WEBVTT 00:00:10.830 --> 00:00:13.570 Welcome to Students Incorporated. I'm your host, 00:00:13.589 --> 00:00:16.329 Mr. Jason. Join me weekly as my students and 00:00:16.329 --> 00:00:18.870 I bring you content that's informative, positive, 00:00:19.010 --> 00:00:21.809 fun and uplifting. This podcast is created and 00:00:21.809 --> 00:00:23.949 produced with the help of students from the International 00:00:23.949 --> 00:00:30.449 Community School of Bangkok. In today's episode, 00:00:30.550 --> 00:00:32.869 we're exploring two different kinds of journeys. 00:00:33.130 --> 00:00:35.390 First, we're looking at the life -changing journey 00:00:35.390 --> 00:00:38.070 of higher education. We are joined by experts 00:00:38.070 --> 00:00:41.189 from Taylor University in Indiana to help us 00:00:41.189 --> 00:00:44.369 navigate the complexities of the admissions process 00:00:44.369 --> 00:00:48.149 and campus life. But that's not all. Later in 00:00:48.149 --> 00:00:50.090 the show, we're switching gears from the academic 00:00:50.090 --> 00:00:53.030 to the adventurous. We'll be premiering the first 00:00:53.030 --> 00:00:56.289 part of our new original audio story, The Mystery 00:00:56.289 --> 00:00:59.119 of St. Augustine. We're kicking off our third 00:00:59.119 --> 00:01:01.659 and final story in what we're calling the Hawthorne 00:01:01.659 --> 00:01:04.120 Adventure Series. The first story we brought 00:01:04.120 --> 00:01:07.780 you in episodes 55 through 64, The Secrets of 00:01:07.780 --> 00:01:10.700 El Dorado, introduced you to a band of unlikely 00:01:10.700 --> 00:01:13.579 heroes who helped rewrite the history books about 00:01:13.579 --> 00:01:16.799 the truth of the California Gold Rush. Then our 00:01:16.799 --> 00:01:19.420 second story, which we brought you in episodes 00:01:19.420 --> 00:01:23.189 87 through 96. followed some of our same beloved 00:01:23.189 --> 00:01:26.370 heroes to the Yucatan Peninsula, where they helped 00:01:26.370 --> 00:01:29.030 retrieve and return stolen ancient artifacts. 00:01:29.530 --> 00:01:32.510 And now our third story, The Mystery of St. Augustine, 00:01:32.549 --> 00:01:35.849 brings back a few familiar characters and introduces 00:01:35.849 --> 00:01:39.069 a whole new set of characters. It's packed with 00:01:39.069 --> 00:01:42.349 danger, suspense, adventure, and history. But 00:01:42.349 --> 00:01:44.250 first, before we get started, let's hear our 00:01:44.250 --> 00:01:46.030 quote of the day and get some headline news. 00:01:46.719 --> 00:01:48.900 To set the stage for our conversation, I'm Josiah, 00:01:49.000 --> 00:01:50.879 and my quote of the day comes from the education 00:01:50.879 --> 00:01:58.219 reformer John Dewey. He said, The quote is a 00:01:58.219 --> 00:02:00.400 powerful reflection of what a university experience, 00:02:00.799 --> 00:02:02.879 whether at Taylor University or any institution 00:02:02.879 --> 00:02:05.519 of higher learning, is truly about. College isn't 00:02:05.519 --> 00:02:08.219 just a stepping stone to a career. It is a place 00:02:08.219 --> 00:02:10.740 where identity is shaped. Curiosity is awakened 00:02:10.740 --> 00:02:13.479 and purpose begins to take form. When learning 00:02:13.479 --> 00:02:16.039 is lived, not rushed, students don't just earn 00:02:16.039 --> 00:02:17.860 degrees. They develop character, conviction, 00:02:18.060 --> 00:02:21.000 and clarity for the road ahead. It's a reminder 00:02:21.000 --> 00:02:23.159 that the value of university isn't only found 00:02:23.159 --> 00:02:25.639 in outcomes or titles, but in who you become 00:02:25.639 --> 00:02:28.360 along the way. Thanks, Josiah. I'm proud to hear 00:02:28.360 --> 00:02:30.680 the three headlines impacting universities and 00:02:30.680 --> 00:02:33.159 student experience today. Jumping into our first 00:02:33.159 --> 00:02:35.800 headline, a new higher education analysis across 00:02:35.800 --> 00:02:38.740 Asia shows universities are climbing regional 00:02:38.740 --> 00:02:41.419 and global rankings by shifting their focus towards 00:02:41.419 --> 00:02:44.340 industry -aligned learning and graduate outcomes. 00:02:44.960 --> 00:02:47.680 Education experts note that institutions investing 00:02:47.680 --> 00:02:50.719 in internships, real -world projects, and international 00:02:50.719 --> 00:02:54.020 exposure are gaining stronger recognition, reflecting 00:02:54.020 --> 00:02:56.560 a broader move away from purely academic metrics 00:02:56.560 --> 00:02:59.680 towards employability and career readiness. Next 00:02:59.680 --> 00:03:01.949 with our second headline, industry and university 00:03:01.949 --> 00:03:04.030 partnerships continue to expand as employers 00:03:04.030 --> 00:03:06.590 look for job -ready graduates. Recent education 00:03:06.590 --> 00:03:09.389 reports highlight how collaborations with technology 00:03:09.389 --> 00:03:11.830 and engineering firms are reshaping university 00:03:11.830 --> 00:03:15.189 curricula, ensuring students graduate with practical 00:03:15.189 --> 00:03:17.550 skills, professional certifications, and hands 00:03:17.550 --> 00:03:19.870 -on experience that align with current market 00:03:19.870 --> 00:03:22.900 needs. Now onto our last headline. International 00:03:22.900 --> 00:03:25.259 education market trends reveal that Malaysia 00:03:25.259 --> 00:03:27.759 is emerging as a key regional hub for global 00:03:27.759 --> 00:03:30.879 students and education investment. Analysts point 00:03:30.879 --> 00:03:33.819 to factors such as English medium programs, internationally 00:03:33.819 --> 00:03:36.819 recognized degrees, and competitive tuition fees 00:03:36.819 --> 00:03:39.379 as drivers of this growth, while also noting 00:03:39.379 --> 00:03:41.680 that universities are facing increased competition 00:03:41.680 --> 00:03:44.500 to innovate and stand out. These stories clearly 00:03:44.500 --> 00:03:47.099 show that universities today are evolving beyond 00:03:47.099 --> 00:03:50.800 traditional classrooms into global. ecosystem 00:03:50.800 --> 00:03:53.240 where academic learning, career preparation, 00:03:53.400 --> 00:03:59.659 and international opportunity intersect. Thank 00:03:59.659 --> 00:04:02.259 you for the quote and the headline news. The 00:04:02.259 --> 00:04:05.060 landscape of higher education is shifting toward 00:04:05.060 --> 00:04:07.939 real -world readiness, which is the perfect lead 00:04:07.939 --> 00:04:10.759 -in for our guests today. We're excited to yet 00:04:10.759 --> 00:04:13.639 again have two returning guests from Taylor University 00:04:13.639 --> 00:04:17.220 for our guest segment. Josiah, go ahead and get 00:04:17.220 --> 00:04:20.569 us started. Welcome to the show. Please introduce 00:04:20.569 --> 00:04:22.910 yourself and let us know what you do. Hi, my 00:04:22.910 --> 00:04:24.870 name is Andy Gammons. I'm the executive director 00:04:24.870 --> 00:04:27.410 of admissions at Taylor University in Upland, 00:04:27.470 --> 00:04:30.870 Indiana. And my name is Tyler Smith. I'm a current 00:04:30.870 --> 00:04:34.709 senior at Taylor this year, and I am a second 00:04:34.709 --> 00:04:38.370 year admissions intern. As you are both in the 00:04:38.370 --> 00:04:41.290 admissions process, what do students most often 00:04:41.290 --> 00:04:43.730 misunderstand about that university application 00:04:43.730 --> 00:04:46.449 process? I think one thing that students really 00:04:46.449 --> 00:04:49.540 misunderstand is how nuanced the application 00:04:49.540 --> 00:04:53.079 process is, depending on what type of institution 00:04:53.079 --> 00:04:56.000 that you're hoping to attend. So for instance, 00:04:56.100 --> 00:05:00.500 there are a lot of institutions out there that 00:05:00.500 --> 00:05:03.139 what they're primarily looking for is that you're 00:05:03.139 --> 00:05:06.259 interested in attending their institution. They're 00:05:06.259 --> 00:05:09.500 almost a modified open enrollment institution. 00:05:09.779 --> 00:05:12.180 That's how we would talk about them. In other 00:05:12.180 --> 00:05:14.459 words, if you're interested in attending their 00:05:14.459 --> 00:05:16.819 institution, they're interested in having you. 00:05:17.480 --> 00:05:22.100 And that's probably a higher group of institutions 00:05:22.100 --> 00:05:24.560 than you might think. It's probably even in the 00:05:24.560 --> 00:05:27.259 70 to 80 percent of overall institutions in the 00:05:27.259 --> 00:05:31.199 world. And then most people get fixated on the 00:05:31.199 --> 00:05:34.819 smaller percentage of much more selective institutions 00:05:34.819 --> 00:05:38.730 where they're. are some very, very significant 00:05:38.730 --> 00:05:41.230 things that you need to do in order to get admitted 00:05:41.230 --> 00:05:44.269 to those institutions. So I think that's what 00:05:44.269 --> 00:05:47.290 students get confused on is, what type of institution 00:05:47.290 --> 00:05:49.750 am I actually interested in? And then what do 00:05:49.750 --> 00:05:52.310 I need to do to get admitted into that institution? 00:05:52.810 --> 00:05:55.449 So what advice would you give to high school 00:05:55.449 --> 00:05:58.110 students preparing for university? Yeah, I think 00:05:58.110 --> 00:06:00.850 this is a thing to think about, right? You're 00:06:00.850 --> 00:06:03.779 in high school, you're... Thinking about a lot 00:06:03.779 --> 00:06:05.379 of different things, you're in athletics, you're 00:06:05.379 --> 00:06:08.660 in your clubs, you're in academics and trying 00:06:08.660 --> 00:06:10.779 to keep your grades up. And it can be a lot, 00:06:10.779 --> 00:06:13.980 I think. And if I would go back to my high school 00:06:13.980 --> 00:06:16.660 years, I would say to just kind of just chill 00:06:16.660 --> 00:06:18.740 out a little bit and take some time for yourself 00:06:18.740 --> 00:06:22.399 and make sure that, you know, you have all your 00:06:22.399 --> 00:06:25.240 colleges that you're applying to in order and 00:06:25.240 --> 00:06:27.199 you have everything that you need for those. 00:06:27.339 --> 00:06:30.660 And I wish I would have relaxed a little bit 00:06:30.660 --> 00:06:34.209 on. uh my grades i think i think i put that a 00:06:34.209 --> 00:06:39.610 lot of identity into that and uh i you know looking 00:06:39.610 --> 00:06:44.370 back on it i didn't need to put as much um you 00:06:44.370 --> 00:06:46.410 know of my identity into that i still need to 00:06:46.410 --> 00:06:49.230 work hard and i think that shaped a lot of um 00:06:49.230 --> 00:06:52.089 my work ethic in college but i would just say 00:06:52.089 --> 00:06:54.649 to chill out a little bit it's all gonna be okay 00:06:54.649 --> 00:06:57.209 the only thing i would i would add to that is 00:06:57.660 --> 00:07:01.240 I'm a parent of high school and college age students, 00:07:01.360 --> 00:07:05.120 and I would say take advantage of those last 00:07:05.120 --> 00:07:11.199 years as being in your family because that's 00:07:11.199 --> 00:07:15.100 it. You'll never be a part of your family in 00:07:15.100 --> 00:07:17.339 the way that you are a part of your family now. 00:07:17.639 --> 00:07:22.199 And so while it's very natural and normal for 00:07:22.199 --> 00:07:24.600 you to be really annoyed with your parents and 00:07:24.600 --> 00:07:28.110 to be really annoyed with your siblings, Try 00:07:28.110 --> 00:07:31.529 and think, hey, this is it. This is the last 00:07:31.529 --> 00:07:34.629 time I'm going to have the opportunity to have 00:07:34.629 --> 00:07:37.670 family dinner with my family. The opportunity 00:07:37.670 --> 00:07:39.629 I'm going to have to have these types of conversations 00:07:39.629 --> 00:07:43.029 with my parents and throw them a bone. You know, 00:07:43.050 --> 00:07:47.149 take an opportunity to say, hey, let's do one 00:07:47.149 --> 00:07:50.079 more trip together as a family or. Maybe I'll 00:07:50.079 --> 00:07:52.279 just stay home with you guys tonight. I know 00:07:52.279 --> 00:07:54.439 that sounds really lame, but I think when you're 00:07:54.439 --> 00:07:57.860 off away at college, you'll look back and go, 00:07:58.019 --> 00:08:02.420 man, I miss my parents. Man, I actually do miss 00:08:02.420 --> 00:08:05.699 my younger brother who was so annoying. I wish 00:08:05.699 --> 00:08:08.560 I had one more family dinner with them. You don't 00:08:08.560 --> 00:08:10.699 think that now, but you will in a couple years. 00:08:11.540 --> 00:08:14.199 Speaking of taking advantage, which university 00:08:14.199 --> 00:08:17.120 resources are most underused by the students? 00:08:17.720 --> 00:08:19.699 Well, let me speak on the admissions side first. 00:08:20.100 --> 00:08:22.920 I think one of the resources that is underused 00:08:22.920 --> 00:08:25.519 is your admissions counselor. So there are admissions 00:08:25.519 --> 00:08:28.199 counselors at every single institution that you're 00:08:28.199 --> 00:08:30.459 looking at. And those people really do want to 00:08:30.459 --> 00:08:32.919 help you be successful. They want to help you 00:08:32.919 --> 00:08:36.159 either get into the institution, articulate yourself 00:08:36.159 --> 00:08:41.179 well to the institution and to. Choose an institution 00:08:41.179 --> 00:08:44.659 that works for you. So getting to know your admissions 00:08:44.659 --> 00:08:47.820 counselor. And what I would say is at some institutions, 00:08:47.980 --> 00:08:50.299 those admissions counselors are just a little 00:08:50.299 --> 00:08:52.940 bit older than you. They're 22, 23 years old. 00:08:53.039 --> 00:08:56.340 And so they might not be the most helpful person. 00:08:56.559 --> 00:08:58.960 And so find a helpful person in the admissions 00:08:58.960 --> 00:09:01.980 office, even if you have to say. Hey, it's been 00:09:01.980 --> 00:09:03.879 really great to get to know you, admissions counselor. 00:09:04.000 --> 00:09:06.200 Can you give me the name of your supervisor? 00:09:06.559 --> 00:09:08.679 Because I'd love to just talk to them. While 00:09:08.679 --> 00:09:11.299 that sounds like a real power move, it can be 00:09:11.299 --> 00:09:13.899 an opportunity for you to get to know somebody 00:09:13.899 --> 00:09:17.389 else in the admissions. office just so if especially 00:09:17.389 --> 00:09:20.149 if you're finding that admissions counselor to 00:09:20.149 --> 00:09:23.409 not be helpful or to not be responsive find somebody 00:09:23.409 --> 00:09:25.649 at the institution that is helpful and responsive 00:09:25.649 --> 00:09:28.509 and i'll tell you this if you can't find somebody 00:09:28.509 --> 00:09:30.610 who's helpful and responsive in the admissions 00:09:30.610 --> 00:09:33.750 office that is not a good sign for that institution 00:09:33.750 --> 00:09:36.750 because they're on the sales team if the sales 00:09:36.750 --> 00:09:39.710 team is not good nobody else at the institution 00:09:39.710 --> 00:09:42.269 right like if they won't sell you the product 00:09:43.789 --> 00:09:46.070 maybe the product is not going to be all that 00:09:46.070 --> 00:09:48.629 great. So if you're not going to get response 00:09:48.629 --> 00:09:51.370 from the folks that are trying to sell you on 00:09:51.370 --> 00:09:55.990 the institution, it's probably not a great piece 00:09:55.990 --> 00:10:00.220 for it. what's to come. Other than that, I think 00:10:00.220 --> 00:10:03.600 faculty members are really underutilized at the 00:10:03.600 --> 00:10:06.120 institution. Most of the faculty members have 00:10:06.120 --> 00:10:09.019 office hours that they're in their office waiting 00:10:09.019 --> 00:10:12.120 to talk to students. Tyler, maybe talk about 00:10:12.120 --> 00:10:15.320 a time you connected with a faculty member. Yeah, 00:10:15.399 --> 00:10:19.100 it was outside of class. So at Taylor, we have 00:10:19.100 --> 00:10:22.120 this game that we like to play around campus, 00:10:22.220 --> 00:10:23.879 especially when it's nice outside. It's called 00:10:23.879 --> 00:10:27.879 Tolf. And so it's a mix of golf and tennis balls. 00:10:28.000 --> 00:10:30.159 So you play golf with tennis balls around campus. 00:10:30.539 --> 00:10:34.299 And it's a 12 or 13 hole course, I think it is. 00:10:34.379 --> 00:10:37.820 And one of our newer professors in the marketing 00:10:37.820 --> 00:10:39.799 department, I'm in the business department at 00:10:39.799 --> 00:10:43.639 Taylor. She was watching. She was just observing 00:10:43.639 --> 00:10:46.860 campus life and she saw a group playing and she 00:10:46.860 --> 00:10:49.019 came to me. She must have seen me playing or 00:10:49.019 --> 00:10:51.480 something. And she said, hey, like, I want to 00:10:51.480 --> 00:10:53.600 do that. Like, it looks really fun. I like to 00:10:53.600 --> 00:10:55.440 play golf, you know, on the weekends or whatever. 00:10:55.559 --> 00:10:57.980 I want to do that. And so I was like, yeah, perfect. 00:10:58.080 --> 00:11:01.259 Great. So I grabbed, you know, seven of my buddies 00:11:01.259 --> 00:11:04.019 and we went out with this new professor at Taylor, 00:11:04.080 --> 00:11:06.649 this new professor who's trying to. figure out 00:11:06.649 --> 00:11:10.610 campus life and in addition to her job and things 00:11:10.610 --> 00:11:12.529 like that. But yeah, I still have a picture on 00:11:12.529 --> 00:11:15.070 my phone. It was awesome. So that I think speaks 00:11:15.070 --> 00:11:19.429 to the intentionality of teachers. That's a teacher 00:11:19.429 --> 00:11:21.970 example, but I would say to overall faculty members, 00:11:22.230 --> 00:11:26.009 personalities that we have at Taylor. So how 00:11:26.009 --> 00:11:29.629 has the admission process evolved over time that 00:11:29.629 --> 00:11:32.590 you see change throughout the years? Yeah, this 00:11:32.590 --> 00:11:35.070 is a really big question. One of the things that 00:11:35.070 --> 00:11:38.169 I would say, what's happening in the United States 00:11:38.169 --> 00:11:42.370 right now, and I think this is somewhat nuanced 00:11:42.370 --> 00:11:44.730 for other institutions around the world, but 00:11:44.730 --> 00:11:48.129 I'll speak to the United States context. The 00:11:48.129 --> 00:11:50.769 number of high school students in the United 00:11:50.769 --> 00:11:56.090 States is shrinking. So 2008 was the Great Recession. 00:11:56.470 --> 00:12:03.100 If you add 18 to that, you get 2026. That's about 00:12:03.100 --> 00:12:05.679 to hit and people are calling that the enrollment 00:12:05.679 --> 00:12:08.940 cliff. And so that means that there are fewer 00:12:08.940 --> 00:12:11.259 high school students available for colleges. 00:12:11.460 --> 00:12:19.500 And so more colleges have become, the market 00:12:19.500 --> 00:12:22.340 has become tighter, right? And so I think that 00:12:22.340 --> 00:12:26.340 means that it's a buyer's market. And so I think 00:12:26.340 --> 00:12:29.799 that for many students, their opportunities are 00:12:29.799 --> 00:12:32.500 increasing. And so really what's happening in 00:12:32.500 --> 00:12:34.340 the admissions world in the United States is 00:12:34.340 --> 00:12:37.559 you're having haves and have nots. So the haves 00:12:37.559 --> 00:12:41.019 are primarily large research one institutions. 00:12:41.259 --> 00:12:44.139 They are the flagship institutions. They're the 00:12:44.139 --> 00:12:47.639 University of Florida, the University of Michigan, 00:12:47.659 --> 00:12:50.460 these large institutions where it's becoming 00:12:50.460 --> 00:12:54.799 more and more competitive. to get into those 00:12:54.799 --> 00:12:56.960 institutions. But then you're having smaller 00:12:56.960 --> 00:13:00.500 institutions that are having a harder time getting 00:13:00.500 --> 00:13:03.200 students. And really, they're going to have a 00:13:03.200 --> 00:13:05.879 harder time staying afloat in the next years. 00:13:06.019 --> 00:13:09.220 So we really anticipate in the next decade there 00:13:09.220 --> 00:13:12.200 will be more and more closures of higher education 00:13:12.200 --> 00:13:14.480 institutions, especially those smaller ones. 00:13:14.600 --> 00:13:17.700 So in lots of ways, it's becoming a buyer's market. 00:13:17.840 --> 00:13:20.950 Now, what's interesting about it is this. Do 00:13:20.950 --> 00:13:23.590 you want to go to an institution that gives you 00:13:23.590 --> 00:13:28.269 the best price but may also be in risk of closing 00:13:28.269 --> 00:13:32.070 in the next decade? Right. So that's not a fun 00:13:32.070 --> 00:13:35.009 thing to be in your junior year of college and 00:13:35.009 --> 00:13:37.470 the institution announces that it's closing. 00:13:38.450 --> 00:13:42.809 So right now, especially around small institutions, 00:13:43.350 --> 00:13:46.169 small liberal arts institutions and even small 00:13:46.169 --> 00:13:49.789 regional state run institutions. Questions that 00:13:49.789 --> 00:13:53.289 were never asked by students before are questions 00:13:53.289 --> 00:13:57.090 like, what's your financial viability like? That 00:13:57.090 --> 00:14:00.090 is not a question that was being asked 10 years 00:14:00.090 --> 00:14:02.570 ago. And actually, I think most 18 -year -olds 00:14:02.570 --> 00:14:05.730 don't even know to ask that question. But it 00:14:05.730 --> 00:14:07.750 really is, I think, an important question right 00:14:07.750 --> 00:14:11.789 now. If a college is giving you an absolutely 00:14:11.789 --> 00:14:15.570 amazing deal, there may be a reason for that. 00:14:16.110 --> 00:14:19.460 There may be a reason that... They are trying 00:14:19.460 --> 00:14:23.519 to just buy students. And that's not a good thing. 00:14:23.600 --> 00:14:26.759 So I think that's been a really big change. There 00:14:26.759 --> 00:14:30.139 have been lots of other changes. We were just 00:14:30.139 --> 00:14:32.440 talking about there was a Supreme Court case 00:14:32.440 --> 00:14:34.919 a few years ago against the University of Michigan 00:14:34.919 --> 00:14:37.019 and against the University of North Carolina. 00:14:37.799 --> 00:14:41.059 That's really shaped the landscape. But that's 00:14:41.059 --> 00:14:42.700 a whole nother topic that we probably don't need 00:14:42.700 --> 00:14:45.230 to talk about right now. Pulling back a little 00:14:45.230 --> 00:14:48.129 bit to the campus life, as a student moves from 00:14:48.129 --> 00:14:51.009 out of area, what should one expect regarding 00:14:51.009 --> 00:14:53.690 the campus living arrangements from day -to -day 00:14:53.690 --> 00:14:56.210 life and residence halls? Yeah, it'll be different, 00:14:56.350 --> 00:15:00.190 right? It'll be set up with a roommate or maybe 00:15:00.190 --> 00:15:05.970 two roommates and on a whole floor of guys or 00:15:05.970 --> 00:15:07.929 girls that are trying to figure out what you're 00:15:07.929 --> 00:15:11.529 trying to figure out. And I think that's... That's 00:15:11.529 --> 00:15:14.269 kind of what changed my life, to be honest. I 00:15:14.269 --> 00:15:17.730 came from a public high school and didn't really 00:15:17.730 --> 00:15:20.269 have a solid group of friends that wanted to, 00:15:20.269 --> 00:15:24.889 you know, have a deep sense of faith, but didn't 00:15:24.889 --> 00:15:26.929 want to, you know, get in trouble on the weekends. 00:15:27.110 --> 00:15:31.690 And so I wanted to find the happy medium between 00:15:31.690 --> 00:15:35.090 those two. And that's what I found at my residence 00:15:35.090 --> 00:15:37.830 hall at Taylor University. I, you know, those 00:15:37.830 --> 00:15:41.419 are the guys that. I can go to if I have something 00:15:41.419 --> 00:15:44.960 going on in my life. And I think that's what 00:15:44.960 --> 00:15:48.720 you're going to expect in the residential hall 00:15:48.720 --> 00:15:53.019 sort of culture at Taylor. It's just, you're 00:15:53.019 --> 00:15:56.279 going to be pushed spiritually and you're going 00:15:56.279 --> 00:15:59.879 to be stepped out of your comfort zone and, you 00:15:59.879 --> 00:16:03.500 know, productive ways. And I think that is, you 00:16:03.500 --> 00:16:05.320 know, like I said, that's what changed my life. 00:16:06.009 --> 00:16:07.549 That's what I would that's what I would tell 00:16:07.549 --> 00:16:09.690 anybody looking at Taylor. You know, this is 00:16:09.690 --> 00:16:12.710 a good place. These are filled with faculty members 00:16:12.710 --> 00:16:15.870 and students who want to help you succeed and 00:16:15.870 --> 00:16:20.090 want to help you grow in in, you know, academically 00:16:20.090 --> 00:16:22.889 and spiritually and professionally even, too. 00:16:24.309 --> 00:16:27.370 So Taylor is the. seventh place that I've worked. 00:16:27.509 --> 00:16:29.429 So I've worked at a lot of other institutions 00:16:29.429 --> 00:16:32.009 and I would say residence life at each of those 00:16:32.009 --> 00:16:34.669 institutions is very, very different. And so 00:16:34.669 --> 00:16:36.769 I think it's a really, really important question 00:16:36.769 --> 00:16:40.190 to ask. What do I want in a residential experience? 00:16:40.690 --> 00:16:43.629 Do I want to live on campus? There are many institutions 00:16:43.629 --> 00:16:45.769 where you don't have to live on campus. There 00:16:45.769 --> 00:16:48.289 are many institutions where living on campus 00:16:48.289 --> 00:16:52.529 may be detrimental to your overall success because 00:16:52.529 --> 00:16:59.850 the residence halls are a 24 hour party. And 00:16:59.850 --> 00:17:02.950 so if that's not what you're interested in, then 00:17:02.950 --> 00:17:05.869 it might not be what you want. And so asking 00:17:05.869 --> 00:17:08.170 some of those questions, but even we were talking 00:17:08.170 --> 00:17:10.750 the other night about, uh, Taylor university 00:17:10.750 --> 00:17:14.069 is a place where life is built around the residence 00:17:14.069 --> 00:17:19.809 hall and it's a seven day a week life. There 00:17:19.809 --> 00:17:22.329 are lots of institutions like us that are small 00:17:22.329 --> 00:17:26.019 where every weekend the students kind of disappear 00:17:26.019 --> 00:17:30.599 back to home. So how do you know? And if you're 00:17:30.599 --> 00:17:32.720 coming from the other side of the world and you 00:17:32.720 --> 00:17:35.519 end up at one of those institutions where it's 00:17:35.519 --> 00:17:39.759 just five or six people every weekend who can't 00:17:39.759 --> 00:17:43.380 get home there, that's pretty miserable. And 00:17:43.380 --> 00:17:46.119 so how do you know if that's the kind of place 00:17:46.119 --> 00:17:49.099 that you're getting into beforehand? I think 00:17:49.099 --> 00:17:51.539 it's really important to say, hey, what's the 00:17:51.539 --> 00:17:54.119 vibe on the weekend? What does a Friday night 00:17:54.119 --> 00:17:57.220 look like here? What does Saturday look like 00:17:57.220 --> 00:18:01.339 here? And even getting a chance to talk to some... 00:18:01.630 --> 00:18:05.789 international students or TCKs, MKs from overseas 00:18:05.789 --> 00:18:08.190 to say, what do you do on the weekends? Are you 00:18:08.190 --> 00:18:10.250 the only one here on the weekends? That kind 00:18:10.250 --> 00:18:12.930 of thing, just to be able to get a feel for that. 00:18:13.009 --> 00:18:16.230 Because again, I think that's probably not what 00:18:16.230 --> 00:18:19.190 you're looking for. Or maybe it is what you're 00:18:19.190 --> 00:18:21.029 looking for. Maybe you just want to hang out 00:18:21.029 --> 00:18:23.849 with folks from overseas every weekend. And if 00:18:23.849 --> 00:18:26.109 that's what's going on, because everybody else 00:18:26.109 --> 00:18:29.220 in the residence hall is gone. then you get what 00:18:29.220 --> 00:18:31.519 you're looking for. But those are really, really 00:18:31.519 --> 00:18:35.160 important questions. At Taylor, I think all of 00:18:35.160 --> 00:18:37.559 life is built around our residence halls. It's 00:18:37.559 --> 00:18:40.000 a huge piece of what we do. And I think Tyler 00:18:40.000 --> 00:18:42.720 articulated that well. So I think this next question 00:18:42.720 --> 00:18:45.319 would be really important. So how should students 00:18:45.319 --> 00:18:47.240 choose a major if they're unsure about their 00:18:47.240 --> 00:18:51.710 future career? So I think the, well, and... Let 00:18:51.710 --> 00:18:55.109 me be let me disclose. I was a Spanish major 00:18:55.109 --> 00:19:00.609 in college. And so I think maybe I'm the perfect 00:19:00.609 --> 00:19:03.369 person to answer this question or or maybe not, 00:19:03.470 --> 00:19:06.529 depending on what you think about my answer. 00:19:06.609 --> 00:19:09.430 But what I tell students is in your undergraduate 00:19:09.430 --> 00:19:11.990 degree, you should study something that you're 00:19:11.990 --> 00:19:14.710 interested in and something that you'll do excellently 00:19:14.710 --> 00:19:17.609 in. And usually those two things are the same. 00:19:18.089 --> 00:19:20.789 So I'll give you an example. My wife was an accounting 00:19:20.789 --> 00:19:23.589 major because her parents said, you're good at 00:19:23.589 --> 00:19:27.309 math, you should do accounting. And she was okay, 00:19:27.490 --> 00:19:31.630 but pretty quickly she figured out, I'm not sure 00:19:31.630 --> 00:19:34.549 this is exactly what I wanted to do. But she 00:19:34.549 --> 00:19:36.509 was far enough in that she said, I guess I'll 00:19:36.509 --> 00:19:39.569 just finish it. She worked for a year as an accounting... 00:19:39.789 --> 00:19:42.329 As an accountant and said, this is definitely 00:19:42.329 --> 00:19:45.049 not what I want to do. And that's OK. Right. 00:19:45.130 --> 00:19:47.809 So she has used her accounting skills over and 00:19:47.809 --> 00:19:49.809 over and over and over again over the years. 00:19:50.349 --> 00:19:54.410 And she's been served by that. But she would 00:19:54.410 --> 00:19:57.269 probably have been better served to study something 00:19:57.269 --> 00:19:59.730 that she was interested in, not something that 00:19:59.730 --> 00:20:03.329 her parents thought would be good. So whatever 00:20:03.329 --> 00:20:06.029 it is that you're interested in, study that. 00:20:06.950 --> 00:20:10.299 Now, there are some things that. Where because 00:20:10.299 --> 00:20:13.740 because most careers are not directly linked 00:20:13.740 --> 00:20:17.680 to a major. Right. There are probably five exceptions 00:20:17.680 --> 00:20:20.339 to that education. Usually you have to have a 00:20:20.339 --> 00:20:22.759 degree in education. Now, you can always pick 00:20:22.759 --> 00:20:25.960 that up afterwards. Lots of people do that. Accounting 00:20:25.960 --> 00:20:31.099 is one of those. Nursing. Engineering. Right. 00:20:31.180 --> 00:20:33.700 So you don't want a Spanish major to put in your 00:20:33.700 --> 00:20:37.940 IV or build your bridge. Correct. Right. So. 00:20:39.890 --> 00:20:42.609 Those are probably the exceptions. And so if 00:20:42.609 --> 00:20:44.930 you're thinking one of those things, you should 00:20:44.930 --> 00:20:47.329 definitely start down that path. But other than 00:20:47.329 --> 00:20:50.470 that, I really think it's thinking about what 00:20:50.470 --> 00:20:53.319 am I interested in? What do I want to want to 00:20:53.319 --> 00:20:56.920 do? And then the job will come often from outside 00:20:56.920 --> 00:20:59.839 of the classroom experiences. I think the outside 00:20:59.839 --> 00:21:03.259 of the classroom experiences are essential to 00:21:03.259 --> 00:21:05.980 finding that career. So, Tyler, talk about like 00:21:05.980 --> 00:21:08.759 the internship that that you did and how that 00:21:08.759 --> 00:21:10.839 really shaped because you're marketing. But the 00:21:10.839 --> 00:21:12.880 job that you're going to do after college really 00:21:12.880 --> 00:21:15.720 is not directly related to marketing, right? 00:21:16.839 --> 00:21:21.490 Yeah, it's. It's sales. So I accepted a job at 00:21:21.490 --> 00:21:25.289 a insurance company that insures sports venues 00:21:25.289 --> 00:21:29.049 and sports arenas and also family entertainment 00:21:29.049 --> 00:21:31.650 centers. And it's in the sports and leisure industry. 00:21:31.769 --> 00:21:34.609 And that's interesting because when you think 00:21:34.609 --> 00:21:37.089 of marketing, maybe you think of social media 00:21:37.089 --> 00:21:40.190 or maybe you think of, you know, all different 00:21:40.190 --> 00:21:44.509 forms of digital marketing and maybe even advertising 00:21:44.509 --> 00:21:47.289 too. And so you don't really think of, you know, 00:21:47.609 --> 00:21:50.470 sales and so that's what i've picked up on uh 00:21:50.470 --> 00:21:55.950 as i've uh you know delved into the marketing 00:21:55.950 --> 00:21:59.369 world and been a marketing major at taylor university 00:21:59.369 --> 00:22:02.950 and that's you know no it's it's more broad than 00:22:02.950 --> 00:22:06.730 that you can do sales you can do you know maybe 00:22:06.730 --> 00:22:09.089 you want to do advertising or social media marketing 00:22:09.089 --> 00:22:11.890 but you can do other things and so like what 00:22:11.890 --> 00:22:15.130 you were saying it's it's not marketing in a 00:22:15.130 --> 00:22:18.589 traditional sense it's marketing you know when 00:22:18.589 --> 00:22:21.490 it's broadened out when it's looked at from you 00:22:21.490 --> 00:22:24.349 know a 30 ,000 foot view and I think that's where 00:22:24.349 --> 00:22:27.630 I've been blessed too is figuring out what I'm 00:22:27.630 --> 00:22:29.589 good at because I didn't want to do marketing 00:22:29.589 --> 00:22:31.809 initially I wanted to do like sports broadcasting 00:22:31.809 --> 00:22:34.509 in high school and you know freshman and sophomore 00:22:34.509 --> 00:22:36.849 year but then my dad told me like hey you're 00:22:36.849 --> 00:22:38.890 personable you should be good at sales and so 00:22:38.890 --> 00:22:42.009 I did that yeah this is one of those internships 00:22:42.009 --> 00:22:47.210 and uh You know, being in admissions and, you 00:22:47.210 --> 00:22:49.289 know, getting to talk to people about my school. 00:22:49.450 --> 00:22:53.509 And then, you know, I interned at that same company 00:22:53.509 --> 00:22:57.509 for four summers. And they, you know, kept telling 00:22:57.509 --> 00:23:00.150 me like, hey, you're really good at this. We 00:23:00.150 --> 00:23:02.910 want you back. You know, I was on the phone cold 00:23:02.910 --> 00:23:05.490 calling, you know, 20 or 30 times a day, which 00:23:05.490 --> 00:23:07.789 sounds awful to some people. But I was into it 00:23:07.789 --> 00:23:11.470 and I liked it. And, you know, I hit my goals 00:23:11.470 --> 00:23:14.859 or whatever. You know, I think Taylor helped 00:23:14.859 --> 00:23:18.240 me do that and they give me the skills and definitely 00:23:18.240 --> 00:23:21.440 the encouragement to be able to, you know, do 00:23:21.440 --> 00:23:24.740 those internships well, I think. So I'll give 00:23:24.740 --> 00:23:28.099 you one more example of that. So my son is working 00:23:28.099 --> 00:23:30.660 in commercial construction as a project management, 00:23:30.799 --> 00:23:35.160 project manager, and he was a business management 00:23:35.160 --> 00:23:38.660 major. They would not have hired him at this 00:23:38.660 --> 00:23:41.799 company had the only thing he had was a business 00:23:41.799 --> 00:23:45.539 management major. So the first summer he worked 00:23:45.539 --> 00:23:48.119 in construction, he was a carpenter's apprentice 00:23:48.119 --> 00:23:51.200 and he had a hammer in hand all summer long and 00:23:51.200 --> 00:23:53.539 was doing a lot of grunt work. Then the next 00:23:53.539 --> 00:23:57.039 summer he worked for the same company as a project 00:23:57.039 --> 00:24:00.500 management intern. And so when he went to apply 00:24:00.500 --> 00:24:04.059 for this job, they said very, very little about. 00:24:04.640 --> 00:24:07.740 the academic experience that he had. They were 00:24:07.740 --> 00:24:11.200 much more interested in... his out of classroom 00:24:11.200 --> 00:24:13.400 experience that he had had with these construction 00:24:13.400 --> 00:24:16.079 companies. Does that make sense? And so I think 00:24:16.079 --> 00:24:18.160 that's the most important thing that I would 00:24:18.160 --> 00:24:20.640 say is for sure, study something that you're 00:24:20.640 --> 00:24:22.259 interested in, study something that you're do 00:24:22.259 --> 00:24:25.299 excellently in, and then get those out of the 00:24:25.299 --> 00:24:28.279 classroom opportunities, whether that's a part 00:24:28.279 --> 00:24:30.779 -time job, whether that's an internship, job 00:24:30.779 --> 00:24:33.059 shadowing. Those are where I think you're really 00:24:33.059 --> 00:24:36.279 going to hone those career trajectories, right? 00:24:37.559 --> 00:24:39.900 that's where you're really going to be. Find 00:24:39.900 --> 00:24:41.980 the thing that you're actually interested in. 00:24:42.059 --> 00:24:44.759 I couldn't believe that there was an opportunity 00:24:44.759 --> 00:24:47.900 to work at a university. I didn't know that that 00:24:47.900 --> 00:24:50.480 was an opportunity when I was 16, 17, 18 years 00:24:50.480 --> 00:24:52.839 old. And then when I got to a university, I thought 00:24:52.839 --> 00:24:56.359 I could work at a place like this. Right. And 00:24:56.359 --> 00:24:58.460 that's how I moved in that direction and got 00:24:58.460 --> 00:25:00.740 a graduate degree and those types of things. 00:25:00.980 --> 00:25:03.460 All right. To wrap it up, moving on to our last 00:25:03.460 --> 00:25:06.359 question. We often talk about tuition and housing, 00:25:06.519 --> 00:25:09.500 but. What are the invisible costs of university 00:25:09.500 --> 00:25:12.619 that sometimes catch students off guard? And 00:25:12.619 --> 00:25:15.160 how does your office help maybe prepare for those? 00:25:15.420 --> 00:25:18.519 Yeah, I think this is interesting from a student's 00:25:18.519 --> 00:25:22.319 perspective because, you know, I, you know, growing 00:25:22.319 --> 00:25:24.720 up, I didn't have, you know, thousands of dollars 00:25:24.720 --> 00:25:28.319 to put towards tuition. So, you know, full transparency, 00:25:28.519 --> 00:25:30.940 I don't pay for, you know, those big things. 00:25:30.960 --> 00:25:33.799 You know, I don't. you know I don't I can't contribute 00:25:33.799 --> 00:25:35.720 to those things and so those are conversations 00:25:35.720 --> 00:25:38.240 to have with you know your parents and like what 00:25:38.240 --> 00:25:40.319 Andy was saying like you know throw them a bone 00:25:40.319 --> 00:25:42.339 like want to talk about those things in high 00:25:42.339 --> 00:25:45.500 school I think and then you know what I pay for 00:25:45.500 --> 00:25:48.440 is I think like having money saved up for you 00:25:48.440 --> 00:25:50.519 know fun things to do on the weekends because 00:25:50.519 --> 00:25:52.720 almost nothing is free nowadays it's just the 00:25:52.720 --> 00:25:56.220 way it is and so I've found a lot in you know 00:25:57.259 --> 00:26:00.119 working in working a job in high school, one 00:26:00.119 --> 00:26:02.920 of the best decisions I ever made my senior year 00:26:02.920 --> 00:26:05.140 of high school was actually quitting my sport 00:26:05.140 --> 00:26:08.019 and taking a part time job and then making money 00:26:08.019 --> 00:26:10.720 and saving up money for college. Like I gave 00:26:10.720 --> 00:26:13.799 myself so many pats on the back because I found 00:26:13.799 --> 00:26:16.980 a lot that, you know, people want to do fun things 00:26:16.980 --> 00:26:19.200 on the weekends at Taylor. You know, we go to 00:26:19.200 --> 00:26:21.940 Indianapolis and go to basketball games that 00:26:21.940 --> 00:26:24.640 cost like thirty dollars or something. Or, you 00:26:24.640 --> 00:26:27.720 know, we go to. you know, Taco Bell wait at night 00:26:27.720 --> 00:26:30.000 or something. And that's fun. Like, that's what 00:26:30.000 --> 00:26:32.440 we like to do. And so, you know, the little costs 00:26:32.440 --> 00:26:35.319 add up, I think. But, you know, choosing to, 00:26:35.319 --> 00:26:38.819 you know, work ahead and save for those things 00:26:38.819 --> 00:26:42.779 has 100 % served me well. So I think that question 00:26:42.779 --> 00:26:44.579 looks a little bit different from the student's 00:26:44.579 --> 00:26:47.119 perspective. But, you know, having communication 00:26:47.119 --> 00:26:49.740 with your parents is a great thing for that. 00:26:50.359 --> 00:26:52.900 Yeah, for sure. What are you going to pay for? 00:26:53.039 --> 00:26:57.079 What is your family going to pay for? How are 00:26:57.079 --> 00:26:59.880 you going to work those costs out together? I'll 00:26:59.880 --> 00:27:01.680 give you a couple of other ones, especially for 00:27:01.680 --> 00:27:04.599 students that are international. Travel costs 00:27:04.599 --> 00:27:07.859 are huge, right? That's a question that you need 00:27:07.859 --> 00:27:09.660 to have with your parents. How often are you 00:27:09.660 --> 00:27:11.400 going to go home? And, of course, that varies. 00:27:11.579 --> 00:27:14.539 So we have students that we were talking about 00:27:14.539 --> 00:27:17.849 the other night. friend who was an international 00:27:17.849 --> 00:27:21.269 student from India. And he came to Taylor University, 00:27:21.450 --> 00:27:23.430 did four years of Taylor University, and then 00:27:23.430 --> 00:27:26.349 went on to get his PhD at Florida Atlantic University, 00:27:26.690 --> 00:27:29.369 which is five years. And he never went home to 00:27:29.369 --> 00:27:33.349 India that whole time. So because he couldn't 00:27:33.349 --> 00:27:35.609 really afford it. And that was a choice that 00:27:35.609 --> 00:27:37.829 he and his family made. They knew that that's 00:27:37.829 --> 00:27:40.650 how it was going to be. And so he lived on campus 00:27:40.650 --> 00:27:43.690 every summer and worked his tail off to help 00:27:43.690 --> 00:27:47.349 pay that bill. That was a choice that he and 00:27:47.349 --> 00:27:50.470 his family made. That is a hard choice, right? 00:27:52.190 --> 00:27:56.230 So the question is, let's look at some flights. 00:27:57.089 --> 00:27:59.569 Let's do some projection. Let's talk to chat. 00:27:59.690 --> 00:28:04.170 How much is a flight from Bangkok to the United 00:28:04.170 --> 00:28:08.990 States? And then how many times a year am I going 00:28:08.990 --> 00:28:11.569 to be able to do that? Am I going to go home 00:28:11.569 --> 00:28:14.819 just at Christmas? Am I going to go home over 00:28:14.819 --> 00:28:18.279 the summer? Those costs start to add up. I think 00:28:18.279 --> 00:28:21.779 for sure there's the Taco Bell run at midnight. 00:28:21.900 --> 00:28:24.339 Those costs can start to add up. But of course, 00:28:24.400 --> 00:28:28.720 books, study abroad opportunities. Taylor has 00:28:28.720 --> 00:28:31.799 an absolutely amazing study abroad program, but 00:28:31.799 --> 00:28:34.920 it's usually additional cost over and above tuition 00:28:34.920 --> 00:28:38.180 and fees. And so if you want to be involved in 00:28:38.180 --> 00:28:40.319 programs like that, then there's going to be 00:28:40.319 --> 00:28:42.890 some additional costs to those as well. So I 00:28:42.890 --> 00:28:45.970 think those are conversations to have. How do 00:28:45.970 --> 00:28:48.170 I make the extra money? Who's going to help fund 00:28:48.170 --> 00:28:50.529 the extra money? But it's a great question. What 00:28:50.529 --> 00:28:53.750 are the quote unquote hidden costs? I think those 00:28:53.750 --> 00:28:56.690 are at least a portion of those. Thank you to 00:28:56.690 --> 00:28:59.170 Mr. Andy and Tyler for joining the show again 00:28:59.170 --> 00:29:01.250 and talking about a variety of things related 00:29:01.250 --> 00:29:03.690 to higher education from the admissions process 00:29:03.690 --> 00:29:06.589 all the way to financial planning. One of the 00:29:06.589 --> 00:29:08.730 best things students can do before heading off 00:29:08.730 --> 00:29:11.309 to college is to be well informed, so thank you 00:29:11.309 --> 00:29:14.309 for helping with that. This concludes our guest 00:29:14.309 --> 00:29:16.509 segment for this episode, but don't go away, 00:29:16.670 --> 00:29:18.890 as we'll be kicking off our new adventure story 00:29:18.890 --> 00:29:21.730 with Part 1 right after this short PSA announcement. 00:29:28.170 --> 00:29:30.150 This is a public service announcement for your 00:29:30.150 --> 00:29:32.329 business's financial health. We know that the 00:29:32.329 --> 00:29:34.329 pressure of budgeting and cash flow can be one 00:29:34.329 --> 00:29:36.450 of the biggest sources of entrepreneurial stress. 00:29:36.970 --> 00:29:39.269 Take 30 minutes this week to conduct a basic 00:29:39.269 --> 00:29:41.509 financial health check. Review your last three 00:29:41.509 --> 00:29:43.849 months of cash flow. Identify one system you 00:29:43.849 --> 00:29:47.190 can automate and make a plan to set aside a contingency 00:29:47.190 --> 00:29:50.329 fund. Resources like the Small Business Administration, 00:29:50.650 --> 00:29:54.190 SBA Business Guide, or local financial literacy 00:29:54.190 --> 00:29:57.009 workshops offer free tools to help you gain that 00:29:57.009 --> 00:29:59.650 clarity. Don't let your finances stress you out. 00:29:59.670 --> 00:30:09.869 Master them instead. And we are back with our 00:30:09.869 --> 00:30:12.410 second segment. For the next 10 episodes, we'll 00:30:12.410 --> 00:30:14.470 be bringing you another adventure story just 00:30:14.470 --> 00:30:17.049 like we did in the previous two seasons. Our 00:30:17.049 --> 00:30:19.450 new story is the third and final installment 00:30:19.450 --> 00:30:21.990 of what we are calling the Hawthorne Adventure 00:30:21.990 --> 00:30:24.750 Series. which began with the first story titled 00:30:24.750 --> 00:30:27.170 The Secrets of El Dorado, followed by our second 00:30:27.170 --> 00:30:30.349 story titled Legends of the Yucatan. These first 00:30:30.349 --> 00:30:32.650 two stories are available in audio narration 00:30:32.650 --> 00:30:35.950 on our podcast. Also, both are in book form and 00:30:35.950 --> 00:30:39.130 are available as a downloadable PDF, a paperback 00:30:39.130 --> 00:30:41.450 printed book, and an e -book for the Kindle. 00:30:41.529 --> 00:30:45.089 Just visit Amazon .com. Now, and without further 00:30:45.089 --> 00:30:48.089 ado, we bring you the first part of our 10 -part 00:30:48.089 --> 00:30:52.220 story titled The Mystery of St. Augustine. uncovering 00:30:52.220 --> 00:31:09.440 a past of greed and deceit. The Setting and the 00:31:09.440 --> 00:31:12.940 Characters Every Hawthorne adventure begins in 00:31:12.940 --> 00:31:15.519 the same place, El Dorado County, California, 00:31:15.900 --> 00:31:18.980 specifically in the small, quaint town of Coloma. 00:31:19.660 --> 00:31:22.059 Five years have passed since the Great California 00:31:22.059 --> 00:31:25.059 Gold Rush scandal, yet Coloma still holds the 00:31:25.059 --> 00:31:28.099 nation's attention. Tours from all over the United 00:31:28.099 --> 00:31:30.640 States continue to descend on this small town. 00:31:30.960 --> 00:31:34.200 Some seek an adventure of their own, others a 00:31:34.200 --> 00:31:36.700 piece of history, and many are simply following 00:31:36.700 --> 00:31:39.880 the crowds. The specific reason no longer matters, 00:31:39.960 --> 00:31:42.680 but what matters is that Coloma has become one 00:31:42.680 --> 00:31:45.319 of the West Coast's most visited spring and summer 00:31:45.319 --> 00:31:48.619 destinations. Town favorites like Ethan's Cafe 00:31:48.619 --> 00:31:51.680 and El Dorado College have become must -stop 00:31:51.680 --> 00:31:54.839 destinations, along with Rob's Peak and Sutter's 00:31:54.839 --> 00:31:58.259 Mill. Though this new adventure starts in Coloma, 00:31:58.319 --> 00:32:00.640 it doesn't end there. Similar to Hawthorne's 00:32:00.640 --> 00:32:03.720 Yucatan Adventure from a few years ago, this 00:32:03.720 --> 00:32:06.819 new quest, with all its danger and mystery, unfolds 00:32:06.819 --> 00:32:10.299 over 2 ,700 miles away on the northeast coast 00:32:10.299 --> 00:32:13.599 of Florida. St. Augustine, Florida is a historic 00:32:13.599 --> 00:32:15.839 town known for being the oldest continuously 00:32:15.839 --> 00:32:19.000 inhabited European established settlement in 00:32:19.000 --> 00:32:23.160 the continental United States. Founded in 1565, 00:32:23.660 --> 00:32:26.059 St. Augustine was established by the Spanish 00:32:26.059 --> 00:32:29.740 42 years before the English colonized Jamestown 00:32:29.740 --> 00:32:33.079 and 55 years before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth 00:32:33.079 --> 00:32:37.200 Rock. St. Augustine changed hands between the 00:32:37.200 --> 00:32:40.039 Spanish and British several times until the entire 00:32:40.039 --> 00:32:42.839 territory of Florida, including the city itself, 00:32:43.160 --> 00:32:45.839 was peaceably turned over to the United States 00:32:45.839 --> 00:32:51.140 in 1821 through the Adams -Onis Treaty. St. Augustine 00:32:51.140 --> 00:32:53.900 became a popular destination for wealthy Americans 00:32:53.900 --> 00:32:57.720 in the 1800s, thanks in part to Henry Flagler, 00:32:57.819 --> 00:33:00.779 a former partner of John D. Rockefeller in the 00:33:00.779 --> 00:33:04.140 Standard Oil Company. Flagler not only built 00:33:04.140 --> 00:33:07.059 luxury hotels, but also connected St. Augustine 00:33:07.059 --> 00:33:10.519 to other towns and cities by railroad. Fast forward 00:33:10.519 --> 00:33:13.400 to the present, and the city still attracts tourists. 00:33:13.460 --> 00:33:16.480 In fact, more than 2 million people visit this 00:33:16.480 --> 00:33:19.599 old colonial town annually, lured by its deep 00:33:19.599 --> 00:33:28.880 history and the promise of discovery. James Hawthorne 00:33:28.880 --> 00:33:31.079 here. Just when I thought life was going to slow 00:33:31.079 --> 00:33:33.960 down, especially after all the fanfare from the 00:33:33.960 --> 00:33:36.819 Gold Rush scandal, last year's dangerous trip 00:33:36.819 --> 00:33:40.099 to Mexico proved me wrong. I was fortunate to 00:33:40.099 --> 00:33:42.359 be on the right side of history and the law again. 00:33:42.720 --> 00:33:45.319 I was glad to hear that my new friends Miranda 00:33:45.319 --> 00:33:48.019 and David returned the stolen artifact to their 00:33:48.019 --> 00:33:50.980 rightful homes, exposing a great deal of greed 00:33:50.980 --> 00:33:54.019 and corruption in the process. My old friend 00:33:54.019 --> 00:33:56.380 Tommy is doing well, and he's planning to come 00:33:56.380 --> 00:33:59.289 visit Ann and me sometime soon. perhaps even 00:33:59.289 --> 00:34:01.829 before the year is out. I've always believed 00:34:01.829 --> 00:34:04.230 that studying the past teaches us not only about 00:34:04.230 --> 00:34:07.670 who we are, but about who we might become. I'm 00:34:07.670 --> 00:34:09.670 still in the process of writing my second book 00:34:09.670 --> 00:34:13.369 about the Mexico trip. I reduced my class load 00:34:13.369 --> 00:34:16.110 this year, which has given Ann and me more opportunities 00:34:16.110 --> 00:34:19.349 to visit our kids and rediscover some old hobbies, 00:34:19.489 --> 00:34:22.760 like fly fishing. My father and grandfather taught 00:34:22.760 --> 00:34:25.239 me the art of it, even how to craft my own fly 00:34:25.239 --> 00:34:28.179 rod, a skill I've taken up again recently. I 00:34:28.179 --> 00:34:30.619 used to think it was a hobby for old, retired 00:34:30.619 --> 00:34:33.239 guys, but I suppose I'm close to that age group 00:34:33.239 --> 00:34:36.539 now. And I have to admit, I enjoy the peace of 00:34:36.539 --> 00:34:39.579 being out in nature. And yes, I practice catch 00:34:39.579 --> 00:34:42.420 and release. Okay, enough about me dusting off 00:34:42.420 --> 00:34:44.900 an old hobby. Anyway, I bought some property 00:34:44.900 --> 00:34:47.960 this year in a different state. Shh, please don't 00:34:47.960 --> 00:34:50.210 tell the kids yet. It's something we plan to 00:34:50.210 --> 00:34:52.829 keep in the family for years to come. Ann and 00:34:52.829 --> 00:34:54.829 I are just now starting to figure out what to 00:34:54.829 --> 00:34:57.630 do with it. Maybe build a cabin or two, clear 00:34:57.630 --> 00:34:59.710 some hiking trails, and create a retreat for 00:34:59.710 --> 00:35:02.409 old friends. I guess we'll see what happens after 00:35:02.409 --> 00:35:05.889 our trip to Florida. Hello, I'm Ann Hawthorne. 00:35:06.130 --> 00:35:08.829 James and I met on a project right out of college 00:35:08.829 --> 00:35:11.940 and have been together ever since. For years, 00:35:12.119 --> 00:35:14.739 I've lived alongside James' adventures and have 00:35:14.739 --> 00:35:17.559 mostly managed to stay out of the peculiar situations 00:35:17.559 --> 00:35:21.119 he often finds himself in. I'm happy to have 00:35:21.119 --> 00:35:23.679 him around more now that he's reduced his class 00:35:23.679 --> 00:35:26.599 load at the college. We always find ways to fill 00:35:26.599 --> 00:35:29.199 our time, whether it's a new hobby, visiting 00:35:29.199 --> 00:35:32.579 our children, or traveling. After a long career 00:35:32.579 --> 00:35:36.019 in the educational nonprofit sector, I've started 00:35:36.019 --> 00:35:39.599 to reduce my own workload. I enjoy spending more 00:35:39.599 --> 00:35:42.280 time with my children and tending to our garden. 00:35:42.599 --> 00:35:45.820 I still travel periodically to speak when asked. 00:35:45.980 --> 00:35:49.219 I volunteer at local events in Coloma and particularly 00:35:49.219 --> 00:35:52.139 enjoy helping with the monthly farmer's market. 00:35:52.320 --> 00:35:55.260 It keeps me grounded and connected to this place 00:35:55.260 --> 00:35:58.639 we've called home for so long. Retirement has 00:35:58.639 --> 00:36:01.360 never been a dream of mine. We'll see where this 00:36:01.360 --> 00:36:04.820 next chapter leads. Honestly, I'm glad I don't 00:36:04.820 --> 00:36:07.579 have it all figured out. The surprise is the 00:36:07.579 --> 00:36:10.760 most exciting part. Hello, I'm Professor Amanda 00:36:10.760 --> 00:36:13.719 Chase. I love my teaching job at El Dorado College. 00:36:14.099 --> 00:36:16.320 My family and I have moved here from the East 00:36:16.320 --> 00:36:19.219 Coast a few years ago and have settled nicely 00:36:19.219 --> 00:36:22.519 into the West Coast lifestyle. It's certainly 00:36:22.519 --> 00:36:26.199 more laid back and not nearly as rigid as what 00:36:26.199 --> 00:36:30.039 we were used to back East. People are even nicer 00:36:30.039 --> 00:36:32.840 here, or maybe it's just the small town vibe. 00:36:33.340 --> 00:36:35.639 We've truly come to enjoy small -town living 00:36:35.639 --> 00:36:38.559 and the community we've found here. When Professor 00:36:38.559 --> 00:36:41.619 Hawthorne reduced his schedule after the Mexico 00:36:41.619 --> 00:36:44.460 trip, he put in a good word for me, allowing 00:36:44.460 --> 00:36:47.219 me to take on more responsibility at the college. 00:36:47.599 --> 00:36:51.719 I've even taken on some interns this year. one 00:36:51.719 --> 00:36:55.119 of whom is Olivia Park. She was part of the college 00:36:55.119 --> 00:36:57.679 group caught up in the Yucatan incident last 00:36:57.679 --> 00:37:01.059 year. I genuinely enjoy mentoring young people, 00:37:01.159 --> 00:37:04.260 especially students like Olivia, in whom I see 00:37:04.260 --> 00:37:07.860 great potential. It's rewarding to help guide 00:37:07.860 --> 00:37:11.199 them on their career paths. This year, I'm excited 00:37:11.199 --> 00:37:14.380 to be taking a college -sponsored trip. Professor 00:37:14.380 --> 00:37:17.599 Hawthorne and his wife, Anne, will be going as 00:37:17.599 --> 00:37:20.880 well. I don't have all the details yet. but it 00:37:20.880 --> 00:37:24.420 involves a research trip to Florida. Hi, my name 00:37:24.420 --> 00:37:27.079 is Olivia Park. You might remember me from the 00:37:27.079 --> 00:37:30.260 El Dorado College trip to Mexico City and the 00:37:30.260 --> 00:37:34.280 Yucatan last year. I assisted Ava Turner with 00:37:34.280 --> 00:37:37.440 her interviews about the recovered Mayan artifacts. 00:37:37.880 --> 00:37:40.780 To be precise, I handled the technical side, 00:37:40.960 --> 00:37:44.019 audio setup, and recordings while she worked 00:37:44.019 --> 00:37:47.679 her magic. Ava is a real journalist. I still 00:37:47.679 --> 00:37:50.800 keep in touch with Ava from time to time, mostly 00:37:50.800 --> 00:37:55.059 to ask for her career advice. She's always incredibly 00:37:55.059 --> 00:37:58.480 gracious in answering my questions. I've been 00:37:58.480 --> 00:38:01.219 fortunate to be around a lot of genuine and kind 00:38:01.219 --> 00:38:04.860 people these last few years. However, my experience 00:38:04.860 --> 00:38:07.780 in Mexico was a stark reminder that not everyone 00:38:07.780 --> 00:38:11.980 is. After graduating last year, I began an internship 00:38:11.980 --> 00:38:15.860 with Professor Amanda Chase in the History Department 00:38:15.860 --> 00:38:19.599 at El Dorado College. I'm hoping this internship 00:38:19.599 --> 00:38:21.920 will give me the experience I need to qualify 00:38:21.920 --> 00:38:25.380 for a competitive master's program at Cambridge 00:38:25.380 --> 00:38:28.639 next year. My name is Eleanor Bennett, but please 00:38:28.639 --> 00:38:31.079 call me Ellie. It's a little less formal. I'm 00:38:31.079 --> 00:38:33.159 British American. I've lived and worked in the 00:38:33.159 --> 00:38:35.699 U .S. for many years now, but I fly back to England 00:38:35.699 --> 00:38:38.599 often to visit families and friends. I have an 00:38:38.599 --> 00:38:40.960 uncanny ability to feel at home in both societies. 00:38:41.320 --> 00:38:44.039 Still, my British relatives never fail to ask 00:38:44.039 --> 00:38:45.960 when I'm planning to return to my roots for good. 00:38:46.639 --> 00:38:48.860 I don't have any plans to move to England just 00:38:48.860 --> 00:38:51.199 yet. I've built a life and a career I thoroughly 00:38:51.199 --> 00:38:54.099 enjoy here on what we call Florida's First Coast. 00:38:54.340 --> 00:38:57.340 For those unfamiliar with the term, it was coined 00:38:57.340 --> 00:39:00.280 by an ad agency back in the 1980s when Florida 00:39:00.280 --> 00:39:03.300 was reinventing its tourism. The First Coast 00:39:03.300 --> 00:39:05.739 refers to the northeastern Atlantic coastline 00:39:05.739 --> 00:39:07.860 stretching from the Georgia border down through 00:39:07.860 --> 00:39:10.760 St. John's County. It includes the big city of 00:39:10.760 --> 00:39:12.780 Jacksonville and, of course, my home for most 00:39:12.780 --> 00:39:15.519 of the year, the historic city of St. Augustine. 00:39:16.739 --> 00:39:19.349 I'm Robert Mitchell. My family and friends call 00:39:19.349 --> 00:39:21.789 me Bobby, but for business, I stick with Robert. 00:39:21.949 --> 00:39:24.969 It feels more professional. I was born in Gainesville, 00:39:25.070 --> 00:39:27.349 but I've been a coastal kid as long as I can 00:39:27.349 --> 00:39:30.489 remember. My parents moved to St. Augustine when 00:39:30.489 --> 00:39:32.949 I was in elementary school, and my father started 00:39:32.949 --> 00:39:35.769 a sport fishing guide service out of Conch House 00:39:35.769 --> 00:39:38.909 Marina. I worked on the boat every summer through 00:39:38.909 --> 00:39:41.070 middle and high school, then went to university 00:39:41.070 --> 00:39:44.010 to study business, always with the plan of coming 00:39:44.010 --> 00:39:47.090 back to help dad run the company. After college, 00:39:47.250 --> 00:39:49.710 I came back to work alongside him, and things 00:39:49.710 --> 00:39:52.030 were going great for a few years. Then he passed 00:39:52.030 --> 00:39:54.969 away. It was very sudden. None of us in the family 00:39:54.969 --> 00:39:57.489 even knew he was sick. It was a tough time for 00:39:57.489 --> 00:39:59.869 all of us, but we pulled through. To keep my 00:39:59.869 --> 00:40:02.409 father's legacy alive, I took over First Coast 00:40:02.409 --> 00:40:04.989 Charters. Now I'm the captain of both boats in 00:40:04.989 --> 00:40:07.710 the fleet. My father built a great clientele 00:40:07.710 --> 00:40:10.090 over the years and was known for his professionalism 00:40:10.090 --> 00:40:12.869 and expert knowledge of the sea. He knew all 00:40:12.869 --> 00:40:15.650 the right fishing spots up and down the coastline. 00:40:16.059 --> 00:40:18.820 He always used to say, respect the sea, respect 00:40:18.820 --> 00:40:21.699 your catch. I have to say, I truly love the work. 00:40:21.800 --> 00:40:24.159 I get to meet people from all over the world, 00:40:24.199 --> 00:40:26.699 and it's a lot of fun watching first -timers 00:40:26.699 --> 00:40:29.579 experience the raw power of the open ocean. I've 00:40:29.579 --> 00:40:31.940 got two boats in the fleet, a 40 -foot sport 00:40:31.940 --> 00:40:34.539 fisher for deep water trips, and a small vessel 00:40:34.539 --> 00:40:37.630 for outlings closer to the shoreline. Hello, 00:40:37.730 --> 00:40:40.670 my name is Cecilia Harper, but you can call me 00:40:40.670 --> 00:40:44.210 Cece. I'm a lifelong resident of St. Augustine, 00:40:44.210 --> 00:40:47.269 born and raised. My family calls me an old soul, 00:40:47.409 --> 00:40:50.289 and they're right. I'm not your typical 20 -something. 00:40:50.550 --> 00:40:53.590 I may be young, but I have dedicated myself to 00:40:53.590 --> 00:40:56.150 studying every facet of this town's history. 00:40:56.679 --> 00:40:59.559 And yes, I call St. Augustine my town, because 00:40:59.559 --> 00:41:02.519 in many ways it is. Aside from the professionals 00:41:02.519 --> 00:41:05.900 at the St. Augustine Historical Society, I'd 00:41:05.900 --> 00:41:08.340 wager no one knows this town better than I do, 00:41:08.440 --> 00:41:12.400 not even the old -timers. I sit in on the Society's 00:41:12.400 --> 00:41:15.340 weekly meetings from time to time to answer questions 00:41:15.340 --> 00:41:18.599 or help where I can. The meetings are typically 00:41:18.599 --> 00:41:21.019 quite boring, but they keep me informed about 00:41:21.019 --> 00:41:23.800 what's happening in town, particularly regarding 00:41:23.800 --> 00:41:27.610 tourism. I have a love -hate relationship with 00:41:27.610 --> 00:41:30.849 tourism. On one hand, it funds the preservation 00:41:30.849 --> 00:41:34.710 that keeps our history alive. On the other hand, 00:41:34.710 --> 00:41:37.730 most tourists don't seem to care about that heritage 00:41:37.730 --> 00:41:40.909 anymore. They'd rather sit on the beach or take 00:41:40.909 --> 00:41:43.809 selfies with ice cream on our cobblestone streets. 00:41:44.670 --> 00:41:47.449 Chief Michael Sullivan here. I'm known locally 00:41:47.449 --> 00:41:49.719 as Chief Sullivan Though some people call me 00:41:49.719 --> 00:41:52.300 Big Mike, which is ironic, since I'm not a particularly 00:41:52.300 --> 00:41:54.980 large man. Rumor has it the name refers to my 00:41:54.980 --> 00:41:57.719 personality and not my physical stature. I've 00:41:57.719 --> 00:41:59.699 been the chief of police for St. Augustine for 00:41:59.699 --> 00:42:02.300 the past 12 years. It takes a long time to truly 00:42:02.300 --> 00:42:04.300 learn our community and earn the trust of its 00:42:04.300 --> 00:42:06.460 residents. The best part of the job is still 00:42:06.460 --> 00:42:08.420 getting out of my stuffy office on a nice Florida 00:42:08.420 --> 00:42:10.639 day, and we get plenty of those to interact with 00:42:10.639 --> 00:42:13.019 the community. I'm also proud to lead some of 00:42:13.019 --> 00:42:15.119 the best deputies in northern Florida. I'll admit 00:42:15.119 --> 00:42:17.260 to some bias, however, since I hired many of 00:42:17.260 --> 00:42:20.760 them myself. My name is Lieutenant Daniel Walsh. 00:42:20.860 --> 00:42:24.280 I serve under Chief Sullivan. Big Mike, as he's 00:42:24.280 --> 00:42:27.619 known, is my direct supervisor. My official title 00:42:27.619 --> 00:42:30.159 is Lieutenant Commander of Investigation and 00:42:30.159 --> 00:42:32.559 Patrol. I'm a little younger than the chief, 00:42:32.760 --> 00:42:34.920 but have been steadily working my way up the 00:42:34.920 --> 00:42:37.380 ranks in St. Augustine Police Department for 00:42:37.380 --> 00:42:39.820 the past seven years. I never aimed to become 00:42:39.820 --> 00:42:42.860 commander of both divisions, but I have a knack 00:42:42.860 --> 00:42:45.380 for solving problems, getting things done, and 00:42:45.380 --> 00:42:47.460 teaching others how to do the same. That's what 00:42:47.460 --> 00:42:51.239 I do. And here's a fun fact. Most of the officers 00:42:51.239 --> 00:42:54.920 I'm in charge of call me LT or Commander Walsh. 00:42:55.000 --> 00:42:57.880 It's a funny thing. Hardly anyone uses my first 00:42:57.880 --> 00:43:01.300 name. If they do, it's usually to impersonate 00:43:01.300 --> 00:43:03.360 the character from the movie Forrest Grump and 00:43:03.360 --> 00:43:06.320 yell, Lieutenant Dan! That was funny the first 00:43:06.320 --> 00:43:08.760 hundred times. Now, it's just annoying every 00:43:08.760 --> 00:43:12.019 time I hear it. And let me say this once. I take 00:43:12.019 --> 00:43:14.900 my job seriously. And of course, I enjoy the 00:43:14.900 --> 00:43:16.800 investigative nature of my responsibilities. 00:43:17.690 --> 00:43:20.389 I feel I was built for this. It's just the way 00:43:20.389 --> 00:43:22.710 my mind works, you know. Connecting the dots 00:43:22.710 --> 00:43:25.670 in a complex situation comes naturally to me, 00:43:25.730 --> 00:43:28.130 of course. That's why I'm leading these divisions, 00:43:28.409 --> 00:43:32.429 no doubt. Extra Townspeople. Sarah Ferguson, 00:43:32.690 --> 00:43:36.349 as a leading figure at the St. Augustine's Historical 00:43:36.349 --> 00:43:39.769 Society, Sarah Ferguson is a passionate advocate 00:43:39.769 --> 00:43:43.349 for the city's heritage. She treats the society's 00:43:43.349 --> 00:43:47.260 mission, established back in 1883, with the utmost 00:43:47.260 --> 00:43:52.579 seriousness and scholarly dedication. Thomas, 00:43:52.719 --> 00:43:56.579 Tom Reynolds, working alongside Sarah, Tom Reynolds 00:43:56.579 --> 00:44:00.099 is the public face of the historical society. 00:44:00.500 --> 00:44:04.300 Where Sarah brings the academic rigor, Tom provides 00:44:04.300 --> 00:44:07.320 the warm, welcoming stories that connect the 00:44:07.320 --> 00:44:10.739 society's long history to the daily life of the 00:44:10.739 --> 00:44:17.139 town. William Will Ford. Will Ford is a gregarious 00:44:17.139 --> 00:44:21.699 owner of Will's Seafood Bar and Grill, a popular 00:44:21.699 --> 00:44:24.900 local spot with stunning views at the bayfront 00:44:24.900 --> 00:44:29.900 near the Bridge of Lions. He knows as much about 00:44:29.900 --> 00:44:33.460 the town's gossip as he does about serving fresh 00:44:33.460 --> 00:44:38.840 seafood. Jonathan John Tanner. John Tanner is 00:44:38.840 --> 00:44:42.400 the quiet, meticulous caretaker of the Cathedral 00:44:42.400 --> 00:44:46.900 Basilica. of St. Augustine. He moves through 00:44:46.900 --> 00:44:52.480 the historic sanctuary built in the 1790s as 00:44:52.480 --> 00:44:55.559 if it were part of the building itself, feeling 00:44:55.559 --> 00:44:59.320 the weight of the history as its oldest Christian 00:44:59.320 --> 00:45:04.719 congregation in the country. Chris Lawson, as 00:45:04.719 --> 00:45:09.219 the director of the Castillo de San Marcos National 00:45:09.219 --> 00:45:13.360 Monument, Chris Lawson is a professional historian 00:45:13.360 --> 00:45:17.940 with the practical demeanor of a federal manager. 00:45:18.179 --> 00:45:22.159 He is more concerned with budgets and the preservation 00:45:22.159 --> 00:45:26.360 protocols than local legends, serving as the 00:45:26.360 --> 00:45:29.679 official guardian of the fort's formidable history. 00:45:30.280 --> 00:45:34.500 Joe Gardner. Joe Gardner is a tour guide at the 00:45:34.500 --> 00:45:39.820 magnificent old Ponce de Leon Hotel, and he is 00:45:39.820 --> 00:45:44.019 a showman at heart. With a soft voice and a flair 00:45:44.019 --> 00:45:47.860 for the dramatic, he brings the gilded age history 00:45:47.860 --> 00:45:52.099 of the famous hotel to life for hundreds of tourists 00:45:52.099 --> 00:46:02.860 each week. Looming over this new adventure is 00:46:02.860 --> 00:46:05.980 a threat few have ever heard and fewer still 00:46:05.980 --> 00:46:10.159 understand. A transnational syndicate known only 00:46:10.159 --> 00:46:15.119 as... the table. It operates not like a criminal 00:46:15.119 --> 00:46:19.780 gang, but with a calculated precision of a multinational 00:46:19.780 --> 00:46:25.059 corporation. Its power concentrated in a ruthless, 00:46:25.119 --> 00:46:29.480 efficient council of six known simply as the 00:46:29.480 --> 00:46:34.260 Seats. At its head is the First Seat, an interesting 00:46:34.260 --> 00:46:37.400 leader whose identity is the syndicate's most 00:46:37.400 --> 00:46:41.389 guarded secret. Serving as the direct instrument 00:46:41.389 --> 00:46:44.590 of the first seat's will is the operative known 00:46:44.590 --> 00:46:49.489 only as Midnight, the second seat who executes 00:46:49.489 --> 00:46:53.570 the table's most critical missions. The identities 00:46:53.570 --> 00:46:56.429 and functions of the remaining four seats are 00:46:56.429 --> 00:47:00.250 unknown, their anonymity a chilling testament 00:47:00.250 --> 00:47:04.190 to the organization's formidable discipline and 00:47:04.190 --> 00:47:13.219 the shadowy depths of its global influence. The 00:47:13.219 --> 00:47:16.380 characters are introduced, and the stage is set, 00:47:16.539 --> 00:47:19.599 stretching from the familiar hills of California 00:47:19.599 --> 00:47:23.920 to the first coast of Florida. In the historical 00:47:23.920 --> 00:47:27.139 city of St. Augustine, a new mystery awaits, 00:47:27.460 --> 00:47:30.960 one that will test old friendships and forge 00:47:30.960 --> 00:47:34.079 new alliances. For beneath the city's charming 00:47:34.079 --> 00:47:37.760 surface, a history of greed and deceit is waiting 00:47:37.760 --> 00:47:43.289 to be uncovered, and in the shadows. its first 00:47:43.289 --> 00:47:54.789 move. And now, on to our story. Part 1, The Discovery. 00:48:03.489 --> 00:48:06.389 Come on, keep digging. We're running out of time. 00:48:06.969 --> 00:48:10.119 Midnight's voice was a frustrated hiss. She paced 00:48:10.119 --> 00:48:12.460 at the water's edge, her gaze darting nervously 00:48:12.460 --> 00:48:15.519 over the moonlit waves. The sun will be up soon, 00:48:15.539 --> 00:48:17.059 and this coast will be crawling with fishing 00:48:17.059 --> 00:48:19.539 boats soon enough. Third Chair pushed his half 00:48:19.539 --> 00:48:21.820 -broken shovel into the sand, heaving a mound 00:48:21.820 --> 00:48:24.579 of sand up and out of the deep hole next to where 00:48:24.579 --> 00:48:27.079 Midnight was standing. He looked up toward her 00:48:27.079 --> 00:48:29.780 and said, We've been out here all night, he grumbled, 00:48:29.880 --> 00:48:32.139 and haven't found anything. Fourth Chair stopped 00:48:32.139 --> 00:48:34.699 digging, leaning on the handle of his shovel, 00:48:34.860 --> 00:48:37.380 looked up at Midnight, and looked. this is so 00:48:37.380 --> 00:48:39.300 important to find why isn't first chair out here 00:48:39.300 --> 00:48:42.440 supervising fifth chair grunted stopped digging 00:48:42.440 --> 00:48:45.199 and said yeah my shoulders and back are killing 00:48:45.199 --> 00:48:47.579 me i haven't had to do this much physical work 00:48:47.579 --> 00:48:50.360 since the paris incident he then lowered his 00:48:50.360 --> 00:48:53.019 voice as he stared up at midnight also known 00:48:53.019 --> 00:48:56.380 as chair two by the way Where the bleak is chair 00:48:56.380 --> 00:48:59.199 six? She's off doing something else for me. Midnight 00:48:59.199 --> 00:49:01.199 snapped as she looked down at chair five, who 00:49:01.199 --> 00:49:03.099 was standing in a deep pit between three and 00:49:03.099 --> 00:49:05.380 four. What's it to you anyways? She doesn't answer 00:49:05.380 --> 00:49:07.579 to you. You're not in charge. With a smirk on 00:49:07.579 --> 00:49:10.440 her face, she continued. All right, I forgot. 00:49:10.599 --> 00:49:13.019 You're the new guy. While looking down into the 00:49:13.019 --> 00:49:16.139 deep pit at chairs three, four, and five, she 00:49:16.139 --> 00:49:18.659 then became silent. There, right below chair 00:49:18.659 --> 00:49:21.159 four's left foot was something shiny and old 00:49:21.159 --> 00:49:23.820 sticking out of the sand ever so slightly. She 00:49:23.820 --> 00:49:26.909 then said, What is that? Looking down near chair 00:49:26.909 --> 00:49:29.170 four's foot, chair three then says, I believe 00:49:29.170 --> 00:49:32.269 we found what first chair was referring to. Yes, 00:49:32.269 --> 00:49:34.369 it appears we have, Mina responded. The morning 00:49:34.369 --> 00:49:36.530 sun peeked over the horizon, turning the sky 00:49:36.530 --> 00:49:38.289 bright orange and stretching her shadow across 00:49:38.289 --> 00:49:41.070 the beach. She looked down into the deep pit 00:49:41.070 --> 00:49:43.269 at the other chairs with a smile and said, Hurry 00:49:43.269 --> 00:49:45.150 up and let's finish this before the boats start 00:49:45.150 --> 00:49:46.869 running their shoreline and a tide comes back 00:49:46.869 --> 00:50:01.210 in. Professor Hawthorne and Professor Amanda 00:50:01.210 --> 00:50:03.969 left the college president's office laughing 00:50:03.969 --> 00:50:06.449 and smiling. The department head meeting had 00:50:06.449 --> 00:50:09.190 gone exceptionally well, so well, in fact, that 00:50:09.190 --> 00:50:11.889 the normally dry college president had ended 00:50:11.889 --> 00:50:15.050 it with a few lame dad jokes. He even admitted 00:50:15.050 --> 00:50:17.329 to the group that he was an avid listener of 00:50:17.329 --> 00:50:20.030 a dad joke podcast and enjoyed retelling the 00:50:20.030 --> 00:50:22.630 jokes when he had the chance. And I guess this 00:50:22.630 --> 00:50:25.519 was one of those chances. While Hawthorne and 00:50:25.519 --> 00:50:27.880 Amanda were still in the hall talking with other 00:50:27.880 --> 00:50:30.780 department heads, the president's secretary motioned 00:50:30.780 --> 00:50:32.960 for them to come back into the office for a quick 00:50:32.960 --> 00:50:36.199 word. As the secretary led them back inside, 00:50:36.420 --> 00:50:39.179 Hawthorne whispered to Amanda, sometimes these 00:50:39.179 --> 00:50:41.980 quick words turn into long meetings, but I guess 00:50:41.980 --> 00:50:45.280 we'll find out. Dr. Conrad, who insisted on the 00:50:45.280 --> 00:50:49.300 title even among his peers, was still in an unusually 00:50:49.300 --> 00:50:52.719 cheerful mood. He was a seasoned academic and 00:50:52.719 --> 00:50:55.420 had been president of El Dorado College for many 00:50:55.420 --> 00:50:59.019 years. While his reputation was solid, he was 00:50:59.019 --> 00:51:02.019 also known for being painfully dull, which made 00:51:02.019 --> 00:51:05.099 his recent foray into humor all the more surprising. 00:51:05.500 --> 00:51:08.519 As Amanda and Hawthorne settled back into their 00:51:08.519 --> 00:51:11.860 seats around the conference table, Dr. Conrad 00:51:11.860 --> 00:51:15.210 shared some inside news. An old friend of mine 00:51:15.210 --> 00:51:18.210 has invited our college to be part of a unique 00:51:18.210 --> 00:51:21.869 and extraordinary opportunity, Dr. Conrad continued. 00:51:22.389 --> 00:51:25.730 In fact, he had to convince his fellow society 00:51:25.730 --> 00:51:29.349 members that our school was the best fit, rather 00:51:29.349 --> 00:51:33.090 than some Ivy League university. Here's the deal, 00:51:33.269 --> 00:51:37.590 he said, leaning forward. My longtime friend, 00:51:37.769 --> 00:51:41.690 Tom Reynolds, helps lead the St. Augustine Historical 00:51:41.690 --> 00:51:45.650 Society in Florida. He's invited us to collaborate 00:51:45.650 --> 00:51:49.570 on an exclusive and confidential research project. 00:51:50.269 --> 00:51:53.849 The project has private funding from an anonymous 00:51:53.849 --> 00:51:57.909 donor plus a state grant. The key condition is 00:51:57.909 --> 00:52:00.449 that the results won't be published, at least 00:52:00.449 --> 00:52:03.150 not yet, which is why they avoided the larger 00:52:03.150 --> 00:52:06.110 universities. They want to keep this quiet. They 00:52:06.110 --> 00:52:09.110 need qualified personnel, people with experience 00:52:09.110 --> 00:52:13.630 and know -how. So that brings me to you. Dr. 00:52:13.710 --> 00:52:17.389 Conrad said, looking at both of them. With your 00:52:17.389 --> 00:52:20.090 department's combined academic and field experience, 00:52:20.329 --> 00:52:23.190 I think you're a perfect fit. It would be a win 00:52:23.190 --> 00:52:26.050 -win for both the St. Augustine Historical Society 00:52:26.050 --> 00:52:31.530 and our college. Dr. Conrad had barely finished 00:52:31.530 --> 00:52:34.590 his sentence when Amanda jumped in. I think I 00:52:34.590 --> 00:52:36.989 know what this may be about. Hawthorne raised 00:52:36.989 --> 00:52:40.429 an eyebrow at Amanda. Really? Because I don't 00:52:40.429 --> 00:52:43.679 have a clue. Dr. Conrad gestured toward Amanda. 00:52:44.460 --> 00:52:46.940 Please, go on. Let's see if we're on the same 00:52:46.940 --> 00:52:51.179 page. Amanda leaned forward slightly. Let me 00:52:51.179 --> 00:52:53.559 drop a name, and I think we'll all be on the 00:52:53.559 --> 00:52:57.659 same page. She lowered her voice and said, Sir 00:52:57.659 --> 00:53:01.039 Francis Drake. Hawthorne, still looking at Amanda, 00:53:01.320 --> 00:53:04.300 raises both his hands and then says, Oh, of course. 00:53:04.820 --> 00:53:07.420 Then after the surprises were off in his voice, 00:53:07.460 --> 00:53:10.570 he says, We all know the stories, mostly theories 00:53:10.570 --> 00:53:13.909 and guesses, but what's changed? Obviously something 00:53:13.909 --> 00:53:17.969 has. Amanda's eyes lit up. This is exciting. 00:53:18.150 --> 00:53:20.769 I mean, being from the East Coast and studying 00:53:20.769 --> 00:53:24.610 this topic in grad school, I'm totally in. Dr. 00:53:24.690 --> 00:53:28.630 Conrad continues. I can be a pretty bad pessimist 00:53:28.630 --> 00:53:31.309 at times, especially when it comes to theories 00:53:31.309 --> 00:53:34.610 and legends and that sort of thing, but this 00:53:34.610 --> 00:53:37.389 request from Tom seems and feels a bit different. 00:53:38.000 --> 00:53:40.280 And I'm glad I don't have to convince you both 00:53:40.280 --> 00:53:43.619 that this would be a good thing. How so, Hawthorne 00:53:43.619 --> 00:53:47.599 replied. I'm not sure how exactly, but it just 00:53:47.599 --> 00:53:49.900 feels different. Like a bit more serious than 00:53:49.900 --> 00:53:53.340 just another research trip, Dr. Conrad said, 00:53:53.480 --> 00:53:57.960 seeming to think aloud. Maybe it's why Tom wants 00:53:57.960 --> 00:54:01.079 to bring us in. He wants honest, practical people 00:54:01.079 --> 00:54:03.820 on the ground. People without ties to the local 00:54:03.820 --> 00:54:07.599 politicians and the Florida Tourism Board. He 00:54:07.599 --> 00:54:11.000 continues. Countless groups have tried to verify 00:54:11.000 --> 00:54:13.579 these stories in the past with the hope of finding 00:54:13.579 --> 00:54:17.500 the famed quote -unquote lost Spanish treasure 00:54:17.500 --> 00:54:22.079 of Sir Francis Drake. Dr. Conrad said that last 00:54:22.079 --> 00:54:24.280 part while gesturing air quotes with his hands. 00:54:25.619 --> 00:54:28.260 Hawthorne looked at Dr. Conrad. Sounds like we're 00:54:28.260 --> 00:54:30.579 going to Florida. If that's the case, I want 00:54:30.579 --> 00:54:33.050 Anne to go with me. She's got the time, and well, 00:54:33.190 --> 00:54:35.869 I made a promise to her after our Mexico trip 00:54:35.869 --> 00:54:38.710 that she'd be part of our next one. Hawthorne 00:54:38.710 --> 00:54:42.190 continued with a slight sarcastic tone. And if 00:54:42.190 --> 00:54:44.710 we are researching the location of lost Spanish 00:54:44.710 --> 00:54:48.250 treasure, well, then she'll think that's pretty 00:54:48.250 --> 00:54:50.789 cool, even if we hit a dead end like every other 00:54:50.789 --> 00:54:54.349 group has in the past century. Count me in, sir, 00:54:54.530 --> 00:54:57.449 Amanda said with an enthusiastic smile and optimistic 00:54:57.449 --> 00:55:00.820 tone. Byron's gonna love this and shouldn't have 00:55:00.820 --> 00:55:03.699 a problem with me being gone, especially since 00:55:03.699 --> 00:55:06.760 he knows this has been a fascination of mine 00:55:06.760 --> 00:55:09.539 since I was young. Shouldn't be a problem, James, 00:55:09.800 --> 00:55:13.199 Dr. Conrad replied. He looked at Hawthorne with 00:55:13.199 --> 00:55:16.679 a grin. Maybe Anne can help keep you out of trouble. 00:55:17.460 --> 00:55:20.719 All right, I've got another meeting, Dr. Conrad 00:55:20.719 --> 00:55:23.380 said, rising from his chair. I'll send you the 00:55:23.380 --> 00:55:27.099 details as soon as I get them from Tom. He walked 00:55:27.099 --> 00:55:29.679 them to the door. In the meantime, you'll want 00:55:29.679 --> 00:55:31.880 to dust off your old history books on Sir Francis 00:55:31.880 --> 00:55:35.420 Drake. Remember, he added, his voice lowering 00:55:35.420 --> 00:55:38.860 slightly, keep this quiet. The fewer people who 00:55:38.860 --> 00:55:41.239 know, the better. Don't worry about your classes. 00:55:41.340 --> 00:55:43.820 We'll bring in adjuncts to cover them. Also, 00:55:43.920 --> 00:55:46.119 if it ends up being a dead end and nothing comes 00:55:46.119 --> 00:55:54.780 of your findings, it's no big deal. Later that 00:55:54.780 --> 00:55:57.400 day, after finishing his classes, Hawthorne stopped 00:55:57.400 --> 00:56:00.280 by Amanda's newly renovated office to see if 00:56:00.280 --> 00:56:03.659 she had received the email from Dr. Conrad. Hey, 00:56:03.659 --> 00:56:06.219 Prof, you in? he asked, knocking on the half 00:56:06.219 --> 00:56:09.219 -open door and peering inside. Her office was 00:56:09.219 --> 00:56:12.239 in the newly expanded wing of the building. Hawthorne 00:56:12.239 --> 00:56:15.000 didn't mind his own small, old office on the 00:56:15.000 --> 00:56:17.619 other side. He'd been happy to avoid the temporary 00:56:17.619 --> 00:56:20.940 relocation during the project. The multi -million 00:56:20.940 --> 00:56:23.579 dollar renovation had been a disruptive mess, 00:56:23.880 --> 00:56:26.619 but he had to admit the new spaces were larger 00:56:26.619 --> 00:56:30.239 and still smelled new. Olivia glanced up, leaning 00:56:30.239 --> 00:56:33.400 in her chair to see the door. Oh, hey, Professor 00:56:33.400 --> 00:56:36.880 Hawthorne. Hello, Olivia, Hawthorne said. I was 00:56:36.880 --> 00:56:39.039 looking for your boss. Do you happen to know 00:56:39.039 --> 00:56:42.539 when she'll be back? Um, not sure. Did you text 00:56:42.539 --> 00:56:45.599 her? Olivia asked. Hawthorne was somewhat old 00:56:45.599 --> 00:56:48.119 school, preferring face -to -face conversations 00:56:48.119 --> 00:56:51.099 over texting or emailing colleagues who were 00:56:51.099 --> 00:56:54.119 already on campus. Besides, it gave him an excuse 00:56:54.119 --> 00:56:56.820 to get up and walk around. Time permitting, of 00:56:56.820 --> 00:57:00.059 course. No, I didn't text her. Didn't even think 00:57:00.059 --> 00:57:02.519 about it, actually, Hawthorne said, fumbling 00:57:02.519 --> 00:57:05.579 in his pocket for his phone. Anyway, let me just 00:57:05.579 --> 00:57:09.369 see. Well, before she left, she said she was 00:57:09.369 --> 00:57:12.150 going to the library to do some research. That 00:57:12.150 --> 00:57:15.090 was about 20 minutes ago. She's probably still 00:57:15.090 --> 00:57:18.829 there. Ah, okay. That answers my question then. 00:57:18.929 --> 00:57:21.150 I'll head over there. Thanks. See you around, 00:57:21.369 --> 00:57:24.150 Hawthorne said. He left the office and walked 00:57:24.150 --> 00:57:26.869 over to the large campus research library located 00:57:26.869 --> 00:57:35.369 in the center of campus. Prof. Amanda was sitting 00:57:35.369 --> 00:57:38.409 at a large table in the campus research library. 00:57:38.750 --> 00:57:42.550 Two stacks of books beside her. The library was 00:57:42.550 --> 00:57:45.769 quiet and peaceful, mostly empty at this time 00:57:45.769 --> 00:57:49.030 of the day. With classes finished, most students 00:57:49.030 --> 00:57:51.389 preferred doing their research online rather 00:57:51.389 --> 00:57:54.929 than hunting through old dusty books. Amanda, 00:57:54.969 --> 00:57:58.250 however, enjoyed the quiet. She felt the old 00:57:58.250 --> 00:58:01.349 shelves still held secrets yet to be discovered. 00:58:01.980 --> 00:58:05.119 She looked up as someone walked toward her table 00:58:05.119 --> 00:58:07.719 and saw it was Professor Hawthorne. I almost 00:58:07.719 --> 00:58:09.900 mistook you for a student, just sitting there 00:58:09.900 --> 00:58:12.800 studying with all those books, Hawthorne said. 00:58:13.159 --> 00:58:15.579 He pulled out a chair and sat down next to her. 00:58:15.719 --> 00:58:18.920 He continued, I wanted to catch you before I 00:58:18.920 --> 00:58:21.920 left campus for the day. Did you see Dr. Conrad's 00:58:21.920 --> 00:58:24.599 email yet? Amanda glanced up from her laptop, 00:58:24.860 --> 00:58:28.079 a grin on her face. Funny, just getting a head 00:58:28.079 --> 00:58:31.539 start. I got Dr. Conrad's email and came straight 00:58:31.539 --> 00:58:34.480 here. The attachment from Tom Reynolds seems 00:58:34.480 --> 00:58:38.480 to confirm the main legend, but it's vague. Exactly, 00:58:38.659 --> 00:58:41.960 Amanda said. The info from Dr. Conrad's email 00:58:41.960 --> 00:58:46.019 lines up with the official one -ship story. But 00:58:46.019 --> 00:58:49.940 this, she tapped the heavy old book, this is 00:58:49.940 --> 00:58:53.679 why I'm here. What is it? Hawthorne asked. It's 00:58:53.679 --> 00:58:57.360 an old compilation from the early 1800s, Amanda 00:58:57.360 --> 00:59:01.420 explained. It was used back then to verify coastal 00:59:01.420 --> 00:59:04.739 land ownership and fishing rights. To do that, 00:59:04.780 --> 00:59:08.179 the authors copied dozens of old captains' logs 00:59:08.179 --> 00:59:12.320 and notes from the late 1500s and early 1600s. 00:59:12.420 --> 00:59:16.320 So it's a primary source archive? Hawthorne asked. 00:59:16.559 --> 00:59:20.039 His interest peaked. Exactly, and one of those 00:59:20.039 --> 00:59:24.940 logs from a local 1800s fishing captain claims 00:59:24.940 --> 00:59:28.039 he found what appeared to be wreckage from two 00:59:28.039 --> 00:59:31.719 separate ships in the same area, not one. His 00:59:31.719 --> 00:59:35.639 findings seem to suggest the official story is 00:59:35.639 --> 00:59:39.800 not the complete story. Hmm, I wonder if Dr. 00:59:40.099 --> 00:59:42.840 Conrad's friend Tom Reynolds knows about this, 00:59:43.079 --> 00:59:46.800 Hawthorne asked. Amanda shook her head. I doubt 00:59:46.800 --> 00:59:50.440 it. This is the only surviving copy. The others 00:59:50.440 --> 00:59:53.280 were reportedly destroyed during the Civil War. 00:59:53.980 --> 00:59:57.239 El Dorado only has it because of a book trade 00:59:57.239 --> 01:00:00.420 they made with a South Carolina university years 01:00:00.420 --> 01:00:03.940 ago. Those trades involved thousands of books, 01:00:04.099 --> 01:00:06.840 she continued, tapping the page. So the chances 01:00:06.840 --> 01:00:09.420 of someone else reading this one paragraph on 01:00:09.420 --> 01:00:12.940 page 328 and connecting it to this project are 01:00:12.940 --> 01:00:17.119 slim to none. If Tom or Dr. Conrad knew, they 01:00:17.119 --> 01:00:19.500 would have shared it. Hawthorne leaned over the 01:00:19.500 --> 01:00:22.119 old book. I've never even heard of this account. 01:00:22.380 --> 01:00:25.679 How did you find it so fast? It was a ghost, 01:00:25.920 --> 01:00:28.380 Amanda said, her voice still holding a trace 01:00:28.380 --> 01:00:31.500 of excitement. A footnote in my grad school research. 01:00:31.860 --> 01:00:35.039 I always assumed all copies were destroyed during 01:00:35.039 --> 01:00:38.599 the Civil War. After the meeting, I ran a search 01:00:38.599 --> 01:00:42.179 for it in our library's catalog on a one in a 01:00:42.179 --> 01:00:45.159 million hunch because... I knew El Dorado had 01:00:45.159 --> 01:00:48.119 done book swaps with other universities on the 01:00:48.119 --> 01:00:51.420 East Coast. And it was here? Hawthorne replied, 01:00:51.739 --> 01:00:54.920 then said, what are the odds? It was here, Amanda 01:00:54.920 --> 01:00:58.199 said. The catalog shows El Dorado got it years 01:00:58.199 --> 01:01:00.880 ago through their book trade with the South Carolina 01:01:00.880 --> 01:01:04.340 University. It's listed as the only known surviving 01:01:04.340 --> 01:01:08.420 copy. She continued, this has got to be a sign. 01:01:08.579 --> 01:01:11.380 I mean, how often does something like this just 01:01:11.380 --> 01:01:14.340 land in your lap? Hawthorne was still processing 01:01:14.340 --> 01:01:17.519 the blind luck Amanda had just stumbled on, then 01:01:17.519 --> 01:01:20.539 asked, So the real question is, are we going 01:01:20.539 --> 01:01:24.139 to Florida to find one shipwreck or two? And 01:01:24.139 --> 01:01:26.880 are we the only two people who know about it? 01:01:32.320 --> 01:01:35.019 Later that day, the dig team, chairs 3, 4, and 01:01:35.019 --> 01:01:37.619 5, sat silently in the modern sofas of a sterile 01:01:37.619 --> 01:01:40.400 high -end condo in a new development in St. Augustine. 01:01:40.699 --> 01:01:42.940 Midnight, the second chair and sixth chair stood 01:01:42.940 --> 01:01:45.280 next to a glass coffee table where a laptop sat. 01:01:45.739 --> 01:01:48.780 Its screen black. The voice of the first chair, 01:01:48.860 --> 01:01:51.119 clear and dispassionate, emerged from the laptop 01:01:51.119 --> 01:01:54.500 speakers. Second, report, chair one said. The 01:01:54.500 --> 01:01:56.679 location was correct, Midnight said. We recovered 01:01:56.679 --> 01:01:59.000 the caja this morning. The contents match your 01:01:59.000 --> 01:02:01.719 intelligence. Spanish coins, 16th century. The 01:02:01.719 --> 01:02:04.019 marker is confirmed. The shipwreck is real and 01:02:04.019 --> 01:02:06.260 we're still in play. A moment of silence passed. 01:02:06.500 --> 01:02:08.739 I'll send a runner over later today, pick up 01:02:08.739 --> 01:02:10.690 the contents you found this morning. I'm assured 01:02:10.690 --> 01:02:13.670 none will be missing. We count 24 coins in total, 01:02:13.769 --> 01:02:16.269 sir. One more than what you had expected, Minna 01:02:16.269 --> 01:02:21.050 answered. Interesting. 24 coins, hmm. Well then, 01:02:21.090 --> 01:02:23.889 luck is on my side. First chair then asked, well 01:02:23.889 --> 01:02:26.969 then, six, report. The internal sweep is complete. 01:02:27.130 --> 01:02:30.530 Six chairs said with a calm and analytical tone. 01:02:30.730 --> 01:02:33.130 The rest of the team is clean. Third, fourth, 01:02:33.190 --> 01:02:35.489 and fifth are just muscle. They have no contacts 01:02:35.489 --> 01:02:37.590 here, and they know what's at stake if they screw 01:02:37.590 --> 01:02:40.099 up. And the external threats? First chair asked. 01:02:40.659 --> 01:02:43.320 The sixth chair continues that local authorities 01:02:43.320 --> 01:02:46.119 are not a factor, but I've identified one potential 01:02:46.119 --> 01:02:48.980 complication. Go on, the voice said. The St. 01:02:49.019 --> 01:02:51.760 Augustine Historical Society, a man there, Tom 01:02:51.760 --> 01:02:54.940 Arnold, has been actively and quietly researching 01:02:54.940 --> 01:02:57.940 the same thing for some months now. As of now, 01:02:58.000 --> 01:03:00.860 he appears to be the only other person who's 01:03:00.860 --> 01:03:03.079 potentially looking for the same thing as we 01:03:03.079 --> 01:03:05.760 are. Is he a threat? Vinay asked, her voice sharp. 01:03:05.960 --> 01:03:09.119 Not by himself, sixth chair replied. But he is 01:03:09.119 --> 01:03:11.539 the primary point of exposure. If anyone else 01:03:11.539 --> 01:03:14.000 gets involved, it will be through him. This is 01:03:14.000 --> 01:03:17.719 unacceptable, First Chair said. An entire organization 01:03:17.719 --> 01:03:20.340 cannot be allowed to interfere. If this guy knows 01:03:20.340 --> 01:03:22.360 something, then you can assume the Historical 01:03:22.360 --> 01:03:25.179 Society will know it at some point. Six, your 01:03:25.179 --> 01:03:27.920 new priority here is the Historical Society itself. 01:03:28.039 --> 01:03:30.420 I want you to discreetly disrupt their research. 01:03:30.619 --> 01:03:32.679 Misdirect them. Lead them down false trails. 01:03:32.900 --> 01:03:35.340 Your operation must be surgical, no collateral 01:03:35.340 --> 01:03:38.809 damage, and absolutely no trace. of our involvement. 01:03:39.130 --> 01:03:42.809 Our anonymity is paramount. Second, the voice 01:03:42.809 --> 01:03:45.010 on the laptop continued. You will proceed with 01:03:45.010 --> 01:03:47.190 the primary objective. Locate the main wreckage. 01:03:47.269 --> 01:03:49.690 We have our proof. Now I want the prize. The 01:03:49.690 --> 01:03:51.429 connection clicked and the speaker went silent. 01:04:05.360 --> 01:04:07.840 And that ends part one. Stay tuned next week 01:04:07.840 --> 01:04:10.019 as we bring you part two of the mystery of St. 01:04:10.199 --> 01:04:23.420 Augustine. We've gone from practical halls of 01:04:23.420 --> 01:04:26.099 Taylor University to the unfolding secrets of 01:04:26.099 --> 01:04:29.000 St. Augustine. It makes you realize that whether 01:04:29.000 --> 01:04:31.699 you're filling out a college application or solving 01:04:31.699 --> 01:04:33.780 a mystery, the most important thing is to keep 01:04:33.780 --> 01:04:36.610 asking questions. A huge thank you to our guests 01:04:36.610 --> 01:04:39.510 from Taylor University for their invaluable advice 01:04:39.510 --> 01:04:42.070 in the first half of the show. We hope their 01:04:42.070 --> 01:04:45.329 insights help you find your path. And are you 01:04:45.329 --> 01:04:47.710 hooked on the mystery? I hope so. You'll have 01:04:47.710 --> 01:04:50.969 to tune in to episode 120 to hear part two of 01:04:50.969 --> 01:04:53.469 the 10 -part original story. And don't forget 01:04:53.469 --> 01:04:56.030 to subscribe wherever you listen to our podcast 01:04:56.030 --> 01:04:58.940 show so you don't miss another episode. You can 01:04:58.940 --> 01:05:02.320 also follow us on social media at Students Incorporated. 01:05:02.440 --> 01:05:05.320 So thank you again for listening. And as always, 01:05:05.380 --> 01:05:07.860 this podcast would not be possible without the 01:05:07.860 --> 01:05:10.539 hard work and support of our international student 01:05:10.539 --> 01:05:12.880 production team. All music and sound effects 01:05:12.880 --> 01:05:15.260 are courtesy of Pixabay .com, a Viber community 01:05:15.260 --> 01:05:17.559 of creatives sharing copyright -free images, 01:05:17.760 --> 01:05:20.360 videos, and music. And we are signing off until 01:05:20.360 --> 01:05:23.920 next time. We are Students Incorporated, because 01:05:23.920 --> 01:05:29.769 your voice matters. Bye. Bye.