Student Feature
College Prep and Career Development
Student Success
To coincide with the release of Coastline’s debut podcast we offer this bonus blog with an inside look at how it was made & the kinds of insights you’ll find when you listen...
Coastline has just launched its first-ever podcast series! Titled Learning to Learn, the 5-part miniseries is an expedition into the heart of how we as humans and students can learn and grow, in and out of the classroom. The show was produced by yours truly, Saul Rubin, and co-written and co-hosted alongside Associate Professor Danny Pittaway, Coastline’s Student Success Coordinator.
This podcast has been in development and production (in fact we’re still producing episodes!) for the past few months, but now we’re excited to share it with you at the college and beyond! So what can you expect to find in Learning to Learn?
ONE: Real Talk
L2L is all about having real conversations with real people struggling with very real issues. In episode one, my own anxieties take center stage as we delve into the panic attacks of my youth. The goal of sharing something so personal is to let listeners know that having panic attacks (and anxiety in general) doesn’t make you less than whole.
TWO: Real Advice
The subject of Episode One, “Going Easy on Yourself,” couldn’t be more suited for this moment. Mental Health Awareness Month is coming to a close, but that doesn’t mean everything is fine and dandy. In the episode, my co-host and I spoke with Claudia Vernon, who we’ve spoken to before. Claudia is one of Coastline’s mental health counselors and has over 20 years of experience.
We talk about the pandemic, stress, and how you can manage your “overflowing plate” of to-dos and obligations. For anyone struggling with the concept of failure, Episode One can help you come to terms with it. Having Claudia Vernon on the show was an incredible privilege and opportunity. She is truly an expert on this topic (and many others) and I know Danny and I were both thrilled to be able to listen to and learn from her.
Episode Two, when it’s released next week, will highlight the juggling, balancing act students constantly do. We interviewed Natalie Tran, a former Coastline student herself, who can speak firsthand about that struggle. We didn’t just want the perspectives of professors. We looked to you the student in order to learn how to approach work-life balance.
L2L Full Series on Coastline's YouTube
THREE: Fun!
(I put an exclamation point so it must be legit!)
(...See I did it again!)
While it’s true that we cover serious issues on L2L (learning is important and knowing how to learn is invaluable) we also know that part of being in a classroom (or anywhere for that matter) is making friends, having fun, and having conversations. And that’s what we strived to deliver in L2L.
FOUR: Brevity
They say brevity is the soul of wit. But you wouldn’t know that from most podcasts these days. I can’t tell you how many times I stumble onto a good show only to find each episode took the equivalent of three chores, a walk, and a drive to complete. I don’t have that kind of time!
We made L2L short, sweet, and to the point. These episodes pack a punch; they’re filling, like that sandwich you love from that place by your apartment (you know the one). Most important, we’ve taken care to excise all the fluff and filler and left just the good parts. It’s like how the secret to a good bánh mì or sub is pulling out the interior of the bread so you can add more delicious ingredients. (I’ve made myself very hungry just now.)
Coastline's Student Success Resource Center
FIVE: Interesting Insights
Now, you may think we already covered this in Reason #2. But the fact is offering real advice & interesting insights are two different things. It’s true that we interviewed experts, but it also happens that these experts are in highly engaging fields.
For example, in episode three we will sit down with Katherine Amoukhteh and Professor Stephanie Bridges, both of whom, along with Dean Dana Emerson, coordinate and lead Coastline’s esports club. You’ve read Noah Nelson’s amazing blogs on this subject and also heard from Stephanie and Katherine before, but now you’ll actually get to listen to them cover the ways esports and video games help with learning too.
Wrappin' It Up
The podcast is available on both Apple’s Podcast Directory and Spotify as well as a host of other places. You can also check it out on its own landing page. Subscribe, Follow, Download, Listen, Mash Buttons(!), Do Everything But Throw Your Phone Across the Room (unless you meant to, in which case, Go For It)!
