Gorilla Connection: Recent Episodes
Pittsburg State University
Connecting listeners with the inspiring people, innovative projects, and milestone moments that make Pitt State unique. Hosted by Andra Bryan Stefanoni, director of media relations.
Once upon a time, a baby was born at the hospital in Pittsburg, and someone snapped a photo of a nurse caring for her in the nursery. The baby would grow up to become a student in Pittsburg State University's Irene Ransom Bradley School of Nursing. Her teacher and advisor? The nurse who once cared for her. We caught up to both of them as that student prepares to graduate.
Go behind the scenes in Pitt State's Sperry Herbarium, home to 50,000 plant specimens, and hear from a professor, two students who just helped the herbarium reach a milestone, and a graduate who drives from Kansas City as often as he can to volunteer.
The interior design program at Pittsburg State University has a reputation for giving students real-world design projects for businesses in the Pittsburg community. Hear from the most recent group about their proposed designs for a new development that's starting to take shape in the heart of Downtown Pittsburg.
The Media Production program at Pittsburg State University is unique: it gives students hands-on, real-world experiences in sports broadcasting at events ranging from the MIAA Basketball Tournament to national track and field championships. Hear from a student who is using those opportunities to jumpstart his career, and from the director of the program who has guided its growth.
Bryce, a senior in manufacturing engineering technology, loves creating things out of steel. Annika, a senior in field biology, has a passion for sea turtles and marine life. They both have something in common: unique hands-on experiences and industry connections that are furthering their careers before they graduate from Pittsburg State University.
Over the past 49 years, the Pitt State Jazz Festival has brought to a small city in Kansas not just hundreds of high school jazz bands from across the region — many directed by Pitt State music alumni — but also some of the biggest jazz performers those students could hope to see. As retiring festival director Bob Kehle was putting the final touches on this year’s line-up, he shared reflections on how the festival works, its history, its impact, and memories that stand out.
A couple of Fridays each month, students in Health, Human Performance, and Recreation at Pittsburg State University lead senior citizens in recess-like fitness activities at the Pittsburg Family YMCA. The class, called "Therapeutic Interventions for Older Adults," is a win-win for everyone.
In this episode, you’ll hear from one of the organizers of a 20-year-old Pittsburg State University tradition in which hundreds of students give back to the Pittsburg community. Riley Johnson, a biology major, shares an inside look at what a team of student leaders is doing to prepare now for The Big Event, and what they are hoping donors will contribute in order to help them pull it off.
In this episode, you’ll meet this year’s winning Homecoming Royalty: Cale Chapman, a senior majoring in communication representing Lambda Chi Alpha, and Morgan Blubaugh, a junior majoring in biology/pre-med representing PEERS. Hear what their experiences have been like at Pittsburg State University in and out of the classroom, and how it feels to be chosen to represent their university.
In this episode, host Andra Stefanoni heads to the kitchen of Pittsburg State University Volleyball Coach Jen Gomez for a plate of homemade biscuits and gravy and a conversation about her family, her cooking, her team, and what makes Pittsburg State University such a special place to be.
In this episode, host Andra Stefanoni visits the new home of the Office of Student Diversity at PSU and visits with Assistant Director Nicolle Murphy, who is new to campus, and Senior Diversity Officer Deatrea Rose, who has been on campus long enough to have seen changes when it comes to diversity, accommodations, and inclusivity. They share what they’re doing to serve students, how the new space is helping, and what they’d like faculty, staff, and the community to know.
We continue our observation of National Hispanic Heritage Month, running from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, by featuring conversations with those at Pittsburg State University who have unique perspectives. This week: a chat with an associate professor of music from Honduras who has been striving to bring the world to Pittsburg, and a graduate student who brought his family to Pittsburg from Mexico. They are planning two special events, one on Sept. 22 and one on Sept. 24, to which the campus and community are invited.
To kick of National Hispanic Heritage Month here at Pittsburg State University, running from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, this is the first of several short conversations with those who have unique perspectives — including a first-generation college student and a first-generation graduate, a professor of music and one of his students, and the university’s director of diversity.
You'll soon notice more crimson and gold in Pittsburg than usual: Paint the Town Red Week is coming up, just as a new school year kicks off! In this episode, you’ll learn about the events that are planned, and you'll hear from Chamber of Commerce Special Events Director Tori Colvin and Alumni & Constituent Relations Director Jon Bartlow about why the town and gown relationship is important to the City of Pittsburg, the business community, and Pittsburg State University.
Welcome to a new school year and a new season of Gorilla Connection. Another “new” at Pittsburg State is our president, Dr. Dan Shipp, who prefers to go by "just Dan." Like the hundreds of new freshmen on campus, he carries a backpack, wears tennis shoes, and is learning his way as he begins to guide the university into a new era. In this episode, you'll get to know him, hear about his favorite book, his favorite band, and a poignant story about a childhood tragedy that inspired him to make his life count.
In this episode, you'll spend some time at a couple of summer camps at Pittsburg State University, but you won't need bug spray or a sleeping bag. Started 20 years ago and still going strong, these unique camps focus on giving kids soft skills and hard skills they'll carry into adulthood. They're also helping teachers and future teachers learn valuable skills, too.
As experts across the nation continue to grapple with environmental challenges, students at Pittsburg State University are helping scientists search for clean energy and eco-friendly solutions. In this episode of Gorilla Connection, you’ll meet a PSU student who traveled thousands of miles for the chance to work at the university’s Kansas Polymer Research Center, and you’ll meet a few high school students who are spending their summer at the center as part of a unique internship program.
Veterinarians across the country have gotten their start in the pre-med program offered by the Pittsburg State University Biology Department. In this episode of Gorilla Connection, you’ll meet a recent graduate of the program who just became a local veterinarian, who says it's a career in demand. And, you’ll go to Room 328 Heckert-Wells Hall, where students who want to become veterinarians can gain hands-on experience caring for animals under the guidance of Delia Lister, a Pitt State graduate and director of a unique program called Nature Reach.
Pittsburg State University music education major and trumpeter Tyler Fries is headed to a competition that will pit him against the best of the best. Host Andra Stefanoni caught up to him in a $1 million rehearsal hall, part of a stunning $30 million performing arts center, to hear him practice and to find out what opportunities he's had here that have enabled him to shine.
From Pittsburg State University's School of Construction: A senior has taken on an especially challenging capstone project that has historical significance in Pittsburg, and a professor has been named Outstanding Educator of the Year by a national association. Learn more with host Andra Stefanoni.
The Kansas Technology Center is the largest building on campus at Pittsburg State University, and one of the largest in the region. In its classrooms and labs, you'll find students training for the workforce in diverse career fields. In its hallways, you'll find two longtime staff members logging some serious miles each day. Host Andra Stefanoni joins them for a walk and a conversation.
Dr. Cynthia Huffman, a longtime professor of mathematics at Pittsburg State University, also has been a longtime handbell ringer for holiday concerts. But her true passion, she says, is making learning fun, exciting, and relevant for her students. Host Andra Stefanoni learns how she uses handbells in the classroom to do so.
In just a few years, Blake Johnson has made strides toward her goals of educating, creating awareness, and giving Native American students a voice at Pittsburg State University. Host Andra Stefanoni connects with Blake, who reactivated Pittsburg State's Native American Student Association as a freshman, to learn how.
Sam Eddington, a senior biology major from Columbus, Kansas, representing the Honors College Association, and Becca Brown, a senior nursing major from Joplin representing Alpha Sigma Alpha, were crowned as this year's Homecoming Royalty. Host Andra Stefanoni connects with them to learn who inspired them both to pursue careers in health care, how being at Pittsburg State University has impacted them, and what they want most out of life. Spoiler: It's to make a difference.
It's Homecoming Week at Pittsburg State University, and host Andra Bryan Stefanoni connects with Steve Cox, the keeper of university history, to find out what the very first Homecomings looked like. A bonus: Andra and Steve go inside the Special Collections vault for a look at what's stored there.
Exercise science students, including one chosen for a statewide grant, are conducting research while on a treadmill at Pittsburg State University. What they find out could have an impact on fire fighters and fire departments nationwide — especially small rural ones. Host Andra Stefanoni connects with them in the lab to learn more.
Welcome to a new podcast from Pittsburg State University in Pittsburg, Kansas, hosted by Andra Bryan Stefanoni, director of media relations. The goal: To connect you to campus with stories of the inspiring people, innovative projects, and milestone moments that define Pitt State.
What's it feel like for students in the days leading up to the first home game of the 2021 season — a season that comes on the heels of not much of a season at all? Host Andra Bryan Stefanoni connects with the drum majors of Pitt State Pride of the Plains Marching Band and the captains of Pitt Cheer and the Crimson & Gold Dance Team to find out.