Meet Randall Ulyate

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Randall Ulyate. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Randall below.

Randall, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.

I took a long journey to find where I wanted to be in life, and the irony of it is that it is a return to my childhood self. I have been able to tap into my purpose in life, my passions that drive me, by revisiting the things that brought me joy in childhood–storytelling, movement, and play. Through my work as a mythologist, I am able to engage in storytelling, creative expression, and playful fun. I spent a lot of time worrying about who I was supposed to be, and it wasn’t until I let go of the weight of others’ expectations that I was able to really flourish in my creativity. I’ve worked many jobs that paid the bills but stifled my creative passion, and it is only through a reconciliation with my childhood self that I have been able to carve a niche for myself, where I feel both spiritually fulfilled and intellectually stimulated.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

I am a career educator with a passion for community connection and storytelling. I hold a PhD in Mythological Studies, and spend my days as a local Humanities professor. I have traveled around the world researching mythology, folklore, and archaeology to bring first-hand experience into my classes. In 2018, I founded a nonprofit, Fernweh Collective (FernwehCollective.org) with a mission to provide experiential learning opportunities at inclusive price points. Through Fernweh, I have taken groups abroad to Italy and Greece, I co-host a mythology podcast, The Mything Link, and offer classes with other professionals around San Diego County. One of our new classes is a multi-lingual after-school program that I run with two other amazing local teachers, where we teach elementary school students German, Spanish, and English through story, movement, and song at Golden Hill Rec Center. I am excited to announce the return of our international programming: a Wild Woman retreat in Ireland this Summer 2025, where we will connect with the land and the history of Ireland through indigenous Irish traditions and mythology. Details are available at FernwehCollective.org. Space is limited to ensure small group connection.

I am also a mother, and I specialize in pre/post-natal and children’s yoga instruction. I am passionate about community building, and the post-partum period is such a sacred and challenging time, where many of us find ourselves longing for community connection. My classes are a safe space to exist in all of the glory of parenthood, from partner baby & me calming yoga flows to feeding and changing breaks and energetic toddler and me music classes, surrounded by other parents who are going through a similar stage of life. My goal is to strengthen and encourage the connection between caregiver and child, and their community, in a fun and supportive environment. I work with families of all ages, stages, types, and sizes, and have been an early childhood educator for over 20 years.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

1. For me, passion is integral to any project I’m involved in. The passion is what drives me to address the not-so-ideal pieces of projects that may not be my area of expertise or understanding. If you are able to carve out time to follow your passion, even just a few minutes a week, it can fill your cup and perhaps lead to new opportunities.

2. Do the things that bring you joy, and make connections in those spaces. Is it art? Take a class. Ask a local coffee shop to hang your work. Is it singing? Perform at open mic nights, small improv clubs, songwriter workshops. The more you get out there and spread what brings you joy, the more you connect with people through shared community and opportunities can blossom. No one will know you can sing if you don’t take the stage.

3. People can change, and it’s ok to change your mind. I didn’t become a certified yoga teacher until I was 37. My friend didn’t put on a pair of rollerskates until she was 55. Our mindset can often be our biggest limitation. Is there something you wish you could try? Something that is no longer serving you, even if it did in the past? Growing and changing is a beautiful part of life, and it is ok to honor who we were and continue to move forward into new or previously unknown parts of ourselves.

For folks early in their journey, my best advice comes from a song–“you’ll learn things you never knew you never knew.” The path is often a long and winding one, and it is impossible to see the curves or anticipate the challenges ahead, both positive and constructive. Letting go of expectations is one of the most liberating things; it can allow us to see some alternate paths where we perhaps never thought to look before. Existing in discomfort is a huge part of this–it allows us to grow and adapt and change in ways we never can if we stay exclusively in our comfort zone. Travel is a great way to achieve this, even if you don’t leave your hometown. Go into a place you’ve never been before. Talk to people it looks like you have nothing in common with. Attend a cultural event outside of your own culture. A traveler’s mindset doesn’t necessarily require a passport, just a curiosity and a willingness to try new things.

Awesome, really appreciate you opening up with us today and before we close maybe you can share a book recommendation with us. Has there been a book that’s been impactful in your growth and development?

The most impactful book in my life is Ishmael by Daniel Quinn. It offered answers to so many questions I had that I could never fully articulate, and it inspired me to embark on my current career path. One of the most valuable things it taught me was about the importance of community and the concept of becoming aware of our cultural conditioning. It explained that a fish doesn’t notice the water until it is removed from it, and in a similar way, we do not notice our own cultural lens influencing our worldview and actions until we are placed in a new cultural context. This book inspired me to study anthropology and ultimately propelled me along the path that would culminate in my PhD in mythological studies, a place I never thought I would end up. In hindsight, I think I was moving toward this all along, in one way or another, but it was Quinn’s Ishmael that really opened my eyes to the power of cultural mythology.

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Randall Ulyate

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