Susan Radi

Things are going to be okay. Things always work out.

Religious version: Trust in God, have faith, everything's going to work out.

(Excerpt from an interview with Eric Radi, Operations Manager, Producer)
California, USA

My mom is the kindest person I know. She's constantly giving and wanting to take care of people. She is sweet, respectful and full of love for our family and for everyone else in her orbit. It’s funny because I always hear from people how much they want to adopt my mom or be adopted by my mom.

Mom always showed up and that mattered a lot to me. Whether it was for PTA meetings or my sporting events like football as a kid or wrestling in high school, my mom was there. That made a huge difference in my life to just know that somebody is there. It has been amazing to know and have somebody who has my back, someone who is proud of me. Whatever happened, win or lose she was genuinely proud and always ready to give or receive a hug. I have three other siblings plus my dad that she allocates time and attention to, and she is present for each one of us.

I can say that’s probably one of the reasons I also show up for others, people I care about. People can rely on me. I'm always there if needed. I get that from my mom (and also my dad).

Having a very loving and supportive mom helped me excel in school and when I have moments of struggles, I don’t feel completely down because Mom is there, a soothing presence in my life. Academically, I was fortunate to be in the GATE (Gifted and Accelerated) program as a young kid, and I graduated from Cal State Long Beach with a double major in Business Administration and Operations and Supply Chain Management. As I explored adult life, I’ve had freedom to work a lot of different jobs that allowed me to discover passions, create, and develop my character better. And mom is accepting of whatever I choose, whatever I have accomplished or not accomplished, she has been supportive of it all. That’s like a gift and I am truly very lucky.

My conversations with my mom allow both of us to share what we’re up to, and we also chat about how we can support each other. And when she can see how worried I am, she’ll remind me that “things are going to be okay, things are going to work out”. She has a very reassuring presence and she is right, things always do work out. Mom is also religious so in our conversations, she’ll often remind me to “Trust in God, have faith, everything's going to work out.”

This advice was best realized during Covid. The hospitality industry in Los Angeles was severely impacted and I was working in the restaurant business. Instead of it being a source of stress, it worked out for me and allowed me to transition to an area of passion which is Film and TV production. I said yes to an invitation from a friend to help out, and this opportunity led me to work closely with the assistant directors, and even got me exposed to editing and other creative parts of film production. Having a strong base in the service industry and my background in supply chain management and operations, it was pretty easy to transition into production. I get to be creative, I get to learn from directors who are established in the industry and experience being with fantastic teams out there. Everything has definitely worked out, and opened up possibilities for me in this industry.

From this transition, I now even see myself creating a pathway to producing my own film and TV projects in the future, getting involved more on the creative process. I also see myself investing in businesses that are growing and collaborating with some really dynamic people.

I could be doubtful if this vision can be a reality but I don’t because just like my mom assures me, it will all workout. Within a year of creating a future in the film industry, my team and I are already in the process of pitching an exciting show to some networks.