Awakened Anesthetist

BTS: 28-year-old Certified Anesthesiologist Assistant makes over $210K ft. Chabely Rodrigez

• Season 3 • Episode 43

Share episode

If you are a CAA or AA student you likely already know this amount of money is common as a full- time CAA. And, if you knew about the profession while in undergrad or earlier it is also likely that you know starting your CAA career in your mid 20s is totally possible. Our profession's ability to make 6 figures this early without going to medical school has always been our "wow" factor, for better or for worse. In this episode you will hear the behind the scenes of one CAA's television debut and how she is using this exact hook to create a wider understanding of what it means to be a Certified Anesthesiologist Assistant. 

Resources Mentioned:

You can now text me! Questions/Suggestions

Looking for a pause and reset? Join us Sunday, November 24th at 6pm CST/ 7pm EST for November Mindful Connections Get on the List

Can't make November? Receive all future Mindful Connections invites HERE

I want to learn more about CAA Matters.
CAA Matters is the 1st comprehensive wellness curriculum for 1st year AA students. I designed CAA Matters to be flexible, relevant, and seamlessly integrated into an already packed first year schedule so you don't have to compromise.

CAA Matters is now enrolling for the '25/'26 Academic year.


Want more? Stay in the know by subscribing to the Awakened Anesthetist Newsletter- more resources, exclusive content and ways to connect.


Interested in practicing mindfulness with this CAA community?

Speaker 1:

Welcome to the Awakened Anesthetist Podcast, the first podcast to highlight the CAA experience. I'm your host, mary Jean, and I've been a certified anesthesiologist assistant for close to two decades. Throughout my journey and struggles, I've searched for guidance that includes my unique perspective as a CAA. At one of my lowest points, I decided to turn my passion for storytelling and my belief that the CAA profession is uniquely able to create a life by design into a podcast. If you are a practicing CAA, current AA student or someone who hopes to be one, I encourage you to stick around and experience the power of being in a community filled with voices who sound like yours, sharing experiences you never believed possible. I know you will find yourself here at the Awakened Anesthetist Podcast. Welcome in. Hello. Awakened Anesthetist Podcast listeners, welcome to yet another bonus episode. In November I went a little crazy and the stars kind of aligned and was able to have some really cool interviews and put out some extra episodes this November, so I hope you're loving the extra content and finding it useful. This was a conversation I had with Chebelly Rodriguez about a week before this launch, so this all happened really quickly because Chebelly was just featured on CNBC's Millennial Money feature, which is like a YouTube series that they do. And just a little bit about Chebelly. She's a really new CAA. She actually just graduated from Nova, fort Lauderdale in 2021, and she's been working in Tampa Florida as a full-time CAA. She has a YouTube channel where she focuses on day in the life CAA stuff what it feels like to be a CAA, what it looks like to be a CAA, her journey into it, and also she talks a lot about financial literacy and financial independence. In just 2023, she paid off her $200,000 of student loan debt, which means she did that in less than two years after graduating. She's just such an important advocate for our CAA profession and a guiding light in what it means to be a really thriving CAA, so I was so excited to have the opportunity to ask her a bunch of behind the scenes questions, which I think are really fun. So I hope you find this casual, unedited, impromptu conversation really inspiring and fun, so let's get into it. Okay, welcome to Awaken Anesthetists. I'm your host, mary Jean. Today we are joined by Chebelly Rodriguez, who's been a CAA for two years and was just featured on CNBC's Millennial Money series on YouTube. You might have caught it or you might have seen a bunch of us talking about it on Instagram, but I really was just introduced to Chebelly what a couple of months ago maybe when we both realized that we are passionate about creating CAA-specific content and really feeling a void that we see for CAAs, talking about our own profession and really putting correct information out into the world. So we are approaching it from different angles, but I'm so excited to support Chebelly and the work she's doing and this little bonus episode is really going to be about the behind the scenes of her feature on CNBC and what it felt like to be her and also a little bit of what she's found in putting herself out there with then having to answer a lot of comments and maybe some quote-unquote hater comments and really how she's navigating that as a CAA. So welcome, chebelly, I'm really excited to ask you a whole bunch of questions.

Speaker 2:

Thank you so much for having me. I think you do great work as well, so it's an honor to be part of your series and your podcast.

Speaker 1:

Thank you. Why don't you just real briefly tell us what school you went to, you just graduated, but give us a little bit of that like practical CAA stuff yeah.

Speaker 2:

I graduated from UNova Southeastern University in Port Lauderdale and I graduated in 2021.

Speaker 1:

Gotcha, okay, and Tamelli also has a YouTube channel called CAA Lifestyle, which I'll link. All of this in the show notes and in my mind, these two things the thing you just did with CNBC and your CAA lifestyle maybe are overlapping, but tell us just briefly why you started and when you started CAA lifestyle.

Speaker 2:

I actually recorded a few videos when I was interviewing and going through that process and during school I recorded stuff, but I was always really scared to post anything, so I didn't post anything until I graduated and started working and I still felt like there was a deficit of CAA content, not just with how much money we make, but also what a day in our life looks like. As someone that was looking into A-school, there were hardly any real people that I saw in the field, and so I felt like I wanted to be that person to kind of build some of the need and show an example of what a real person that is a CAA looks like.

Speaker 1:

Awesome. Yeah, I, just as like a regular CAA, came across your work on YouTube because when I was thinking about starting this podcast, I was like, okay, who else is doing this? I'm like nobody. Nobody's talking about us. And I found you, luckily, and maybe one other person, and just the void is so big for people to find out more about CAAs from CAAs, so I'm just so appreciative that you took that step into fear and posted it. When was your first post? You saved these recordings and then when did you post them finally?

Speaker 2:

I did my first one in February 2022, but I have some recordings, even from school, that I'm like I cringe sometimes Old recordings and you know my younger self. So I still have some stuff from like the past that I haven't really posted, but I posted a little bit of like my younger self, gotcha.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, it's really vulnerable. It's so vulnerable to put yourself out there, no matter what your platform is or what you're speaking about or on, but, yeah, especially when you're like the only one doing it, which you have been for quite some time. So I recognize and I see that it takes a lot of work and it takes a lot of vulnerability. So, thank you, let's. I want to talk about what this CNBC millennial money series is and what it meant to you to be on it. So first, can you just tell us, you know, when did you discover this? What is the series on CNBC meant to do in the world?

Speaker 2:

So I came across the series as in my undergrad and I love the series, always was a fan of it. Part of what has made my finance journey, I think, has been influenced by the series and like seeing people react to how people spend their money. And so eventually I went to a school and I put out my own channel and I like talked about my finances, how I spend my money, and so I feel like a lot of people were really intrigued by that. And someone came up to me and DM to me and said you should be on this series and I said I would love to, but I don't even know, like how it happens. And this wasn't like the first time someone really told me to do that. But they're like, oh, like you just have to apply to it. And they sent me the link and then I like looked at the link and I wrote out some of like my life story on it and my finances and different decisions, and I just like sent it in While I was like I was like working on it while I was on the Quate meeting, the Fall fundraiser meeting, or something like that, and I was like working on it on the side, like in my vacation. And then I said and then like a week later I got a notification that I got an email from them that they like wanted to meet up and interview and like start the process.

Speaker 1:

And yeah, so oh my belly, I'm a big, I'm a big manifestation person. I kind of put that out into the world on my own podcast, Like that's something I really believe to be true is that when you're walking your aligned path, what's right for you just comes your way and it's not just by like chance and like, oh, I'm just sitting here, staying stagnant and the good things happen to me. It's like when you're stepping in the direction, when you feel like you're worthy of something and you're taking aligned action to do that thing, it comes back to you what's meant for you. I just I see that so clearly in your story. I just got excited for you, basically. But, um, I am really into behind the scenes. I love that type of content. I would love to hear from the time that they said, okay, you're going to be on the show. Then it sounds like they probably had to dive into your finances. They had to check and double check some things Like what was that beginning process? Like how long did that take?

Speaker 2:

Yes, first I interviewed with the interviewer that is, she writes their articles and stuff and she said I think you're going to be approved for it. Like from what we've talked, I think you will be in. I was really excited but like nothing was confirmed. And then, maybe a few days later, I got emails like yes, you're going to be approved. Like send us your W2 statements, send us like your student loans, send us your bank account like summaries and like all your credit cards, send your statements for the past month. And so I actually was working on all of that. But not only did I like work on one month. I looked at like my full year and like my whole Saturday, like from while I also was watching TV. At the same time. I like went through every single month and I saw like, oh okay, what's this expense? And I put it all in categories on my own in my own Excel sheet and I also sent them for September. And I sent them summaries and I just went on vacation and I like told them this is how I spent my vacation money. And I'm like but like for September, I told them too, this was a month that I got paid three paychecks, so it might look like I make extra money too and there were special circumstances behind it. So here's like my monthly, my typical month statement. I sent them both and but I think ultimately what they could fact check would be easier to do one month versus like 12 months of like bank accounts and stuff. And so they said, no, we're going to stick with the September month, which looks like I make a little bit more. People are also like wow, like really thrown off too by how much it was. But they looked at that month and just everything that like W2, that to block out my personal information. But I just sent them everything as much as I could to. You know, I was honest with everything that I was telling them. So they would tell me send us this now. I sent it to them like almost within a few days, like just back and forth, and the process went by really quick. I was surprised that it was like maybe two weeks or something, like everything was just almost ready to film. And then, continuing on, they said, ok, we're ready to film this episode, can we film it this weekend, basically? And I was like, well, we can, I'll be in New York City to visit my boyfriend. And they're like, oh, that's perfect. Like we're going to film you with your family, we're going to film you with your boyfriend and we'll do an interview in New York. And so, like, we squeezed it in like to my four like I work for 10. So I had a four day workweek lined up and so, like we squeezed it into one day and then we filmed in New York City, which meant interview in New York City. And then they also sent someone to Tampa that they were just going to film me in Nova, which I also had like that was its own thing to figure out too, but they like also filmed me for a different day, and so it was like a month of like on the weekends, just like dedicating a bunch of hours, like almost like a work day, to either like fact checking stuff or filming stuff To my interviews. And yeah, just finally it all came together like in a month.

Speaker 1:

Wow, that's impressively quick for on their end, just that they're they're only a month ahead of their content. Really, like that feels like a pressure cooker Interesting. I guess that makes us feel better about our content, that we're like we only have to be a few, a few weeks ahead, wow, ok, I have a bunch of questions. So the, the focus, as you had said, was this September 2023. Like, we're filming, we're recording right now in November 2023. So you sent them all this back data. They focused on September 2023. Is that where they came up with the? You know the headlines this 28 year old makes two hundred and ten thousand dollars. Is the two hundred and ten the whole year W2 or that was factored in September. So that was from my one.

Speaker 2:

Yes, my twenty twenty two paid like overall income was about two hundred and ten thousand dollars and, yes, we went based off that number. But there are a couple reasons why I've like make. I made more this year so and I was telling them, I was like I wasn't sure what number to tell them, so we just went with twenty twenty two because we were filming in like October and so there's still another few months of the year and I'm going to make more. But we'll just go with like the verifiable information.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, yeah. It's just so interesting because I think you know, as a as a content producer, they want to have a big splash, like they want to put maybe the biggest number and and we're also you and I currently are talking after everything's been released, after we've both seen all the comments that your series episode received, and a lot of people were doing the math and saying, well, september's budget doesn't add up to two hundred and ten thousand dollar yearly and oh, she's a, she's lying and all this stuff and people. First of all, I was really interested that people did all that math and cared that much and like we're fact checking on their own. I'm like interesting and and I just think that human nature of you see something good someone else has and you think, oh, they're, they're faking it, they're fraud, they're lying, because what you're really feeling is some jealousy that you want that to, which your episode is supposed to be about. This is possible. You can do this too, and people who aren't at a place to receive that feel like she, just you know. So I'm seeing all the psychology behind it and I want to talk about that as well. Well, but In terms of the logistics, I would love to hear how it felt to know you're going to be on. Can we call it national TV? Right? That's what this is. This is a national TV, huge broadcast agency. How did you prepare yourself, were you like? I'm just going to go, as is what? Tell us, tell us.

Speaker 2:

Almost like a last minute preparer, kind of like you know what? I gave them, the information I'm more so prepared in the pre-interview than the actual interview, because I was like this is my shot to sell my story. So I like that whole week and I kept saying like this is what I'm going to tell them about myself, and I was preparing a lot for the pre-interview. And then finally, when the actual interview came, I had just worked a lot, like we're working people, so it's not, I have my time off and I could just you know I do this all the time. So I was working that full week, my four 10s, maybe I did a little bit of overtime. And then I like flew in the night before. I also had to catch up with my boyfriend we're in the long distance relationship and I was like, oh, I'm interviewing in like 15 minutes. Whatever I get done, I'm going to get it done. You know, I'm going to do my best. And it almost sometimes feels like no one's listening and then sometimes I get surprised at like oh, wow, like it had the impact that it did. I kind of just say it Like I'm just by myself, almost how I would talk. So it's still kind of a mind shock, shocking that has had the impact that it has had, because I still feel like I'm living my life and I don't think it would make me famous or anything like that, but I just feel like things are still normal in my daily life. But so many people have told me that they've heard the story in different ways. So, yeah, it's like we're in this, it's just me and you talking, but we don't know who it might reach, which kind of amazes me in that way, totally Like everyone can listen to this and pull something different out of it.

Speaker 1:

Or see your piece and pull something different out of it, a different source of inspiration, or like the thing that matters to them is not the thing you were trying to get across, but it was some other adjacent thing. Yes, so true, were you saying that you found it interesting that the interviewer was listening? Sometimes you were shocked that they, like, really honed in on a piece of your story you weren't expecting Is that kind of what you were first alluding to?

Speaker 2:

Well, yes, that too. Like. Sometimes I feel like my story was something that I envisioned that is a little different, and then, like, the interviewer picks up on something different, and then I feel like the editors and people that hear it will pick on different things. So it's just interesting how there's like so many production, there's a lot of different phases to it, and then what comes out like also impacts people in different ways than I would think.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, and what did you feel about the way the final production came out and turned out? What was your initial reaction when you saw it? And then, like, since it's been out in the world some, what's your reaction to, as you said, everyone else's different reactions to the episode?

Speaker 2:

I thought they did such an amazing job because I felt like there were a lot of different phases in my life to tension on and I felt like they also highlighted anesthesiologist assistance, like beautifully. I thought like when I saw that part, I was so excited, I was so happy, like, yeah, they did the map, they did everything with like showing how it looks. I thought they did an amazing job. I thought that my life would have been a little bit more in it like the background part to it, because that's what's always felt like a little bit more personal to me and like what's influenced me. But they did. They had to summarize like so many different parts of my life and I think they did such a good job with it.

Speaker 1:

That's so interesting because I feel like, again, everyone's different take. I feel like the family piece was really central. I don't know that I picked up as much about the CAA stuff, maybe because I already know it, but the family piece, with the working farm and going to the farmers market and like just the struggle of your childhood and how that created your money mindset, I thought was almost the focus of it, less than the CAA stuff. So that's so funny. I would love to hear what you think about now that it's been out in the world and the reactions that it's received.

Speaker 2:

I'm just so thankful, honestly, that it's had positive reaction. There are some comments that I read here and there but, like so many people were like she worked so hard for this, like good for her and all this stuff, and I'm so happy that overall, like there are a few comments that I've seen, but overall people have been like I'm so impressed by this, like I shared it to like my child or like you know, like I have a daughter growing up and I'm sharing this story to them because it's not just like how much money you make, but like navigating the spending and all that stuff. So I think that has been really cool. And I don't know, I think it's weird because I'm kind of a quiet person. They're like you're so quiet at work and overall I'm a little bit more introverted. So it's kind of cool to be like cool, like people know a little bit more about me and like maybe understand my story a little bit more, and so it's nice to feel like okay, like people kind of see who I am, mm-hmm.

Speaker 1:

And, yeah, to see your life through someone else's eyes. Like these, producers and the editors created the story of your life kind of as they saw it and pulled out the really important pieces to them. I think it's really interesting to see how important one life can be when someone takes a focus on that life and says, look at this and look at this and look at this and then crisis, beautiful episode about it. It's just, it's really inspiring and I think every human deserves to feel that way and I think CAA is deserve to see ourselves represented in the media by people like you. I mean, I just think it's so expensive. I wanted to push a little bit on the few comments you've received that have not been super supportive. I I guess you know our negativity bias. We see the negative things and sort of focus on them, and the aspect I'm most interested in is seeing your ability to engage in that conflict or in that hater comment In a really neutral way. Like you, you give information back. There's no emotionality to your voice. I'm just wonder what that came from, if that's been home because your youtube channel, or if you can talk a little bit about that.

Speaker 2:

I'm yes, I think what when my youtube channel to my partner is like very, very humble I'm and so he. He also had, like you know, a sort of like rough upbringing as well, and so he is like a super kind person. I think he's amazing. So I always talk to him about my life and like he helps me like what did you think about it from this person's perspective? So like Just me going back and forth with him for the past two years, like this, for this today, and then he's like what did you think about that? So like he kind of Bring the different perspective, and so he had me like through our conversations, I feel like I've grown to like try to understand people's perspective and like not like if I see someone that has more negative feelings towards me, I'm like Well, they might feel this way because of this. So like that may not like just attack back but, like you know, just present myself and like try to regulate my emotions and stuff and Just respectfully, like give my side to things without like fully engaging with the negative parts that they're trying to bring.

Speaker 1:

Yes, it is such. Your response of it have been filled with so much wisdom in order for all c a a is to learn how best to Interact in that conflict situation, because I do think a lot of c a a's feel like they have to represent, they have to defend our profession and that can feel sometimes like a clashing, and you've done it so beautifully of everyone. Just goes to read the comments of how you've reacted to these people. I just feel like I'm just really proud to say that this is what it means to be a c a a and we're not trying to win over everyone's heart, we're just trying to Live our life and give good anesthesia and that means that, like, maybe not everyone's gonna understand and that's just how it's gonna have to be.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, and I still got really angry. I mean, I still feel Like all those things I try my best like, okay, don't respond right away, think it through, and as angry as I can get, like I also have to think about, like I am partially representing a bigger Part of you know the world again. So I don't want to be, like you know, taken in a bad light and people use that as any sort of negative Thing to bring up in like a legislative hearing or anything like that. So I do my best to like, as angry as I am, like let me try Just engage with that anger back. That's also really frustrating me and sometimes I have to be like I'll talk to my partner, like my best friend here, and I'll be like I'm so mad about this and just put my phone down and it does affect me. But I do my best to like not put that negative emotion and presentation out in the world.

Speaker 1:

Mm-hmm, thank you so much for saying that very real thing that the anger still there. I just think that is very healing to hear For me and for everyone that it doesn't mean we're robots. We still really, really care and that hurt. And finding boundaries it sounds like you've you've worked on finding boundaries and how you move forward, knowing that those are always going to be there because you have a YouTube channel in addition to the CNBC piece when you're really engaging and you're forward, facing what it means to be a CA. So, yeah, I just I am grateful that you're there in our community and putting the work in to do all of this production on your own and for your own YouTube channel, and that you put your name in the hat and stepped up to the challenge to be in CNBC. Is there anything else you want to tell the listeners about this experience, or tell CA is about this experience, before we go?

Speaker 2:

By you. I just think that we all are doing our best to represent AAs in the world and I think we just have to educate ourselves on how safe we are, that we deserve a seat at the table, and sometimes you have to fight for the table. I have an anesthesiologist I work with that. He's so supportive, he's amazing. I'm so grateful that I work with him. But when we've talked he's like yeah, if you don't fight to sit at the table, sometimes you're the meal, so like, let's be the meal. Sometimes we do have to put our voices out there, but I think we have to educate ourselves and know that like we deserve to be there, like we're safe, but there's so many other voices that have been against us for so long and like now we have to, like, maybe slowly put ourselves out there to make sure that you know that we have our place in the anesthesia world as well. Yes, well said.

Speaker 1:

So people want. Well, first of all, I will put a link, of course, to your CNBC millennial money episode and I'll put a link to CAA lifestyle. But if CAAs are listening and they want to contact you, what's the best way to get a hold of you?

Speaker 2:

Mostly through my YouTube, but I also have my Instagram. I talked to some CAs through my Instagram for my YouTube, which is CAA lifestyle, so that's probably the best way to like contact me for CAA related stuff. But, like I also have my personal Instagram, which I follow like a lot of CAs mostly anyone that I know is a CAA I usually follow them back.

Speaker 1:

So if they want to Wonderful, okay, so wonderful. I'll put your Instagram for the CAA lifestyle, which is the name of your YouTube channel, in the show notes so that anyone can DM you or follow you for more content there. And again, I just want to say thank you for putting yourself out there really vulnerably and bravely and it matters. It really really matters, so thank you.

Speaker 2:

Thank you for sharing my voice and sharing my story on your platform. I think you're doing a great job as well, thank you, awesome Thanks.

Speaker 1:

Let's talk soon. I hope you enjoyed hearing the behind the scenes of Tabele's journey on Millennial Money. I am going to put all of the links we mentioned in the show notes so that you can get in touch with Tabele if you have follow-up questions, so that you can watch her piece on CNBC and so you can follow her on YouTube. She's got a lot of good content on financial independence and financial literacy on her YouTube channel, as well as Day in the Life CAA stuff that she mentioned she was looking for when she was a student. I'm so proud of the community that we're building here and if you want to deepen your involvement with this community, I encourage you to use the link in the show notes and join the Awaken Anesthes community Right now. What that means is that you're going to get on my email list. I send an email out once every month and it has curated CAA content, resources, ways to connect and then wellness goodness that I put in there kind of my personal journey with wellness and maybe what I'm encountering each month. I then give back to you. I am someone who loves to find resources and somewhat sometimes obscure resources and then share them with people, because it is such a joy for me to go directly to someone who knows something that I don't and just get the information straight from them and just eliminate the 20 steps I would have had to do to find that information out for myself. So, because I enjoy that, I enjoy doing that for other people. So if you want to have CAA content that is made by us and for us, I encourage you to use that link in the show notes. That's all from me. I hope you have a wonderful weekend. If you're listening to this in real time, let's talk soon.

People on this episode

Head Shot

Mary Jeanne Roberts, CAA

Host