Karin Borgerson, a genetic genealogist, is a modern-day Nancy Drew. She solved a 109-year-old missing person's case using DNA plus the historic paper trail. She founded her business based on a deep level of curiosity and a lifelong love of science. Her biggest challenge is her own fear and having to wear ALL the hats. Hear how she is overcoming these struggles by learning to ask for help.
Originally published Dec 15, 2018
Transcript link (uncorrected machine translation) |
Karin Borgerson, a genetic genealogist, is a modern-day Nancy Drew. She solved a 109-year-old missing person's case using DNA plus the historic paper trail. She founded her business based on a deep level of curiosity and a lifelong love of science. Her biggest challenge is her own fear and having to wear ALL the hats. Hear how she is overcoming these struggles by learning to ask for help.
[00:00:09] Welcome back to the I Am Virago podcast, where we get real about the struggle, drop the occasional F-bomb, and hear how amazing Virago women imperfectly navigate the world around them.
[00:00:20] Today's guest, Karin Borgerson, is a genetic genealogist and founded her
company, Hawkinson Research. About 15 months ago, it hasn't been easy. Hear how
Karin is a modern-day Nancy Drew. Using DNA testing and historical data to solve
family mysteries and how she keeps herself going while wearing all the hats, solar
panels and building her dream.
[00:00:43] Grab that cup of ambition and let's get started.
[00:00:49] Hi, I'm Karin Borgerson. And to pay the bills, I work as a genetic genealogist.
Using DNA to help people find their stories.
[00:00:57] Whoa. Say that again. I'm a genetic genealogist. A genetic genealogist. OK.
What? What is that?
[00:01:09] So I specialize in using DNA information combined with historical records to
help people solve mysteries in their family and find out who they are and where they
come from and where they fit into history. How how do you get access to people's
DNA? So my clients will take a DNA test with a testing company like Ancestry, DNA or
23 and me or my heritage, one of those companies or sometimes several of those
companies. And then I work with them to help you use that information to find their
stories.
[00:01:40] Wow. Well, and then you said something about records as well. So how does
how does that fit in?
[00:01:45] So the DNA never stands on its own. We've all got DNA me that the stories
that are written in our bodies. But you can't find out everything you want to know just
from that. You combine that with what you can find in historical records, in the census
records and church records and old newspapers and family Bibles and the stories
passed down from generation to generation. All of these things come together to help
people find their own spot in this world that we live in.
[00:02:12] So you're like a modern day Nancy Drew. Kind of. Well, that sounds like a lot
of fun. And how does one become a DNA genealogist?
[00:02:24] So I've loved science and helping people learn about science and helping
people understand really technical things throughout a lot of other things. I didn't like
career before this.
[00:02:35] My undergraduate degree was in biology and anthropology and I worked in a
lab right out of college. But I figured out I didn't want to be a bench scientist. That's not
my piece of the puzzle. Fast forward a number of years after a lot of other adventures. I
had thought about doing genealogy for a long time. It was always one of those things
that I said I was going to do someday. And then one day I woke up and realized
someday is a stupid time to do anything. And I decided I'm going to do this today. Nice.
And I got started and right away I got stuck in my own family that you just going back as
far as my my dad's grandfather. We got a guy who said his name was John Johnson
and you can't find him on paper. You ever tried to research somebody with a name like
John Johnson? And it was stuck and I wasn't getting anywhere. And I was really
frustrated. And my dad agreed to do a DNA test as a Christmas gift for me. And that
was the key that started unlocking this mystery and solving a hundred and nine year old
missing person's case and figuring out this guy who had left behind a wife and four kids
in Wisconsin, an abandoned one family, and then moved across the country and
married again and started a whole other family. And they never knew these two families,
never knew that one another existed.
[00:03:47] And it was using DNA that I was able to put these pieces together. And I
don't think with just the paper trail, we ever would have been able to solve this one.
That's like a Lifetime movie happening right there. Wow. So what kind of people come
to you?
[00:04:02] I work on a lot of unknown parentage cases, so people who don't know who
one or both of their biological parents are. This may be someone who adopted or donor
conceived or sometimes somebody who took one of these tests and ended up with a
big surprise finding out that one or both of the parents that they know are not their
genetic parents, the biological parents.
[00:04:22] So a lot of what I do is help people with cases like that and help them figure
out who their biological parents or grandparents it might be might be a generation
further removed. I also work with people who take these tests and then they don't
realize that a lot of what they get is a pie chart and a list of several thousand people that
they've never heard of. And to get from that to the real stories and these things that
we're all trying to find out about ourselves, that's something that I hope people do. I do a
lot of coaching with people who are interested in learning how to do this themselves, but
they don't have the background and the context to do it. I also help people solve
mysteries, but they get stuck and they can't they can't solve it. And often that's
something farther back in trying to use DNA to solve a mystery that someone's been
looking into on paper. And they can't figure it out on paper with historical records alone.
So they want to bring in this new tool kit that we have now that until a few years ago
wasn't available.
[00:05:18] Fascinating. So it was our biology undergraduate degree enough to get
started, or is there other training that you have to do if it helps to have some science
background?
[00:05:28] But the biggest thing is just being super, super curious. And then I started
learning everything that I can. And I've gotten to study with some of the some of the
greatest leaders in the field. And it's not a field where there's much in the way of
degrees available and other things. But there are these incredible institutes, these long,
really intense training sessions for you. Learn from some of the greatest leaders in the.
Field, and I've done a couple of those, and I'm actually just about to head to Pittsburgh
to do another one. And then it's also there's so much citizen science in this. This is
science that's emerging really, really, really fast. And so there's a lot of learning from
other people who are doing this. Other professionals and sometimes from people who
are just really curious about their own families. And they build a tool or develop a
technique that no one's ever thought of before. And sometimes it's just spending a lot of
time geeking out with my own family's DNA matches. But it's a lot of hands on learning.
It's learning from other people. It's a lot of collaborative work and and just a lot of hands
on rolling up my sleeves.
[00:06:25] And you know what I'm hearing and I'm I'm noticing a theme throughout
many of these interviews you've done is this requires asking for help and collaboration.
Yes.
[00:06:36] Is that a new thing for you? I don't know what your career was before this, but
is this a new place for you to be to ask for help and collaboration, or is this been a part
of your process?
[00:06:47] Those are two really different questions for me, asking for help versus
collaboration. I feel like I've gotten to do some great collaboration with people and in
other parts of my career, and that's wonderful. And I've learned a lot from that. Ask you
for help is something that is so hard for me. And doing this work, starting this phase of
my career has been a huge lesson in learning to ask for help, because right now this
business is just me and a one person business delivering all the hats.
[00:07:15] And that is so hard. And it's a career change and it's a field that is emerging
and developing so fast that I think I could spend at least 20 hours a week just on my
own professional development. And I'm not sure I'd keep up with everything that's
happening. How so? Learning to ask for help is huge. And I got a long way to go on that
one, but I'm making progress. So it sounds like. How long have you been doing this? I
left my business about 15 months ago, hatched the idea for it about two years ago.
[00:07:43] You've been into this for a while. What does a recent professional win you
might want to tell us about?
[00:07:48] I think just starting the business a few months ago feels like a huge win. And
taking that leap of leaving my day job and committing to doing this thing and building
this thing and to have it still be around 18 months later. You know, there's a lot I don't
know about what it's going to turn in to and where it will go. But I'm still standing. That
feels like a pretty big win.
[00:08:12] Congratulations. Thank you. And so it sounds like there have been some
struggles along the way. Is there a struggle you'd want to talk about that you're having?
[00:08:22] I think the biggest struggle and the biggest win, it's the same answer of
starting a business 15 months ago and leaving my day job and giving up the security of
a steady paycheck for the I'm not sure where the next dollar is coming from. And I have
to wear all the hats.
[00:08:38] So I'm providing services to my clients, but I'm also doing all the sales and all
the marketing and building the website and doing the administration, doing the
bookkeeping. And it's really, really hard to to juggle all of that and to be working at my
edge all the time. There is so little of this where I'm just in my comfort zone. I'm stepping
out of it and pushing, pushing past that edge pretty much every day.
[00:09:01] And that is a struggle and it is exhausting.
[00:09:04] So how do you do that? What are you doing to help refill the well?
[00:09:08] I am focusing a lot on cultivating my support network. I think that is just so
important. I am a one person business, but I'm not doing this alone. I can only do this
because I'm surrounded by people who love me and take care of me and help me. So a
building that you can hear me free of a little bit. So this is really important to you? Yeah.
Yeah. But also just trying to do some really good self care and keep it in balance and
make sure that I get out of the house and go for a walk or go dance or go do some yoga
or have coffee or lunch or a drink with a friend. Being a one person business is a
challenge because I don't have that team of colleagues that I'm working with day to day.
I've got great professionals that I interact with, but we're not sitting in an office together
all day. So getting out in the world and interacting with people face to face, not through
a screen.
[00:09:59] Yeah, absolutely. You are the term. I've been hearing a solo producer and
you're doing all of it. What has been the biggest surprise for you, opening your own
business?
[00:10:11] It's been harder than I ever could have imagined. And it's also so exciting.
You know, the winds, I can feel the winds so much and the successes. And that is
great. It's it's really tough. So to wear that many hats and to be pulled in that many
directions. It's tough to figure out sometimes watch, prioritize and to sort that out
because there isn't anyone to delegate to and there's nobody delegating stuff to me and
there's nobody else there to help figure out what to do next. So is that the problem that
you're focusing on right now is how to balance all those different streams of work? One
of them. But for time, but what is the biggest problem? I need to deal with it's getting out
of my own damn way. Tell me more. I think it's it's a combination of perfectionism and
imposter syndrome. And the biggest challenge in my business, I think more than more
than any of the others, is just my own fear. Being afraid of not of reading something for
a client that's not good enough. The fear of rejection in the sales process. And it's doing
it any way. It's doing in any way. Having the courage to do it anyway. And you are. So
where is that courage coming from?
[00:11:27] I think some of it's because I'm passionate about what I'm doing and I care a
lot about it. It took me a long time to decide to start my own business after working in in
a lot of other organizations. And I've done work that I feel really good about and have a
lot of memories that are great. But I really felt like I was ready to try running my own
show. And I love the flexibility that I have in my life.
[00:11:49] You know, the flip side of not having any externally imposed structure is that
there's no externally imposed structure. I can rearrange these pieces however I need to.
Yeah. And I cherish that so much.
[00:12:01] But also, it goes back. Also been asking for help thing and asking for help
and accepting help when you choose an alternative career path and you're doing your
own thing.
[00:12:12] It's easy to get trapped into why I should be sitting at my desk for eight or
nine hours a day. And that's not the reason we go out and start our own businesses. It's
so that we can have that flexibility. So it sounds like you have been able to hang on to
that.
[00:12:26] Yeah, and it's it's one of the things that reminds me why I'm doing it, because
sometimes it's so hard. I think, you know what? I just want to get a job, a job, job, a job
in an office with a lot of structure and fewer decisions on my shoulders and something
that is easier.
[00:12:42] And then I realized how much that's just not me that I need to be learning all
the time. That's one of the things that drives me. I have to be learning all the time.
[00:12:54] And I love the flexibility and I love the freedom. And sometimes it's really
stressful and really hard. But I think back on so many other jobs I've had that have also
been stressful and hard, and I feel like I would rather have the challenges I'm having
now than the challenges of having some of my other chapters.
[00:13:10] So how would you define the stress of a more traditional job to the stress that
you have in starting your own company?
[00:13:19] Sometimes you can end up with a totally unrealistic set of expectations
imposed on you by other people. And I've had some jobs that have required working
some hours that I mean, there's part of me that can really enjoy doing that in a sprint.
[00:13:32] I'm really excited about about something, but not as a lifestyle. I'm not
interested in working 70 hour weeks as a lifestyle.
[00:13:39] And you can end up with so much office politics and so much time that's
invested in things that don't feel valuable.
[00:13:45] Something, you know, I've had times in my life when I was just in meeting,
after meeting, after meeting, after meeting after meeting and trying to figure out when
would I actually do any of my work.
[00:13:54] I know that. I know that feeling. Yes. I mean, I don't I don't want to badmouth
all the things. There's something great things that can come. And being in an
organization, some of them that I miss. But there's so much bullshit and my bullshit, that
bullshit tolerance come down.
[00:14:13] And as you've gotten older and with more experience, or is it always been
there?
[00:14:17] I think I've pretty much always had a pretty low bullshit tolerance. And I think
that's that's been one of my professional challenges because sometimes I have a hard
time keeping my mouth shut and really want to call bullshit. And sometimes I have. And
I think I think one of the things about getting older is recognizing how much I am willing
to call bullshit and that it's okay. Yes. Call bullshit. And also a certain amount of
discernment and picking your battles and deciding when to and deciding when it's not
worth it. Because, you know, you're never gonna get rid of all the bullshit in the world.
[00:14:51] Well, that's sad. It's just on the podcast now.
[00:14:55] No, I know we're moving into territory of advice, but what advice would you
have for people that are just entering the workforce now?
[00:15:02] What advice would you have for them if I said I would give to somebody just
starting out? Cultivate your support system, you know, whoever that is for you and have
lots of elements in that. Have lots of people in that. And that may be friends and family
and lovers and co-workers and mentors and colleagues, whatever, have that support
system because it's gonna be a wild ride and you're going to need those people and be
the support system for them.
[00:15:25] It's a two way street. Also, don't be afraid to call bullshit. You know, there's
just so much stuff that you shouldn't have to put up with. And it's OK to say I'm not going
to put up with that.
[00:15:36] Yeah, I think that's becoming more and more true. From when I first started
very long ago, we won't talk about it, but it feels now that that especially women have.
More opportunity to stamp and say that's not OK. Do you think that's true?
[00:15:52] I think that is true. I think it's getting better. There's more there's more of a
bigger sort of cultural dialogue around it being OK to say this is not OK. Yeah. And I that
doesn't mean there isn't still going to be backlash, and that doesn't mean there still isn't
a lot of crap to deal with.
[00:16:06] But I think they were just jerks or jerks. But I think also awareness. I think
awareness also from our male allies is much stronger now. And they really like, oh, why
are we doing that? That's not cool. It seems like that's increasing as well.
[00:16:18] It is. We're making some progress and I think we need to celebrate that and
find the places where we can see that because. Because we don't see that.
[00:16:26] It just feels helpless. You've got to find the good things and take joy in them
and celebrate them and not ever let those let you become complacent because we
suck.
[00:16:36] Got more to do. Well, that's an interesting point that you bring up the the
celebration, celebrating or wins, celebrating the good things that are going on. And it's
so easy to just let that pass by without notice. How are you celebrating your wins?
[00:16:52] I share them with people in that support network. You know, sometimes it's
it's a text or a call to somebody to let them know, hey, I just, you know, I just closed no
deal or hey, I just made a great discovery for somebody. I think sharing it is one of the
ways to do it, but also sometimes just reflecting on my own. I had a day Monday last
week. I mean, who's earlier this week when I have in those days where I just didn't feel
like I've gotten much done. And I felt kind of unfocused and and it just didn't feel like it
was happening. But then I got to the end of the day and I sat down with my journal and I
actually noted all the things that I've done.
[00:17:22] And I look back, Mr. Cloud, you know what? That actually was a pretty good
day. I made some progress. You know, it might not have been one of those blockbuster
days that we all have sometimes, but I really made some progress. And progress is
really what it's all about.
[00:17:34] It's taking even a little baby step forward. Nice. Yeah, that's a good point. I've
been told about gratitude practice at the end of the day, writing down three things you're
grateful for. And it sounds like something a little along this line.
[00:17:46] Yes. Yeah. I would totally be lying if I said I consistently did it every single
day. But I do it a lot and it makes such a difference. So what question do you wish I
would have asked you? That I haven't. I think maybe and it's something you didn't ask
about. I mean, pushing a little more. What are the things that you do on those days
when you are too scared? I like you can't.
[00:18:09] But I think one of the things I do is try to find a whole set of solutions to that
problem, because that's a problem.
[00:18:15] I have all the blasted time.
[00:18:19] So I need a whole set of ways to deal with that.
[00:18:22] I think one of the biggest ones is just to slice it really, really, really thin
because otherwise it just feels too big. So what is the teeny tiny step? And I'm not
talking about what can I get done today or what can I get done this afternoon or what
can I get done an hour? Sometimes it is sitting down on my computer and opening the
file that I need to be dealing with. I mean, making the steps that small, because once
you take the first step for me so much, the time the momentum starts to kick in. And it's
just getting over that hurdle of the first. So making that step, the teeny tiny ass thing that
I possibly can is is one of the best things. Reaching out, asking for help.
[00:18:59] Turning to people in that support network, because sometimes they will either
just give me that sort of the empathy that I need or sometimes to kick in the pants that I
needed, sometimes both.
[00:19:08] And sometimes knowing when to just walk away and say, you know, I can't
do this right now. Someone to go to something else and then to come back when I'm
ready to tackle it again.
Karin, what makes you a virago?
I think what makes me a virago is the willingness to do it, even though I'm scared to just know that being scared is just part of the process. And I'm going to go take steps anyway and to be willing to fall on my face over and over again and get up and try again.
[00:19:35] Yes, yes. And this has been such a pleasure.
[00:19:40] Thank you for spending time. Thank you for sharing your vulnerability with us
and more power to you. And if people wanted to get in touch with you about your
services, how could they do that?
[00:19:51] They can go to my website, which is Borgerson research dot com. It's all one
word. It's my last name. B o r g e r s o n research dot com where you can find me on Facebook under
the same name. Well, thank you very much for your time. Thank you.
[00:20:09] Thank you, my Viragos, for listening to the I Am Virago podcast. Check out new episodes every Tuesday. If you have ideas or suggestions of whom you'd like to hear from on this podcast, go to IAmVirago.com and leave a message. And remember, you are Virago.