solved it.
Michael Hingson 09:18
Wow, so you so the the tear ducts were, were small or not draining properly, correct?
Natalie Belin & Mary Dunn 09:26
Yeah, it was points where, like, if I wanted to cry, no tears would come
Michael Hingson 09:31
out, no tears would come out. Well, yeah, yeah. Then you also discovered, or somehow you you learned about being Attention Deficit Disorder.
Natalie Belin & Mary Dunn 09:45
Yeah, so, um, when I was from like one or like, from kindergarten to third grade, I went to a Catholic school, and I didn’t seem like there was anything. Being really wrong. But then when I went to a public school, I was really having a hard time grasping the material, and I would get really frustrated when I was at home trying to do the homework and I just wasn’t understanding. I believe the educators there said like I was also behind, which could have been part of the issue. But my mom would like try to help me with my homework, and it was like
Natalie Belin & Mary Dunn 10:28
it was hard. She would, she would get so frustrated and throw the papers and just, you know it, because it was very difficult for her, and we really couldn’t under I couldn’t understand why. You know this was happening, because my, my other daughter, I never had issues like that with so we had, I guess we were told to go.
Natalie Belin & Mary Dunn 10:53
I think that was Miss Lenz in fifth grade. Yeah, she had me get tested for a learning disability, and with all the testing that was done with that, they said that I had attention deficit disorder. So whenever that diagnosis was made, I was able to get like teacher teaching aids to help me through tests to help me understand the curriculum a little bit better. Tutors did the counselor
Natalie Belin & Mary Dunn 11:28
I well they I did take her to get tested outside of school, and that’s they actually told me some things that could help her with this. And then I went to the teachers, and the teachers, some of them, didn’t, like, actually take this into consideration. They, they didn’t really realize attention deficit disorder at that time. It was new. And so they, they kind of said, well, we don’t, we don’t believe in that or whatever. And I said, Well, can you just have her, like, sit up front, because she would pay attention more and she would focus better, because that’s the problem she couldn’t focus on. So it took a while, and then finally, the principal in the fifth grade, he had a meeting with the teachers us, and he actually was the one who brought that to their attention, that this is a problem, that attention disorder, you know, does occur, and some of it is hyper, just hyperactive disorder. So it luckily she didn’t have that part of it, but it was the focusing, and we just got her more involved in things that she could learn how to focus. They recommended cheerleading, they recommended culinary school, and I think that really helped her to learn more on focusing. But she still has anxieties and things like that. It’s still
Michael Hingson 13:03
it’s still there. So why culinary school?
Natalie Belin & Mary Dunn 13:07
So that is such a fun question. When my grandma used to watch me, she was very particular on what I was like watching. She didn’t want me to watch anything like super crazy or out there. So I would always watch cooking shows, and I thought he was so unique, the different recipes and everything that these chefs were making. And I love some of their personalities, like emerald, he was always so hyper and loud, so fun. And it was interesting to see the different types of foods that they were creating that, like certain countries make. You know, I love Spanish food. It’s so good.
Natalie Belin & Mary Dunn 13:55
She decided not to even get into that part. That was the thing. She wanted to be a pastry chef, yeah,
Michael Hingson 14:02
something to be said for chocolate chip cookies. But anyway, go ahead.
Natalie Belin & Mary Dunn 14:07
Yeah, she makes a good one, too. At
Natalie Belin & Mary Dunn 14:10
this point, I don’t even know why. What drew me to baking more than culinary I think the two different styles are cooking are very interesting, because like with cooking, you don’t have to be so exact with the measurements and everything with certain things like the spices and stuff. If you don’t like rosemary, you don’t have to put it in there. But with baking, it’s definitely more scientific. Have to be more accurate with the measurements of certain ingredients, like baking soda, because it’s lavender and like, altitude will totally screw up your baking Yes, so many reasons that elevation is so important. So yeah, so
Natalie Belin & Mary Dunn 14:59
mine’s to it. Or whatever, you know? Yeah,
Michael Hingson 15:01
so you went and did an externship, and then what did you do?
Natalie Belin & Mary Dunn 15:06
So with the externship, I was there for a little bit over six months, I was officially hired, and I graduated from culinary school, but, um, I got in a car accident. So that’s like, why left? So I was in baking professionally for about a total five years, and then I went back to school. Sorry, that’s grumpy. Can you hear him barking?
15:36
I’m sorry. I’ll go. No, no, it’s fine.
Michael Hingson 15:41
So why did you leave culinary?
Natalie Belin & Mary Dunn 15:43
Um, I was just ready for a change. Because I started working professionally when I was like 19, so by my mid 20s, I was just ready to go back. I mean, that is a very demanding field. You’re working several hours. Um, you’re working with all types of personalities, certain pressures, long days sometimes. And I was just ready to see what else was out there for me.
Michael Hingson 16:12
So you went back to school to study,
Natalie Belin & Mary Dunn 16:15
yes, so my when I graduated in 2023 with my undergraduate degree, it was in humanities, and it focused on three areas of art, music, studio, arts and theater. The main focus was theater, okay?
Michael Hingson 16:39
And so, what did you do with that?
Natalie Belin & Mary Dunn 16:42
So with that degree, I did several different things. I wrote a poetry book, which I provided a link so people can access if they would like to purchase it. I created a blog in 2020 called the many colors of Natalie, and I created a blog to help bring a different perspective to Pittsburgh, other than just it being a city for sports, because there’s a lot of talented artists out there, and plus, like during a pandemic, that caused a lot of strain on a lot of things, and I was really worried about certain venues that were iconic here closing and completely wiping out the whole art industry here, you know. So, um, with that too, I also, um, I was doing music at the time as a percussionist, and that’s when I got introduced to creative percussion products, and I was using that with the different performances that I was doing. And I ended up being one of their artists featured on their page, website or website, yeah. Okay, yeah, and I also volunteered at a local dance studio called Lisa de gorrios dance, and I got to work with the younger kids, and I did that for a couple years. So that was interesting to see what it was like to teach and put on performances. It’s a lot of you get to see the behind the scenes and time management and stuff like that. Also, I’m thinking here for a second, sorry. How about, oh, we, my mom and I created an Etsy shop. So we started a few years ago, called Mother Daughter collaboration, a vending that was like our vending show name, and we did that for
Natalie Belin & Mary Dunn 18:56
we’ve been doing that for a while. Yeah, we, we put different products up. I kind of tend to do my artwork, and she puts up some things also in art, we have, we have interesting things like CD, telephone, covers, cases, purses, you know. And we’re working on a new product now to to put on to the Etsy shop this year. We didn’t do many vending shows. I had surgery last last year on my back, and I had a hard time recovering because it was pretty expensive. So we’re hoping to get that going again this year, or towards the end of the year, when the Christmas shows start happening,
Natalie Belin & Mary Dunn 19:47
we did, um, create an Etsy shop called makers collab studio, and we were focusing more on that this year. Um, so we do have, like, a variety of different products. Um. Um, which I also provided the link to the Etsy shop. If anybody wants to check out our products and what we have, that’d be great if you stop checked out that.
Michael Hingson 20:11
Yeah, my late my late wife, was a quilter and tried to run an Etsy shop, but people didn’t want to pay any kind of real prices for handmade quilts, because they just thought that quilts should be, like, 50 or $75 and that just wasn’t realistic.
Natalie Belin & Mary Dunn 20:30
But, well, that’s, that’s the trouble. What we’re seeing also, yeah, we do, I do, like, we do t shirts and things like that too. But people it. I don’t think people realize what’s behind the whole process. No, or they don’t care. No, you know, I mean, there’s a lot involved as far as your equipment. When it was covid, I was, well, I’m retired, but I was working part time, and I was able to, you know, get what is it, you know, workers, whatever, yeah, you know, yes. And with that money, I actually bought like things to do, T shirts, like the heat press and different parts to like a cricket that we can do things with. And so, you know, like the things that you know, you still have to buy supplies, even with my artwork, it’s so expensive anymore, when I first started back in, you know, when my kids grew up and they were on their own, where I really focused on it, and I can’t believe the expense of it. You know, it’s just, it’s everything’s expensive these days. So, yeah, really watch what you’re doing and how you approach it too. You know, you can’t spend a lot of money on things. We don’t have, like, a whole backlog of products. I mean, we just do a few things and hope that the things that we make are sellers, you know,
Michael Hingson 22:05
yeah, well, and I hope it, it can is more successful for you going forward. That’s a useful thing. You You’ve done a lot Mary with with art over the years, but you’ve also had other, other kinds of jobs where you’ve worked for some pretty large companies, and you’ve been reading your bio, you faced some sexual harassment issues and things like that, haven’t you?
Natalie Belin & Mary Dunn 22:29
Yes, yes, that was difficult boy, and I didn’t realize that at the time I went to college late in life because I was getting divorced and I needed a job that I could take care of my family, my girls, and so I decided to go to college and my my mom and dad watched my kids while I went to school, which was nice. And the first job I had was with the gas company here, and I was called a technical Fieldman. And what I would do is, like, I would draw pipeline installations and the and sometimes I would fill in as a supervisor. When I filled in first as a supervisor, it was great. I mean, the guys were decent. We always came to a conclusion. I always trusted what they’re you know what they would say about pipeline? Because I knew nothing about pipeline. It was all new to me. But when I would go back to the office, it was, it was just like crazy things that would happen. I mean, I won’t go into detail, and I started writing these things down because I thought this just doesn’t seem right, that these people are saying these things to me or doing these things to me. I had a nice little book of all these incidents that happened, and I went to the HR department, and they wanted me to confront these people in my office, to tell them how I felt. Well, that, to me, would have made everything worse, because that’s just that, you know, kind of work environment. So luckily, I was, I was promoted into a job that lasted two years, and then my job was eliminated. So that was my first, my first thing with that was the only time I really had sexual harassment that was really bad. I went on to another which was the program for female Well, I worked for a university for a while, and then I went into the program for female offenders, which was really interesting work. I enjoyed that it was like people that were out on that needed to, that were like drug addicts and and they were looking for a new way. They had been in jail and this incarcerated, and they came into this. Program they had that was part of their incarceration or parole. They had to do this, this program, and that was so interesting. I mean, it was just heartfelt, because you just saw these people that were trying so hard to make a good life for themselves and not to go back to their original way of living. And unfortunately, that was all grant money. And that job ended also so that, you know, and I was a transportation planner, I did a lot of things, and then I ended up going back into the gas industry. I worked for an engineer, and we were working in the production side of everything. So he had drove to you wells, and we had leases, and I took care of those. And I liked that job for about 10 years. I stayed there, and then I I retired. I was getting tired of it at that point.
Michael Hingson 26:02
Yeah. Why was your first why was your first job at the original gas company eliminated? Or when you were promoted and you said it was eliminated, yeah?
Natalie Belin & Mary Dunn 26:10
Well, that’s what I like to know why it was eliminated. I think sometimes that job was just to keep me quiet. That’s how I felt. I mean, I, I they, they knew that I was upset and that I didn’t like what was happening. And I think it was just to keep me quiet, and they realized that that job wasn’t going to last, but it was a marketing job. We were using different ways to use gas, alternative fuel vehicles, fuel cells, you know. So it was an interesting job, too, but it it didn’t really have the supervisor we had was not really a person that pushed the product, you know. So that could have been the reason, too, that they eliminated a lot of that. Yeah, so I wasn’t the only one that went I mean, there was another person in that at that time, and eventually that whole department was eliminated. Now that gas company, they sold all that off, and another gas company took it over and equitable. Still is EQT here, and they work, I think at this point, they work with the leases and things like that, and horizontal drilling, they call it.
Michael Hingson 27:38
So now that you’re retired, what do you do?
Natalie Belin & Mary Dunn 27:41
Well, for a while there,
Michael Hingson 27:44
in addition to Etsy, yeah, for
Natalie Belin & Mary Dunn 27:47
a while, I was actually doing hair. I was my first, my first, I guess, employment type, or whatever. I went to beauty school, and I became a cosmetologist, and I also became a teacher in cosmetology. So when I first became all that the money wasn’t so great. I worked my first job. I was so excited I had this job because I thought I was going to be making millions. You know, they they really pump you up in in beauty school that you’re going to really succeed and you’re going to make this money. Well, my first job, I worked over 40 hours at that job, and I only got $15 in my first pay. It was like we had to stay there the whole time until everyone was finished working. So the girls that had their clientele that they worked the whole day and into the evening, like till eight o’clock. Maybe we had to stay till eight o’clock. Even though I didn’t have anybody to do. I might have had one person that day, yeah, so that that wasn’t too I just worked at that for a few years, and then I decided to leave and take care of my family. Yeah, well, that that I went back to it when I retired, and it had changed significantly, making pretty good money. I was only working three days a week, and I did pretty well. But then my back. I had the issues with my back, and I couldn’t go back to it, which really upset me. I really love that job.
Michael Hingson 29:29
Well, things happen.
Natalie Belin & Mary Dunn 29:31
Yeah, it does. You know, I’m happy not to stay at home. I figured now that I’m actually 73 years old now, so I think I I should retire
Michael Hingson 29:47
and enjoy my life a little. Well. So Natalie, you graduated in 2023 and so then what did you start to do? And what are you doing now?
Natalie Belin & Mary Dunn 29:57
So what I’m doing now is I’m. Still focusing on the Etsy shop, but I also got into a graduate certificate program, and this certificate is in sports entertainment and arts law, and I really hope to use this program as a stepping stone to complete my master’s degree in the sports entertainment and arts law program.
Michael Hingson 30:25
What exactly is a graduate certification program, as opposed to a master’s degree?
Natalie Belin & Mary Dunn 30:32
So that’s a great question. So the certificate program is like a newer program, and it’s like the only one in the world, I’m pretty sure, that focuses on sports, entertainment and art. So it’s like a newer, more modern type of learning program. And this certificate is a great stepping stone, and for me to check it out before I actually go in to the master’s program. This is, like, my second week, and I love it so far, and all these classes that I’m doing, and if I keep my grades up and everything, will apply to the master’s program if I get in.
Michael Hingson 31:15
Okay, well, so
Natalie Belin & Mary Dunn 31:20
less credits than, like, what you would need for a master’s program, and it’s less I don’t need a textbook. I have these things called nutshells, where I’m pretty sure, like, I’ll be studying different types of cases or something like that through that. So it’s like online stuff.
Michael Hingson 31:43
The Okay? And how long do you think it will take you to complete that
Natalie Belin & Mary Dunn 31:49
the certification program should be about a year, and it’s all online, okay?
Michael Hingson 31:55
And how, how long have you been doing it so far? Just two weeks. Oh, so next August, yeah, yeah, yeah. And the hope is then you can use that to go forward and actually work toward getting a master’s degree. Which, which sounds pretty cool, yeah, for sure. What do you want to do with it once you get a master’s degree? Well, like
Natalie Belin & Mary Dunn 32:20
all those points like sports entertainment and arts, I think is Pittsburgh is a great city to represent all of those. And I hope to help represent like clients, maybe do like to protect their works and them as an artist. And I would like to hopefully get into paralegal work. That’s what I’m focusing on right now.
Michael Hingson 32:47
So is school pretty much full time for you these days?
Natalie Belin & Mary Dunn 32:51
No, it’s still part time, and that’s what I like love about this program, because, like all week, you’ll be doing 10 hours outside of so I still work full time as an administrator in the SHRS program, and I am the administrator for Rehabilitation Science. So yeah, it’s great to have like, bosses and everything that support me in my educational journey, because that makes my life a lot easier too.
Natalie Belin & Mary Dunn 33:26
Yeah, that’s some great bosses.
Michael Hingson 33:29
Well, it’s good to have some people who tend to be a little bit more supportive. It helps the psyche when you get to do that. Yes, yeah.
Natalie Belin & Mary Dunn 33:39
Because the one thing that I noticed with this program, it is definitely more manageable, because, like the undergrad program, I did enjoy the process. For most parts, some of it was really challenging. But the undergraduate program, it was really hard for me to get late night classes. Most of those classes that I had to take were I had to be in person, so like late classes were pretty hard to get, but my bosses allowed me to take earlier classes so I could help finish the program faster, but I just had to make up that time. Right?
Michael Hingson 34:28
When did you discover that you had artistic talent?
Natalie Belin & Mary Dunn 34:32
Um, I don’t know if I ever really discovered that I had the talent, but I was very passionate at a young age, like when my mom was going back to school, I always loved watching her paint, because she had like the painting classes. I always thought so I like sit on the floor and watch her paint. And at a very young age, I was in the dance class. Do you remember the name? A France Dance School of Dance, France School of Dance. And I love dance class so much. I remember one time the dance school was closed because of a holiday, and I was, like, so upset, like, I didn’t believe, like, the dance school was closed and I didn’t understand, like, why I wasn’t allowed to go. So they called the school and it went straight to, like, the answering machine so they could prove, like, it was closed and nobody was there. I was like, ready to show up.
Natalie Belin & Mary Dunn 35:30
She wanted to go, yeah. She was just about three or four when she was taking the dance classes at that time. Yeah. But then it became on, you know that they both the kids were involved, but I couldn’t afford it anymore.
Natalie Belin & Mary Dunn 35:45
So dance is very expensive. Yeah?
Natalie Belin & Mary Dunn 35:48
Well, you know, like, at that time too, I was going to school, and I didn’t have much of a salary, and I was living with my parents, so, I mean, and they were retired, so it was, like, very tight. Yeah, right.
Michael Hingson 36:04
Well, it nice to have an enthusiastic student, you know,
Natalie Belin & Mary Dunn 36:13
so true. Well,
Michael Hingson 36:15
so you’ve created the many colors of Natalie blog, tell me about that.
Natalie Belin & Mary Dunn 36:22
So I reach out to different artists that were that are located in Pittsburgh or at one time, working or living in Pittsburgh. So this is like musicians, photographers, actors and they, I I create questions for them, for them to answer in their own words, like advice that they would give, or funny stories that they had while working in the field. And that’s that’s the main point of the blog, because I want it to be a resource for people and for them to also see, like, why that genre is cool. And I think another reason that motivated me to create that blog is some people just don’t see an importance to art, and I find that so offensive. Like, yeah, so I just wanted it to be as an educational type thing as well.
Michael Hingson 37:28
How long has the blog been visible?
Natalie Belin & Mary Dunn 37:33
So it’s been visible for about five, six years now, five years, yeah, and I did over like 50 some posts.
Michael Hingson 37:45
Do you do that with consistency? Or So do you have one, like, every week or every three weeks, or every month, or something like that? Or how does that work?
Natalie Belin & Mary Dunn 37:53
So when I first started, I was consistent with the posts I don’t ever leave my blog, like, not active for like a year. Like, I always try to post something, but it’s a little more challenging to do a post. Like, every month, whenever I’m working, going to school, volunteering for different things, running the Etsy shopper, vending so I had to cut it back a little bit because that is just me running it.
Michael Hingson 38:30
So you’ve also created a mixed media piece. First of all, what is a mixed media piece?
Natalie Belin & Mary Dunn 38:35
You want to explain
Natalie Belin & Mary Dunn 38:36
the mixed media? Oh, well, a mixed media is like different mediums. It could be paint, it could be pictures, and it’s posted on a board, a canvas, or whatever it can be in a journal. You know, you just use various types of mediums. It could be using lace, it could be using fabric, it could be using, like I said, pictures, paper, and they call it mixed media. So she decided she wanted to create a mixed media. I had a huge canvas that was given to me. It was like 36 by 36 giant. It was huge, and I knew I couldn’t do anything on that, because I don’t paint big. I like to paint on smaller canvas, like an eight and a half by 11, or eight and a half by 14. So she, she decided she wanted to use that Canvas for something. But you go ahead and tell them.
Natalie Belin & Mary Dunn 39:38
So, um, whenever Woodstock had their 50th anniversary, and I believe that was around 2019 I had the opportunity to go to yaska’s Farm and camp where the original campers from the very first Woodstock would stay in that. Campsite was like, right next to this yaska farms. So I took some pictures of it, like me with the yaska farm house. And so it was very inspirational to go to that because I was doing research on what Woodstock was, the original Woodstock. And what that was about, I talked to Uber drivers that were actually at the original Woodstock. Jimi Hendrix is one of my favorite musicians, and for him to not be there, I was like, so sad. Very sad. So with all the education experience. I needed to release that. And I took my mom, let me have that canvas, and like I created a mixed media giant collage, and I got that into the Woodstock Museum in Socrates, New York.
Natalie Belin & Mary Dunn 41:01
Wow, it’s actually there now,
Michael Hingson 41:04
yep. How long has it been there?
Natalie Belin & Mary Dunn 41:07
I believe got that in there? Yeah, about two years.
Michael Hingson 41:13
Wow. So it’s kind of almost a permanent piece there.
Natalie Belin & Mary Dunn 41:17
I hope so. I hope they keep it there for sure. What?
Michael Hingson 41:21
What prompted them to be interested in having it there.
Natalie Belin & Mary Dunn 41:25
So I that piece was so giant, and I loved how it turned out, and I wanted that more than just in my house, my art pieces are very close to me, because that’s like my soul and my work, and I want it out there to somebody who cares about it. So I reached out to Shelly nation, Nathan, because they, I believe, are the owners of the Woodstock Museum, and they were more than happy to have it. I had it shipped out there. And then, whenever the season was to reopen the museum, I went out there and visited it. And it’s a very great it’s a very cool place.
Natalie Belin & Mary Dunn 42:10
Recommend, yeah, she, she was interviewed by them, also, right?
Natalie Belin & Mary Dunn 42:14
Oh, yeah, we did go on a radio station. And that was also a cool experience, because I was never on a radio show at that time. Cool.
Michael Hingson 42:25
Well, that’s pretty exciting. I have not been to the Woodstock Museum, so that might be something to explore at some point when I get get back there next that’d
Natalie Belin & Mary Dunn 42:35
be great. Yeah,
Natalie Belin & Mary Dunn 42:37
all those things like, you know, like I grew up during that period, of course, I didn’t go to the Woodstock. Original Woodstock wouldn’t let me do that. I was only 16 at the time, and but I mean, you know, like, like looking back at that and and seeing how all those people were there, and not nothing terrible happened, you know, I mean, hundreds of 1000s of people, and nobody got hurt. Well, they might have passed out, maybe from things, but nobody was, like, shot or killed or and like today. I mean, you can’t you’re so afraid to do anything today, you don’t know what’s going to happen. And it just was a different time. And the musicians that were there. I mean, that music was is still good today. You know, it’s it, it hasn’t faded. And I wonder sometimes about today’s music, if it will continue to be popular in years to come, or if it’s just going to fade out. You know, we won’t know that, and so well I won’t be here, probably
Michael Hingson 43:44
we won’t know for a while anyway, yes, but I did hear on a radio station a rebroadcast of a lot of the Woodstock concerts that was kind of
Natalie Belin & Mary Dunn 43:56
fun. Yes, yes.
Natalie Belin & Mary Dunn 44:00
Sorry I didn’t mean to cut you. Go ahead. Go ahead. When I was talking to like the Uber drivers and stuff like that, and people who were at the original Woodstock, it seems like they were reliving that experience when they were telling the stories. I mean, it was great.
Michael Hingson 44:15
Yeah. Well, you play creative percussion. First of all, what is pre creative percussion?
Natalie Belin & Mary Dunn 44:23
So I actually have that written in some notes, what it actually is. So do you mind if I read off my notes?
Michael Hingson 44:30
You’re welcome to however you want to answer, perfect.
Natalie Belin & Mary Dunn 44:33
So I was asked to be a creative percussion artist in 2020 and creative percussion is a family owned business established in 2018 and run by husband and wife team, Kevin and Sherry Feeney. They’re great. I’ve had the opportunity to talk to them very much a couple of times, and my pictures also on the site. Um. Uh, under like my stage name now is a Bulla. So if you scroll down spell that it’s S, E, B as a boy, u as in unicorn, L, L as in Len and a is an apple.
Natalie Belin & Mary Dunn 45:16
Okay, what types of things, kinds
Natalie Belin & Mary Dunn 45:18
of there’s various types of shakers that I played because of various bands that I was in, I was the percussionist, so I played tambourine and stuff. But like, they have uniquely shaped shakers, like there’s the hatch shakers, which I love them. They had a baseball shaker, and these little golf ball shakers, and they all carry different sounds, and they really blended differently with the type of song that I was playing was playing, yeah, so it’s cool,
Michael Hingson 45:53
yeah, so interesting. So you you play them as part of being with a band, or what
Natalie Belin & Mary Dunn 46:01
for the most part, yeah, sometimes there was an acoustic band or just like a full band, and either way, I tried to have those pieces blend into the song. What I didn’t learn when I was doing that is and an acoustic you really have to be on your game, because, like, if you mess up, like, people are gonna hear it more than if you’re in a full band. So, yeah, right.
Michael Hingson 46:38
So you do you still do that? Do you still play
Natalie Belin & Mary Dunn 46:42
at this time? I don’t, um, just because I wanted to focus on other things, so I took a step back from that.
Michael Hingson 46:51
Do you think you’ll do more of it in the future, or
Natalie Belin & Mary Dunn 46:56
possibly, but like, that’s how I am. I kind of just like, experience it, do it until I’m ready to move on to something else.
Michael Hingson 47:04
So you flit, you flip from thing to thing, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Natalie Belin & Mary Dunn 47:10
So, like, if you ever follow me, you might just see, like, me evolving and just trying other things.
Michael Hingson 47:19
Well, you’re adventurous.
Natalie Belin & Mary Dunn 47:22
Yes, I love adventure.
Michael Hingson 47:25
Nothing wrong with having an adventure in the world and getting to really look at things. So what are you doing now if you’re not doing creative percussion and so on?
Natalie Belin & Mary Dunn 47:38
Well, for the last couple months, I was helping my mom recover from like the back surgery. And then I was I was focusing on my blog, just really paying attention to that, getting certain interviews, and then schooling, getting ready to go into the certificate program.
Michael Hingson 48:05
So you think you’re gonna go ahead
Natalie Belin & Mary Dunn 48:09
and I’m setting up the Etsy shop.
Michael Hingson 48:13
So you’re pretty excited about seal, the sports entertainment, art and law.
Natalie Belin & Mary Dunn 48:19
Yes, I’m very excited about that. I was very excited to get into the program. The professors are great. The whole programs like really good. The people involved in it, they seemed, they seem really organized and let me know what I need to do to get into the program. And they are really nice. If I have a question, they’re happy to answer it. I love the curriculum, so I hope you go, Well,
Michael Hingson 48:46
do you experience anything any more dealing with like attention deficit? Oh, 100% it still creeps up, huh?
Natalie Belin & Mary Dunn 48:55
Well, it’s more anxiety than anything. But like this program, I think, is to help calm my anxiety with just different things that are set up. And like, how responsive the professors are and how nice they are. But my goodness, when I was in my undergraduate program, like I was really pushing myself, and I would like, of like, when 2020, came around in the pandemic, I needed to talk to my doctor and get on meds, like I could no longer not do that without meds.
Natalie Belin & Mary Dunn 49:29
Yes, she was, she was struggling. It was tough. Yeah. I mean, when I went for my Bachelor’s, I I I wasn’t working. She was working. When I went for my master’s, I was working, but, and I know how hard that is, you know, trying to balance things, especially I was working at equitable at the time, and the things that I was going through and being, you know, filling in for supervisors was I. I was on call, like, 24 hours a day, and it, you know, like that was, I can see how difficult it is to do both. It’s just, I know what she was going through there, and she goes through it, but she did well. She graduated sigma, sigma cum laude.
Natalie Belin & Mary Dunn 50:17
Yeah, I did get some honorary, like accolades for like, whenever I graduated. So that was pretty exciting, because the hard work did pay off.
Michael Hingson 50:29
What do you think about studying and attending classes virtually as opposed to physically being in the room? Hybrid learning?
Natalie Belin & Mary Dunn 50:38
Some people may have an issue with that, but I personally, cause I was working full time and it was hard for me to get later classes, I preferred the online learning, but I understand, like some of the classes really did need me to be there, like the theater classes, and I was okay with that. I don’t mind either, either or, but it just seems like online learning is more manageable. For me, it
Michael Hingson 51:08
takes more discipline to to stick with it and focus on it, as opposed to being in the classroom.
Natalie Belin & Mary Dunn 51:14
Um, yeah, I agree, but I think which, which is not a negative thing, by the way. Oh, yeah, no, no, no, I totally understand, but I think, um, I forget what I was going with that.
Michael Hingson 51:26
Sorry. Well, we were talking about the fact that more discipline dealing with,
Natalie Belin & Mary Dunn 51:33
Oh, yeah. Oh, that’s right, thank you. It’s just, um, I think if you truly want it, you’re gonna put forth the effort in anything. You know, it’s may not always be enjoyable, but like, if you want it, you’ll put through it. You’ll push through it, like with high school, my mom knows, just like from elementary to high school, like that curriculum, I was just not feeling it, but I knew I had to stick it out. I wanted to be a high school dropout. I voiced that many of times, but like, I knew if I wanted to get to culinary school, I had to really focus on my academics through then and just try to push through and just do it, do what I had to do to graduate.
Natalie Belin & Mary Dunn 52:19
Yeah, it’s such a different environment to high school, I believe, you know, like I found that I really enjoyed college. I enjoyed my subjects. They went fast. The classes went fast. It was fast paced, but it was an I learned more. I you know, I think that slowness of the way that they do things in in the high school, it takes them like three weeks to get through one chapter, you know, and so it, it just, it just made it a big difference. And I, I wished I could continue to go to school. I think I was a really good student.
Michael Hingson 52:59
I think one of the things about college is, and I’ve talked to several people who agree, is, you certainly learn from the courses that you take, but College offers so much more with with with the extracurricular activities, with the interaction with people, with The greater responsibility. College offers so many more life lessons if you take advantage of it, that really makes it cool. And I, I always enjoyed college. I liked it a lot.
Natalie Belin & Mary Dunn 53:29
Yeah, yeah, I did too, I think with some of my challenges and frustrations, not only with my learning disability, but like the fact that their curriculum that I would would have been interested in, which is not offered, like there was certain languages that were offered and they didn’t have Italian, and I would have learned love to have learned that because I’m part Italian, and I just always take an interest In the Italian culture. So in like, the reading things like I’ve noticed, like, when I was younger, I didn’t really care for reading that much, but what helped me get into reading is, like murder mysteries, because they always kept me engaged and focused and curious. And most of the murder mysteries that I’ve read, they’re real page turners, because you want to know who got, who did the mystery.
Michael Hingson 54:24
What are some of your who are some of your favorite authors?
Natalie Belin & Mary Dunn 54:28
So poetry wise, I love shell Silverstein because I was introduced to him in his early age. Yes, I loved him. I still do. I read them from time to
Michael Hingson 54:42
time Where the Sidewalk Ends. You know, how about murder mysteries?
Natalie Belin & Mary Dunn 54:53
For murder mysteries, I can’t, I don’t have, like, a favorite author, like on top of. My head right now. Um, just because, like, I just like, if I so, you know how I pick my murder mysteries by how the cover is designed. That’s how I pick my wine bottles for gifts, too, by the label design. If I take interest in the cover or the label, I want to try it. There you go.
Michael Hingson 55:23
Well, you’ve done some work and studying as an actor. What kind of work have you done as an actor?
Natalie Belin & Mary Dunn 55:28
Sure, so, um, I’ll usually take pretty much any opportunity that I apply for it and get it. I mostly do, like extra work, meaning, like, I show up, I get to, like, get costumes and stuff like that, and I don’t have to memorize any lines. And I love that. Just trying to memorize lines, I can and will do it, but it’s just, it just wasn’t for me during the last few years, because of school and everything, it was very hard for me to take the time to do like the memorization, because I was memorizing lines for class too. So I just didn’t want I just wanted the experience and to see what it’s like to move around on set, take direction and stuff like that.
Natalie Belin & Mary Dunn 56:24
I mean that pit, pit to the point. Oh,
Natalie Belin & Mary Dunn 56:26
yeah. So if you don’t mind, is it okay if I bring up pit to the point? Sure. Okay. So I have some notes on pick to the point. That was a great experience, one of the classes that I really wanted to take while I was in college was a news class, and I got the opportunity to take Pitt to the point, and that was such a great experience, because the professor, he really set the tone of What it was like to be in like a news room, and I love that, and I got the chance to be work in different areas, like in front of the camera and behind the camera, and it’s a class that focuses on the news as well as Behind the Scenes of a news magazine program that covers the city of Pittsburgh, the University of Pittsburgh, and some of the University of Pittsburgh regional campuses, as well as national and international events. And one of the things that our professor mentioned at the time, Kevin Smith, he said, we can submit some of the works that you do during the semester for an Emmy nomination. So, um, one of the things that I worked on, we got selected, and I got to take my mom to the Emmys.
Natalie Belin & Mary Dunn 58:02
We went to the Emmys. It was the Emmys for the news, news people
Natalie Belin & Mary Dunn 58:09
in hers was on, it was the Irish it was an Irish store story,
Natalie Belin & Mary Dunn 58:15
most No, it was like an actual Irish store, like store, their products came from Ireland, like the owners go to Ireland, these different things, and then bring they get them back. And that was such a cool experience, like doing that story, because they worked with ally, and she was the one in front of the camera. She is such like a strong person to be in front of the camera. She’s so talented at such a young age, and
Natalie Belin & Mary Dunn 58:46
you’re you were the editor, producer, she was the producer, and unfortunately, she didn’t win the Emmy, but it was a good experience. I mean, sure, nominated and where that was out in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, yeah, we have in there. Yeah, that was like a three hour trip for us to drive. And it was just exciting, you know, you see all the news people and you know that are there. And it was just really nice, really nice.
Natalie Belin & Mary Dunn 59:17
Kelly fry is one of my favorite news anchors of all time.
Natalie Belin & Mary Dunn 59:21
She’s no longer a news anchor. Unfortunately, we didn’t see her there, but we did see, oh, what was her name? Oh, my goodness, she had she was just beautiful. And, you know, it just like, it was just nice. It was just really nice.
Michael Hingson 59:40
Well, Daisy, we haven’t talked a lot about it, but I’d be curious as we we get close to the end of this, clearly, your attention deficit disorder is a disability, and that’s the I assume, the learning disability that you have.
Natalie Belin & Mary Dunn 59:58
Yeah, and. Um, some anxiety
Michael Hingson 1:00:01
and some anxiety. What do you hope for the future? As far as accommodations for persons with disabilities?
Natalie Belin & Mary Dunn 1:00:09
I just really hope now there’s like 2025 I hope people get a better understanding of to like, not fear people who have disabilities, and just don’t be so ignorant to certain things in commentary when you’re talking to somebody. And I hope like certain accommodations are a lot easier, especially for people who are wheelchair bound like any they need to be able to access certain things. My one friend has a lot of health issues, and she’s not really able to go to New York because she can’t walk long periods. So if she was to have a scooter there, she wouldn’t be able to do it. Yeah. So I just hope things are a lot more accessible and also not as costly to put those things in.
Michael Hingson 1:01:04
Yeah, I know New York is actually trying to make most of the subway system accessible, which is a major undertaking because a lot of those stations are designed in such a way that accessibility is going to be really hard, but their plan is to do it, so we’ll see what happens. Well, I want to thank you both for being here. This has been very enjoyable. I really appreciate it. And clearly unstoppability is something that applies to you guys, which I think is really great. Do you have any kind of final thoughts that you want to share?
Natalie Belin & Mary Dunn 1:01:42
Well, as far as disabilities, people do have to be open minded to the fact that people have these issues. And also, I’m so glad that it finally, with the sexual harassment, that it is coming to a point. I mean, it might be overkill at times, but there, it’s there for a reason. It’s time. Yes, it is. It’s it has an effect on a person. It might not have an effect at the time, but years later, it does have an effect. And I tend to be a little bit cautious with things, and if somebody says something the wrong way, I don’t like it. And I might, you know, I might not be a pleasant person, you know, you just, I put up with that for so long, and I figured, and I didn’t realize what was happening. And now I, you know, like so I’m glad things are changing there, even if it’s a slow change, it’s changing.
Natalie Belin & Mary Dunn 1:02:46
Natalie, do you have any thoughts? Yeah, sure. I just hope I do recognize that things are changing. I just hope people truly get the accommodations that they need to make think life easier for them, because I want somebody to put who doesn’t have disabilities to put themselves in a person that needs accommodations, because that stuff needs to be there. Yeah, well,
Michael Hingson 1:03:13
I want to thank you both for being here, and we’ve got the photos and everything of your book cover and so on. Those will all go in the show notes. So I hope people will go to the Woodstock museum. And you know, if people want to reach out to you in any way, how do they do that?
Natalie Belin & Mary Dunn 1:03:31
So they can email me at Natalie bellen, N, a T, yes, sure. No, go ahead. N, a T, A L, I, E, B, E, L, i n7.
Michael Hingson 1:03:43
Hundred@gmail.com Okay, great. Well, then I want to thank you both for being here, and I want to thank all of you out there who have been with us today in the audience, we appreciate it. I’d love to hear your thoughts. Please feel free to email me at Michael, H, I m, I C, H, A, E, L, H, I at accessibe, A, C, C, E, S, S, i, b, e.com, love it. If you’d give us a five star rating for the podcast episode today, we value that very highly. If any of you know anyone who ought to be a guest. Natalie and Mary, you as well. If you know anybody else who you think ought to be a guest and who has stories to tell, we’d love to hear from them. Please introduce us. We would appreciate it a great deal. But again, I just want to thank you both for being here. This has been great. Thank you for having us.
Natalie Belin & Mary Dunn 1:04:39
Michael, thank you. Yes. Thank you.
Michael Hingson 1:04:46
You have been listening to the Unstoppable Mindset podcast. Thanks for dropping by. I hope that you’ll join us again next week, and in future weeks for upcoming episodes. To subscribe to our podcast and to learn about upcoming episodes, please visit www dot Michael hingson.com slash podcast. Michael Hingson is spelled m i c h a e l h i n g s o n. While you’re on the site., please use the form there to recommend people who we ought to interview in upcoming editions of the show. And also, we ask you and urge you to invite your friends to join us in the future. If you know of any one or any organization needing a speaker for an event, please email me at speaker at Michael hingson.com. I appreciate it very much. To learn more about the concept of blinded by fear, please visit www dot Michael hingson.com forward slash blinded by fear and while you’re there, feel free to pick up a copy of my free eBook entitled blinded by fear. The unstoppable mindset podcast is provided by access cast an initiative of accessiBe and is sponsored by accessiBe. Please visit www.accessibe.com . AccessiBe is spelled a c c e s s i b e. There you can learn all about how you can make your website inclusive for all persons with disabilities and how you can help make the internet fully inclusive by 2025. Thanks again for Listening. Please come back and visit us again next week.
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