Best of the Week 2020-2021: Teaching to the Future

ST. ED'S TRANSITIONS "IN MY SHOES" DIVERSITY SPEAKER ZOOM MEETINGS INTO NEW PODCAST SERIES

Since the launch of the "In My Shoes" Zoom series on diversity and inclusion last fall, VP of Equity & Inclusion James Knight and David Dowell '15 have been wanting to continue to provide alums with a place to share their diverse stories and perspectives. Pivoting to a podcast platform, St. Ed's new "In My Shoes" podcast series seeks to give audiences a chance to listen to these stories at any time and on a more frequent basis. "Switching to a podcast format for this series was a refining moment and we wanted to improve our content for our listeners," says David. "Our goal is to give students the chance to hear these stories and share in our guest's experiences who were once in their shoes at St. Ed's."

"What the podcast provides that the Zoom series could not was a flexible platform for our listeners to use to tune in at their convenience while also offering the content to a broader community who can share our podcast episodes with family and friends," says Mr. Knight. The new "In My Shoes" podcast is available on Apple podcasts, Spotify, and all podcast platforms. With new episodes every Monday evening, the first episode of the new season of "In My Shoes" interviewed Man of the Year Teon Smith '19 who is currently studying Finance and playing football at Boston College. In his interview, Teon explains what it was like to be a "model minority" at St. Ed's and how he excelled academically, athletically, and socially during his four years as an Edsman. "We love hearing about what alums are currently up to. Teon is doing some great things at college, but it was special for Teon to open up and share about the pressures that come with being named Man of the Year by faculty, staff, and his fellow peers. He talked about what it is like to be the first African American student to receive this award, and the expectation to succeed after graduating from St. Ed's. Teon offered some great advice to our listeners on how to strike a healthy balance in life and how he's applied it to his collegiate career," says David. "Our listeners are glad to hear that we brought this series back in a more reachable way and we're excited to have more people tune in because we truly feel anyone can learn something from these conversations." Click here to listen to "In My Shoes" via Spotify. Click her to listen to "In My Shoes" via Apple Podcast. Click here to listen to "In My Shoes" via Google Podcast.