Olivia Engel (she/they), current member of Cohort 8 in 2025, is a sustainable agriculturalist, focused on program leadership, and startup launcher. We chatted with Olivia recently about how her time at Rung is progressing.
How do you feel like Rung is helping you thrive vs. survive?
Rung’s focus on inner work – boundaries, self awareness, confidence, and vision – has been the most powerful part of the program for me. Having access to a career coach and therapist while also getting to hear the experiences and wisdom of this amazing cohort has been priceless.
What about Rung’s program stands out to you as the most helpful aspect?
Rung’s holistic approach is the greatest asset. Just taking a course online simply couldn’t have had the impact of a cohort, food share, gym, and supportive staff.
What drew you to the Rung program/mission in the first place?
When I saw Rung was building an urban farm, I was instantly intrigued! But I assumed I wouldn’t be accepted into a cohort. All of my career has been self-taught – no one has invested professional development in me. I realized I had to invest in myself, and that Rung was the place to do it.
How is Rung supporting and impacting your career plans?
Leadership and integrity are very important to me, and Rung has given me a lot of validation and clarity around what I’m looking for and how to actually find it. The Project Management career track gave me language and tools for the skills I’d already been building for years, and clarity on how my past workplace experiences played out.
What part of Rung’s program has been most beneficial for you thus far?
Group sessions with the cohort all sharing and workshopping things together, led by these awesome career coaches, have been vital. My career has been a wild journey, especially in the past year. Rung has been a lifeline, and has helped me feel valued and cared for despite career challenges.
What’s a current fun recommendation you have for us? A good book, a podcast, or activity to try?
Always a shout-out to the science podcast Ologies, which makes learning about almost any discipline of science funny and personable! It’s one of the best shows out there, and I’ve learned so much not only about our world, but about public science communication!