On Community & Learning: Recent Episodes
Annie Hooper
A podcast about community, belonging, and its relationship to learning. We explore the throughlines of what it means and feels like to be “in community” and how we can cultivate that sense of belonging for ourselves and others. We consider the implications for learning when we are “out of community”. Our guests talk about how these feelings connect(ed) to their own learning, and the learning done within their communities, spread far and wide! This season, we visit urban parks in Milwaukee, experiences among indigenous communities in Alaska, a college campus in Indiana, summer camp in Maine, an eighth grade social studies classroom, Boys & Girls Club after school programs, and a community-centered hip hop showcase all while looking for what brings people together and fosters a sense of community & learning.
Emma Bailey is our guest. We talk about her experience as a student at DePauw University, from her own first year program, her role as a peer mentor, and as the student hiring and training new mentors. Emma reminds us of the role shared vulnerability plays in fostering community and shows us how investment in others can snowball outward.
Emma Bailey interned in the office of New Student Orientation and First-Year Experience at DePauw University in Indiana and worked on developing community belonging within small mentor groups and affinity communities. She is also a current masters student in Harvard Graduate School of Education's Learning Design, Innovation, and Technology program.
Zack Mullin is our guest. We talk about his experience creating what was supposed to be a one-time performance and turned into the founding of a community music space. Zack provides insights into what he learned along the way, including design choices that promoted learning and sense of belonging. He reminds us that community-building can both be purposeful and accidental.
Zack Mullin is the 21st Century Program Director for King Middle School and Boys and Girls Club of Southern Maine. He is also a Swim Coach for the Portland Porpoises. Heavily involved with the Portland Music Scene, Zack founded Monday of the Minds: A Community Hip Hop Showcase, which is partially funded by The National Endowment of the Arts.
Tom Kittredge is our guest. We talk about how he facilitates networking and community-building in his professional life. Then we geek out over our shared love of summer camp, and try to figure out why summer camp environments can be so transformative and create such deep connections with others.
Tom Kittredge is an investment officer at Maine Technology Institute and is on the Board of StartupMaine, Maine Conservation Voters, the Maine chapter of the Conservation Law Foundation and the New School in Kennebunk, Maine. He also happens to be one of my best friends.
Olivia Raasch is our guest. She reflects on experiences that made her decide to always look for new ways to bring others into her community and to try new things. She provides insights on what can happen when you feel like you do or don't belong in a space.
Olivia Raasch is a Milwaukee native who loves to work with people in the community, getting them outside exploring and enjoying urban green spaces. She works at the Urban Ecology Center as a Volunteer Coordinator and Green Career Pathway coordinator.
Kristin Leffler is our guest. She shares her successes and failures building community in her 8th grade social studies classroom and among her advisory students. She also reflects on experiences as a journalist among indigenous communities in Nome, Alaska, and reminds us of the deep learning we can do in settings where we are intentional outsiders.
Kristin worked as a journalist before becoming a teacher. She currently teaches 8th grade Social Studies at a public school in Portland, Maine.