Hello everybody and welcome to the Messenger
podcast. My name is Zach and I am going to be
your podcast editor for the Messenger. And so
currently right now we don't really have a host,
so I am stepping in to be your current host.
And this may be a permanent thing or we may find
another host, so you'll just have to bear with
me for now. So sorry about that. So since I am
in charge of this wonderful podcast, a part of,
you know, the entirety of the messenger at Johnson
County Community College, I'm going to be focusing
on, you know, kind of creating this cool and
like safe, fun environment for guests to come
on and, you know, talk about current events at
Johnson County Community College or kind of just
things, you know, going on in their life or just,
you know, kind of this general podcast. It's
going to be a very. laid back podcast. It's not
going to be all news in your face. It's going
to be a lot just like life events. It's just
going to be us kind of just talking and being
ourselves, which, you know, is the things I look
for in a podcast, which is why I want to do this
for other people. So that's kind of why I wanted
to be like a part of the messenger is because,
you know, I've recently discovered that I love
to. edit and like record these podcasts. Um,
and, you know, being given this opportunity has
been such an amazing chance to, you know, showcase
that off to a bunch of more people, especially,
you know, my, my peers at Johnson County. So,
you know, it's going to be such a cool experience
to be a part of this thing and, you know, being
the one creating it for now, um, it's just, it's
such a fun experience and I'm very excited to
get to know. a lot more people around the community
and, you know, get to like work with them. And
it's going to be so cool. So hopefully as you,
you know, listen to this podcast, as episodes
come out, hopefully I'm trying to reach for about
two episodes, one smaller episode at the beginning
of the week, and then one full episode, probably
at the end of the week, just so that, you know,
you have more, more news or more, more. knowing
of what's going on you know i don't want it to
be like a weekly thing because then you never
know what's going to happen and you know something
major could happen within two days after uploading
a full episode and then we know we wouldn't be
able to talk about it until the next week so
that's why i want to create like two episodes
total for you guys And so a fun little fact about
me, my favorite side hobby, and you'll hear this
later. I'm asking everybody this question. My
favorite side hobby is collecting Funko Pops
is something that I have been doing for a couple
of years now. I have a lot of Spider -Man ones
specifically. A lot of One Piece ones, which
you'll probably hear me mention about a quadrillion
times because that is my favorite show. But that's
besides the point. So yeah, just kind of collecting
these figures is something that I've been doing
for a couple years now. Maybe even more than
a couple years. Honestly, I don't even know.
I don't keep track. I just kind of buy them as
I go. All righty, so I'm going to go ahead and
get into these interviews for you guys, and you're
going to be able to meet the crew and meet everybody
who's behind this awesome project here at JCCC.
All righty, and now I'm joined by Zan. Zan, would
you like to introduce yourself? Hi, well, I am
Zan. I am the video producer or editor, whatever
we call it these days, but I am in charge of
overall video making here at The Messenger. Yeah.
Yeah, and we couldn't figure out what to call
it because in a different world, in the actual,
like, video world, those things mean very different
things. Yes, editor in, like, editing papers
or news, it means very different things than
video editing, and that's just editing for videos,
a very just niche field of the whole video as
a whole. So it really confused me for a second
when it felt downgraded from a position because
producer is the top and then editor is, like,
a subcategory at the bottom. Yeah, no, it's...
Yeah, especially with this, you know, just kind
of starting up. We don't really have, like, it's
harder to figure out what, like, our exact positions
are. Because, like, I am the podcast editor,
but, like, also I might be producing it now,
too. So, again, it... It's just kind of something
we have to go along with until we, you know,
eventually get through and we're like, okay,
this is what we're doing. Because right now we're
just starting and we have a pretty small team.
You know, and hopefully we'll get more members
and, you know, things will make more sense eventually
as we go down the line. So, Zan, I have some
questions for you. My first question for you
is going to be, what are your plans for what
you want to give to the JCCC community? I want
to just give a... visual representation for every
story and every story like kind of comes to life
with video you can actually see the issue or
what needs to be brought to the table like you
can read something and it might not have much
impact but if you can actually see what's going
on it kind of pulls at your heartstrings or give
you that emotional connection with it or a person
or an event it really just helps you connect
with what's going on in the world oh yeah no
that makes total sense I mean I for the longest
time, preferred watching videos over listening
to podcasts, which is really ironic. But, I mean,
videos are just so much more compelling because,
well, it depends on the video, of course. But,
you know, a lot of them are life -changing. I
mean, because you can see pretty much... anything
from the world and it would just be on your little
tiny screen instead of you know just words which
you know words are important obviously audio
is just as important don't get me wrong you can
see an image but it depends on the audio behind
it that really can impact your feelings towards
it if you have an upbeat song it can make you
feel more happy or distraught depending on the
film like if the video is like people fighting
and there's a happy song in the background it
doesn't really work so audio is just as important
so oh yeah Yeah, we kind of work hand in hand.
All righty. So my next question, why did you
want to be part of the messenger? I wanted to
just actually get a feel or like a step into
the video world because I've loved video and
creating things all my life, but I haven't had
an actual job in it. I've had internships before,
but they never really let me do things by myself
or get a full feel for the video world itself.
Yeah, no, that's real. Yeah, no, that makes sense.
I mean, it's going to be a lot of fun working
with you and everybody else. Well, I hope so.
I mean, I hope so. Yes, I do. Yeah, no, I'm excited
to get to know everybody a lot more. You know,
we've already met once as a big group, and so
far, I mean, everybody seems really cool. So
I'm just excited to see where this goes. Yeah,
everyone seems so excited to get started. All
right, and my last question, this is kind of
a fun question for you. What is your favorite
side hobby? I did mention this. Overall, arching,
I do content creation on the side. I want it
to be kind of like another job as well, so I
do YouTube and I do Twitch as well. I will not
share my username, though. I don't want to get
doxxed. Yeah, don't get doxxed. Yeah, I've always
dreamed of being a content creator. I feel like
most people at least once think about it and
doing that. Yeah, I started when I was 12. I
can say that now because you're not supposed
to be on YouTube at 12, but I can say that now.
My channel is seven years old as of October 30th.
I feel really old, and I've been streaming for
four years, about to be four years. On YouTube
or Twitch? Twitch, yeah. Okay, that's fun. Four
years will be December 16th. How many followers
do you have? Oh, boy. Currently, I have 209.
Okay, yeah. That's fun. How many average viewers
do you get? Oh, I keep that hidden. It's a very
good tip if you're starting out streaming. Hide
the viewer count because your attitude will change
if you have no viewers versus one viewer. So
I try to pretend like I have a bunch of people
watching me even though I'm not. Maybe you do.
You never know. That's the fun thing. No, I've
heard about people doing that. If I started streaming,
that's probably what I would do. Obviously, it's
something that you don't need to pay attention
to, especially when you're just trying to be
yourself and just have fun with whatever game
or whatever you're doing. It's just not an important
thing, really. No, it doesn't really matter.
Just being myself and playing with friends, I
got to the point where Twitch does pay me. Not
a lot, but they do pay me. So that's also something
to look forward to. Yeah, that's awesome. Yeah.
All righty. Well, I think that is it. Thank you
so much for joining me, Zan. Yeah, of course.
I'll be seeing you around, obviously, and maybe
we'll get you back on this podcast. Maybe I'll
return. Depends how busy I'll be next time we
see each other. Oh, yeah. All righty, now I'm
joined by Elizabeth. Elizabeth, would you like
to introduce yourself? Yes, my name's Elizabeth
Taylor, and I'm the new editor -in -chief for
The Messenger. And then, so my first question
for you is, what do you plan to offer to the
JCCC community? Yeah, I want The Messenger to
be like... just a hub of information, whether
it's events going on around campus, news around
campus, we're going to offer sports information,
lifestyle opinion, just everything in between.
And our social media, I want to be just a like
branch off of that. Like I want it to just be
continued everywhere we are on the internet.
No, that's, that's fair. I mean. It was really
cool getting to meet everybody and what everybody's
going to be doing separately, but all for the
same thing. It's so cool. It's not like a word
that I can think of that describes how cool that
is to be a part of this big project. Because
this is kind of like my first time doing this.
I'm excited to get to know everybody a little
better, which is why this podcast is also awesome
because I get to meet everybody again and get
to know them a little more. Yeah, I know it's
been me and Mike just kind of doing our own thing
the past couple weeks. And now that there's a
team, it's like, wow, this is actually the thing
we're doing. I know, this is happening. It's
happening. And our launch date is, okay. So my
next question for you is, why did you want to
be part of the Messenger? In high school, I was
really involved in journalism. And so when I
came here, I kind of wanted to find my place
and all that at JCCC. And so when this opportunity
arose, honestly, so this opportunity came to
me from a professor. So she emailed me, I think,
like five days before the application was due.
And then I was like. I didn't check my email
on Canvas because I just assumed it would come
in my regular email inbox. And then the day it
was due, I checked my Canvas email. And there
it was. And I was like, I think I have to do
this, even though it's literally due in six hours.
But I did it. And here we are. That was kind
of me with turning in the application for this,
for the podcast editor. I was like. I wanted
to do it, obviously. That's why I'm here. But
I was just, I guess I was nervous, you know.
Right. Because this is the first, you know, not
fast food job I've had. So, you know, it's, again,
really cool to get to know everybody and get
to work on something that we all, like, have
this shared interest for. Oh, yeah. So my last
and final question for you is, what is your favorite
side hobby? Side hobby. Honestly, it's not really
a hobby. It's one of my other jobs. I'm a teacher
for Johnson County Parks and Rec, and so I do
after -school programs. Like I said, it's my
job. It's not a hobby, but I love anything to
do with kids. Getting to go there every day,
it's very fulfilling and fun. When I get to hang
out with my cousins, I love doing that. Anything
where I can interact with kids, it's the highlight
of my day. Yeah, so do you do fun? like activities
for them or like, cause I, I've, I've heard of
it obviously, but I've never like known anything
about it. So like, what, what do you kind of
do there? Yeah. So they, they get out of school
like four and then we were with them from four
to six. So we have about two hours that we have
to kind of structure. And so my favorite thing
to do is go to the gym with them and we like
play dodgeball and tag and it's so fun. That's
awesome. Do you have like, like events that go
on there for them? Sometimes. We have, like,
JCPRD -sponsored events. Like, we'll go on field
trips and stuff, but mostly, like, it's up to
us to kind of make the weeks fun or themed or
whatever. So, like, a couple weeks ago, we had,
like, a fall fun week, and there was, like, a
different activity each day. That's awesome.
Yeah. No, no. That's really cool to hear. You
know, creating that, like, fun space for kids
is also just, like... My mom had a daycare for,
like... I don't even know, 10 years or something
like that. So I am also pretty familiar with
like working with kids because I helped around
with that. But, you know, it's really cool to
like help people literally grow up. It is a different
feeling, like unlike anything else. Absolutely.
All right. Well, thank you so much, Elizabeth.
You know. I'll be seeing you a lot more, obviously.
Yeah. And maybe we'll get you back on the podcast
sometime to answer some more questions or, you
know, just kind of chit -chat. Yeah. Awesome.
Thank you so much. Thank you. Alrighty, I am
now joined by Aubrey. Aubrey, would you like
to introduce yourself? Yes, hello everybody.
My name is Aubrey, and I am the new copy editor
for The Messenger. Awesome. Alrighty, so my first
question for you is going to be, what do you
plan to offer to the JCCC community? That is
such a good question. So when I joined The Messenger,
my whole goal was kind of to... I guess make
sure that all the writing and copy, if you will,
that the messenger is going to put out there
has, I guess, diversity and that we showcase
a bunch of different groups and people all across
campus. I think there are so many different people
that, you know, you don't even cross paths with
because campus is so big. I just think it's important
that everyone learns about the different people
around JCCC, and I think it's going to be a really
cool opportunity to write about different people's
stories and adventures and lives. And, yeah,
I'm just super excited to get started. Yeah,
no, I'm excited to get to know everybody because
our team is, we've already met once, and, you
know, everybody's so much fun to work with. For
sure. And this is kind of my I mentioned this
in, I think, Elizabeth's interview. This is my
like first non like fast food job. So, wow. Yeah.
Yeah. So it's going to be different, you know,
getting paid to edit videos. Exactly. Passion.
Yes. I love it. Awesome. My next question is,
why did you want to be a part of the messenger?
And you kind of went over that a little bit,
but, you know, kind of maybe more in depth. Yes.
Yes. Well, I've always had an interest in writing
and journalism and all that. So I was copy editor
of my high school yearbook last year. I'm a freshman,
so. But I really enjoyed that position and experience.
And, you know, I have a lot of interests in general,
but there really hasn't been a club or organization
at JCCC that has fully. I guess, fit what I have
wanted to do. And I thought that this was really
a good opportunity to meet a lot of cool people
while also doing something I really love. And
yeah, like I said, again, I'm just super excited
to get started. And yeah. Yeah, that seems to
be like the general consensus from everybody
here so far is that they're super excited to
get started and just work with everybody. All
right. So my last question for you is, what is
your favorite side hobby? That's a tough one.
I would say a side hobby that I have. I mean,
I have a lot of lame ones, like hanging out with
friends and stuff like that. Nothing wrong with
that. That's true. That's true. Something that's
kind of taken up a piece of my life for a while
has been theater. I have done theater with Spinning
Tree Theater. It's a local KC theater. It's not
really one of the big, well -known ones, but
we're working on that. I saw a production. Maybe
that's why you look so familiar. Weren't you
Constance? I was. Oh, my gosh. I saw you're into
this. or Ride the Cyclone one. Oh my gosh. I
love that. That was such a good show. That's
why you look so familiar. I was going to say,
you look familiar too. Okay. Wow, guys. I'm glad
we figured that out. Yeah, you heard a revelation.
Oh my gosh. Yeah, so that's kind of been a big
part of my life for the past five years or so.
Just the friendships and experiences have really
shaped me as a person, and I'm so, so grateful
that I've had that in my life. But also journalism,
huh? So, yeah. Yeah, I know. I mean, I also do
theater. I do the theater here at JCCC. Yes.
And we just finished up our first weekend of
shows. Oh, wow. So next week is our last week
for our current show, Idiot's Delight. Or Idiot's
Delights. I don't know if it's plural or not.
But yeah, no, so it's a fun atmosphere that theaters
have. For sure. I mean, it's pretty much unlike
any other atmosphere I've ever been in. I mean,
everybody is so talented. Yes, yes. It's such
a fun space to be. It is, yes. Yeah, no, we'll
have to definitely talk more about theater now
that I realize that I have seen you before. I
love that. Alrighty, well, thank you, Avery,
so much for joining me. Yes, thank you for having
me. Alrighty, and now I am joined by Noelle.
Noelle, would you like to introduce yourself?
Yes, of course. Thanks for having me. My name
is Noelle. I'm the social media production editor.
And so that basically means I'll be running the
social media accounts, which go follow those.
I'll shamelessly plug those here. So our Instagram
is themessenger .jccc. J -C -C -C. There we go.
So many C's. So many C's, yes. And then our Twitter
or X is JCCC the Messenger. Or I'm sorry, JCCC
Messenger. So go follow those. I need to follow
them. If you haven't already. Yes, get on that,
Zach. Shameless plug. Yes. All right. So my first
question for you is what do you plan to offer
to the JCCC community? I hope that the messenger
really like brings people together and kind of
persuades students to be more involved because
I feel like that our student body is, you know,
we're together a lot. Like it's a small campus.
It's a small community somewhat, you know. Comparatively.
Yeah, comparatively. Right. But I think that
like. I went to the basketball game the other
night and like there was hardly anybody there.
Like the other team had more fans than we did.
And like I went to the basketball game because
of what Professor Humphrey was saying. Like these
girls are amazing. Like this sister duo, they're
like beating everybody out. And so like you should
go to this. And I was like, heck yeah, I'm going
to be there. And so I think just like getting
people more informed will hopefully. make them
more connected to the student body and to the
school as a whole. Yeah, I totally agree. And,
you know, that's been kind of the... consensus
from everybody is that we want to create this
place for all of like all this information that
we can just share out of you know things that
are happening on campus that people have no idea
that are going on or you know have never heard
about because I mean I'm be honest I haven't
heard much about our sports teams until the other
day so it's gonna be a lot of fun especially
getting those kind of people like on the podcast
or on our videos or social media just in general
it's going to be a lot of fun to bring together
this community so yeah for sure yeah So my next
question for you is, why did you want to join
the messenger? Yeah, I wanted to join the Messenger
just because the opportunity presented itself
really well. I wasn't even looking for it. And
then one of my professors was like, you should
do this. You would be perfect for this. And I
was like, totally. Social media is what I want
to do with my career or an aspect of it. And
so I was just getting that experience early on
and being able to put something like this on
my resume. I mean, that's not the only reason
I did it, but it's a good resume. That's a good
reason. Good resume filler. But, yeah, so, yeah,
I think so. And also just to, like, meet some
awesome people on our ed board and get to, like,
collaborate and make something really cool together.
So I'm excited about it. Yeah, no, everybody's
really cool, and I'm excited to work with everybody.
I feel like everybody is as well. And everybody
I've had on so far, you know, has agreed. They're
excited to work with everybody. So my last and
final question for you, it's a fun question for
you. And what is your favorite side hobby? My
favorite side hobby? You didn't prepare me for
this question. I did not. This is a curveball.
Okay, okay. I sing a lot. So my voice is like
I'm going through like a cold right now. So my
voice is not great. My voice is not great right
now, but I sing. And so I would say that's...
My favorite side hobby. Yeah. Yeah. What kind
of music do you sing? I sing mostly, I sing for
my church. So worship music. Yeah. But. Is it
paid? It is not paid. It's volunteer. Okay. Yeah.
But yeah. So mostly worship music, like contemporary.
Yeah. Yeah. I'm not a rapper or anything. Oh
yeah. If that's what you're asking. I don't rap.
But no, those are some of like the most beautiful
songs I feel like, regardless of like. where
you stand on that, you know, I feel like gospel
music is, is meant to be like pretty music and
it does, it's pretty music. So that's cool. I
didn't know that about you. Um, I, I also do
like, I do sing. Um, I did do, um, I've been
in, I was in choir for like most of my life.
The only time I have not been in choir has been
my time at JCCC actually. Because you're in theater,
right? Yeah, I am in theater. So that makes sense.
Okay, yeah. But also, I love my old vocal teacher
really wants me to get into opera. because I
do think I'd have a voice for opera. Okay. So
maybe we'll see. We'll see. But yeah, no, that
is cool. That's a talent though. Like opera is
not just like, you know. Oh yeah, no. Like anyone
who can like sing, like if you can sing, that
doesn't mean that you can do opera. Oh no, it's
not. Like opera is a whole different ballpark.
It really is. But yeah, no. Not to toot my own
horn, but my vocal teacher did say it. I love
it. Just sharing the information. Yes, passing
it along for sure. Yeah. Awesome. Well, thank
you, Noelle, for joining me. And I will be seeing
you around probably. Yes. Thank you, Zach. Thanks
for having me. Of course. Maybe we'll get you
on a future episode too. So we'll see. Great.
I would love that. Thank you. Alrighty, I am
now joined by Vaughn. Vaughn, would you like
to introduce yourself? Yeah, sure. I'm Vaughn.
I'm the photo editor for The Messenger. Awesome.
And so my first question for you is, what do
you plan to bring to the JCCC community? I'm
definitely hoping to make sure that our articles
have really strong visuals. I feel like that's
the first thing that people see when they come
to our website, and I want it to really pull
them in and make them feel something. Oh yeah,
you know... You know, we've known each other
for about a year now. Yeah. Crazy. We did cabaret
together. That was fun. So I think that's when
I met you. Yeah. So, yeah, I walked in the room.
You saw me. I think you saw me first or something.
We're like, oh, Ron and Zach. Oh, my God. So
that was awesome to know that we're working together
now. So that's cool. And I didn't even know you
were into this. Yeah. I figured it out this year.
Nice. And my second question for you is, why
did you want to join The Messenger? I am trying
to pursue journalism as a career, specifically
photojournalism, but I'm also taking some news
writing classes, and I'm hoping to get some writing
muscles built up. But also, I mean, it's kind
of sad to me that there hasn't been a student
publication in a while. So I'm really looking
forward to building up something that can last
for not just our graduating year, but... as many
like forever. Yeah. I know. That's cool. Yeah.
Student media is really important. No, it is.
Yeah. I mean, I, again, I was not really, I didn't
do any of this in like high school or anything.
So this is my first time like doing student media
and I mean, yeah, no, it's, it's cool. Like the
environment's really cool. You know, it's, it's
different obviously because it's, you know, student
led and you're not really being bossed around
too much by, you know, like an adult. So it is
definitely a different environment. Yeah. Alrighty,
so my last and final question for you is, what
is your favorite side hobby? So, everybody calls
crochet a grandma hobby. I don't think it is.
I think crocheting is awesome. I like making
stuff, and especially stuff that I can give to
people, because I never really keep anything
that I make for myself, but I like to crochet.
Right now I'm working on a huge blanket. That's
awesome. I didn't know that about you. Really?
No, I didn't. I don't think I did. I feel like
I carry around my tote bag of yarn all the time.
Maybe at one point I saw it, but I guess I maybe
just forgot about it. One of my friends crochets,
and she made me a dice bag for D &D at one point.
It was really cool, yeah. She made me a scarf.
That was really cool, especially in wintertime.
I think that's an awesome hobby. I wish I could
crochet, if I'm being honest. Honestly, it is
not hard. You can definitely learn. Maybe. Maybe.
Maybe you'll teach me. Yeah. Maybe that'll be
an episode. Yeah. Crocheting with Vaughn and
Zach. I think that's it. I'm down. Let's do it.
All righty. Well, awesome. Thank you so much
for joining me, Vaughn. Yeah, thank you for having
me. All righty. I am now joined by Cash. Cash,
would you like to introduce yourself? Howdy.
My name is Cash Navarro. I will be both the opinion
desk editor as well as the life desk editor.
Yeah. Yeah, no, that's, I mean, you got stuck
with two of them, so. Alrighty, so my first question
for you is, what do you plan to offer to the
JCCC community? Well, I'll start with opinion.
I am of the firm belief that everybody has an
opinion. You know, let it be about, like, which
pie is the best kind of pie. It's key lime, by
the way. I prefer pecan, but yeah. We'll talk
about that later. Or, you know, politics. And
for the past, goodness, year and a half, there
just haven't been a way for students to express
themselves in that way. You know, you could go
walk up to a stranger and yell at them your opinion,
but, you know, where's the fun in that? When
you could instead write it down and have it published
on a website where other people can read it.
I hope for an opinion section to offer a place
of actual conversation with each other, you know,
being able to share our viewpoints, being able
to share our perspectives, our own personal history.
As for the life section, it's going to be a bit
more of like a... Fun section, if you will. Yeah.
Think of it kind of as if kind of like a new
section that focuses primarily on events and
ongoings. So let's say that you just are bored
and you have nothing to do. Well, we in the live
section will have a. thing that says, hey, here
are our upcoming events. Here is an art show.
Here is something on campus that's fun to do.
Life section will just be focused on student
life. Other things that will be in a life section
are like movie reviews or play and musical reviews.
They're at the Midwestern Trust Center. So it
will hopefully just work as a way to help Johnson
County Community College cultivate a community.
Yeah. That's, that's awesome. I mean, I was,
I was getting a little chilly, like little chills.
I'm not going to lie. I mean, I'm excited to
see, especially like your, your section, I feel
like has a lot of like opportunities because,
you know, I mean, life and opinion, that's, I
mean, that's, that's broad. So yeah, there's,
there's so much that we are able to do so much
that I want to test out doing. It's, I hope.
for it to be something bigger than what it ever,
you know, something bigger by the time that I
leave Johnson County. Oh, yeah. Yeah. No, that's
awesome. All righty. My second question for you
is, why did you want to join The Messenger? So
in high school, I joined as part of their school
newspaper my senior year. And I had become an
opinion writer. And I had just done it kind of
as like an extra. Here's a thing to do, help
build a resume. But then I wrote what is possibly
my favorite opinion piece that I've ever made
and will ever make. It was called Binnifer and
Me, and it was about Ben Affleck and J. Lo's
second marriage. It was this absolutely stupid
one -page written -up thing about that. It was
about how angry I was that the show Inside Edition
was no longer playing at its correct time slot
on KCTV5. And we had submitted it for awards
and for competition, and it got first. Oh, wow.
This stupid little article beat out another article
on, like... guns in schools and a other article
on uh queer capitalism and you know there was
just like this sense of pride that i had this
sense of um oh i can imagine yeah I'll say, like,
agreed. I wanted to do this, and I wanted it
to be me. And so, you know, I kept up with that.
Last semester, I was a part of the CAVMAG experiment.
I was the deputy editor -in -chief and copy editor
for that. So I'm no stranger to holding two desks.
No, that's awesome. That's good. That's good.
And, yeah, as part of that, I wrote about, like,
five articles that have yet to be published.
But, you know, it was fun. It was... laying the
groundwork for what we're doing here today yeah
no that's that's awesome i mean yeah i mean i
i only just got to meet you recently for the
first time and i mean i'm excited to work with
you um you know It seems like you know a lot
about what you're doing, so maybe I'll come to
you if I ever need any help. Oh, feel free to.
You'll come to learn fast that I don't know what
I'm doing, and I'm just kind of lying a lot.
Oh, yeah, that's fair. Not today, not ever, but,
you know. Not ever. I never lie. Never. All righty.
So my last and final question for you is what
is your favorite side hobby? My favorite side
hobby? Hmm. So not my main hobby, but my secondary
hobby. Okay. I have, for maybe the better part
of five years now, done this thing where I have
collected both political memorabilia and my favorite
news and newspaper clippings. I have probably
a collection of over 500... strange articles
or fun little fact articles just in a little
database on my computer, like a file of them.
Oh, okay. So they're not like physical things
or do you also get like physical like cutouts
of stuff? I don't have physical cutouts of newspapers,
but I do have a lot of physical memorabilia.
Okay. I got... maybe four years ago, really obsessed
with making fun of former President of the United
States, George W. Bush. And I have in my collection
official posters from him, multiple buttons from
him. I have, so in 2001, the company that makes
all the baseball cards made a set of cards that
were like memorabilia for 9 -11. And they had
released this two months after the fact, and
there's like this whole collection of it. And
I don't actually have any of the cards themselves,
but instead I had found and obtained an uncut
sheet of all of the cards. Oh, wow. And it's
this really strange, terrible thing to own because
it's like, you know, it's like an... Osama bin
Laden playing card, more or less. Or like a collector
card, like a baseball card. And you know, you
got like your Dick Cheney's and your George Bush,
your Connie Rice. And it's like, this is awful.
Why did they make this two months after 9 -11?
That is insane. And you have like the entire
uncut sheet of it? Yeah, I have an entire uncut
sheet of all of them. It's massive. That's awesome.
I mean, well, to an extent, but like... Because
I've seen, like, I collect, like, Pokemon cards.
So I've seen, like, people with, like, uncut
sheets of, you know, Pokemon cards. And I've
seen, of course, with, like, baseball cards as
well. But nothing like that. That is an interesting
piece you have. Yeah. It's truly awful. And you
know the worst part? I won it at an auction at,
like, an elementary school in Parkville, Missouri.
Oh, geez. Well, that is... Yeah, well, I mean,
that's a cool, like, side hobby, too, though.
Like, because, I mean, collecting all that stuff
over these years, that's been, like, pretty cool
to see, like, all the history you've gathered.
Mm -hmm. You know, and the worst part of all
of it, though, is that none of it's worth anything
if I were to ever resell it. Yeah. You know,
I got, like... political buttons and such and
it's like they're they're worth maybe like two
three dollars it's sentimental value yeah that's
that is honestly more important to me sometimes
than actual value so this is my comfort uh george
w bush teachers for bush connecticut 2004 pam
Is that an actual thing you have? Yes, it is
an actual one. I also was gifted by a friend
once a framed picture of him, but it had like
the little rainbow stickers around it and like
a little unicorn sticker. And then I put it by
my bedside for years because I didn't know what
else to do with it. Yeah, I don't know what I'd
do with it. Yeah. I also have been down to the
George W. Bush Museum down in Dallas, Texas.
It's on Bush Street. I've also seen, he became
a painter. After becoming president, he got really
into grief and being upset about his presidency.
And so he got really into painting to get rid
of that grief. And there's some absolutely wild
paintings he's made. He's done a self -portrait
of himself in the shower staring into a mirror.
He has done, like, portraits of veterans. They
go around the country, like, the collection of
them. And they were in Truman, like, two years
ago. Yeah. Well, that's, I mean. I honestly didn't
know that much about George W. Bush. So, you
know, honestly, I might come to you if we ever
need more information about him. Hopefully we
never will. Hopefully we never will, though.
But if we do, I know who to go to. All righty.
Well, thank you so much, Cass, for joining me.
You know, maybe we'll get you on a future episode.
Maybe maybe we'll talk about your George W. Bush
or maybe we'll talk about something else. I got
I got opinions on everything. All righty. Thank
you so much again. Thank you. All righty, I am
now joined by Audrey. Audrey, would you like
to introduce yourself? Hi, I'm Audrey Hook. I'm
the managing editor for The Messenger. Awesome.
All righty, my first question for you is, what
do you plan to bring to the JCCC community? So
as the managing editor, I plan to bring, I really
want to bring the focus to trustworthy news.
I really want students to be able to read what
we have to say, watch videos, listen to podcasts.
However they get their news, I want them to be
able to just use this as an actual reliable local
news source. And so I think that's something
I'm going to bring to the table is really trying
to enforce that and make sure that happens. Yeah.
No, I mean, obviously this goes without saying,
fake news is terrible. And, you know, you always
want to have a good trustworthy source. So, I
mean. to know that we're in the hands of somebody
who wants that is a good thing. You know, we're
going to definitely focus on sharing correct
information. Absolutely. Yeah, that's something
I just I have always, you know, there's so much,
as you said, fake news out there. There's so
much bias and everything like that in the news.
And so it'd be nice to just have something that's
like reliable, but, you know, also going to have
fun, things like that, but can do both hard news,
soft news. It's local, you know. Exactly. Exactly.
And it's not going to be something that people
are going to go, oh, you know. the messenger
said, blah, blah, blah. And now... Maybe eventually.
Right. And that's, you know, like if we have
opinion articles, things like that, you know,
and that's something that once it's established
that this is an opinion article or something
that's not like, oh, this is exactual, this is
actually facts or something like that. You know,
there's a difference between that and then like,
hey, you know, the messenger is like super biased
one way or the other, things like that, or they
aren't reporting this accurately. Like that's
something that I really would like to make sure
that happens. Yeah, no, definitely. I mean, yeah,
that goes without saying. Yeah. All right. So
my second question for you is why did you want
to join the messenger? So I. So kind of going
back, rewinding here. So what I'm really into
news -wise is like radio, actually. I grew up
listening to this specific country radio station
out of Topeka, Kansas. And I've just always really
liked it. And that's something I've thought about
doing is maybe doing radio. And last semester,
I took both introduction to podcasting and a
broadcast performance class. And I liked them
a lot. I learned a lot. And then there was an
opening for news writing and reporting. There
was a class going on with that. And I was like,
huh, that might be interesting to try. I kind
of really started to like this whole journalism
aspect of things. And then I took that class,
really liked the professor, liked, you know,
the content in there. And then he also is the
advisor now, Professor Humphrey. these positions
were opening up that we were going to have the
messenger come up and I was like man I've kind
of really started to like this stuff maybe I
should try my hand at it and see what happens
you know going ahead and uh you know like I said
trying my hand and figuring out you know if this
is something I'd really want to do long term
or just you know kind of trying things out and
scoping it out and everything like that yeah
yeah um I don't know if I've mentioned this in
any other interview, but I'm in the intro to
podcasting class right now with Ben Mesner. And
it's a lot of fun, obviously, as I'm here right
now. And so he mentioned it one class. He's like,
hey, this thing, the student -led thing is opening
up for podcast editors, if any of you are interested.
And I was like, yeah, maybe. And then I also,
I'm in a class with Humphrey this semester as
well, which. He's going to be one of my favorite
professors. He's awesome. So, you know, when
I realized that it was him, I was like, OK, I
feel like I got to do this. Right, right. He's
very encouraging. And he also is so helpful with
stuff, too, because he's not like and he has
the experience with this as well, which is so
helpful. He's been in the reporting section of.
you know, like news and stuff for years. Oh yeah.
Like he's just so knowledgeable and he's so,
you know, sometimes people that have so much
knowledge, they almost not, it's like they talk
like way up here and it's, they're just so smart
that you're like, oh man, I can't follow along.
But he is so good at like making, like explaining
things in a way that like students understand.
And I love that. Oh yeah. No, he, he's also definitely,
he never tries to persuade anybody like for their
opinions. He always likes to, you know, hear
people out, which is which is a good thing to
be for a good trait to have as a professor. You
know, you want to be that good middle ground,
even if you have differing opinions. You know,
he he masks it very well if he does. So, yeah,
he's awesome. So, you know, I'm glad to be working
with him and, you know, everybody else. So me,
too. Me, too. Yeah. All right. And so my third
and last question for you is what is your favorite
side hobby? Ooh. Good question. I really, okay,
can I say two essentially? Yeah, you can say
two. I feel like they kind of sort of go hand
in hand. So I really love, I love reading. And
then I have a huge passion for creative writing,
which is another reason I kind of have kind of
gone into the journalism stuff too, because I
feel like it's a way to flex that creative writing
muscle as well. And, but I also, like, I love
reading stories. My favorite author right now
is Kristen Hanna. She's great. Lovely historical
fiction. And but I also just love writing creative
stories and things like that as well. So those
are my my two favorite hobbies outside of this.
Yeah. Yeah. No, I last time I took a creative
writing crush, creative writing class was, I
think, either sophomore or junior year. I think
it was junior year of high school. And I liked
it a lot. I love to write. Not so much reading.
I've just never been a big reader. I don't understand
why. It might be, like, an attention thing. I
also cannot focus, like, the words start to,
like, I guess it's probably dyslexia. So maybe
I'm just dyslexic. Thanks, Mom. But, you know.
It happens. Yeah. That's why I love podcasts,
honestly, because I can retain that information
better. So that's also kind of why I'm here.
Very cool. Very cool. That's awesome. Well, I'm
glad to have you on the team. And I don't know,
I think we maybe talked about this a little bit.
little bit outside of here but the since I had
taken the intro to podcasting class um last semester
I had also thought about going for yeah I think
we talked about this over lunch like a week ago
or something yeah the podcast editor but I'm
glad you got it because I think it it sounds
like you've got a real passion for this stuff
so I think this will be good I'm very excited
to work on this so you know maybe maybe not two
episodes a week like I said earlier but you know
We'll see where this goes. Hopefully we get a
host. I like hosting, obviously, but editing
is the fun part to me as well. Right. And it
would be a lot of work to do both every single
week. Well, thank you so much, Audrey, for joining
me. Yeah, no problem. And hopefully we'll get
you on a future episode. Absolutely. I would
be absolutely down for that for sure. Well, we'll
figure something out. Okay, sounds good. Thank
you. Yeah, no problem. All righty. And lastly,
I am now joined by Seth. Seth, would you like
to introduce yourself? Yeah, I'm Seth Lampton.
I'm the sports editor at the Messenger here at
JCCC. Awesome. So my first question for you is,
what plans do you have to offer to the JCCC community?
Well, you know, I really would just kind of like
to offer consistent and reliable sourcing and
information, you know, for... All things sports
related, you know, kind of really trying to nail
the big stuff that's going on in terms of like,
you know, what are the big rivalries right now?
You know, what are our standings? Stuff like
that. Kind of stuff that is really what people
want to know about the most versus, you know,
the smaller stuff. You know, that's I'll probably
do a couple of things here and there with the
smaller stuff as well. But really kind of just
focusing on. the big picture stuff. Yeah. No,
that's, yeah, that's awesome. Cause I, I personally
have not been very like paying, like I haven't
paid much attention to our sports teams if I'm
being honest, um, which I want to now, obviously,
you know, I'm, I'm trying to get more involved
in this community, especially now that we're,
you know, attempting to create a, a more unified
community with the messenger. So, you know, I'm
excited to see from, you know, your desk and
see like what you bring out, you know, I'm excited
to read and. watch or I don't know if you're
doing video or whatever mostly writing writing
yeah so I'm excited to read your articles so
yeah that's gonna be awesome um so my second
question for you is why did you want to join
the messenger really just because I thought it
would be a good way to kind of get my foot in
the door in terms of um you know in the in the
journal in the world of journalism and and writing
I kind of just gained some experience and stuff
and really you know put myself out there And
to be honest, when I first kind of like after
that first meeting, I was kind of sitting there
like, what am I getting myself into right now?
You know, like I kind of just spontaneously started
talking with with Mr. Humphrey and figuring out,
you know, things about what was coming up and
stuff. And I didn't really think about it too
much. And I think that first meeting is. When
it hit me, I was like, wow, this is something
pretty big. Pretty big. We're trying to make
it pretty big. It kind of loomed over me today,
actually. It was like, oh, wow, this is going
to be pretty big, I feel like. We can't really
say for sure right now, but I'm thinking it's
going to go pretty well. We have things from
all the corners of this community. Everyone seems
to be... really kind of just into it you know
it's oh yeah everyone's you know walking around
with confidence from what I've seen so far yeah
I everybody I've interviewed you know has said
like they're excited to you know work with everybody
so I am very happy that the the group that we
have accumulated is so passionate about this
so yeah me too yeah all righty and so my last
question for you is what is your favorite side
hobby side hobby um I have to be music, specifically
the drums. I play the drums. I've been playing
since I was 10. That's awesome. I love the drums.
Yeah. Really, really great stress reliever. I
can bet. Yeah. I kind of just do it on my own.
I have been in a band in the past, like in high
school and stuff, but I kind of stopped focusing
on that as much lately. But I still, you know,
play at least once a week. I would love to, at
some point, you know, play with a band somewhere
at some time. Yeah, I believe in you. You can
do it. Yeah, just for fun, you know. Yeah, no,
just for fun, you know. I mean, that's a cool
side, like, thing to do. I mean, if I was going
to play any instrument, my top three instruments
have always been, like, saxophones. pianos, and
probably the drums. Yeah. Which are three fundamentally
different instruments, but, you know. Well, I
mean, are you a jazz guy? Kind of, yeah. Yeah?
I mean, I guess that's true. Yeah, that's true.
That makes sense now, actually. Do you have,
like, a soundproof room with your drums, or is
it, like... I have a... detached garage okay
um that has soundproofing in it okay so sort
of yeah yeah okay that's that's cool i didn't
know if you had like a professional studio or
something that'd be cool that's the goal too
yeah you know kind of like this room that we're
in right now with all these soundproof walls
it's awesome all righty well thank you seth for
joining me today um you know i'm excited to work
with you of course um you know maybe we'll get
you on a future episode to talk about sports
you know for sure yeah i'll definitely be back
yeah i appreciate it you know All righty. Now
that you've gotten to listen and meet all of
our new crew members, hopefully you all are just
as excited as we are, because as you could tell,
we're all super excited to be creating this awesome
and, you know, new source of, you know, news
and entertainment and all things, you know, in
the JCCC community. And me personally, I am super
excited to be working and, you know, for now
hosting all these episodes for this podcast.
But for now, that's going to be the end of the
first official episode of the Messenger podcast.
A working title. Be sure to follow all of our
social medias. We should have a Spotify, a YouTube,
our Instagram, our X or Twitter, and probably
more to come. So, you know, make sure to go follow
and keep up to date with all of our new news.
And I will talk to you all next time. I hope
you all have an amazing rest of your day and
or night. See ya.