In this special reflection episode, we revisit the highlights and transformative moments from our first season that launched on March 3rd, 2018 all the way to its tenth season. Hosts, Chisa Uyeki and Ivan Sanchez reflect, along with the podcast’s long-time producer of eight and half years since the podcast’s inception, Christina Barsi, on how the show evolved to bring listeners into real experiences on campus.

From capturing live in-person events to becoming a key resource component in keeping the campus connected during the swift changes that took place during covid to finding our way back to capturing in-person experiences on campus in our most recent season - the podcast has served as both a recorded history of the resiliency Mt. SAC faculty and students alike have shown and as a way to connect to current events and resources that help our students succeed.

As we celebrate the journey so far, we also mark a heartfelt transition, wishing our producer, Christina Barsi, all the best on her new endeavours as life shifts and her time with us comes to an end. Join us as we look back, reflect, and gear up for future seasons together!

A note from our producer:

This project allowed me the unique opportunity to learn so much about myself, what I’m capable of, and the craft of audio storytelling, along with how to gently guide others in a process that often asks you to step out of your comfort zone for the bigger goal of creating the space and platform for others to shine, to share or to simply cover much needed information.

When this project began, it asked me to step out of my comfort zone at every turn but in doing so - I discovered a version of myself that I didn’t know was there. It shaped my professional career and craft with a unique skillset that is hard to find in podcast production these days and it opened me up to a world of issues that I now deeply care about and embed in my approach to my work, how I hire and how I advocate for others who are a part of my industry or want to be. I attribute so much of the person I’ve evolved into over these past eight and a half years…to my work with this podcast. I am forever grateful and I will miss it. Thank you for allowing me to be a part of your journey.

Run Time: 20 min, 24 sec

To Find the full transcript for this episode click HERE

As a librarian, of course, having recorded histories is so important for us. So it is. It's powerful, and it's been powerful for us to kind of look back and see, oh, this is what we're talking about this season and how it relates to previous seasons. Welcome to the Mount San Antonio College Podcast. I'm Chisa Uyeki, a Mount SAC professor and librarian, and I'm pleased to be your host for this season. Our goal is to keep you connected to our campus by bringing you the activities and events you may not have time to attend to share the interesting things our colleagues are creating and innovative ways they are supporting and connecting with Mount Sac students. Join me as we explore Mount Sac.

Thank you for coming along with us through our 10th season of the Mount Sac podcast, we've continued to stretch ourselves by identifying new and remembering core ways to support students and each other. We wanted to share a reflection on this season, and we have our producer Barsi with us today as well. Hi, Barsi and Ivan.

Hey there. Thanks for having me.

Hey, Chisa. Hey, Barsi. It's so good to be here.

So thinking about this season, I have my favorites. But, Ivan, what's standing out for you?

I think when I look back at the season, the thing that stands out for me more is, is how we approached episodes. I felt like a lot of them had an experiential component. We really wanted to take our listeners into the moment, starting with this most recent episode, the research showcase. It was nice to share something that I've been a part of for many years with our listeners, but also something that I feel like is really important for students to experience. And I felt like that episode did a good job of capturing what it was like to be in that moment to celebrate and to learn about what students are doing in terms of research right here at Mount Sac. When I think back at our season, I think that's what stands out most. I look back at our flex day sessions in the fall, which were all in person. And so the land acknowledgement, one where Primavera shared both personal but also professional and cultural.

Cultural aspects of forming a land acknowledgement and what it means having us get into a group and talk about how indigenous identity is both supported and at times overlooked on our campus. So those are sort of the things that stood out to me is just how much we brought the listener into the experience. And it felt journalistic in a sense. And that was something that I wasn't expecting necessarily this season, but the way that it happened, I think it just happened organically. And it was really enjoyable. It was a different way of presenting information to. To our listeners. So that.

That's what really stands out to me. But what about you, Chisa? What stands out for you?

So I'm thinking a lot about the episodes we did that really broached intersectionality and careers in looking at nursing through the film and the panel that we had and women in STEM and activism, but for all of them and sort of through for me through it all. And I mentioned this in one of our introductions, I keep thinking about accessibility and I feel like that really showed through as well as such an important topic right now. So with women of color in stem, we were looking at accessibility to career paths. We talked about accessibility to tech textbooks and how the financial burden of education impacts our students. Certainly Father Greg talked a lot about accessibility, but in a different way. And I think sort of accessibility to tenderness and care and so sort of bringing another piece of it. And then of course, the accessibility component that a lot of the campus, a lot of folks in higher education are thinking about having to do with meeting ADA Title II deadline.

One of the things I thought a lot about is that we started this season with the goal of focusing on pedagogy and specifically the theme of teaching as an art and a science. Sometimes it felt like this was a challenge when we were considering which episodes to work on and content to include. I'm wondering, Ivan, what your thoughts are.

Yeah, what you're saying definitely resonates with me as well. I know we were really sort of gung ho about our. Our theme at the beginning of the season and saying, hey, we gotta have a clear focus. That's something we can really kind of hang on to and give our, our show a bit more cohesion, which I think is. Admiral was admirable for sure. And the focus was on to to try to focus on the art and science of teaching. As we got going into the season, I felt like, yeah, we had to be a little bit more flexible when it came to that. But I don't think that we ever had to sacrifice our theme in any way.

Because whether we're talking about women in STEM or access to textbooks, it is all connected back to the learning experience. And one of the first things we learn in sociology and in teaching as well is if you want to reach someone, you have to look at the person holistically as a whole. If you want to know why a student's not doing well in class, you can't just look at whether or not they're showing up. Late to class or whether or not they're turning in homework, but what else is going on around them? And so when we approached our podcast in that same way, I think it excited me. Instead of treating it like, treating our theme like it's a strict criteria based decision, we were a little bit more flexible with it. And at the end of the day though, we used it more as a reflection point to say, okay, how will this episode on language tie back to the learning experience and the art and science of teaching? And I like that we didn't have to be right on the nose about it. We didn't have to tell listeners like, here's how this connects. We kind of just allowed people to connect the dots themselves.

So I thought that in the end we did it. We still did an awesome job of really trying to tie everything back to that theme.

Yeah. If I can just jump in too, from like a process perspective. Because working with shows and I love a season, I love to structure a season and we often talk about themes and I love that you came up with your own theme this season. But the truth about themes is they're actually more for us as creators to kind of have that North Star. And it super informs our decision making, our storytelling, how we end up putting something together, the organization of it, it refines the process, it gives you something to filter through that is hyper intentional. But like you said, Ivan, it doesn't have to be, you know, always hitting the nail on the head with it. We start to think differently about what we're creating and how we think about education and how we think about what we're covering and how we show up to cover that and how - and like, I really loved seeing the both of you experiment and take more risks this, this year and going out and being brave and just taking a microphone and going into spaces and finding ways to tell a story with that theme in mind.

And it, it was just a really fun thing to see as someone working in, in the background with you.

Well, I have to say that those risks wouldn't be possible without knowing that we, we have a space of support which largely stems from our producer Barsi, who's behind the scenes. And it definitely felt like I could take those journalistic risks just a little bit more, knowing that it's okay, whatever I record, Barsi is going to filter it through her lens and say, oh, here's what I'm seeing. Here's how we could structure it. Here's maybe a piece or two that we're still missing and we can make an episode out of this. So just kind of knowing that I had, you know, we had that complimentary support really meant a lot, Barsi. And speaking of which, we wanted to take a few moments at the end of this season to also mark an important transition for you. We wish our producer Barsi, all the best as you move on to your next adventure. We just want to say you've been a vital component of the podcast from the very beginning, even long before I joined.

And because of you, we have had just a steady direction, clear story arcs, and really purposeful production that goes beyond just, yeah, let's get it on tape and then just. Let's put it out there. It was. It was really amazing to see. I learned a lot from you, and we just wish you the best for you going forward.

Thank you for that. That means so much and it's. It's been such a pleasure as a whole. Um, it's been. By the end of this season, it'll be eight and a half years, so almost nine. Because we launched this show early on, I think we started working on it, I want to say, in the February. February of 2018, and then started releasing in the spring. And it's been such a journey.

But I. I just appreciate everything you just shared and I. I can't. I mean, I have so much to share and reflect on.

So. What. Speaking, speaking of which, what are some of the things that stand out to you as you look back at your time here?

Yeah, you know, you. You mentioned a lot about the season feeling experiential and a little more journalistic to you this. This year. And it truly started out that way. And that was the original capture plan that we had in place. When I have to shout out to Liesel Reinhart, who. This is her brainchild, and she's since moved on quite a bit ago now, I think she moved on in 2019, if I remember correctly.

But that was kind of an experiment when podcasting was a new thing for most. It just started to hit its stride in. In an industry perspective and people starting to understand what podcasting was. And so being able to do something like this with an institution was kind of special. And everything was in person. It was all field recording. And that's why you have so much field microphones in the POD office, which is the department that this is funded through or that this is produced through, I should say. But yeah, that.

I mean, that those first beginning days were very experimental. And then with Liesel moving on, we kind of had a middle moment where I kind of did it on my own because we didn't have a replacement for her. And then Covid happened. So we had to change everything very quickly, very much like you guys had to pivot extremely fast from in person teaching to online teaching. We had to suddenly become an agency on my end, from everything was in person with all my clients to suddenly teaching everyone how to be remote. And that that was going to be okay. To the point where the microphones were getting sold out. I bought one of the last microphones off Amazon for one of my clients.

I was like, there's two left. We have to get it or your show will die. It was just like one of those crazy moments. And we had to do the same for Mount SAC, where we all had to decide, are we going to keep going or are we going to pivot this too, to make sure we have a way to keep the campus connected. And that moment was really interesting because the podcast had to shift its purpose, too, and it had to become a space that was, like, informative, and it was always informative, but in the way that it was changing from week to week. And it really helped kind of bring that community, I think, together in making sure everyone understood what was happening next, how they were going to start teaching online, what the tools were, where to go for those resources. It just became an imperative resource in a way that it wasn't prior. So that was really interesting to be a part of.

I learned so much. I spent so much time with educators and all of you and learning how to help you communicate that in a way that was still storytelling, but still interesting, and all of that cool stuff. Mental health topics became something that we began in 2020 as well. That wasn't necessarily a focus before, and that was really interesting to see come together. We talked about meditation, we talked about being in nature. Just like interesting touch points that came with the times. And one of my favorite projects, actually, was a mini project that we ended up calling Students Ask the Questions. That was in 2021, 2022.

It bridged both years. What I love about that is we've always wanted to highlight the student and their perspective. And I actually got to train students to host the show. And we did 13 episodes with 13 different students, some alumni that came back to do it as well. And that was logistically harder to create in many ways, but it was so worth it because being able to watch a student come to life and shine and be able to be in the driver's seat and talk to their professors, it was about ADT programs - was just really unique and special, and it will live on because it was captured and recorded. And that, to me, is how legacies are created. Right. Like, that's the beauty of this project and it being running for so long is that there's a library, there's a legacy that marks all of these moments in time that I'm reflecting on, and it really speaks to how everyone showed up.

And I just think that's so special. And actually, through the Students Ask the Question project, I got to reconnect with one of my very first professors ever, Andrea Diem. So she's in the philosophy department when I was, like, 18. So Mount SAC has been, I've realized, a part of my entire adult journey since I was 18 years old. And to have that circle-back moment on the podcast is just, again, so unique and serendipitous and meaningful. And really, it just leaves me with a lot of gratitude to have been able to do this for as long as I did. I've learned so much from being with all of you. I've learned so much about equity.

I've learned so much about human rights. I've learned so much about the issues that we talk about here and the advocacy and all the things that Mount Sac does really well. And I've also learned so much from a professional standpoint through this project, too. And, yeah, just. I'll forever be grateful that this was part of my life. So thank you for letting me share that.

Barsi, we're so thankful for you and the work that you've brought to it and really, the vision. So I love hearing you talk about sort of the full arc of all of our seasons together and sort of how it transitioned through time. And really, that's the idea of it. Right. Is to mark what's happening at Mount Sac. And in doing that, we mark what's happening in our world. As a librarian, of course, having recorded histories is so important for us. So it is.

It's powerful, and it's been powerful for us to kind of look back and see, oh, this is what we're talking about this season and how it relates to previous seasons. So thank you for sharing all of that. We are curious, and I think our listeners probably are as well, to know what's next for you.

Yeah. So part of it's not the whole reason, but part of the reason we're moving on. Speaking of legacy, is I'm about to have a baby. Yeah. It's a part of. That's a huge one. Right. Like, that's.

I don't know what life will be. So we are shifting gears a little bit in how I approach work. And just from a bigger perspective, it's been on my heart to do more teaching, more of creating like educational opportunities to reach more people versus client by client, if that makes sense, and have more resources out in the world that uplift voices that are more underrepresented, particularly women in my case is what we're focusing on. But we've always focused on underrepresented voices in general from my agency's perspective. But being able to take all of my, it's been 13 years I've been working in this industry and putting that into educational assets so that people can have more access to using their voice in the world in ways that feel impactful to them is super important to me. So we're kind of shifting into that and a little away from the production services side of things. So that is what's next for me.

That's what we're working on. And then raising a baby.

Well, that sounds amazing.

Yeah, that's life altering. But in the best way.

Yeah. Yeah. I mean, you have two kids, right? And so do you, Chisa.

Yep. Yeah, yeah, I got the two for one, two for one special. Basically the other.

We did. I have two years between mine, but mine are now both college students, so it's a whole other level. So. Barsi, I. I love that you're going into this education space. I know Ivan and I both would say we've learned so much from you and. And through the process of working on the podcast. So we'll look forward to seeing your new endeavors and to our listeners.

Thanks for being with us. And we're going to take a break for the summer, but we hope you'll explore our archive. We now have over 230 episodes. It's searchable. Check it out. And then we'll be back in the fall. So have a great summer, everyone. Thank you for listening to the Mount San Antonio College Podcast, brought to you by Mount San Saks POD Office and created in partnership with Avant House Media.

Thank you for listening to the Mount San Antonio College Podcast, brought to you by Mount San Saks POD Office and created in partnership with Avant Haüs Media. Original music created and edited by Nira Azira. Be sure to check out our growing library of over 230 episodes and let us know your thoughts. You can reach me, Chisa Uyeki at C U Y E K I at mount sac dot Edu. Wishing you an amazing year and happy listening.