Year One in Review

The podcast production team takes a look back at year one of the Scarlet & Brown Stories Podcast and the many ways our guests have exemplified the five Laurentian pillars of Learn, Serve, Give, Connect, and Celebrate.

Transcript

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Beth:  Hello everyone, and welcome back to Scarlet & Brown Stories. We are so excited to have such a special episode. My name is Beth Dixon. I'm the executive director of New York City Internships and Laurentian Engagement Associate. This episode, what we are going to be doing is taking a look back in a year in review of our first year of the Scarlet & Brown Stories Podcast. But I am certainly not alone, and I have the entire production team here, as we will have our own discussion of the year in review. First, I would like to introduce Amelia. How are you doing?

Amelia:  Hey there, Beth. Hey there all you Laurentians out there. It's such a pleasure to be on this review podcast, to chat with the team who's worked so hard over the last year, and just be able to reflect on the stories that we've heard and everything that we've learned about St. Lawrence in the process. I'm going to pass on the hellos and introductions to one of our hosts and behind the scene voices, Megan.

Megan:  Hello, everyone. Welcome to Scarlet & Brown Stories. My name is Megan Fry Dozier. It's been a great pleasure to be part of this team and learn from all of our different Laurentians throughout the year that we've been working on this project. Looking forward to the year ahead, and I believe Denny, you're up next.

Denny:  Thank you Megan. Hello everyone. My name is Denny Morreale. I am Class of 2007 and have also been involved with this production from the beginning. My job in the office, my real official position as I'm associate director of annual giving. I imagine we'll get a little more into how each of us got involved in this little production team after we go through the introductions, but next I am excited to finally get to introduce an extremely important MVP of our team. Who's yet to make an official appearance on the show, but who is maybe the linchpin of this whole thing, Amanda Brewer.

Amanda:  Hi everyone. Thanks Dennis. Amanda Brewer here I am the class of 2012 and I'm the senior associate director of Laurentian Engagement and annual giving. I have a fun lawn title and I have mostly been hiding behind the scenes on this podcast doing the bulk of the editing, but excited to be joining this group of wonderful hosts and colleagues today.

Beth:  Yes. We are so excited to finally have Amanda's voice on a podcast. We love it.

Denny:  It was only a matter of time.

Beth:  Exactly. So we are really excited. This is going to be a different format for us because the five of us are really going to do the reflective work and talk a little bit about what our goals were for this podcast and what our vision is for the future as we take a look back on the conversations that we've had with various different Laurentians over the past year. But before we do this, we have a little bit of an announcement to make about Amelia Jantzi, who will unfortunately be leaving the podcast team because...

Amelia:  I'm moving to Boston you all.

Beth:  A Laurentian hub for sure.

Amelia:  My time at St. Lawrence is winding down, but I'm delighted to be able to close out some of that time with this wonderful team on this project, who jumped on board wholeheartedly and with this idea, and I'm excited to be leaving the project in extremely capable hands.

Beth:  Thank you so much for everything that you've done.

Denny:  Yeah. Thank you, Amelia. Can we start at the beginning there a little bit perhaps, and because I feel like it does, when we think about how this all got started, you are the logical starting point. Can you take us back to what the premise was when you were having the initial conversations?

Amelia:  Sure. Part of where my thinking got started with this podcast was in the middle of the pandemic. Podcasts were something that I turned to a lot, and I noticed that communities really fostered around podcasts, around themes, around stories. And I started thinking about how that related to St. Lawrence and knowing that the St. Lawrence community is so strong. And this seemed like a way to really invite more Laurentians into the fold in a new way. Maybe you aren't reading the St. Lawrence magazine, but you really are interested in what are the stories of alumni and what they're doing. And this is a new way to tell those stories and for Laurentians to hear about each other, and to hear about St Lawrence and what's going on on campus and really continue to foster that relationship between Laurentians. So that was some of the thinking behind it.

Amelia:  And I think it's over the year that we've been doing this really grown. We've seen our guests really make each episode their own, bringing whatever stories they wanted to, and those things that made St. Lawrence so special to them front and center. When we were talking to Andy Chan, his experience was so unique and different from when we were talking to Tarah Price and BJ, but they all still shared this kinship in St. Lawrence, in what it means to be a Laurentian and to be connected to St. Lawrence. And I think that's really the heart of what this project is trying to reveal.

Beth:  I think a lot about when we were trying to name the podcast, and you all wish that you could see the 30 name list that we had, that we narrowed down, and narrowed down, and narrowed down. And we had some really good thoughts there, but ultimately it came down to Scarlet & Brown Stories. And I can't remember if that was Amanda, was that your thought there, was Scarlet & Brown Stories?

Amanda:  It might have been. I think I did a lot of brainstorming with Scarlet Brown, Laurentian.

Amelia:  90% of the potential titles you came up with Amanda.

Beth:  I'm pretty sure we had the Gridiron Podcast as one of them.

Denny:  Yeah. I think that was one of mine. It's a bit grizzly, right?

Beth:  I was concerned, they would think that this was a football podcast. Not exactly what our aim was here, but I think that Scarlet & Brown Stories makes a lot of sense because at the end of the day, we're trying to show how Laurentians are so similar, yet have all these wonderful, unique stories, that when I've gone back and listened to all these podcasts, which we're going to discuss definitely became apparent. I know that Denny and Amanda, you both are also listeners of podcasts. What made you want to join this project?

Denny:  Yeah. So I rightfully have no business being involved in this at all really. There's no logical reason why I would be part of this team. I listen to a ton of podcasts hours a day, probably. It's one of those background things when you are doing the dishes, or just I'll have them on when I'm doing different kinds of spreadsheet work, that kind of thing. And I don't really do other, you know I don't really do TV, I'm not getting tons of information. I use the internet obviously, but that's not in a deliberate way getting news from anything else. So my main access to what's going on in the world tends to be podcasts.

Denny:  And then on the other hand, in my work, I'm in annual giving and I work with volunteers and I spend a lot of time thinking about how do you kind of coordinate with a group of people who are scattered all around the world, and certainly around the country and communicate in an effective easy way that doesn't make them feel like it's work. So I had long fantasized about wanting to have some kind of podcast to just be engaging with our community. And I never quite mustered it up or anything. So when I heard there was one happening, I just raised my hand and started shouting and just basically said let me in, let me in. And that was it.

Beth:  I love that you said you have no business being on the team when you have all the business. You're like, "I had no business except for, it was perfect for my job responsibilities in the people that I'm talking to. And that this is something I've constantly thought about for years."

Denny:  Well, yeah, I mean, so I guess it's true, but I mean, relative to say Amelia whose work is specifically in the realm of communications. Mine, if you look at my job description, this is doesn't show up anywhere in there. That being said, I do think, we think about our traditional communication mediums mail. We have the St. Lawrence Magazine. We've had the website and Calling all Saints and social media more recently. But I have predicted that I think five years from now, the podcast will grow to a point where it's one of the main four legs of a communication stool. Yeah, maybe that's optimistic, but I would not be surprised to see that happen.

Beth:  I would love to say that happen. Amanda, did you have thoughts and dreams like that when you joined the podcast team?

Amanda:  My thoughts and dreams were to never to speak aloud.

Beth:  And we trapped you. Welcome to this podcast.

Amanda:  I, like Dennis, I'm a huge podcast fan doing chores, folding laundry, just walking around, it's just constantly listening to different voices and different stories. And the thought of being able to do that with St. Lawrence, Laurentians of all different walks of life was really exciting to me, but even more so was learning a new technical software and playing around with that. I really enjoy all that aspect of my job. So I had a little bit more business than I think Dennis did in that some of that is in my job description. But yeah, it was my own curiosity. And then also just wanting to work with everyone that had joined the team and raised their hand.

Beth:  I'm also curious with Megan, because I think that Megan has such an interesting background with her role where she's working with essentially special events volunteers. People who were going to be doing SLU Connect or helping out with presidential events. Megan, did that have any play into why you wanted to be involved with the podcast?

Megan:  It absolutely did. And from two perspectives. One, as you mentioned, I do SLU Connect. That's my main interaction with students, and it's so fun to meet an 18, or 19, or 20 year old student who has all of these brilliant ideas perspectives, how they're going to change the world. And then we don't necessarily get to hear all those stories once they leave campus. So it's been really exciting to reconnect with some of those voices and to see how they've taken the lessons that they've learned in Canton, and learned on campus and how they're applying them in the real world.

Megan:  And just coming from SLU connect, and some of the alumni that I had a chance to meet, there were very specific stories that I just wanted to get in front of a larger audience. They would speak to a group of 15, or 20, or 30 students, and that's a great opportunity, but there were stories that I wanted to shout from the rooftops. So that's been the most exciting part about this project for me.

Beth:  I really appreciate hearing that just because for those that don't know, Megan has been such a wonderful champion for so many of the wonderful voices that we've had on our podcast. Most notably Ross Gibby, which we know that she got to fan girl a little bit about concrete with Ross. And that was such a great conversation, but it's exactly these kind of connections that our individual roles of working with alums, students, faculty, and staff in the greater community help us to define these guests. So with all of that introduction said, one of the things that we noticed as we went through to plan this podcast is we each took some different episodes to listen through ourselves and take some notes about some of the themes that we noticed over the past year.

Beth:  And we noticed that the Laurentian for Life pillars are well represented here. So for those that don't know, Laurentian for Life celebrates the five pillars of what we believe it means to be a Laurentian. Well we are doing today is celebrating. So Laurentian celebrate is one of them, but we also have Laurentians learn, Laurentians give, Laurentians serve, and Laurentians connect. And what we found was that all of our podcasts do a really great job of exemplifying all four of those pillars. In addition to celebrate, we feel like this podcast in itself is that anyway. So I thought maybe we could start with some of the moments that we feel like really exemplified Laurentians connect.

Amelia:  I think the one that jumped out at me is our episode featuring reunion. It's the obvious one there. I feel like I just took the give me answer, but you know reunion is so much about connecting with Laurentians, and connecting with the actual physical space of St. Lawrence, and being present in that. And so he being able to hear from BJ about her years of experience as a reunion volunteer, making that possible and connecting with Tarah, who was going to be going to her very first reunion as a grad one year out from graduation was just such a beautiful example of that.

Denny:  I would agree. So the reunion episode captured really a lot of things, and I had the same thought. There's moments in that I would point to that really perfectly hit on the connect idea. I mean, she lays out a thesis about how reunion does that. So you're not going to do better than that in terms of hitting on that topic. I should also say, when we talked about the premise of this episode, one of the things we talked about was to address you the audience, and we've been trying to do some things here that we hope you will like.

Denny:  But we also would love to hear from you and part of doing this was to show you our thought process, and then hopefully hear back what you think of that, and what things you'd like to hear more of. But that reunion episode, really the way it was structured, I think did capture a bit of magic. And it's something that moving forward, I think we would like to try to repeat that formula more of bringing in different kinds of people and having them tell stories with each other and connect that way.

Beth:  I think that Laurentians connect can have so many different meanings. It doesn't necessarily mean a job connection. We often think of it as a kind of a career services or a careers excellence scope, especially when we're thinking on campus, but connection as we'll tell you anybody, who's in charge of career mentoring and networking like I am, connections and networking is all about just finding something in common with another person, which thankfully for us at St. Lawrence, we all have St. Lawrence in common, but sometimes those connections are forged a little deeper.

Beth:  One of the ones that I really think stood out to me when I went back and listened was Dzifa Yador's '11 podcast, where she talked very candidly about how important and essential the black student union was for her in order to feel comfortable on campus, to have a network of support. And that she also talks about how Dean Tolliver, who was the Dean of students when we were students, he was instrumental in having her get connected with people on campus that had a similar experience of being in the north country and being on St Lawrence's campus.

Beth:  And while the black student union was so important for her in order to feel connected, she passed that on to the younger students who were joining the community and needed that outreach as well. And so I really appreciate those little moments that we hear about the connections that got people through St. Lawrence, or continue to be there for St. Lawrence alums.

Megan:  Absolutely Beth. I think another one of our speakers who spoke so eloquently to the need for connection was Reverend Shaun Whitehead, who serves as the chaplain on campus. And she specifically talked about how the pandemic really underscored that fundamental need for interconnectedness. And while it was a painful period, it was also a period that forced many of us to grow, and to learn new skills and new ways of connecting, because that's the foundation of everything that we do at St. Lawrence, we all come because during that open house or that admissions tour, we connected with something about this place. And then the connections just grow from there. And we add our little dots to the picture.

Beth:  Absolutely. Amanda, do any connect moments stand out to you when you're thinking back on some of our podcasts?

Amanda:  My favorite connection story was thinking about Hana Bushara, and how she described the people that she met at St. Lawrence as "golden people", and how they made St. Lawrence and her experience on campus even though she thought initially, maybe I don't fit in here. Maybe this isn't where I want to be. It was the people and the connections that she made with the many different activities that she was involved with, her fall in love with St. Lawrence and for St. Lawrence to have such a meaningful impact and place in her heart. And that sticks with me. The description of meeting golden people of all walks of life here on campus and Canton, New York, and how she's carried that on with her to London, and how she still calls back to all of her friends. And there's a specific clip when she's talking about a FaceTime and she's walking through the pub, and I just really love that.

Beth:  And of course, the connections that St Lawrence alum students, faculty, and staff have are not just connections themselves. Sometimes they lead to various different call to action. So one of the things I think is a great little transition here is to talk a little bit about Laurentians serve. So many of our alums that we spoke to talked about what they're doing in order to stay involved with St Lawrence or with their local communities. And one of the people that I think about a lot for the serve aspect was Jeff Byrne '74. And Jeff was very involved with the link mentorship program and talked about how he appreciates getting involved in this way, not only to meet some of the other alums who are doing the same program, but to also serve as a mentor. It's not somebody who's a coach or a teacher. It's not a family member.

Beth:  It's nobody who has a certain level of power over you. It's somebody who's there to guide you to be a listening ear, to maybe give you something that's not what you're expecting to hear from an adult who's in the Laurentian community. And I really appreciated his perspective on that. And of course, we appreciate the fact that he's a link mentor as well. But I wondered Megan, do you have anybody that you think of off the top of your head from different podcasts that we've listened to that really exemplifies the idea of Laurentians serve?

Megan:  You know that is a tough one, Beth, because I think that there are so many and we all serve in different ways.

Beth:  Absolutely.

Megan:  But one of the examples that I thought was really cool was actually the group of students and talking with our Esport coordinators and how the creation of our Esports team was really driven by our students and they petitioned our administration to be included as part of the team. So yes, that's very much something that they're doing for themselves. And if it's a sport that they're passionate about, but they're also creating this incredible legacy for the next generation of Laurentians that comes along. So that's always really exciting to see when it's students picking up the banner and not just taking the lessons or the opportunities that we give them as an institution, but really creating their own path. So that's one that sticks out to me.

Beth:  I think it's a great one. I think oftentimes we're hearing about how students, either the alums, when we're talking to them, when they were students and things that are still going on, that they maybe were instrumental in. But also the idea that no students, especially nowadays are very focused on what kind of legacy can we leave behind that could help other people. That was also very apparent in the Dzifa Yador interview that we listened back on.

Denny:  To me for this one, what really struck out was, and I'm a bit biased here was the conversation with Lizzie Edwards, where we got to talking about really the way that her and I have worked together. She's been just an all star volunteer for St. Lawrence and the way that I conceptualize the volunteer programs, not just the one that I manage, but we have an array from the young alumni league, of course, but then alumni executive council, the parent leadership giving committee, the trustees of course is the ultimate volunteer organization associated with the university.

Denny:  It's these different organizations, different stages of volunteering that are what makes St. Lawrence a thing that continues to run and to ideally serve. The students who come here make the opportunities possible that are possible. And just hearing her explain what the experience is like for her. I mean, it meant a lot to me having worked with her for a long time to hear that, but I think it captured something really nice about the Laurentians serve sentiment.

Beth:  I do think that Laurentians serve and Laurentians give kind of go hand in hand. So we have so many people who, part of the reason we were talking about the link mentorship program, giving back is definitely a part of service as well. And there were definitely quite a few moments in so many of our interviews where that was exemplified. I'm specifically thinking about one of the trustees that we got to interview with Andy Chan. Amanda, did you really feel like I do that Andy is such a great example of somebody who serves by giving back?

Amanda:  Absolutely. I mean, he talked about how he got his first job from a connection that he made with trustees, and how that really impacted him and all of the relationships he had with faculty and staff on campus and how one of the honors that he's had as an alum was to be asked to be a McCurdy Sprague trustee, and how he really sees that as his duty to give back to St. Lawrence and serve in that capacity to make sure that, the students that are on campus today had those opportunities just like he did when he was a student having graduated back in 2014. So he's the perfect example of that.

Beth:  He definitely came to my mind as well. Another person who came to my mind Amelia and is Sonja Jensen who-

Amelia:  Oh yeah.

Beth:  ... I think exemplifies the idea of giving back.

Amelia:  The girl could not give back more. I mean, she just lives and breathes Scarlet & Brown. No, it's, what's really great about our conversation with Sonja Jensen was how she was so impacted to give back through time and volunteerism, not just to St. Lawrence, but to the north country community, because I think you can't really separate St Lawrence from the north country, that there is a relationship between this campus and this place that we live, and the people that live here to be in such a world, but the breathtakingly beautiful part of the country.

Amelia:  And so it was really interesting to talk to Sonja and to hear about her experience with SLU pick and how that landed her working in Garden Share in the north country, and wanting to be in the north country and to work with these people and to stay here and to use all of the experiences she gained from St. Lawrence and to working with food access and in our communities, and really giving back to the community that gave so much to her during her four years on campus. And so I thought that was just really great. Because you really see how this spirit of service and giving is fostered at St. Lawrence and how it impacts communities afterwards, not just our community, but we empower our students to become leaders in the communities that they inhabit after they graduate.

Beth:  Absolutely snaps. That's exactly how I feel too Amelia. And Denny, another podcast that I was thinking about that really exemplifies this idea of giving back, which is kind of in a different capacity, is what we have affectionately deemed the Paul-cast. Where Paul Doty and Paul Haggett of special collections and archive department in the library, their version of giving back is a little different, but I think it works here.

Denny:  Yeah. I do think that's an interesting way of looking at that. I really enjoyed that one, and I feel like that's another episode type. Getting into a little corner of how the university works. The behind the scenes of it all I think is personally interesting myself, and this is another place where I'd be very curious to hear from the audience, if you're listening and you heard that episode how that struck you, and if there are other corners of the university you'd like us to try to pull the curtains back on and explore. We would very much like to know about that.

Beth:  One of the other things I liked about the Paul-cast episode is that it was very Laurentian's learn oriented as well. We got to learn a lot about the history of the institution of some of the really interesting and historical items that we have in our special collections. And I just really enjoyed hearing Paul and Paul talk a lot about what their day looks like, what a year could look like. Having people who are contacting them for research purposes and coming to visit our campus. In addition to Laurentians themselves, just wanting to learn more about the university.

Beth:  And it just exemplifies once again, that Laurentians learn. We are lifelong learners of the liberal arts. We love to make those connections and give what we do... Sorry, I'm just trying to make those all work together. But that said, I really think we have learned a lot as we've listened to so many of these people this past year, that we've had the pleasure of interviewing. Megan, who's somebody that really pops out to you that really exemplifies the idea of Laurentians learn.

Megan:  So many of our guests. You could offer an example for one that stood out to me, I know we've mentioned Lizzie Edwards and she works as a teacher. And she spoke to the way that her liberal arts education has influenced the way that she teaches, and the way that she gets her middle school students excited about learning about history and current events. And that intersection. And Danica Cunningham is another working in music therapy.

Megan:  So she's again taking these seemingly disparate topics of music and psychology, bringing them together and teaching people how to cope with whatever their particular diagnosis, or challenge, or issue may be. So those two young Laurentians are two that really stand out to me when I think about not only do Laurentians learn, but Laurentians also teach.

Beth:  I think we should add a six pillar, Laurentians teach. What do you think Amanda?

Amanda:  I love that. And I really thought that Megan was going to talk about Ross Gibby.

Denny:  Yeah.

Megan:  If I start talking about Ross Gibby, and turning plastic into concrete and solving environmental issues that way, we'll be here all afternoon. I'll scare everyone, but seriously CRDC Global, check them out. Super cool Laurentians, super cool company, and my favorite topics.

Amanda:  Yeah. And to your point Beth and Megan, I learned so much listening to Ross talk, and was just blown away of how his passion for that came out of a project he was doing on documentaries. And how he just grabbed it and ran with it and created this amazing company and is teaching everybody about the importance of recycling and creating an outlet for people to recycle plastics that otherwise wouldn't be able to be processed with his project, the Bag That Gives. And he is just exemplifies learning and teaching, and really giving back just in general to everything.

Denny:  Yeah. That was an episode for me, where I felt like I was not hosting or on the show, but I was listening backstage as the episode was being recorded. And there were so many moments where I wanted to unmute myself, and jump in with a question or something. And that also gets at something that I think we're trying to do with the podcast, which is, I know that this is the case for me, but I think in general, this is a St. Lawrence thing, the spirit of curiosity that is both part of who it is we look for in our admissions process, but also it's a characteristic that the academic programs are really designed carefully to foster and help grow.

Denny:  And I think that the longer I've been working in the alumni office and the more people I've met, it does seem to be a common personality trait that doesn't matter who the person is or what they do for work or what they studied, that spirit of curiosity is there. And it's one of the most fun parts about being on this team, is that there's an endless number of interesting people in our community. And we get to grab them and set them down in front of a microphone and indulge our own curiosities about what it is that they do. And luckily we have enough that there's a eternity of episodes that we could end up doing, just serving that purpose.

Beth:  Agreed. One of the best examples I think of Laurentians learn in relating to that is Hagi Bradley, who was our first interview that we ever had. And not only did we get to learn about what it's like for him to not only transition as the newer Dean of students during a pandemic, where he had only had maybe four or five months on campus before the pandemic hit, but I really liked what he talked about is that, he has to learn from the students in order to help the students, in order to provide services for the students, to give them clubs and organizations and have services like counseling and security and all these different divisions on campus that he is in charge of.

Beth:  And one of the things that I thought was really great to hear from him was just when he's learning from the students, he also knows how he can be best transparent with them, so that they can learn and how understand why certain things are the way they are, and what is the process for doing X, Y, Z. And so hopefully that will help those students not only understand the process at St. Lawrence, but understand how to enact change in other organizations when they leave. Or in our world, how they can be a more efficient change maker in addition to a Laurentian for life learner. So I think that we have plenty of examples throughout all of these wonderful podcasts that showcase all of the wonderful pillars that we've discussed today.

Beth:  Before we close out, we would like to ask here in the audience, what do you want to see in year two? Is there something, is there a void that we're not filling that you would just love for us to do? Is there something that's working? Is there something that's not working? You can submit all of those pieces of feedback to the email address that is in the show notes, which is connect@stlawu.edu. So submit all of your comments, concerns, questions, qualms, quandary queries, please submit all of those to the email address, because we would love to hear from you as well. As we close out here, I would like each person here to think about what's something that you would like to see in year two. I'm going to start with Amelia because it'll be interesting. She'll be a listener from here on out.

Amelia:  Yeah. I knew you were going to pick me first Beth. I think I'd love to see more shows where we get multiple guests on. I feel like the dynamic that we had with the podcast, that we had with our reunion episode and really being able to see our guests communicate with and to each other really brings a really unique, authentic story to life. And I just would love to be able to be a fly on the wall and hear a handful of Laurentians. Maybe they're bound together by the same affinity, or the same industry, or some other thematic way, or really not at all, but to just be able to see them connect about St. Lawrence, and about being Laurentian, and what that really means. What does being a part of this community mean?

Beth:  I think we could do that. I think we could do that.

Amelia:  I have faith in this team.

Beth:  Perfect. Megan, what are your thoughts? What would you like to see going into year two?

Megan:  I don't know if this counts as a spoiler, but the last interview that we did with a young alumnus really focused around a specific story that he lived at St. Lawrence. And it was really cool to do a deep dive into that particular chapter of his life. A lot of the interviews that we've done this past year have been very high level overview, a little bit general. So this one that we have coming up is a little bit different. I think it's going to be super cool. And I think there are some other chapters and other Laurentian lives that I'd love to do a deeper dive into.

Beth:  Definitely. And this is a good teaser more than it is a spoiler that is coming for our storytelling in August. Denny, what would you like to see in year two?

Denny:  Oh, Megan nailed it. Read my mind there. That episode, that template there really, it came from, it was a thought I had going back to the reunion episode hearing the way that BJ Blodgett was telling stories about the changes in the university between when she was a freshman, and when she graduated in 1972. And I just thought it was fascinating and I wanted to be brought back and put in the shoes of someone in those days and hear the songs, and just feel what it was like through hearing them.

Denny:  And so thinking of it as really a model of like, take me back to freshman year, or a single anecdote. And even better if we could get to let's say two roommates and where they're maybe even having disagreements. Because I think as we talked about in that reunion episode, you don't store all your own memories in your own mind. So having two people that can fill in the gaps in the story and they figure it out in real time, I think would be fun. And to just be fun about it too, or to be sad. I want an episode that's cheerful and I want episodes that are funny, and all the feelings I think would just be great.

Beth:  We will try to bring that kind of catharsis of feeling in our podcast for sure. And Amanda, to close it out, what would you like to see in year two?

Amanda:  I hope we can find some more interesting Laurentian experts who can just teach us about really different, fascinating things that they're doing either as a hobby or as their profession. I really enjoyed those episodes and thinking about learning something that I have no idea about, like I had no idea about music therapy, and all the different aspects that go into it and listening to Danica really opened my mind to a lot of different possibilities out there. And so I think finding some more Laurentians like that, where we can do deep dives into their area of expertise would be really, really good.

Beth:  And my goal is just to get more Laurentian singer alum on the podcast. We only had, I believe two this past year and... No, I'm just kidding. I echo all of your thoughts. I'm so excited to see what year two brings to this podcast. And we hope that all of you at home have enjoyed this little reflection. And maybe have encouraged you if you haven't listened to all the episodes, to go back and listen to all of the podcasts.

Beth:  To see, first of all, how our technology has changed and grown from the first couple mics that we used to the better ones, to see how our format has potentially changed and been tweaked. And let us know, give us your thoughts. And if you're on Apple podcast, please leave your ratings and reviews for us there. It helps the algorithm and you might help other Laurentians find the podcast as well. I want to thank everybody here on the podcast production team for all of your work, not only this past year, but in the prep work to get this podcast going and I can't wait to work with all of you into this next year.

Amanda:  Thank you.

Denny:  Thank you very much.

Amelia:  Thanks Beth.

Megan:  Here we go Saints.

Megan:  Bye everybody.

[Theme Music Starts]

Beth:  Scarlet & Brown Stories is edited and produced by Amanda Brewer. Megan Fry Dozier, Dennis Morreale, Beth Dixon, and Amelia Jantzi.

Amelia:  Our music was written by Christopher Watts inspired by Eugene Wright '49.

Beth:  Subscribe to Scarlet & Brown Stories on Apple Podcast, Spotify, and wherever you listen to podcasts.

Amelia:  If you have a story you'd like to submit to us, you can email us at connect@stlawu.edu.

[Music Ends]