Episode 22 - Miambiance

[00:00:08] Speaker A: Welcome to Kendall speaks. I am Dr. Brian Stewart Kendall, campus president. Today we have two amazing guests from the Ambiance program and magazine. We have Professor Rita Fernandez Sterling, associate professor in English and communications and literary advisor to me, Ambiance. Welcome. [00:00:29] Speaker B: Thank you, Dr. Stewart, for having us. [00:00:31] Speaker A: So glad to have you. And we're special guest today is our editor in chief, Meghan Carrion. Welcome. Glad to have you here today. [00:00:38] Speaker C: Thanks for having me. [00:00:38] Speaker A: Yeah. Let's start with a little background. Megan, let's start with you. Tell us a little bit about your background and sort of your journey to Miami Dade College. [00:00:53] Speaker C: Well, well, it's really funny actually. If you look at my transcripts. I have been a student since 2005 because my mom signed me up for swimming lessons. So every time I'd go get my transcript looked at, they'd be like 2005, but you're not. What's going on here? So I've been a part of the Miami Dade College family since I was literally, what, six years old. I've done the swimming lessons, I've done the tennis lessons. And then when I graduated high school, I transitioned to doing my associates here. So I've been here forever and I've enjoyed all of it. I'm sad to have transitioned to FIU already, but, you know, I've been here forever, you know. [00:01:31] Speaker A: And what is your major at fiu? What is your talk about your career plans, if you will? [00:01:35] Speaker C: So I actually got my associates here in early childhood education and then I went to work. I worked for about five years, and then the pandemics happened, so stuff got a little dicey. I transitioned jobs into being a nanny instead of a teacher just because it was more convenient to go back to school. And now I'm finishing up my bachelor's in early Childhood education. [00:01:54] Speaker A: We appreciate your leadership here, and we'll talk a little more about everything you've done. Professor Fernandez Sterling, talk a little bit about your journey here at Miami Dade College. I know you are a very respected faculty member and well visible all over the campus. So talk about your. Your time to. To get to Kendall campus. [00:02:11] Speaker B: Well, my background did not begin in education. It's very interesting. I always tell my students my story because I want them to understand that your path will change and you need to embrace it. So I started off pursuing journalism at Miami Dade College a long time ago, will not mention that. And you know, I did it for about a year. I did my prerequisites, and then I was like, I don't know about this. And so I was always into fashion and modeling and things like that. So I decided to pursue a fashion design and merchandise. Right. Degree, which is my first degree. And then the transition from that to get a bachelor's was in communications, which here we go back to kind of journalism, right? And so I did that for a very long time. I was in retail management. It was a lot of work. And then there was a move. There was a change. I moved to Port St. Lucie, and I was like, well, do I want to continue doing retail? Do I want to pursue something new? And somebody suggested, you know, you can substitute teach. And I'm like, let's try that. Right? And I loved it. I really enjoyed the whole teaching. I liked the high school level better. And so eventually we moved back, and I'm like, you know what? I want to continue the pursuit of education. And so I went back to school. I ended up at Miami Dade College in the GED lab as a tutor for reading and writing. And then after I got my degree, my master's, I became a faculty in college prep, good old college prep. And eventually college prep, of course, was dismantled. And so I had my degree in English, right? And so I transferred into the English department, English and communications. And here I have been since, I don't know, 2014 is when we did the transition. [00:04:11] Speaker A: 11 years. [00:04:12] Speaker B: 11 years. And so I worked very closely with one of the advisors, a former advisor is Marta Magellan and other things. Arts and letters and other things around campus. And so she started bringing me in and mentoring me for the magazine. And so when she retired, she handed over her baby to me, and she says, you will take care of it. And I brought Tony in as well to be the art part of the literary arts. And here we are. [00:04:43] Speaker A: What a wonderful choice. His ability with photography is amazing. [00:04:47] Speaker B: Absolutely. [00:04:48] Speaker A: Talk a little bit about the magazine before we get into other questions. Just give a little history to our audience about, you know, how it got here, how it was created, how long it's been here. You know, when I was at the medical campus, I was always jealous of our other campuses and especially your magazine. So coming here, I was really excited to finally be a part of a magazine. [00:05:08] Speaker B: And we. Glad you are. [00:05:10] Speaker A: Thank you. [00:05:11] Speaker B: So my ambiance is now in its 35th year. So we're talking about 98 believe. And so there have been multiple advisors, but when I came, it was Marta Magellan and Ricardo Palosa, who were English and communication faculty. And so I always went to, you know, their launches, and, you know, I was very interested. And I always referred my students to submit and things like that. So it's been around a very long time. It's won a plethora of awards. I mean, I don't think we've lost count. We used to say over 600. It has to be probably over 800 at this point. Yes. Throughout the years and I mean, there have been some awards, for example, like the Pacemaker, which is considered, you know, the Pulitzer Prize of media. And so we're very well known when we go to conferences, national conferences as well as state conferences. Everybody knows about my ambiance and oh my gosh, I have to have a magazine or we look towards what you all are doing so that we can do the same thing or mimic or what have you. That's a great opportunity that we have not only presented to the students on campus, but to other students, you know, nationally. So, yeah. So here we are, 35 years. [00:06:43] Speaker A: That's great. I know that my ambiance has a unique way that we do it with how students lead it. Talk a little bit about how you mentor students and, you know, how you keep the creative juices flowing with our students and in their role in this process. [00:06:58] Speaker B: So it's, it's not an easy process. Right. Because we are a two year institution, so the turnaround sometimes is faster than we want it to be. For example, we have been very blessed with students like Megan who were able to be here longer because of the degree that they're pursuing. We also had that with Gabby, who was editor in Chief for 30, but she had been with the staff before that as an editor. Right. And so we try the way I mentor the students, I mean, I think it's, I treat my ambiance like Tony and I treat my ambiance like a business. So, for example, they call us by our first names, Rita and Tony. My other students do not call me Rita. [00:07:49] Speaker A: Oh, okay. [00:07:50] Speaker B: Yeah. So, because it's like we're trying to build something, we're doing this together. We're teaching you the tools for your futures. It doesn't matter what it is that you're pursuing, but all of all the things that you're learning as an editor in whatever capacity, especially editor in chief, these are skills that you're learning for your future jobs, careers. And so I instill business, you know, passion. You have to have a passion for what you do. You know, this is not, oh, I'm going to class, I have nothing else to do and you know, I'm going to get some credits and, you know, whatever. No, this is Important. And you need to make it part of your life, because what we produce here, again, award winning, takes passion. Right, right, right. And so another thing is ownership. You have to own this. This is something that you all are producing. And so you have to own it and say, we did this and you should be proud of it. You know, so that's another thing that I try to instill. And the fact that the magazine is a work of art within itself, you know, you are putting pieces together from students, the very talented students that we have at Kendall campus. And so you're piecing it together and creating a larger piece of art, and everyone's going to see this. And it's, you know, it's. It's a huge deal. And also the element of surprise. One of the things that Tony and I have been very diligent about is that every magazine should be different. We don't want it to be, oh, yeah, that's my ambiance. No, we want to say, oh, is that my ambiance? Let me take a look at that. Oh, it's different, right? The size, the shape, the colors, the textures, you know, so all those things, you know, we do together as a staff. [00:09:45] Speaker A: And there's always a lot of excitement when you finally unveil the next edition, right? [00:09:49] Speaker B: Yes. And it's very secretive. [00:09:50] Speaker A: Very secretive. Right. Megan, let me ask you a question. Is editor in chief in 35 years is a little bit of pressure. How do you maintain the quality and the reputation? Keep it where it's been for so many years? [00:10:05] Speaker C: It's a lot of hustling. All of them have been a lot of late nights, and especially when I was editor in chief each time. Well, the first time I started as executive editor, and then I transitioned to editor in chief. But within all the three years and all the three magazines that I've made, I am very frank with my staff members, and I refer to them as staff members because, like, at that rate, they're really not like, you know, classmates. Like, we're working together on something, like Rita said. And I really wanted them to understand the professionalism of it. Like, I think when we did 33, I even. We put together a quiz for them to do with all the facts about my ambiance so that when we table and we tell people about my ambiance, they know exactly what to say, because that's the sort of level of professionalism that we really want from our staff members. And then we also show them all our awards, all the other magazines we've had, we tell Them about how when we go to competitions, like Rita was saying, people approach us and they're like, oh, you guys did this. So even though they might not have heard of my ambiance before joining the class, or they. They don't really understand the scope of it. We really sit there and we go, listen, we've got a million bajillion awards, and we're making a piece of art here. And I say that every time someone hands me a microphone. It's art, and we want to elevate it. [00:11:20] Speaker A: You pass down that history, too. And both of you mentioned art twice now. I think that is true. This is very, very good art. Let's talk a little bit about some of the features and diverse perspectives in May Ambiance. How do we encourage those different perspectives and this to either of you that want to jump in, how do we encourage our students to be creative and that kind of thing? [00:11:40] Speaker B: We don't have a theme from the beginning, and we believe that it's important that students submit whatever it is that they've created. And then we figure out if there's a theme, and it usually develops into a theme. So it's very important for us to encourage students to submit whatever. It's. It's like, we want to see what you have. It doesn't matter. So a lot of students do ask, oh, well, what should I submit? And what's the theme is like, well, don't worry about that. Just submit what you have. And it could be new work, and it could be, you know, work that you did last year, work that you did, you know, in high school. It doesn't really matter. We want to see it all, and. And we want to see how it all comes together. So we do encourage diversity because that's our campus. Right. But one of the things that, you know, we are sure to instill in the students is like, you know, get the word out, tell your friends. Because again, I think Megan mentioned that a lot of people aren't familiar with who we are. Everybody knows who we are in the English and communications, and everybody knows who we are in art and philosophy, because, of course, that's the magazine. But there's people in other disciplines that are also artists. You know, they may be pursuing a business degree, but they write poetry. You know, they may be pursuing. I don't know, they want to be a vet. Right. But they are in a band, you see, so there's a lot of talent out there that hasn't been tapped into. And so we try to get the word out to make sure that everybody knows that anyone can be part of this. [00:13:24] Speaker C: Yeah. We also do a lot of work with other organizations within the campus. For example, the Access Art exhibit. Whoever wins that gets published in the magazine, and we create a feature for them. Last year's winner was Chilli, and he's fantastic. And I have this issue where whoever is our feature artist, I become obsessed with them because their work is so good. Like, we have Cameron, who was our cover artist for 32. Now we have Chilli, who became our feature artist, and we found him through the Access Art competition. And that whole competition gives you a great perspective on disabilities and stuff like that. So it's wonderful to be able to have that as well. We also work with the Jubilation Dance crew that we have here on campus, and we have features from some of their artists, and they participate in our poetry shows. So we expand our reach to not only people who are interested in print media, but people who are interested in dance, people who are literally just walking by because, you know, the broader. The broader our scope is, the more diverse it becomes. [00:14:27] Speaker A: You know, I find it really interesting that you don't do a theme. Tell me how. Talk to me about how that process is. You, You. You have all these things submitted. How does the theme come out? It just seems. That seems hard to me. I don't know how you do it. [00:14:42] Speaker C: Well, during the process of making the magazine, at one point, after we jury all our pieces within our staff, it's blind jurying, so we don't know who submitted. And as we're doing that, I always, like, kind of take mental notes. I'm like, okay, we have a lot of stuff about xyz, or we have a lot of stuff about this. And then eventually we print out all of the art and we put it in a big pile on a table, and then we start putting things together. And that's kind of where the theme is born from. [00:15:08] Speaker A: That's so cool. That's so cool. Rita, talk a little bit about some of the success stories of our students and how the opportunity to participate in this magazine has kind of shaped them when they leave the campus. [00:15:21] Speaker B: Well, I have a few students in mind. The editor in chief for a volume 27, which was Tony and my first magazine, Valentina Tezanov. Right. And she had been part of the magazine before we came on, and so she wanted to be the editor in chief, and she was fantastic. And so when she graduated, actually, she went into marketing because of her experience with my ambiance. And we also have Hannah Watts, who was the editor in chief for volume 29, the magazine that won our first Pinnacle award. And she's a photographer. And so some of her pieces, she actually sold some of the pieces that were published in the magazine. And she did a lot of things in the community because of her work with my ambiance. And then finally we have Diego Franco. So Diego Franco was my student in 1102, and I always tell my students about my ambiance. I encourage them to submit, and I'm always telling him to come to the events and so on and so forth. So Diego finally jumped on board, and he's fantastic. He writes, he does photography, he does a little bit of everything. But because of his experience with the staff and being part of my ambiance and of course winning awards and such, he switched his major to graphic design. And so when he transferred to fiu, he became part of their magazine, which is called Strike, and did very well there. And, you know, every once in a while, you know, it's like, hey, Diego, can you consult? Can you take a look at this? And, you know, so he's become, you know, our consultant, just like Megan, you know, because they have the experience. But it's a beautiful thing when, you know, students, curiosity is ignited and they realize, wait a minute, this is what I was meant to do. And it's a beautiful thing that we get to do that for a lot of our students. That makes me happy and it's awesome. [00:17:43] Speaker A: You get to keep connecting with them as they grow and go, oh, yes, Megan, talk about how you got connected to me on Bunce first. Do you recall what. What attracted you? [00:17:53] Speaker C: I do. It's actually really funny. So whenever I would sign up for classes. [00:17:58] Speaker A: Sounds like Rita knows this story too. [00:17:59] Speaker C: Yeah. Whenever I would sign up for classes, first a semester, I had a, like, a personal rule where I always had to pick a class, like a fun class. You know, there's so much. There's so many things to learn. I think I've taken almost every other starter class on this campus. They're pretty good. And when I was signing up, I saw, oh, there's a creative writing class. Let me sign up. So I sign up. I get an email from Rita about, like a week before the class starts, and in big, bold letters, this is a class to make a magazine. And I was like, oh, yeah, I could probably do that. I go to class and Rita comes, she gives us her. Her monologue. [00:18:32] Speaker B: Her. [00:18:33] Speaker C: This is a class to make a magazine. An award winning magazine. If you don't Want to do that. You still have time to transfer out, but this is what we're doing. So she leaves the room to go get something. And I remember turning around and being like, who else knew that this was a class for a magazine? Or who didn't know? Like, half the class raised their hands. But I sat there, and I was like, you know what? I probably could do this. But even just starting in the class, Rita is a person who's very confident, as you can all see in here. But even just sitting there, I was like, yeah, I could probably do this. Everyone else here seems to have gotten it together. So, yeah, I had no idea what my ambiance was. I had actually been coming back because I got my associates. And then I came back to Dade to keep working on my degree. And my first out, I hadn't heard of it all, but then when I joined my ambiance, I was like, how didn't I know about this? And ever since that, like, first initial, like, so we're doing this with my classmates, who then became very beloved staff members. I was hooked. [00:19:34] Speaker A: It's a great story. [00:19:36] Speaker B: Well, it's a funny story, because there was a incident, and I said the editor in chief that was in place was not pulling their weight. This is a business. So I said, so you don't have time to do this. Okay, Megan, you are now the editor in chief. Boom. Three magazines later, and here we are. And here we are. I know what I'm doing, people. [00:20:02] Speaker A: Yes, you do. Yes, you did. [00:20:04] Speaker C: It was also in our first year that we set up our Speak youk Mind competition, which is the poetry one, and then the speed writing competition. Yeah. [00:20:14] Speaker B: And also the social media team. [00:20:16] Speaker C: The social. Yeah, I started the social media. [00:20:18] Speaker B: Very important. [00:20:19] Speaker C: We set up Twitter. Now it's X, but we had our Twitter. We set up our Instagram, and we got really serious about it. And the social media team has re. Like, they've been killing it so far. Because that's another thing that you really don't think about when you get started with these projects. Like, even this, you know, is part of social media. [00:20:38] Speaker A: And. [00:20:38] Speaker C: And wanting our staff members to be able to use those skills later on is really important. When we go to competitions, there's even awards for social media presence that you can apply for. So really just trying to keep my ambiance current and competitive. [00:20:53] Speaker A: What would you guys say to some of our audience who are listening today that are maybe thinking about joining it? What kind of skills do you think that they would. Could develop as being a part of the magazine, teamwork. [00:21:05] Speaker C: We do a lot of close teamwork and delegating. That's something that I learned really, really well. My first go around with the magazine, I had to do everything. I had to look at everything. I had to be in charge of everything. But Rita, who. I feel like Jiminy Cricket sometimes on my shoulder was like, let somebody else do it. It doesn't have to be you. [00:21:27] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:21:28] Speaker C: And then. And I still carry that now, you know, I feel like a stronger leader because of it. [00:21:34] Speaker A: That's the idea of collaboration. Everybody to be a part of it. [00:21:38] Speaker C: Yeah. And professionalism, which feels like something that isn't a skill, but it really is, you know, being able to approach someone with a problem and have it be a discussion and not an argument. Being able to approach somebody with professional intent and actually have it lead to somewhere. Being able to follow up with someone professionally, you know, being able to communicate with somebody. I know I keep saying communicating, but it's a harder skill than you'd think. [00:22:02] Speaker B: It's also a sense of community, what we're producing in the classroom, but also what we do outside of the classroom. You know, we do a lot of collaborations with other disciplines. We also do tabling sessions. We have events that we host. And so that's, you know, bringing the campus community together, of course, but it's also creating a community within the staff. And, you know, again, it's. I keep saying it's a beautiful thing because I've seen it. And a lot of our staff members, they become friends. They do things outside of the class, and after they graduate, and I'm like, oh, my gosh. That's. That's what it's all about. [00:22:41] Speaker A: That is what it's all about. [00:22:42] Speaker B: You know, so it's. It's important what we do. It really is. And I'm so glad that Tony and I have been able to do it for so long. [00:22:49] Speaker A: What are each of your favorite parts of the process in contributing to me, ambiance. And I know that that may be a tough question because there's a. There's, you know, brainstorming and idea and working with students, reading in your case, but what are each of your favorite parts of the magazine? [00:23:04] Speaker C: I've got like two favorite parts I like right in the beginning, when we're still collecting pieces, because it's so interesting because, you know, every week we get group of emails that we start going through of submissions and stuff. Really and truly, the Kendall campus is killing it. There are some amazing pieces that come from here. And then also when we do our competitions. I find that portion to be incredibly fun because that's when we meet the most students. That's when we get to communicate with the most people, and we really see what the campus has to offer. My other favorite part is right before we print, when we meet with our printers, because Rita's done this great thing where they actually come in to meet with us so that the staff can see them and they let us feel the paper. We talk through them, like, our ideas of what we want for the magazine. Like, we have a whole meeting about it. And that is one of my favorite parts. We've even toured the facility where they've printed it the last couple of times. And it's just so great to see it in action because, you know, you work on it and it's all through computers, or it's all, like, you know, just pieces of paper, but then going to the place where they physically put it together is really great. [00:24:09] Speaker A: Professor Rita, what's your favorite part? [00:24:12] Speaker B: Like Megan said, it goes back to. It's a business. And so part of the business is meeting with the printer, you know, and having, you know, conversations with the printer and the staff and all that. So that's a lot of fun. I enjoy the. The beginning part of it, meeting the new staff, or when I have, you know, like, former staff and new staff, and so they kind of, like, mentor, you know, the newer staff, and they take them, you know, under their wing, and it's like, this is what we do. This is, you know, like, let me help you understand. So I love that part, and I love when it comes together and it becomes a community, and everyone's working for the common goal, and everybody's excited about it. But my most favorite part is when the printer delivers those boxes and we open it, and it's like, oh, here it is. [00:25:04] Speaker A: Here it is. [00:25:05] Speaker B: It's so. It's. I don't even know how to describe it. It's so exciting. Rewarding. Here is. Here it is. You know, and I can feel it, and I can touch it. So it's a beautiful thing. [00:25:16] Speaker A: You know, I've only got to experience once. But the day you actually unveiled the current edition, the excitement in the room was amazing, and so I can. I can kind of understand that excitement that you're talking about. Megan, talk a little bit about how you think your last three editions of this is going to help you in the future. If you had a crystal ball, how. How do you. How do you see that helping you in your professional career going forward? [00:25:39] Speaker C: Oh, it already has. Just with the leadership skills that I've gained from this are, you know, have been really great. I feel myself being more confident as a person, really and truly, and just being able to ask for things. I've got this running joke with Rita that when I go into a classroom, I'm the donkey. So, like, if there's a student that's struggling, I'm the one that gets paired up with them. If there's someone who's a little lost, I'm the one who helps them out. Even walking over here for this podcast, I had parked. I was walking over, A mom saw me, and she went, ah, you look helpful. Where's Building R? I did know where Building R was. She wasn't wrong. I have chronic help face. I like to say that's a good thing. But within the magazine, I now also know how to help people and also how to ask for help in return. And with the magazines, honestly, when I start working in a school and stuff, I would want to make my own magazine. I have the skills for it. And even just the networking has been so helpful. Like, I know everybody on this floor. I like to joke around that when Rita retires, I'm just gonna duck and roll into her, into her office, and no one will notice. [00:26:39] Speaker B: You know, we become one. [00:26:41] Speaker C: No, but working on the magazine has really expanded my ideas of what art is and. And that I want to continue doing art in the future within my, you know, professional scope. [00:26:51] Speaker A: That's great. That's great. Could each of you describe maybe your most memorable piece or feature that sticks out? We'll start with you, Rita. And you may have more than one. You can have more than one, but anything that really sticks out, that has. [00:27:05] Speaker B: Happened, it seemed that, oh, gosh, with each magazine, each one gets better. And, you know, you. I walk around and people have their favorites, of course, you know, oh, I love, you know, 32 or, oh, my gosh, 33 was great. And so I. They're all wonderful. But I. I think it's. It's specific pieces, and I think the work that went into it, like, for example, 31 was cool because it was like the tarot cards and, you know, everything revolved around that and. And it was so colorful and. And it was great. And then, of course, 32 was a little darker, but, you know, was cool and. And, you know, you know, the COVID artists also drew the staff page, and that was. That was another type of business. We were actually, you know, talking with an artist to create something other than what the artist had already submitted 33. You know, working with Luby. Who's the COVID artist? [00:28:09] Speaker A: Oh, I don't. Didn't know that Luby was a cover. [00:28:11] Speaker B: Is the COVID artist for 33. And she also has some pieces in there. So I, you know, it's almost like we have this relationship now. And I always say, Lou, you have become my ambiance's official photographer. So whenever we have something, it's like, I need Looby there. Right. And so she's also grown tremendously. Obviously she works, you know, with media services, so. And then, of course, Volume 34. One of the things that I love about Volume 34, not only that, because it was or it is Megan's final piece of art, but that Sama final. [00:28:50] Speaker A: Piece of art at Miami Dade. I predict there'll be some other future. [00:28:53] Speaker B: Oh, absolutely, absolutely. At Miami Dade. Salma Gonzalez, who we met at an. [00:29:02] Speaker C: Open house, a summer luau. [00:29:05] Speaker B: That summer luau that was scorching hot. But she walked up to the table and she, oh, what's this? And da, da, da. And she joined the class and oh, my gosh, what she has done for us. And she is now the head designer. And so the growth that I have seen in Megan, in Diego, in Sama, and a lot of the other staff members, I keep saying the same thing. It's a beautiful thing. It really warms my heart because that's what we're here to do. In addition to creating a work of art, you know, we're here to inspire and, you know, help these students find their not purpose, but, you know, their love, like what they love to do, you know, in addition to what they're here to pursue. [00:30:01] Speaker A: Almost develop that creative gene in them that maybe didn't know they had. [00:30:04] Speaker B: Correct? Yeah, correct, correct. And that's what we've seen, you know, with Sama, you know, it's. It's. She never used graphic design. She didn't have the skills. But here she is now head designer for 35 because of 34. So it is a growing process. [00:30:25] Speaker A: That's great. Megan, what about your memories? What do you. What sticks out? [00:30:28] Speaker C: Oh, I've got an amount of favorite pieces, but it honestly ends up more so being favorite artists. [00:30:33] Speaker A: As you have the book open a magazine open right now. [00:30:35] Speaker C: So one of my favorite artists and someone that I bump into every once in a while is Cameron Velez. They are a physical artist and they did the COVID art for volume 32 and they have a bunch of other pieces. They have many in 33 as well. But my favorite One is our final spread, which is. It's a baby cow, and it's made out of newspaper clippings, and it's on a tile floor, and its guts are all spilling out. And it's kind of a gruesome picture, but I just think it's so beautiful. And I think Cameron has just such an excellent eye for composition and for color and for the ideologies. They've got another piece which is actually the beginning of this magazine, where it's right. This is kind of where it's a hot dog, but it's a sculpture that they made just by hand. And I didn't know that it was a sculpture until we got to talking with them, and they were like, no, I made this with my hands. And if you really look, the ketchup is the soldiers from Iwo Jima holding up the flag, but it's a hot dog. [00:31:43] Speaker A: Wow. [00:31:43] Speaker C: Right? No, they are a fantastic artist, and that's something that I keep getting from the magazine. I can talk about days and days. Our Access Art winner from this one, she made this wonderful piece where it's a portrait of her grandfather, I think, who was dying of Alzheimer's, and she sewed one of his shirts into the canvas so that the arm sticks out so when you would see it in person, you could physically go and touch it. [00:32:06] Speaker A: Wow. [00:32:07] Speaker C: So there are just some amazing artists within these books. Jilly, who was our Access artist, he makes T shirts with bleach and he does portraits of his faces. Yeah, yeah, he did. He did an example bit recently at. [00:32:20] Speaker B: One of our events at the. [00:32:22] Speaker C: At the Access Art event at the Access Art exhibition, where he let other students also play with bleach and also do it. [00:32:27] Speaker A: Yeah, he was very. People really wanted to see him do that. Yeah. Well, those are great stories, and I appreciate you sharing all the. The extra part of that. As. As we wrap up, we may have some people that are thinking about joining this wonderful endeavor. Rita, I'll start with you. What would you say to somebody in our audience that might consider joining the ambiance? And how would you encourage them to do that? [00:32:48] Speaker B: Well, one thing is check your email, because I do like to communicate with my students ahead of time and let them know what the class is about. I want them to come in with eyes wide open and prepared to work with us. Or if that's not what they want, then again, like Megan mentioned earlier, they can take another creative writing class. But we are here to work because this takes a lot of work. Another thing is, you know, reach out to us. Myambiancemail.com you know, if you have any questions, you know, anything specific that you want to know about what we do and who we are because we are also a student organization. Student Life has been a huge supporter as well. Um, so I think that's what it is, is find out if this is what you want to do. Know that it is a lot of work. As was mentioned earlier, there's late nights, you know, we work through the weekend sometimes, especially when there's deadlines. And I know that, you know, our students have a lot of responsibilities or taking classes, they work, you know, they have family responsibilities. So we want to make sure that you are prepared to give your all to this because that's what it takes to create an award winning magazine. [00:34:10] Speaker A: Very well said. Megan. What would you say to her? [00:34:12] Speaker C: Oh, just do it. Just get in there. There's a lot of fear especially, which is something we notice amongst artists, specifically where they don't want to share. They're like, what if my work isn't good enough? What if I can't do this? Just do it. You know, the only way to. The only way is through. And it's. If you're afraid that, like if you're afraid of public speaking or if you're afraid of sharing your art, it's a perfect opportunity to be in a group with other like minded individuals who also love art, who also want to be there to just get started, you know, you don't have to be perfect at first, you don't ever have to be perfect, but you do have to try. [00:34:48] Speaker A: I think that's what's great about the college experience, is that's what you're supposed to do, you know? [00:34:52] Speaker B: Correct. [00:34:52] Speaker A: You're supposed to do that kind of experience. Well, we really appreciate you both being here today. One of the things we like to do as we end our podcast is turn the microphone around on me. So if you'd like to ask me any questions, I'll. I'll be happy to try to answer anything. Professor Rita, tell me, I have a question. [00:35:09] Speaker B: So what was. I know you, we've talked about the magazine from day one and. But I wanted everyone to know. What was your first impression when you picked up volume 33? Because 34 wasn't launched yet. And I remember I saw you at an event and you said that you were gonna read it cover to cover over the weekend and of course you gave me feedback. But what was your first impression when you saw it? Which is, you know, when people see it, I wanna Know, what did you feel when you saw it? [00:35:45] Speaker A: Well, first of all, the visual of it was just incredible. And I actually did read it. One of the things my wife and I do almost every weekend is go to the beach. And so we have our little umbrella and our music in our chairs. Zero gravity chairs. And I sat there and read it on the beach, and it was just the most peaceful thing to have the water there. And it was just an amazing reading. I kept thinking about these students and their stories and how creative they were, and actually, one of the reasons we have this podcast, our executive producer here, Paul Klein, who may want to jump on the microphone here. You know, I was in here touring the campus, and we were talking about how what could we do to show what a great campus and unique place the Kendall campus was. And I remember seeing this magazine when I first got here thinking, that is an example of what a podcast should be about, showing off what our students and what our faculty are doing. And, Paul, you get a lot of credit for that, because I know you remember that conversation. [00:36:46] Speaker D: I remember it very well, actually. It was one of those things where I was sitting here, and I was like, I should say something. Should I say something? Because you were trying to get Mike to. To do his podcast. And I was like, is it rude if I say something? And then I was like, all right, I'm saying it. And, like, your eyes kind of lit up once I said it, and it's like, here we are. It's a great journey. [00:37:04] Speaker A: It is. It is. It's that. Aha. Experience, Rita. We experience. And I, When I teach math, I can see it when. When they actually get it. And that's exactly what it was. [00:37:11] Speaker D: Yeah. [00:37:12] Speaker A: And so I just. I'm, again, as I said earlier, I'm so excited to be at the Kindle campus. There are many things I've been jealous of. I love the medical campus, but our honors students, this magazine, there's so many amazing things that now to be a part of the Kendall campus, just. I smile every time I walk on this place. [00:37:29] Speaker C: Well, the question I had was, is there anything you want artistic students to know on this campus about how you feel about art specifically, or what you think? You know, just your. Your thoughts on it. [00:37:42] Speaker A: You know, that's a great question. I believe it was our last podcast. We had our vocal team here, and we went through the whole interview, and at the very end, they asked me a similar question. And. And, you know, I obviously have an athletic background and a math background, but what they asked me, what is something that people don't know about you. And one of the things that I love to do is to go to New York. My daughter played college volleyball there, and I Bet I've seen 60, 40 or 50 players plays on Broadway. And so I love the creative aspect of this campus. I love the music. So much talent. And that's one of the things, if I have my crystal ball, that I'd like to make sure in the next five years that we continue to grow as a campus, because I don't think people realize the talent in the fine arts and all those things here. So those are the things that really make me happy about being here. I guess that makes sense. [00:38:40] Speaker B: Absolutely. [00:38:41] Speaker A: Well, I want to thank you both. Professor RITA thank you for your leadership in this magazine. Thank you for being here. Megan, thank you for your time here at the Kendall campus. And I don't think this will be the last we've seen of you. I want to thank Christina Signs, our head writer, Elaina, standing in today with us, Paul Klein, our executive producer and producer today. Thank you all for being here, and goodbye for now.