Episode 39 - Communication Honor Society

[00:00:09] Speaker A: Welcome to Kendall speaks. I'm Dr. Brian Stewart, President of the Kendall campus. And today we have the Communication Honor Society with us. Welcome, ladies. How are you guys doing? [00:00:19] Speaker B: Doing good. [00:00:20] Speaker A: It's great to have you. [00:00:21] Speaker C: Thank you for having us. [00:00:26] Speaker A: First, I want to thank Professor Emily Sinden, who is the English Communications Department and chair of group, along with several others. Glad to have you back. [00:00:34] Speaker D: Thank you so much. I'm glad to be back. [00:00:36] Speaker A: And then our students today. We have Pietra, who is the president of the organization. We have vice president Sophia. We have treasurer, secretary, secretary. I knew I did that. Ronnie. Right. I got the name right. That's the position. And then vice president of technology. Right, Janelle? [00:00:50] Speaker B: Yes. [00:00:50] Speaker E: Hello. [00:00:50] Speaker A: All right. Glad to have you guys with us today. Let's first start with you, Pietro. Tell us a little bit about your journey and how you got to the Kendall campus. [00:00:58] Speaker B: Alrighty. So, hey, guys. My name is Pietra. I am the founding president of the Communication Honor Society. I'm studying Mass Communications and journalism. Well, for me, communications has always been a big part of my life. And so, I mean, the Kendall campus is an amazing campus. And I just. I came here and it has an amazing journalism program. Right. Amazing people. [00:01:19] Speaker A: It does, yeah. [00:01:20] Speaker B: So I just had to come here and bring my passion to it and make a difference. So, yes, that's why I'm here. [00:01:27] Speaker A: We're glad to have you. Sophia, what about your journey? [00:01:29] Speaker E: So my journey was a little bit more complicated. I actually was interested in communications because I have a huge passion for music. In my high school, I was in choir for seven years, and I got to be on the board for a nonprofit record label. So there I actually worked with students who are my classmates and making music, and I helped them translate their thoughts into songs. And then beyond that, I just love helping my friends with their English homework and things like that. So I really love communications and helping people get their point across. So that's what really drew me to communications. [00:02:04] Speaker A: What a cool path. That's awesome. Glad to have you here, Ronnie. Tell us about your journey to the Kendall campus. [00:02:10] Speaker F: So I'm a business administration major. Kendall campus. Like Petra said, great campus. I love being here. And for communications specifically, well, I love teaching. I was an artist for a long time. I still am. And I love teaching, passing on those skills. And when Pietra came to me founding this organization, I thought, what an awesome opportunity to keep doing this artist in [00:02:32] Speaker A: his drawing and painting. Okay, all right. Very cool. Well, glad to have you here. And, Janelle, tell us about your journey. [00:02:37] Speaker C: Well, I joined the broadcasting journalism magnet at my middle school. And I did it all the way [00:02:42] Speaker A: until senior year, middle school. Yeah. [00:02:45] Speaker C: So I worked. I started off camera because I was so shy and whatever, but then I decided to take on the role of being on camera, and that's where, like, my true spark really, like, it showed. And ever since, I just love doing photography on and off camera, you know, script writing and anchoring, and it was just so fun. And I decided this would be the perfect opportunity to showcase all my skills and continue to flourish in this area. [00:03:09] Speaker A: Well, you may have been shy, but right now, I can tell you, you love it. So great creativity with all four of you ladies here today. So what sparked your interest in studying communication? [00:03:18] Speaker B: Oh, for me, it's a long story. It started when I was eight years old, actually. I used to watch news channels all the time, and just a passion came to me when I watched the news anchors. Just delivering the news so passionately and so eloquently for me was just something that really made me think, man, I want to be like them, truly. And that's why I really want to be a news anchor, work for broadcast journalism. And I remember that when I was 11 years old, it was in middle school, actually, I did a project, the science project. And instead of doing it normally like you would do writing or doing a documentary, I did it as a breaking news style. My teacher loved it so much that he started showing it to other classes and just saying that, man, this is awesome. You know, I never would think that journalism and science would ever come together and just deliver the information to students. So to me, it just goes all the way back. And when I came to the United States, I saw the opportunity to truly have my passion out there and just highlight it. And so, yeah, that's why we have the communication honor society, and that's why I'm studying communications and journalism. [00:04:29] Speaker A: That's great. That's great. Sophia, what about you? What sparked your interest? [00:04:32] Speaker E: So, besides music, what really drew me to communications was that I love talking. I love talking, and I'm really good at English and reading and writing and all that. So I have a passion for that more than STEM per se, and I think it's a really important skill to have that. I love to be able to, you know, work on myself. And I feel like that's something I could do in the future and help others find the same passion or just improve their own skills. [00:05:01] Speaker A: Well, you all have good voices for the podcast. So, Janelle, what about you? What sparked your interest in the communication area. [00:05:08] Speaker C: Well, I think it's very important to shine a light on stories that don't get to get showcased. And being able to be the face of it is also something that I really love doing. [00:05:18] Speaker A: That's great. I hear you guys talking. I think about. You were talking about being a broadcaster and I think about that weatherman. I don't know if you know who Jim Cantore is, but anytime there's a storm, I always turn on and I see him blowing in the wind. I could see you doing that. [00:05:32] Speaker B: My grandma says this all the time. [00:05:33] Speaker C: Oh, when you going to news anchoring, [00:05:35] Speaker B: you're gonna be like walking in mud [00:05:36] Speaker C: and like just being there. That's funny. [00:05:40] Speaker A: Ronnie, tell us about your interest in studying communications. [00:05:43] Speaker F: Yeah, so although it's not my major, like my fellow ladies over here, I think communication is really important as a business major for networking and all that. And as I said, I love passing on skills, I love teaching, and you gotta communicate well for that. [00:05:57] Speaker A: That's good. That's good. So for those who aren't familiar with the Communication Honor Society, what distinguishes it from other clubs? And tell our audience a little bit about it, if you would. Sophia, you want to start as the founding president? Who? Go ahead, Go ahead. [00:06:10] Speaker E: Founder. [00:06:11] Speaker B: Alrighty. Let's talk about it. Well, this is something that people misunderstand a lot. People come up to me and they say, hey, Pietra, can I join your journalism on our society? And let me tell you, it's not a journalism on our society. Communication is way more than just journalism. Communication is in every single area is in science and it's in anything. If you're a computer science major, if you're going into biology, you're going to talk, you're going to have to communicate, you're going to go into the workforce and you're going to have to present, you know, maybe your findings over a project. And so communications is everywhere and everything. And we just want to basically bring awareness to that and make students realize that we need to work on our communication skills. I remember there was this one event that we all went that the presenter said that it's very hard to hire people from our age due to our lack of skills on communication. Maybe you are in, I don't know, a business and you solve a situation but you don't tell anyone. How are people going to know that you did something right? Or maybe you're presenting and you might be being super eloquent, but your body language isn't being quite. It isn't quite matching what you're saying, so, you know, we just really want to teach students and make them the best communicators. We. We can make them right. So we have all of these activities and everything so they can practice. And. Yeah, I just hope that they become better communicators. They can present better. They can pass on their knowledge to people the way that they want it to be out there. Right. If that makes any sense. So, yeah, that's basically, I just hope that students really learn with us and participate in our events and just be aware that communications is way more than just journalism and marketing. [00:07:58] Speaker A: That's well said. A lot of employers talk about soft skills, and when they talk about soft skills, they're talking about communication. And so many people think about people that maybe are in AI and so used to the computer, but they have to communicate that. And so I think that's a good point. Any other thoughts on what makes this club so great? [00:08:18] Speaker E: I wanted to add on that, coming from a music background, what I realized or what I learned the most about communications comes from music, because we've had music forever. And in the same way that cavemen did handprints and art on cave walls, we've always been communicators. So that's like just such a special thing to be able to do as humans. And. And, yeah, I agree with everything Pietra said that it's just a skill that I see many people struggle with, especially because of technology and things like that. So. Yes. [00:08:52] Speaker B: Another thing that I wanted to add is that it's a dying skill. You know, more than 70% of employers look for this skill on everyone. It doesn't matter. Again, like I said, it doesn't matter. Your background, it doesn't matter where you're working with. You know, we always communicate. We need to communicate. What we're doing right now is communicating. You know, I'm telling you my story. We're all telling our stories and just telling what our club is truly about. Without communication, this wouldn't be possible. Right. This podcast is a way of communication, and so we have so many ways of communicating, but people don't really realize how important they are. [00:09:26] Speaker A: So how do you ladies think Covid has impacted this communication? [00:09:31] Speaker E: So I believe Covid really moved a lot of. Well, I mean, when Covid started, I was just starting high school, so I missed a lot of, like, the foundational, like, starting getting used to high school events. Right. And a lot of people. I mean, I went to school or I went to school in person as soon as I could. So I feel like I'm a little better off than some of my classmates were because a lot of people spent their whole year online not talking to anyone. I lost a few friends in Covid just because they didn't talk to me or we weren't seeing each other every day, so there was no communication. So I believe that Covid had a huge impact on how we communicate, how often we communicate, and. And, yeah, it's just been bad a little bit. [00:10:14] Speaker B: Do you girls want to add anything [00:10:16] Speaker F: before I jump in? Yeah, I agree with Sophia. I think a lot of early social. Socialization of people was missed. My sister was entering middle school, which is a. In some ways, maybe even a bigger shift than middle school to high school. And it was rough, and she picked up on it after in high school. And she's better off. She's. She's into film. She's very good at communicating her ideas. But it was uphill battle, for sure. [00:10:43] Speaker A: You know, academically, we're gonna see this group of students who had to learn remotely, you know, and learn math and science, and, you know, I think we talk about we're gonna be in the history books for what we experienced in Covid, but I don't think we think about the socialization that Covid really impacted, and I think you've all hit that. Well, Professor Sinden, talk a little bit about it. What inspired you to. To be the advisor for the communication Honor Society and what you hope students can gain from this club? [00:11:09] Speaker D: So it was very hard to say no to a student with a creative and strong vision for offering a great service to our campus. I had already a commitment as founding advisor for the English Honor Society, a student publication, Story Bites and the Feline Friends of mdc. So I was a bit apprehensive, but it was also very easy to say yes, because Pietra had this incredible vision for what she wanted to bring to our campus. And I'm really all about empowering our students. So I think that this is why I said yes. But even though it's been very challenging but very worthwhile as well, very rewarding, and we are building a legacy. We are the first National Communication association honor society chapter at a community college. So how could you say no? [00:12:04] Speaker B: State of Florida. [00:12:04] Speaker D: In the state of Florida, how could you say no to that? [00:12:09] Speaker A: Sorry, I'm a little slow on the picture. Pietra, tell us our Greek letters. [00:12:12] Speaker B: What's our Chi Alpha? [00:12:14] Speaker A: Chi Alpha. [00:12:15] Speaker F: Okay. [00:12:15] Speaker A: All right. And are there other communication clubs in our college? Are we the only one, or do you know? [00:12:21] Speaker B: I believe we're the only one in the history of Miami College. [00:12:23] Speaker A: Okay. [00:12:24] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:12:24] Speaker D: And the history of Miami Dade College and as an honor society in the history of the state of Florida. [00:12:30] Speaker B: Yes. [00:12:30] Speaker A: Oh, the first in the state of Florida. [00:12:32] Speaker B: The first from the National Communication Association. Yes. [00:12:36] Speaker D: In a community college. Yes. So it's very exciting to see what they're doing. I wanted to go back a little bit to what you were saying about COVID from the professor perspective and the perspective of the classroom in the college environment. I know that for you guys in high school it was a very different setting, but for me, I think it made my students better communicators because it forced them to engage in a different way. When we were in the Zoom classroom, they had to turn on their cameras, they had to communicate, communicate with each other via other means to create their projects. I never stopped having team projects during COVID So students created amazing Zoom programs where they're serving students in Nicaragua and Peru, tutoring because they couldn't be able to go into the communities locally and serve. So they're actually. They were doing that in the Zoom environment and they continue to do it today. [00:13:32] Speaker A: Yeah, I think that's a good point. I think students did learn the Zoom world. We didn't know really what Zoom was until 2020. But one of the things I've also, as we all went through that more and more people wanted the face to face interaction. And I see people all the time on campus that say, I want to look that professor in the eyes. And so we could spend a whole podcast on Covid. But let's talk about the Communication Honor Society. What are some of the standout events and initiatives that you guys want to do this year? [00:13:59] Speaker B: So I'd like to highlight first of all, the Media Literacy Week. For us, that was the biggest event that we have so far hosted. We had more than 150 students coming by. It was a three day event with four workshops. We had fireside chats with Professor Emmanuel Duaso, Stella Santa Maria, and also Sean Schwaner. Much thanks to them. Also we had a chat with Professor Senden. She shared a little bit more about her knowledge on media literacy, the sift method. We also had an event with PTK where we highlighted the importance of preserving stories in the age of AI. We also taught students about media literacy in finance, which is different from financial literacy. And so to me, it was an honor to be able to host those events and just make such an impact on campus. I saw students coming by and saying, hey, Pietra, I learned so much with this. And I was able to share so much with my peers, and that just warms my heart and makes me keep going. [00:15:00] Speaker A: Janelle, what about you? What has impressed you? [00:15:02] Speaker C: Well, I also took part in the Media Literacy Week, and I took part in the seminar chat with Professor Sendin, Ronnie, and Pietra. And it was really important for me to spread the knowledge that I had on this area to my peers on campus. [00:15:17] Speaker E: So my favorite event that we've hosted so far has been the let's Talk Minds event. [00:15:23] Speaker A: Tell us about that. What is that about? [00:15:25] Speaker E: It was a workshop that me and Pietra put together for Change Maker Week, and it was about mental health, about mental health communication, more importantly. So I feel like a lot of people were able to learn how to handle and go into difficult conversations. For example, like helping your family and friends who are going through a rough time or being able to communicate that you're having a rough time yourself. Because so many people are shy or scared or. Or just unable to communicate their feelings in a way that is understandable to the people that they love. So being able to put on this workshop, practicing scenarios and giving questions and tips and things like establishing boundaries, helping teach, that was so I felt so important, not just for mass communications, but obviously for all of us, for everyone. So that was one of my favorite events that we've done and I'm so proud to have been able to do it. [00:16:21] Speaker B: I'd like to add on to what Sophia said. We had an 81.6% increase in mental health awareness, especially in communication. We had more than 40 students attending the events. I'd like to thank also Priya and Melissa from Isla and the change making committee for allowing us to do this. It was amazing. And until now, I have students coming up to me and saying, when are you guys going to host it again? Because we also provided them with a certificate on mental health awareness and also civic action points. So we not only top on mental health, but we also created more civic engaged students. [00:16:56] Speaker A: That's awesome. You did the mental health. That's another podcast we probably need to do because that's such a timely topic, I think. And I hate to go back to Covid again, but I think Covid kind of shined the light on that. Ronnie, were you gonna jump in there? [00:17:10] Speaker F: Yeah, that's actually a great jumping off point. They took a certificate that was completely online and you two took it and made it in person, made it physical. I think it made people so much more engaged and ready to take that information in. I attended the event last Minute. And I didn't think I was going to be able to attend, but I'm so happy I was. And I did the certificate afterward. And your insights, the way you explained it, helped so much, and I know that that was the same for everyone who attended. [00:17:36] Speaker C: Thank you. [00:17:37] Speaker D: Yeah. My students were part of both events, so they did two sessions, and my students loved it so much that they went ahead and got the certificate. So it really had an impact. And that's what makes it so wonderful [00:17:53] Speaker A: that you guys have talked a little bit about the impact you've had on students, but what about impact has it had on you and your leadership? [00:18:00] Speaker C: Who wants to start? [00:18:01] Speaker E: Well, I'll start. I in high school, and one of the biggest reasons I didn't feel like I was comfortable pursuing music was because I was shy. I didn't like talking to strangers. [00:18:13] Speaker A: Actually, you guys all seem very, very good at it now, so you may have been sh in the past, but you've outgrown it, I would say. [00:18:20] Speaker E: I loved. I love talking to my friends, you know, and, like, making new friends. But very slowly and surely now I feel like I can speak in front of a room of a million people, and I'll be fine. So my leadership has definitely become. Well, besides the improvement there in communications, obviously, my leadership has become more inclusive, I guess, and I've been able to develop even more skills besides communications that have to do with, like, talking to team members and maybe delegating work. That has been a huge help in college, and I know it's gonna help me for the rest of my life and my career and everything I do. So I'm grateful for that. [00:19:01] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:19:01] Speaker C: Just like Sophia, I also was able to be brought out of my shell. And in high school, I did these type of videos called man on the street, where I was able to just go up to anybody on the spot, ask a question, and that's really brought me out of my shell, made me the more personable, outgoing person I am now, and I've been able to bring that to the table to this communication honor society. And I'm really excited to continue to do that. [00:19:24] Speaker A: Maybe we need to have a lady on the street ask questions for Kendyl Speak. So you may have just talked yourself into a job. How much longer are you here, Kendyl? [00:19:32] Speaker C: One more semester. [00:19:33] Speaker A: Oh, no. [00:19:33] Speaker E: Should have gotten sooner, Ronnie. [00:19:37] Speaker F: Same here. I've always been pretty extroverted, but it gave me a great platform to, well, teach, which is what I love to do. And I find it so rewarding at events when we see, like, regulars, like, people who keep coming back. That feels amazing. [00:19:54] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:19:55] Speaker B: And I wanted to go last because for me, having being able to truly teach people about my passion and put it out there is not only an honor, but a pleasure. And to contribute with the Kendall campus community, just helping students and making them be more aware of how important communication is. I know I already stressed that a lot throughout this podcast, but again, it's such an important skill to have, and it's something that we need to cultivate, especially with the rise of AI. We need those real voices, those real stories. We need to be in reality here. Right now, we're having a moment that is not going to come back. We're having it recorded. And so for me, it's amazing to have students coming up to me and saying, I learned so much. I was able to share with my peers. There was this one student, his name is Emilio. He's from the club, and he said that he did his volunteering essay. It was a project for one of his classes, about my story with the Communication Honor Society. And I just. I started crying because to me, it's an honor to see that the impact that we're doing is such. So great, it's measurable and it's, you know, exponential. Right. And so to me, it's a pleasure and an honor. [00:21:13] Speaker A: Like I said, again, you mentioned AI and technology. How do you ladies think communication skills are evolving in the world today with digital media chaining and technology and AI? [00:21:23] Speaker E: Yeah. I believe that the rise of AI and the. The exponential use of technology, and I'm thinking more in terms of younger kids, it's really doing a big harm on their ability to communicate because they're going online and you're abbreviating sentences and everything is spelled wrong. Because there's. Why are you spell checking on roblox? Right. So there's. So kids are learning from what they're seeing instead of. Instead of putting into practice what they should be doing correctly in school. So besides that, talking in person has also become much, much harder because of how people are communicating online. And it's just been really difficult. [00:22:05] Speaker B: I, like Sophia said, it's doing great harm to people. We don't use our creativity anymore. We write essays, we write emails, we write simple messages using AI. To me, that's extremely detrimental to not only our mental capacity, but also the future of our society, the future of the world, I should say, because one of the things that we spoke about during the AI event with BTK was the fact that preserving stories, preserving History is going to be so much harder in the future. You know, we have those pictures, those videos, those audios being created. How do you think we're going to be able to preserve history? Right. History books are not going to be as accurate anymore. [00:22:45] Speaker E: Yeah. I just wanted to add that that also means that what we're saying is also losing meaning. And how are you going to believe the stories that you're reading on the Internet if anything can be generated with AI? [00:22:57] Speaker B: Exactly. [00:22:58] Speaker E: So, yeah, our event was so important because it called to attention the, the significance and also the meaning of being a human and being able to share your truth. [00:23:09] Speaker B: You know, and also the fact that we're losing trust in media, we're losing trust in people, politicians. This is really bad. And people don't really understand. I see many people. Of course, AI has many great things to it. It helps so many people. But we need to look at the dark side of it, and that's something that. It's a conversation we must have. [00:23:31] Speaker A: Professor Sinden, from the, from the faculty perspective, talk a little bit about in the classroom. How do you, as a professor, make sure that we're giving our students the skills that they need? Because that's a really difficult thing and maybe a hard one to answer. [00:23:47] Speaker D: It is. It is. Well, one of the things that I implemented this semester actually is having them write in class. So I want to be able to see that there's competency in their writing skills besides the way that they interact with AI. I do tell them that they could use AI for certain things. And I explained what. How that process is and to document their engagement with AI. Because one of the things that I'm seeing is that they could have like a hundred percent AI reports that Turnitin gives to us. And then they come to me and they're like, but I did this, I did this, I did that. And then we engage in a dialogue. But for me, I don't think that it's realistic to completely say no to AI because it's part of our world and we need to engage with it and embrace it. But at the same time, I want my students to have critical thinking skills. I want them to have their own problem solving skills. I don't want them to ask a chat box, how do I solve this problem? I want them to have the creativity when they write a story that it's their own is not chatgpt giving them a prompt. And unfortunately, we see a lot of that. One of the things that I hear my students say to me, no, I just Asked it for ideas. And I'm like, that's exactly what I don't want you to use it for. I want your own ideas. You could ask it to help you. Maybe write this sentence is a comma in the right place. But don't ask it to come up with ideas for you, because then that is a death of potential and creativity. [00:25:23] Speaker A: Yes, it's interesting you say that. I was talking to fact. Remember last week who had a student who'd written a paper and put it in AI to evaluate it? Well, then when the professor got the paper and sent it in AI, guess what? It was already in AI and because the student had put it in AI to have it reviewed, AI took it as its own. Because that's what AI does. You know, it absorbs. It's like a sponge. I don't know if you were too. You're too. Too young for Star Trek, but there are a lot of episodes. You're Star Trek. Good. Sophia and I can think about things, absorbing things, and that's kind of what AI is doing. All right, let's have a fun question. Let's go around the table, and we'll start with Janelle, who in the honor society is most likely to be a famous broadcaster. Journalist, Influencer. What do you think? Anywhere you want to take it. [00:26:06] Speaker C: Well, I would say Pietra is most likely to be a journalist because since a young age, her spark and creativity has been there. And I'm so excited to see what she does with her passion, to be honest. Thank you. [00:26:18] Speaker A: Ronnie, what do you think? [00:26:19] Speaker F: Well, I believe that as well. But to give something a little different for influencer, we're saying one of our board members, Alfredo, he would be an amazing influencer. He's very charismatic. [00:26:32] Speaker A: Okay, what's Sophia gonna be? [00:26:35] Speaker F: I think that we could broadcast together. [00:26:37] Speaker A: Broadcast? [00:26:38] Speaker F: Yes. I was thinking this earlier. [00:26:40] Speaker A: Pietra, who do you think? [00:26:41] Speaker B: I think that they would have a great podcast together, Sophie and Ronnie. And I think Janelle is going to be an amazing influencer in the future. I mean, she manages social media and everything, so I feel like she would be a great influencer. As for journalist, I don't know, maybe Alfredo or something. [00:27:00] Speaker E: We keep bringing up Alfredo even though [00:27:01] Speaker A: he isn't here, but I need to meet him. [00:27:04] Speaker E: He's very charismatic, but he's very, like, chill. He's very serious. [00:27:09] Speaker D: I do have to say, Pietra and Sophia also have great chemistry. When they did the mental health be well. Right, let's talk minds. [00:27:17] Speaker B: Let's talk minds. [00:27:19] Speaker D: The entire presentation, they had this great Back and forth. [00:27:23] Speaker A: Rapport. [00:27:24] Speaker D: Yes. And it was really engaging. We were not bored. And they did the transitions between what they were saying in a really well done, professional way. So I think it's really great. I think that Pietra will be a broadcast journalist and I see Janelle as an influencer. [00:27:40] Speaker A: Okay. Okay. [00:27:41] Speaker E: Thank you, Ms. Sundan. [00:27:42] Speaker A: We got some talent in the room. We're going to have to have an alumni meeting in five years to see [00:27:46] Speaker D: where these ladies are. [00:27:47] Speaker A: Let's go around the table on this. If you could replace all the textbooks with one TV show or movie that teaches communication skills, what would it be? We'll start with Sophia. [00:27:56] Speaker E: Okay, so I'm going to go ahead and say my favorite show that I rewatch every year, the Good Place. [00:28:03] Speaker A: Okay. Yeah. [00:28:05] Speaker E: I think they took it off Netflix, but it's been on there for a while. [00:28:09] Speaker A: The star of that show, I can't think of her name. What is her name? [00:28:12] Speaker D: Kristen Bell. [00:28:13] Speaker A: Christine Bell. Yes. Thank you. [00:28:15] Speaker E: Love her. Yeah, yeah. That's just my favorite show. It's very, very heartwarming. Very. I feel very wholesome and very beautiful. It talks a lot about different philosophies and how to be a good person, quote unquote. And I just believe it's really beautiful because of how each character communicates with each other. It's a comedy show, but it's very, you know, they gets to the real, real deep moments and yeah, I've cried a few times, so that's a good show. [00:28:42] Speaker A: Pietro, what do you think? [00:28:43] Speaker B: For me, it's the Modern Times by Charlie Chaplin from 1936. I know, I know. It's. [00:28:49] Speaker A: Oh, my God. [00:28:51] Speaker B: I watched it once in my history class and I was just so baffled at the fact that I could understand everything that he was saying without him saying anything. He was working at the factory and just with his nonverbal communication, he was able to express all his thoughts and everything that was happening. And so I feel like this one teaches a lot about how important non verbal communication. I mean, it's 90% off communication overall. And so I feel like this teaches a lot about how important this is. [00:29:19] Speaker A: That's a great teaching technique for, for a class. Ronnie, what about you? [00:29:23] Speaker F: Okay. My pick is the TV show version of Interview with the Vampire. You get to see how this guy from like the 1930s to modern day evolves his relationships and how he communicates to the people and the world around him as it's changing. I think it's really beautiful. [00:29:40] Speaker A: That's great. All right, Janelle, what's Your choice. [00:29:43] Speaker C: So along with the nonverbal communication, I would say my favorite movie, Ratatouille. And I think it really shows just how well you can communicate with somebody, even if he doesn't speak. And it just shows how well nonverbal communication works. Like, no matter our language barrier, we still all understand from our face, our face expressions, and our body language. And that just shows how important that is. We all understand what it looks like when somebody's sad, when somebody's laughing. And those are all things we share, no matter where we come from. [00:30:11] Speaker A: That's great. Have you ridden the ride at Disney? The Ratatouille ride? [00:30:15] Speaker B: Of course. [00:30:15] Speaker A: That's a great ride. [00:30:17] Speaker B: I've never been to Disney. [00:30:18] Speaker A: Oh, okay. Well, we won't go there. What about your movie or show, Professor Sinden? Do you have one that you think fits? [00:30:24] Speaker D: Well, I'm gonna give you a comedy and a drama. So for comedy, Ted Lasso. [00:30:30] Speaker A: Love that show. [00:30:31] Speaker D: Yes. I think it's inspirational. [00:30:33] Speaker A: Have you watched that? [00:30:34] Speaker B: No. [00:30:34] Speaker A: Oh, God. So good. [00:30:36] Speaker D: Yeah, it's on Apple tv. Plus, it's so good. I mean, like, it already ended, but it was my. [00:30:41] Speaker A: No, no. They're doing a new season. [00:30:43] Speaker D: Oh, they are. [00:30:44] Speaker A: So I have to stop you. We. We have not watched the last two episodes because we like to watch it right before the next one starts. So I have. I've got. I'm up to the last two episodes of the last season. It is so good. Oh, my God, I feel so sorry. Talk about a show that makes you cry for him at times. [00:30:58] Speaker D: Yes, but it's. [00:30:59] Speaker E: It's. [00:31:00] Speaker D: It's so relatable. [00:31:01] Speaker A: It is. [00:31:02] Speaker D: And I think it resonates with so many people. And you don't have to, like football or soccer, whatever you call it, in which side of the world you're in. That's a great point to actually enjoy this show. It's a bonus if you. If you enjoy soccer. And then the other one, it's an all time. It's an oldie. It's lost. And that's a show. It was at some point the most watched TV show in the world, and it still remains today. I was just checking online and it says in 2024, there was like a resurgence of viewership again. And I've taught that course in leadership courses that I teach for the Honors College. I've taught it in communication, in literature courses. Because that show is just like. It has all of these components that teach people how to communicate well and what to avoid when communication actually fails. So those are my two Favorites. [00:31:57] Speaker C: Yes. [00:31:57] Speaker A: Some great shows there. Maybe we need to have a class where we all talk about our shows and then show a clip or an episode of each of their favorite shows. So TV is. I love TV and I love movies, but that's for another podcast. All right, last question for you guys. So now that you guys have been a part of this club for part of the semester and we're going into the spring semester, look into your crystal ball and tell our audience a what you'd like to see happen in the next semester. And then what would encourage them to continue your legacy on, you know, to continue this club after you guys had moved on? I know it's a difficult question. You want to start Pietra as the current leader of this group? [00:32:31] Speaker B: Yes. So as for future things that we want to do, I'm working on a partnership with ISET and the Change making Committee to really spread the let's Talk Minds event that we had. They were so astonished as to the results that we had that we really want to spread that out. Another thing is, of course, continue to host events. I really want to do big events. Like I say to Professor Sandy all the time, it's just like big events. Yes. I want to do like four weeks of events as well. Just like the Media Literacy Week. But this time maybe at Wolfson, I don't know we can do so much. But as for the legacy, do you want to go first, Sophia, or. [00:33:10] Speaker E: I was going to hop in and say that I would really love to see a more political affiliated event or like about political sciences. Since mass communications, you could also go into international relations with that. And I feel like a huge part of teaching communications is also teaching international communications and how to speak with people of different cultures that don't show the same body language or the same. [00:33:32] Speaker A: You know, one of the things we're proud of at Miami Dade College is the number of countries that we have at graduation. I want to say 123. It's some every year. It varies. But we have that many different countries of people that attend Miami Dade College. So your point of it being more international, that that's a cool way to kind of grow and spread the club out a little bit and bring in different individuals. That's great. [00:33:55] Speaker B: As for legacy, we're trying to do the foundations of it now. I really want for the Media Literacy Week to be something that is done every year by the next president, the next E Board. I'm trying to lay the foundation of the club right now so that the next person can do an even better job than I am doing. I feel like if I only had a little bit more time, I would be able to do so much more. But still, I feel like with the time that we had, the time constraints, everything that came our way when finding this club, I feel like we are doing an amazing job. [00:34:31] Speaker A: You have to take care of those grades. Those are first. [00:34:34] Speaker B: Oh, yeah, 4.0. [00:34:36] Speaker A: That's perfect. Ronnie, what about you? What about Legacy? Or what would you like to see accomplish in your remaining time here? [00:34:42] Speaker B: All right. Yeah. [00:34:42] Speaker F: Looking into the crystal ball I love during Media Literacy Week how much we were able to collab with other clubs. I find that so important, especially as a communication honor society. So I want to continue that in the future. And as for Legacy, well, we have our regulars who are inspired by what we do. I. I know this is going to keep going after us and yeah, let's impart as much knowledge as we can. [00:35:05] Speaker A: That's great, Janelle. [00:35:06] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:35:07] Speaker C: I just can't wait to see this club keep growing. And I hope it reaches a lot more majors because I know a lot of STEM majors who think, oh, I don't really need communication skills. I'm working behind the scenes or I'm not on camera, but I would just really like to see this club continue to grow for other majors. [00:35:21] Speaker E: Sorry. I wanted to add to that, actually what I want to go into communications is going to be on that side of like helping. I've heard a lot of people that have graduated from communications go into jobs where they help STEM STEM majors or, well, I guess not majors anymore, but people in STEM scientists help articulate what. What is the importance of their research and how many people or how it's going to help people. So that's a huge part and that's actually something that I want to do in the future, so. Oh, yeah. Oh, and also the legacy I want is I want others to feel the same confidence I've been able to grow. Yeah. I want others to have the, obviously the software skills to be able to do whatever they want in the future. But most importantly, yeah, I want people to leave feeling confident and ready to take on whatever challenges they might face in the job market. [00:36:12] Speaker A: One thing I'd like to request, Professor Sinden, if possible, I would love to have reunion of these alumni. I don't know how we do it and I know we can't do it every year, but maybe a five year reunion. It'd be great to know where these students end up. And I know you stay in touch with a lot of them. But I don't know how we do it. I'd love to do an alumni for our clubs in some capacity. [00:36:31] Speaker D: I think that that's a great idea. I would love to see them come back. You know, they always do. They come back and they give back. And they're going to be coming to my classes. They. I do workshops, and they will mentor the students that stay. So I know that these students, they don't just leave Miami Dade College and they close the door. They always come back. And I have students that I had my first years of teaching, and I've been teaching for 26 years, and I keep in touch with them. I actually went to a TED Talk of one of my students that was my student in 2000. Imagine that. And I went to her TED talk two years ago. And we keep in touch. And they come back, and she wants to come and give that TED Talk here in Miami Dade College. So we'll make it happen. But we'll make it happen officially. [00:37:21] Speaker B: Yes. [00:37:22] Speaker A: So the four you need to stay in touch with. That's a promise. Got to raise your right hand. All right. And end it for us. You have one more thing to say. [00:37:28] Speaker B: I just want this communication on our society to leave a legacy of work, of commitment to change, and that students take this opportunity and grow as professionals. Because as we all said throughout, communications is not only for journalism. It's not only marketing. It's also about science. It's also about mental health. It's also about computer science, engineering. It's about everything. [00:37:55] Speaker A: It's weaved through all of our programs here. And that's what I think is so unique about this program today, is what you guys have talked about relates to people across the campus. We bring clubs in here. Maybe they're more narrow. But you guys have brought up some really great points that I think, to your point, should be weaved across the campus. Well, we like to end our broadcast with you turning the microphone on me. If you'd like to ask me a question. Professor Sinden's our veteran. She's done this several times with me, so I'm gonna give her a pass on it. But I'll let the four of you ladies ask me anything you'd like. [00:38:26] Speaker B: I have a question. [00:38:27] Speaker A: Okay. [00:38:28] Speaker B: So what does effective communication mean to you as the campus president? [00:38:32] Speaker A: So I have to tell you a story. When I was 23, I was really young. I was a math faculty member in Texas. And I got elected as our faculty association president, which is a big role. And I was not a Very good public speaker. I was nervous. I was scared to death. And so I brought. One of my buddies was the speech teacher. So we went in a classroom, he closed the door, put me in front of the room, and he gave me a lesson on, you know, how to talk in a room, how to look over people's head, all those things you've heard. And from that day forward, it was like, you know, I still get nervous sweating sometimes, but it was like I was more comfortable in front of it. So that conversation with him, to this day, I think about every time I go in front of a group and give a welcome, which I give so many welcomes. You don't know how many welcomes I give. I try to be different. It's hard. But that's one of the things as a campus president, that. That communication skill, to think off the cuff, to be able to try to remember people's names, those are some of the things that have really helped me. [00:39:29] Speaker B: Awesome. [00:39:30] Speaker E: I have a small question. Were you ever into theater or anything like that? [00:39:34] Speaker A: Wow. What a great question. No, I've never been one in the theater, but I've probably seen more Broadway plays than anybody on this campus. [00:39:46] Speaker E: Which one's your favorite? [00:39:48] Speaker A: Probably Les Mis is my favorite by far, but there's been some really great ones. One you've never heard of Paradise Square, that just came out a couple years ago. My daughter played college volleyball in New York, and so we would go see her for four years, and we'd go see her in the dorm, and my wife and I would say, hey, good to see you. We're going to Broadway. So I bet I've seen close to 40 Broadway product. And so I never. In my heart, I would love to do theater, but I don't. I can't sing. I can two step. I can dance a little. I guess the closest thing I've done is we produce videos to start the school year. When I was at the medical campus, we produced one. I don't know if you've heard of the show welcome Back Kotter. That's our genre. And we did one on Friends this time. You've heard the show Friends. We did one on that. So I love to do that kind of thing, but I don't. I don't know that I'm jealous of people. I just saw a production last week at the Arch called Clue. The game Clue. Oh, yeah, that was really cool. So I love theater, but it's more of appreciating it, realizing it's not really something I could do. [00:40:52] Speaker E: So yeah. [00:40:53] Speaker B: What do you think of the movie Wicked? I need to ask. [00:40:57] Speaker A: So I have seen Wicked on Broadway on the second row. Love it. I have not seen the current movie because I wanted to see them back to back. And so we're gonna see them over the holiday. I can't wait to see it. I've heard people love the first one. People don't like the second one, but to me it's a story. And I've seen Wicked on Broadway and then I saw a traveling production of it, and it is just a great production. I can't wait to watch the movie. [00:41:21] Speaker B: You won't regret. It's amazing. [00:41:23] Speaker A: Yeah. The music. I know every word. All right, Ronnie, what do you got for me? [00:41:27] Speaker F: All right, this starts. It's a bit more as a comment, but I. From the story you just told for Pietra's question, how do you or I. I found the humility that you have to. Have to go to someone, be like, hey, I'm an important person, but I understand that I need to learn more about speaking, about public speaking or communication in general. How would you advise someone go about having that humility and being like, you know what? I still need to keep learning because I think that can be a barrier for some people. They're like, I'm just not going to learn anymore. That's true. [00:41:56] Speaker E: I'm just not good at it. [00:41:57] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:41:58] Speaker A: You know, I think. I think a lot of people that are public speakers see themselves as the sage on the stage. And we've heard that forever. But. But to me, you've got to be more of someone who wants to be a part of the team. And, you know, you see people that are up there on the stage and they're these. This eloquent speaker and all that. I want people and I want to help people to be part of the audience, you know, to be that. And so that's how I'd answer that question. And that's difficult to do because, you know, one of the things when you're up there on the stage, you're taught to look around and look people in the eyes, but you're so focused on what you're saying that a lot of times you can't read the people's faces. And when you're really comfortable communicating, you can look in people's eyes and say, oh, I've lost that student, or they're not following what I'm doing. [00:42:38] Speaker F: Wonderful. Thank you. [00:42:39] Speaker B: Just my last question. I really want to tie this into your professor educational endeavors. I mean, after the news feast came Out. It was amazing, by the way. You guys should read it. I really want to ask if your communication style has changed or changes between when you talk to your students or when you are Brian Stewart, the campus president. [00:43:05] Speaker A: So one of the things that I've tried to do for my whole life is be Brian Stewart from whatever endeavor I'm in. When I'm on the basketball court playing against somebody, whether I'm giving a speech or I'm teaching a math class, I don't put on a different Brian Stewart. I don't play politics. I want people to know me for who I am, and I want to know who you are. And a lot of people in this world. That's one of the things you ladies, as you grow older, will see, is that you see people in different settings change who they are. And I don't do that. You can ask my students that. They're the same person in class today at 7am by the way, or when I see him in Professor Frazier's class, which I went to last week and saw their project. So I'm a little unique in that way. A lot of people do do what you say. They put on a different hat for different things, and I've never done that my whole life, and I don't intend to start now. [00:43:56] Speaker B: That's awesome. You guys take this advice. [00:43:59] Speaker A: Janelle, end us with a good question here. Another good question, I should say. Oh, you've got more than one? [00:44:07] Speaker C: Not really. I was just wondering, like, some of your background, like, what college did you go to? And, like, what major did you start in and did you change majors along the way? [00:44:17] Speaker A: So that's a great question. I went to college on a basketball scholarship in a school in Texas called Tarleton State University. I got lots of stories about it, but what I'll tell you about it is it's the number one rodeo school in the country. If you know what rodeo is, I could tell you lots of stories about rodeo. And so when I went to sign my scholarship, my dad is a university president, or was a university president. He's still alive, but he was a founding university president of a school in Texas. And I got my scholarship and had to write down my major. And all through my life, I thought I'd play in the NBA. And so I wrote down coaching. I was going to write down coaching. And in my growing up, your dad, your parents were very, you know, so I couldn't write down coaching, so I had to write down a major. And just on the spur of the moment, I wrote down mathematics. Because that's what I was good at. I had teachers that I loved and I knew I could teach that. And so I was a math major all the way through college. I was going to switch to chemistry. Chemistry was my minor. It is my minor. And my first semester, my sophomore year, I was starting on the basketball team that year. And I don't know if you've had chemistry labs, but they're four hour labs. And at Tarleton, you know, it's a smaller school, it's about 18,000 or 20,000 now. Then it was probably 8 or 9,000. So your labs were in the middle of the afternoon. So I was missing basketball practice. And this is a bad thing to say, but that's when I stopped being a chemistry major. So I stuck with math. So I never did change. I was math all the way through my Bachelor's, Master's, and PhD. But chemistry was what I really wanted to do. But that's how I became the math teacher I am. [00:45:49] Speaker B: That's awesome. [00:45:51] Speaker A: Well, thank you, ladies for this great conversation today. We've learned a lot about the Communication Club, and I can just see the future at Fort being really great. [00:45:59] Speaker C: Thank you. [00:45:59] Speaker A: I want to thank Christina Saenz, our head writer, Paul Klein, our executive producer, and Alex Bellows. Thank you all for being here today, and goodbye for now.