Episode Transcript
[00:00:04] Speaker A: Hello and welcome to Kendall speaks. I am Dr. Brian Stewart Kendall campus president.
And today Kendyl speaks with Isabella Arce, student and editor in chief of the reporter, Manola Barco, advisor to the reporter, and Leo Alvarez, manager of media services. Welcome. How are you doing today?
[00:00:24] Speaker B: Great. Thank you for having us.
[00:00:25] Speaker A: Great having you here today. So let's first start about your journey and how you got to the Kendall campus. Manu, let's start with you. How did you get to Miami Dade College?
[00:00:34] Speaker B: I'll tell you first, a little bit of my background. I worked as a reporter at the Miami Herald in Broward covering breaking news for a couple of years. And then I moved to Dallas. I was a reporter covering cops and courts for about three years and at the Dallas Morning News came back home to Miami. Originally, I'm a graduate of North Campus Miami Dade College, where I was the student editor of the paper, the Falcon Times. So I came back to the college to work in media relations. I was there for three and a half years and then I've been working with the student newspapers since then. Going to my 18th year now.
[00:01:07] Speaker A: Wow, that's great. I was born and raised in Texas, so I know the Dallas Morning News very well.
[00:01:11] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:01:12] Speaker A: Well, glad to have you here. Great, great career. Isabella, tell us about your path to Miami Dade College and being the editor of our reporter.
[00:01:19] Speaker C: Yeah, so I started off by seeing my brother go to Miami Dade College and our immigrant parents, they were really motivating and supportive and telling us, you know, you got to go to college. So I decided to apply to the honors college and I enrolled as a pre nursing student. And then there was a little break in between, you know, high school and college, you know, summertime.
[00:01:45] Speaker A: Right.
[00:01:45] Speaker C: And I was kind of like a little bored and tired and I was like seeking a creative outlet. So then I decided to join the reporter, thanks to a friend of mine who's now our photo editor, Alejandra Quiros. And that's just been great. Super fun the past year or so. Yeah. So I started off as editor in chief in August and a good shout.
[00:02:03] Speaker A: Out to your photographer there.
[00:02:04] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:02:05] Speaker A: And so you're still in the honors College?
[00:02:06] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:02:06] Speaker A: How's that going?
[00:02:08] Speaker C: It's been fun. It's been different.
[00:02:10] Speaker A: A lot of work.
[00:02:11] Speaker C: A lot of work. Yeah, it's a lot. And I've been just trying to find a way to balance it all. And I'm also not a journalism major. I'm a pre nursing major. So it's a little different. I've been a lot of science Classes here and there. So. Yeah.
[00:02:23] Speaker A: Well, we're glad to have you today and thank you for your great work with the college and the reporter, Leo Alvarez, media manager. Tell us about your path to Miami Dade College, Kendall campus.
[00:02:32] Speaker D: All right, so I graduated from FIU with a background more in print journalism. Right. I thought that I was going to be out there getting the news, doing the hardcore journalism. Right. But I saw that when my degree, it was a little bit more well rounded. Right. I could do social media, I could do photography, I could do video, I could do pr. I could do so many things with my degree. Right. I had thought that I could only do one thing. So, you know, I started working for Channel 2 PBS. I worked for the South Beach Wine and Food Festival, but mostly higher education at fiu. I'm grateful. Now I'm a professor at fiu. I'm an adjunct there that I teach visual design, public speaking, and I started here at MTC in 2022.
[00:03:10] Speaker A: All right, well, we're glad to have you. Isabelle, let's start with you. You talked a little bit about what inspired you to join the college newspaper, but any other aspects of that that have been rewarding and, you know, talk about just your pathway to your role now.
[00:03:24] Speaker C: Yeah. So I started off as a staff writer in October of last year and it was just really fun getting to try out writing these different stories about different industries that I've never even really delved deep into or. One of my first big stories was about the Emmy nominations that MDCTV received and they went on to win. So it was really cool learning about their different projects, film, audio. It was just really cool to learn that. And throughout this past year, I've gotten to do a bunch of different stories where I've gotten to learn about different people around the community, and that's just been great. And I found that not only am I learning about the community, but I'm actually helping the community. I'm giving them a platform and I'm letting them use their voice through our stories while we're letting them. And that's just been really great because although I'm not a nursing, I'm not a nurse yet, I've been able to find a way to help the community still. And that's what I want to do when I become a nurse.
[00:04:19] Speaker A: That's an awesome way to describe it. I love that. So, Isabella, I just learned that you were nominated for the Pacemaker Award. Can you tell us a little bit about that award and how you got nominated for that?
[00:04:29] Speaker C: Yeah. So The Pacemaker Award, it's one of the top or the top journalism award that they given college for the student led publications. So we were nominated for that for last year's issue under our editor in chief or previous editor in chief, Nicolientes. So it was really cool. I was part of the work last year as a staff writer. So it's really cool to see that we were nominated for that.
[00:04:53] Speaker A: That's good. That's good. Talk a little bit about your role as the editor of the college newspaper.
[00:04:59] Speaker C: So that transition going from staff writer to editor in chief, I remember it was really interesting. Thankfully, I still had the previous editor in chief helping me out and adjusting to the role. And as editor in chief, I'm able to oversee our section editors for news briefing, forum, sports and photo briefing. And then I also assigned to different staff writers, illustrators, photographers. So it's really cool to kind of just lead everything. I've always been kind of a supporter, so to go from support to lead, it was a little different. But thankfully I've been able to do it and you know, we've continued publishing and everything's been going well so far. I agree.
[00:05:42] Speaker A: It's doing a great job. And I believe I saw you on the day you were interviewed here. Weren't you interviewed at Kendall?
[00:05:48] Speaker C: Yes, I was interviewed at Kendall Campus Dean Vasquez, she interviewed me along with Manolo, our previous editor in chief, Nicole and Mohammed, who's an old mentor of Manolo's. So it was really cool to see that. And of course a student representative as well, the SGA president of Homestead Campus. So it was really cool to see.
[00:06:07] Speaker A: Congratulations. Share. Share some memorable stories or articles that you've had significant impact to you.
[00:06:13] Speaker C: Yeah, no, there's so many. The first one that comes to mind, honestly just being here, is the speech lab story that we did in the spring. So I wrote it. It was really nice to come here and speak with Dr. Titus and Paul about the speech lab. They kind of walked me through everything while they were constructing it. So it's really cool now to just be sitting here and recording this podcast and seeing the final product.
So yeah, that's really cool. I would say that another story is also the Robotech lab that we have here at a Kendall campus. That was really cool. I got to also do a little walk through the tech lab. But to me, that story is one of my favorites just because after we published it and it went into print, we distributed the paper I was distributing at the data analytics center and there were some students who Used the robotech lab and they were there and they flipped to the story and they were like, oh, my God, we're finally on the newspaper. So that was really cool to see that, you know, our stories do have an impact and there are students who do read the newspaper and see, you know, feel represented in our story. So that was really cool. And then most recently, I would say the men's soccer team story and the woman's. That was really cool to, you know, be part of that legacy almost and write about it. And the men's soccer team are now doing great and the women's too. So that was really cool to just write those stories and be part of everyone's story throughout the Kendall campus community.
[00:07:33] Speaker A: Well, you read my mind. I was going to thank you for your coverage of athletics in the Kendall campus. And we are getting ready to open the AI center in January so you can come back to the Robotel area and we have a follow up story potentially for you. So I want to thank you and Melilla both for your great coverage of the Kendall campus. We all, we all are competitive about our campuses being mentioned. When I was at Medical, I couldn't wait to see if we had an article in one of our programs. But we appreciate the coverage because it does make a difference. And having men's and women's soccer and our volleyball team was ranked number one in the country recently. So all of those things, you guys have done a great job covering. We appreciate it. Thank you, Isabella.
[00:08:09] Speaker C: Thank you.
[00:08:10] Speaker A: All right, Manila, tell us about your role. What is your role in guiding students who work for our school newspaper?
[00:08:15] Speaker B: Well, it's funny because I guess most administrators, most staff that I talk to, they think I'm the editor of the paper. And obviously I'm not the editor of paper. My responsibility is to guide these young people to make sure that they have good, you know, common sense, critical thinking skills, that they are looking at stuff factually, they're looking for facts. So that's my biggest role, is to guide them through the process. If there's an issue, then, you know, I could get involved. I might be able to make a phone call and, you know, try to help them on that way. But I am not the editor in chief of the paper. Contrary to what most people think.
[00:08:45] Speaker A: I have to say there's been a couple articles. One are written on me and they are so well written. I know I'm prejudiced about it, but every time I read the articles, this paper this year seems to be very well written. So kudos to you. And the team.
[00:08:57] Speaker B: Thank you. Thank you.
[00:08:58] Speaker A: Talk a little bit about what skills and lessons you hope your students gain from working with the paper.
[00:09:02] Speaker B: I think critical. I say critical thinking has talked about that. You know, I think part of it somehow we fail, I think into K12 system. Sometimes in teaching students to think for themselves, we teach them to think what we want them to think.
[00:09:15] Speaker A: Right.
[00:09:15] Speaker B: And I think part of the big thing with the paper is for them to have critical thinking skills, you know, and I think that's immensely important. But most of our students are not journalism majors. They're going to be going on to other careers. You know, Isabella is a nursing major. We have others that are psychology majors, you know, all kinds of majors that we have. But I think those are skills. Critical thinking skills are something that can carry over to any career, whether it's nursing, whether it's being a police officer, whether it's whatever area you're going to need critical thinking skills. And I think that's something where students really need to work on, particularly when you're 18, 19 years old. And also, you know, it's very daunting to interview the president of a campus, the college president, a dean. And sometimes, you know, our students are asked to ask them very tough questions, or even if it's just a simple question, you know, again, seeing someone who is a higher up and asking those questions. But those are important questions to inform the community of Miami Dade College. First and foremost, their audience is students and then staff and, you know, faculty and all that.
[00:10:12] Speaker A: And it's a great teaching aspect, too, that you do with them. So that's a great answer. How do you balance guiding students with giving them freedom and expressing themselves? Kind of goes with what you were just saying a little bit.
[00:10:23] Speaker B: Well, you're guided by the First Amendment, right? So at the end of the day, it's their newspaper. My job, again, is to make sure that they are factual, that they are being fair. So let's say they were writing a story about you. Maybe it was positive, negative. As long as they're getting both sides of the story, they're being fair, they're being factual. Those are important ingredients to what they're doing. At the end of the day, what they're doing here with Isabella was talking about, they are chronicling history, you know, 10, 20, 30, you know, they think they're going to be 18, 19 years old forever. I felt I was just 19 years old myself. I'm 51 now, close to be 52. But they are chronicling history. And I look back at old archives of the Falcon Times, which is a student newspaper at North. And I look at things that were going on in the 60s, 70s, and I'm like, you have it. Everything is there. And so basically what they're doing right now is chronicling whether it's the return of the soccer team, whether it's a new podcast, whether it's a student who has a career and who knows that student might turn out to be Sylvester Stallone. You know, we have archives of Sylvester Stallone when he was a student here, or different people have contributed. You know, so many. Miami Dade College does so much in the community and helps so many people and gives them opportunity. And I think the student newspaper is the same. You know, the Reporter has only existed since 2010. We had three student newspapers up in 2010. We merged them. And kids, from just the 2010 to now, which is, you know, very short period of time, we have had kids that gone out to work or intern at places like the New York Times, Washington Post, Boston Globe, Dallas Morning News, Miami Herald, TV stations all across the country.
You know, sometimes you could turn on TV stations or on Instagram and see kids that are doing great. And one of the things I say is, for me, one of the biggest things for me biggest joys is that I get to see these kids grow up. You know, I see kids that I joke but, you know, barely can tie their shoe to. Now I get a invitation to be the best man at a wedding or someone who's having a kid or somebody who's buying a house. And you're talking about kids that are growing up, people that are growing up. No longer kids. I have, you know, kid people now who are like, I mean, in a way, there'll always be kids to me, but who are 30 something, mid-30s and at the focal point of their career. So. And again, not all of them are journalism majors.
[00:12:29] Speaker A: Right? That's awesome. Well, you mentioned some of your stories. Why don't you come up with a couple of memorable ones that really, really hit your head? Home to you, if you would.
[00:12:37] Speaker B: So we've had, again, we've had students who have really been successful. You have people like Alex De Armas who's at Channel seven. You have a young man named Lazaro Gamio who has been at the Washington Post, New York Times. I remember, you know, know, when Lazaro was. Lazaro is the young man who created. He's not a young man anymore, but he created the logo of the reporter. And I remember sitting with him and to Be on the ground floor of that. And to see it kind of come to fruition. We had a very short time to go ahead and get that done. We had a couple of months. And, you know, so I would always see these stories. Lazarus would be in the newsroom. People would be surrounding him, Right. They were always huddled up around him. Fast forward to, like, a year later. I went to the Herald. I forget why. And. And Lazarus was already doing stuff for the Herald. And all of a sudden, in the corner, I see a commotion, and all of a sudden I see people huddle around this guy. And it was Lazaro. It was basically the same things that I would see in our office now happening in, you know, a daily newspaper.
[00:13:34] Speaker A: Major daily newspaper.
[00:13:35] Speaker B: And basically to see that transformation from student to that. You know, Lazaro has always been brilliant. He's. It was brilliant from the first day he stepped in here. He was walked into the office, and he goes to me, you should have two applications. There was one for me and my girlfriend, and he's like, how can I help? And his reason for wanting to come to the paper, which I think is important for people to think about. He walked into a newspaper because he saw one of our ads that we had, and he thought it was terrible. And he goes to me, he told me this later. He said, the reason I walked in because I thought it was terrible and you guys needed help.
[00:14:07] Speaker D: That's initiative, right?
[00:14:09] Speaker B: Yeah. And the fact that he was able to write, I didn't think it was terrible what the other person had done, but he thought it was terrible. And then, you know, he's had this great career and just, you know, created the whole. The whole logo of what we are. And I think it's a big part, a big spirit of what we are. So I think it's important.
[00:14:24] Speaker A: That's a great story, and I think that's a great topper to talking about the reporter. Let's now turn to Leo. Leo, tell us a little bit about your role and responsibilities involved with managing media services on the campus.
[00:14:36] Speaker D: So I oversee the creative component of media services. Right.
[00:14:40] Speaker A: We have the fun part. Right?
[00:14:41] Speaker D: The fun part. Right. We have the event side, which is handled by Daniel Suarez. Amazing team as well, for any technology needs that you might need for anything on campus. Right. For your events. But my side handles video production, photography, social media, graphic design.
So I oversee all the team that does all of that for the whole campus.
[00:15:01] Speaker A: Very good, Very good. How do media services support student initiatives like the school newspaper, for instance, and other digital content?
[00:15:08] Speaker D: So Something I definitely want student publications and organizations and those leaders to hear today that media services is here to help them. Right. If there is a big event on campus, if there is anything going on, maybe they need help to create a graphic. Right. We're here to help them. We can get stuff on the kiosks, which are the electronic signage all around campus. We can send emails. We can use the MDC Kendall Instagram and Facebook accounts to really leverage your audience. Right.
Sometimes we might be considered an afterthought. Right. And they might think last minute, oh, we just need a poster printed. But you could have counted on us from the beginning and we could have been there from every step of the way to help make sure that every part of your event is going through as effectively as it should. Right. And, you know, a lot of times we do help faculty and staff, but I want students to know we're there to help their publications, their organizations as well, for anything that they need.
[00:16:04] Speaker A: Well, I have to give you props because people all over talk about the social media at the Kendall campus. And so you guys are doing a great job. And I also want to compliment you on our signage out front, the marquee that you guys have now started putting things on. I think that's an important place too, to let the community and our students and faculty and staff know what's going on.
[00:16:22] Speaker D: 100%. Yeah. We were using that previously for just more outside events, and now we're using it to bring in everyone into Kendall community. I love it.
[00:16:30] Speaker A: I think that's awesome. How does the role of digital media evolve in keeping students informed and engaged in campus resources?
[00:16:37] Speaker D: For me, I think it's all about social media. Right. If you're following our MDC Kendall account, you're gonna know everything that's going on all around campus. You're gonna know all of the big events, how you can sign up. Right.
So I think just following that and making sure that you're in the know, right, That's. That's step one. So for me, it's all about social media. If you're following the DC Kendall account.
[00:17:01] Speaker B: You'Re going to know an amazing tool, by the way, because our students use that all the time to look for stories. They go through all of the different social medias at the campuses. You guys have a very good one and it's very helpful. So thank you for that.
[00:17:11] Speaker D: Awesome. That's. That's great to hear that that's being used. Our work is being appreciated. Amazing. But, yeah, you'll know exactly what's going on all around campus. Right. And we're running the data every month, right. We know what students want. If we put out a flyer that just has information on it, it's not going to do as well as a video of a student talking about an event and maybe giving you a visual component that is always, maybe not always, I'm going to say most likely going to do better than just a generic flyer that we put online. So that's always something to take into consideration.
[00:17:47] Speaker A: Well, your team is always at events posing for pictures and I love that.
[00:17:50] Speaker D: And I really hope we're not bothering you too.
[00:17:52] Speaker A: Never, never, never, never. I'm happy to help in any way, the reporter with anybody, because that's. I think it's all about students.
What are the. What are the biggest challenges you see in media services on campus?
[00:18:05] Speaker D: Okay, I'm going to take this opportunity to just say not everything is a flyer. Right? Everyone emails all the time. Can I have a flyer for this? Oh, can I have a flyer for that? And then they come expecting a poster, right? Let's just make it clear today on this podcast, a flyer is an 8 1/2 by 11 printouts that you use to distribute around campus. It's not what's sent out through email, it's not shared through social media. It's specifically for the reasons to be ADA compliant. Right? We wanna make sure that any student, any staff member that has some sort of a reading incapacity, maybe a visual incapacity, that they're able to read the content and be able to. To get that same information. Right. Just as everybody else. So just take into consideration that every specific request, right. Has a specific media attached to it and a specific dimensions, right? We create the content for Instagram, for Instagram story, for the marquee, for the visual presentations all around campus. It all contributes to all that.
[00:19:15] Speaker A: Very good. Well, let's go around the table for one more question. What do you guys see in the future for media? And we can take this wherever you want. We'll start with you, Mandulo.
[00:19:24] Speaker B: Well, I think they're the future of media. Part of the thing a lot of people don't understand is the amount of hours and work that student journalists put in. You know, they have their personal lives. We all have things going on, right? We have personal issues going on. They have school, some of them have work and the amount of time that they put in, in some cases more than 20 hours a week. And I think that it's a lot of stress. Isabella, for example, is a nursing major. She's taken a lot of very smart classes, things that I have no idea about. So I think they are the future of it. And I think, you know, things like this. Podcasting is a very big part of media. One of my favorite, Dan lebatar, I love listening to his podcast. And when he. He's. He's a pioneer. You know, he went from being on newspapers to being a. Being a reporter to being a columnist to being on radio to being on podcasts. And now he has a whole business, a whole business empire. He just signed a huge contract that was like $50 million contract. So I think podcasting is one of the big things that's happening as far as media is concerned.
[00:20:25] Speaker A: Well, and I want to say publicly, we appreciate your leadership with this wonderful newspaper.
[00:20:29] Speaker B: Thank you.
[00:20:30] Speaker A: Hope you'll be here a long time working with our students.
[00:20:32] Speaker B: I hope to be.
[00:20:33] Speaker A: So, Isabella, what is your. If you had a crystal ball, what does the future look like in your mind?
[00:20:38] Speaker C: I think it's going to keep trending, social media especially, and expand through podcasts like we're doing here today. And there's just going to be different ways for people to find out whatever's going on in the community. I think in a way also, it's going to become more accessible. There's going to be different features that make it more accessible, different communities. And I just hope that that's what. What happens, because I think it would be really cool, you know, so that everyone has access to media and that it keeps growing and expanding because it is such a great thing.
[00:21:06] Speaker A: So as you become a nursing major, how will this role that you played with as an editor, how do you see the future? How's that going to help you? Or can you see that far in the future? Maybe you'll have a nursing podcast. Who knows?
[00:21:16] Speaker C: Yeah, I mean, I could definitely, probably have a nursing podcast. I think this role has definitely helped me more in speaking with people and making sure that they're heard, and that's something I'm going to do as a nurse. I'm going to have to be the patient's advocate. So I'm excited to use the skills that I've slowly but surely learning and developing here and using them when I become a nurse.
[00:21:36] Speaker A: Well, I'm sure you'll be an amazing nurse, and thank you for being with us today. Leo, what do you see the future. Give us your thoughts.
[00:21:42] Speaker D: I'm going to focus my answer more on print media. I think the future for print media is focus a little bit more on creating Specialized niche content. Right. So maybe limited editions, collection editions. Right. That are offered to maybe create a sense that this is for the elite. Right. This is for people that can. That's not for everyone. Right. I think we're going to see a change in what print media is used for that and I also think we're always going to see that digital component with print media. Right. Where maybe you have a story that starts online or is teased online and then you get the full edition in that print version. Right. So I think that attachment to digital is always going to now be accompanied with print.
[00:22:29] Speaker A: Very good. You know, it reminds me of one more question I want to ask. You know, years ago we used to hold the newspaper and read it and now I read it on the iPad and it took me a while, but I read several a day. Will our newspaper ever. Do you think we'll always have a real newspaper to hold for the college? What do you think?
[00:22:45] Speaker B: Maybe I'm just an old person, but I surely hope so. I think, you know, people for years, since I was a student, since I was a kid, have been saying, have been predicting the end of journalism. And I think there will always be journalism. It will, it will change. It has evolved over the years. I think we'll always have, you know, journalism because anyone can be a podcaster, anyone could be a blogger. That doesn't make you a journalist. A journalist again goes back to critical thinking, being fair, asking, you know, questions that are getting information out to people and not one sided information. So yeah, print. Will the print copy always exist? I'm not 100% sure about that. I sure hope so. Just in my own heart I hope that it will stick around. But I think journalism, I don't think, I know journalism will remain vibrant and an important part of what we do. We just went through an election now we had a new election, we have a new president coming in. Right. And I think all of that is important. I think journalism to ask those tough questions are important.
[00:23:45] Speaker A: I think you're 100% right on the journalism part. And I hope the newspaper physical still exists because I think there's some marketing and advertising to pick one up in the counter or wherever.
[00:23:54] Speaker B: Well, not to mention also the skills that people can learn, you know, just learning, whether it's designing, whether it's, you know, headline writing, those kinds of things are important that, you know, students, you know, learn those types of things.
[00:24:05] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:24:05] Speaker D: And the camaraderie. My, my first job was with the student newspaper, the Beacon at fiu, which is no longer called The Beacon.
[00:24:12] Speaker B: It's called Panther Now.
[00:24:13] Speaker D: Panther now, exactly. And. And I'm still connected with my managing editor, with my copy chief. Right. We still visit each other. We're still best friends. Right. Those are those relationships that I created in the newsroom have carried for years. Right. So you're going to be stuck with those people for a while.
[00:24:30] Speaker C: Yeah, I'm excited to be stuck with them. There's a lot of good people on the paper and it's just been really fun and I hope to continue. Like Manila was saying, you learn different skills. Like headline. I never would have written a headline in my life until I got into the paper and I started writing headlines and deck text and there's just different little aspects in the whole layout of the paper. Those skills, they're so detailed and you know, there's going to be. I'm going to find a way to use them when I become a nurse. But yeah, it's been really cool to learn all those unique details of journalism.
[00:25:01] Speaker A: I can promise you 30 years. When you look back on where you are and we're all retired, you're going to think how some of these things helped you get to where you are 30 years from now. You don't know it, you don't realize it. Back when you're your age and we're.
[00:25:13] Speaker B: You don't. I mean, I'm still in contact with my advisor from back in the day, David Mervis. I'm still very close to him from time to time. We still have lunch, he'll text me almost, almost on a regular base. Almost like once a month. At least he'll text me. Hey, Manolo, I read the newsletter. I really enjoyed it. Hey, Manolo, good luck on the pacemaker. You guys are traveling and that's extremely important. Like David Mervis, you know, was somebody who laid a foundation. I went to FIU myself as well. But where I learned journalism was here at Miami Dade College. Through David Mirvis and everything that he showed me, I learned the basics, the bottom line basics of journalism. And I was able to apply that once I went over to the Herald, once I started at the morning News. But part of it is because what I learned here, my education was journalism is an education that you get outside. You can learn the theories. That's great in the classroom, but you have to physically go out there and get a door slammed in your face. Someone not answer you. How am I going to fix this problem? How am I going to get someone to talk to me? Back to the critical thinking part, right?
[00:26:10] Speaker A: Well, this has been a great podcast. I hope students and faculty and other people listen to this and learn something from it. We like to end our podcast with turning the microphone back on me. Is there any question you'd like to ask me? I'll answer anything you want.
[00:26:23] Speaker B: It's not a question. More of something that I've noticed. I think this is a cool look for you without the tie.
[00:26:28] Speaker A: Do you?
[00:26:29] Speaker B: Yeah, it gives you more of a youthful look. Not that you look old before, but without the tie, it gives you more of energy. Like, you look younger.
[00:26:38] Speaker A: I don't know. All right, no tie for the rest of the week.
[00:26:41] Speaker C: I actually have two comments. Okay, so one. One of the first few times that I met you, you were grilling with Stuart, and you were grilling out at the men's soccer tailgate, and I was actually wondering, or more suggesting, one of our section editors, Juliet Bryant, she came up with sizzling with Stuart. So, you know, double S, if you guys can.
[00:27:00] Speaker A: Sizzling with Stuart.
[00:27:02] Speaker C: And then my other thing is, could we possibly have ribs one day, Texas style, done at one of the tailgates? Because I love ribs and you're from Texas.
[00:27:12] Speaker A: That's true. Actually, my specialty are fajitas, But I do love to cook ribs. I do love to do brisket, and there's all sorts of things to do, so I'll work on that.
We did fit 1800 people at the MDC day. And our next cookout is going to be. What I've tried to do is to do cookouts for each of the kickoffs. We call it a tailgate party. We call it a tailgate party. So we're going to do a tailgate party for men's and women's basketball, and maybe I can throw a few ribs on there. Okay, if you're going to be there, I'll make sure I do that. All right, well, thank you for that question. That's a good question.
[00:27:45] Speaker D: I did have one going off of the cooking as well. I've seen you doing some good burgers out there. What's the secret to the perfect burger?
[00:27:53] Speaker A: Do I really want to tell you that the secret is the wood? Most people that cook burgers use charcoal and whatever. There's a special wood that I use from Texas, my secret sauce.
[00:28:05] Speaker D: Okay, now we know.
[00:28:06] Speaker A: Okay. And you'll see the smoke. It also attracts people to it, too.
[00:28:10] Speaker D: Definitely.
[00:28:11] Speaker A: Yeah. All right, well, thank you guys for being here today. This has been a great podcast. I want to thank our guests for being here in Kendyl Speaks. I also want to thank Christina Saenz, our head writer, Paul Klein, our executive producer, and and Alex Bello, our producer today. So thank you all for joining us, and goodbye for now.
