00;00;00;02 - 00;00;20;10 Speaker 1 The old adage, I think I don't remember who said it. I think was person doesn't matter. I said that, you know, films are made three times, you know, and the writing and the production and the post. Yeah. And I really see that it evolves. I had a good filmmaking friend of mine once told me that if you can even get 70% of your vision into your film, that's a huge achievement because you never get a hundred. 00;00;20;25 - 00;00;44;02 Speaker 2 Welcome to Media The Mix, the only podcast produced and hosted by the School of Communication at American University. Join us as we create a safe space to explore topics and communication at the intersection of social justice, tech innovation and pop culture. Welcome back to meeting the mics. I'm your host, Grace Ibrahim. And today we have a very special guest, Jamie Sisley. 00;00;44;02 - 00;00;45;22 Speaker 2 Welcome to the podcast. 00;00;45;22 - 00;00;48;04 Speaker 1 Hi. Thank you. Thanks for having me on. I appreciate it. 00;00;48;04 - 00;01;05;11 Speaker 2 So excited to finally sit down and talk to you. I know SOC has heard a lot about you, your projects and things going on, so I can't wait to deep dive today, but I'm just going to throw it to you real quick, just a little intro about yourself, kind of your background and then really what brought you to first the area and then also associate? 00;01;06;05 - 00;01;32;01 Speaker 1 Sure. Well, you're probably going to have to edit this down, apologize in advance. I'll try to be, you know, sort of concise. I grew up in the area. That's really where it all started. I grew up sort of central in Northern Virginia. So so I know this area very well. I went to UVA for undergrad, studied business, which is kind of weird for film, but it served me super well over the years that brought me into music management. 00;01;32;01 - 00;02;04;20 Speaker 1 I managed bands for about six years at out of undergrad, so I worked at a company called Red Light Management. Really lucky that I that I was able to get that job. Yeah. And worked with groups like the Dave MATTHEWS Band or Tim McGraw and Faith Hill and and just had some incredible mentors that really taught me about the business of entertainment, which which has served me really well with film, started to make a documentary while I was there called Farewell Ferris Wheel, and I was super lucky to get a grant for my TVs, which is a really good grant organization. 00;02;04;20 - 00;02;25;26 Speaker 1 And that was enough for me to think maybe I should go to film school. So I went to Columbia, well, studied screenwriting in directing, made a short film that short called Stay Awake, ended up doing well enough where that sort of, you know, got got enough interest where I could I could focus on a feature version of that. 00;02;25;27 - 00;02;47;05 Speaker 1 I did that. So I may very well first will stay awake. And then during COVID, when I was living out in Los Angeles, I decided to come back here for for a myriad of reasons. You know, this being the this being the big opportunity, I was really excited to get this this this opportunity to teach. It's always been something I've wanted to do. 00;02;47;19 - 00;03;06;29 Speaker 1 It's a chance for me to come back home, being here, my family and know my friends. And I've always felt like this. This community, the DC Northern Virginia area is really creative, but sometimes I don't feel like it gets that sort of notoriety. So I'm glad to be back here and in any small way I can sort of help bolster that sort of reputation. 00;03;07;08 - 00;03;17;26 Speaker 2 That's awesome. I actually want to ask a little bit about studying business and how did that translate into kind of the film space and what do you feel like you took from that that helped you? 00;03;18;06 - 00;03;45;01 Speaker 1 Yeah, a great question. I realized undergrad that when I got out I really needed to work. I was in a place where I definitely needed to have a paycheck and, and so business seemed sort of like my back end. Yeah, like the creative arts were sort of something that I was really interested in and I gravitated towards. But I had no idea how to put together a budget or how to, you know, calculate the weighted average capital of a company or in that crazy stuff. 00;03;45;18 - 00;04;10;06 Speaker 1 I think what it really helped with, it gave me confidence. It allowed me to be a good public speaker. Yeah, it gave me ability to understand budgets, understand money, and in how business and creative I think a lot of people don't like talking about them both or they're scared of talking about the business of entertainment. I think business school taught me that it's actually really helpful to to talk about them in conjunction with each other. 00;04;10;06 - 00;04;27;06 Speaker 1 And the more you know about the business side of entertainment, the more empowered you are as a filmmaker. You know, you know, if you need to cut budget when you're in the middle of production, you know how to read those things and you know what to cross off. So it actually gives you more creative control to have that ability. 00;04;27;13 - 00;04;46;26 Speaker 1 And I also think your creative collaborators trust you more. They allow you to be a part of that, which has served me well as well. So yeah, I know. And you can write grants is the other thing I think. Yeah, I don't think I would have probably gotten the grants I got initially had it not been for my ability to write business plans, which I hated doing in school. 00;04;46;26 - 00;04;48;16 Speaker 1 But, but it ended up really helping me out. 00;04;48;17 - 00;04;58;07 Speaker 2 Yeah. I feel like a lot of people avoid numbers in film. They're like, I don't want to talk about that. I'll leave that to that, you know, department or whatever. But you're right. It's like when you know that knowledge, you can get ahead of it yourself. So yeah, I hate math. 00;04;58;12 - 00;05;17;26 Speaker 1 I'm not a fan of math, but I'm really glad that I forced myself to learn because. Because now I feel like there have been so many times grace where I've been in pitches or I've spoken with producers and I can kind of see when someone's not being upfront with me or our team. And I attribute all of that to two of my my business background. 00;05;17;28 - 00;05;29;28 Speaker 2 That's awesome. Yeah. And how is managing music bands like that's those are a lot of like beginnings you threw out. That's so fun. It was, I'm sure. Also, there's a, a wide variety of emotion that you probably went, Oh yeah, that. 00;05;30;03 - 00;05;49;03 Speaker 1 It was amazing. I mean, I really the people that I worked with most closely were the other managers. And in that that was to this day, they're my very best mentors. They just really taught me how to how to work with artists and again, how the business side of of entertainment works, because there's a lot of overlap between film and music. 00;05;49;07 - 00;05;51;02 Speaker 2 Oh yeah. Okay. Can you dive into that a little bit? 00;05;51;15 - 00;05;59;04 Speaker 1 Sure. First off, a lot of the companies are the same from it from a rep standpoint, right? So CAA, William Morris, UTA. 00;05;59;26 - 00;06;01;11 Speaker 2 It's all talent, I guess. Yeah. 00;06;01;11 - 00;06;23;13 Speaker 1 Yeah. And you know, those big agencies sort of crossover into both. They kind of do different things in both industries, but having kind of come up in music, I was sort of aware at least of the landscape that was helpful. How to talk with investors, how to, how to pitch, yeah, to anything, what else, and then how to read budgets really. 00;06;23;13 - 00;06;42;08 Speaker 1 Those are the big ones. I and just to know how to not be afraid of, of the business side. I encounter this a lot here at AEW where you know I think students come in really excited about the creative but they don't really want to talk about fundraising until I have to write. I do feel like those are important conversations to have. 00;06;43;22 - 00;06;49;18 Speaker 1 I think they end up making your project stronger if you don't avoid it, but really just, you know, face it head on. 00;06;49;27 - 00;06;58;14 Speaker 2 Did you ever like do you remember the moment you felt like, oh, maybe film is for me? Or This is something I want to pivot to? Like, was there something that happened or. 00;06;58;14 - 00;07;22;02 Speaker 1 Yeah, it's a great question. And I yeah, when I was at Red Light as a band manager, I was really enjoying that process. And in the mentors I was with, I was learning a ton, but I was in my kind of mid twenties and I started to realize there were a lot of issues sort of in my life when I was younger that I hadn't really thought about. 00;07;22;05 - 00;07;40;26 Speaker 1 I sort of blocked and didn't want to think about a lot of stuff having to do with my mom, my family addiction. Um, and I realized I kind of had a voice about that. I wanted to say something about it, and I remember initially I thought maybe music would be the thing, and I was just awful. Who was the worst musician you could ever imagine? 00;07;40;26 - 00;07;45;23 Speaker 1 It was just so embarrassing to even have tried to. 00;07;45;23 - 00;07;46;24 Speaker 2 You got to try, though, right? 00;07;47;14 - 00;08;05;10 Speaker 1 Look, I gave it the old college try, but it did not work out. And then a lot of my family have sort of visual art backgrounds. And so I started to explore photography. I started to explore writing. Um, when I was I was living in Charlottesville, Virginia, and I went to Barnes and Noble and just bought a book on directing. 00;08;05;10 - 00;08;10;11 Speaker 1 And that's literally how I started. And it's funny, the guy who wrote that book ended up being one of my professors at Columbia. 00;08;10;11 - 00;08;11;02 Speaker 2 Just way. 00;08;11;06 - 00;08;22;12 Speaker 1 Out of the blue was bizarre, but that's kind of how I came into it. I just I realized I had something I wanted to say about some issues that I cared a lot about, and film seemed like the right medium for me to sort of explore those issues. 00;08;22;12 - 00;08;42;09 Speaker 2 That's amazing. On that, I kind of want to talk about Stay awake, if you don't mind. Sure. So it is such, you know, a personal and like intimate story. And I know you went from short to then turning it into a longer feature. Yeah. Yeah. What was that whole experience like? Just kind of, you know, going through something that I'm sure you have like a personal attachment to. 00;08;42;26 - 00;08;44;29 Speaker 2 Can you just shed light on, on kind of that experience? 00;08;45;06 - 00;09;12;05 Speaker 1 Sure. Well, generally, it was a great process. I mean, it was stressful and scary, but also really fulfilling. You know, a lot of people say write what you know, especially when you start. Yeah. And like I just mentioned, that issue, especially addiction, opioid addiction pills, substance use disorder, those issues were really top of mind. Yeah. For me, it's literally the catalyst for why I wanted to get into film. 00;09;12;14 - 00;09;33;10 Speaker 1 So it just made sense that that was going to be what I was going to start with. The short, far exceeded my expectations. If I can be real with you, I really did it for myself. I didn't think I didn't think anyone would care, just being super honest. And then I got really lucky. I got into Berlin, and Berlin is one of the big, you know, top three film festival in the world. 00;09;33;10 - 00;09;54;06 Speaker 1 And when that happened, I got a lot of notoriety in something that started to happen that was really interesting was after every screening, I would have a small line of people that would come up and want to talk to me about their end or their uncle or their mom with their dad and how they were suffering with a lot of the same issues because they awakes really from the caretakers point of view of addiction. 00;09;54;06 - 00;10;16;21 Speaker 1 And that's what's unique about it, is it's sort of following these to two young boys is they're trying to help their mom with with with with her disease. And I didn't realize how much of a door that opened up for some people to feel more liberated and open to talk about that subject. And so when that happened, it became way more fulfilling. 00;10;17;01 - 00;10;28;05 Speaker 1 I had no idea that it would it would resonate with people that way. Yeah. And it it really sort of propelled me to want to make a feature version because I really had no intention to do it at the time. 00;10;28;09 - 00;10;30;16 Speaker 2 That's awesome. Yeah. And what was directing like? 00;10;30;28 - 00;10;50;10 Speaker 1 I love directing it. It's I think it plays to a lot of the skills that I like trying to hone. Yeah. You know, with the leadership, with trying to bring the best out of people, with collaborating with people as a team. Yeah, I think some people think directing is dictating an artistic voice. In some people it is that. 00;10;50;12 - 00;11;08;29 Speaker 1 Yeah, but for me I really love taking a group of friends that I love trying to be clear with, with what I'd like to it would, I'd like to achieve with the story and then giving those people artistic liberty to sort of bring their skills and talents and strengths to a film. And it's magical when it works. It's absolutely magical. 00;11;09;11 - 00;11;23;12 Speaker 2 And as a director, I know with, you know, content like that, it's just a little more emotional and for some people might be a little more real. As a director, how did you kind of create an environment where those like, vulnerable performances could happen? 00;11;23;14 - 00;11;42;21 Speaker 1 MM Well, I think a lot of that starts with casting. Yeah. You have to find people that that want to go on that ride with you because some people, you know, acting is, is, is a different skill for certain people. But I really tried to find good humans who are also really good actors. I lucked out both on the short and the feature too. 00;11;42;22 - 00;12;00;10 Speaker 1 Some really, really lovely people that I got to collaborate with. And then and then again, it's a collaboration, you know, you you build those characters, you write the characters in a script, but then you, you work on it together and they put flesh on those characters and make them three dimensional. And again, it's a beautiful thing to watch, right? 00;12;00;14 - 00;12;16;20 Speaker 2 Yeah. I'm just curious, did anything kind of change as the production process went on? Like as you brought these characters to life, did you pivot in any different directions? Tons, yeah. Just so like people, you know, don't think directing is like straight an arrow, but that you can you have that room to kind of pivot. 00;12;16;26 - 00;12;34;08 Speaker 1 Yeah, there's this I have so many things that I could mention. You know, there's the old adage I think I don't remember who said it. I think this person doesn't matter. I said that, you know, films are made three times, you know, and the writing and the production in the post. Yeah. And I really see that I it evolves. 00;12;34;08 - 00;12;51;18 Speaker 1 I had a good filmmaking friend of mine once told me that if you can even get 70% of your vision into your film, that's a huge achievement because you never get 100. It's just it, it's an organic thing, right? That sort of is living in all you can do is sort of help try to control it as best you can. 00;12;51;18 - 00;13;17;01 Speaker 1 But that's the way I like to work. I found that being a little loose sometimes can, can, can make for a better work. Yeah. And if your collaborators feel empowered, then they can sort of lynch some of their skills to a project. I think it makes your project better. There are so many times, especially with my younger actors, where they'd come up to me and be like, Ethan wouldn't say that, you know, they'd challenge you. 00;13;17;01 - 00;13;30;19 Speaker 1 Yeah, And that's what you want. That means they're engaged, right? They want they want this performance to work and they're challenging you. They're taking over that character and finding nuance in it in ways that you just can't as a solo writer. 00;13;30;23 - 00;13;35;26 Speaker 2 That's amazing. Yeah. You had some awesome actors in that. Thanks. Just awesome. 00;13;36;03 - 00;13;42;24 Speaker 1 Chris There of Finn Wyatt, Chrissy there in a lot of the supporting cast too. Just really wonderful group of people. 00;13;42;26 - 00;14;04;07 Speaker 2 That's awesome. Yeah, that's awesome. Well, congratulations on all the success about that. Thanks. And then just kind of talking into the, the festival circuit arena. Yeah, because we do like to talk about things that might help our students out if they're starting out in their careers or is there anything they should know about the festival circuit? And that could be the things that they might not know are very daunting about it or anything. 00;14;04;07 - 00;14;06;22 Speaker 2 You just want to shed light on their. 00;14;06;22 - 00;14;34;17 Speaker 1 Sure. It's a great question. I don't I guess the first thing I would say is not all festivals are created equal. You have to really be careful about just putting together a plan, a festival plan a lot of the times and it's different for features in shorts, there's kind of a different set of rules, but oftentimes you want to sort of shoot for the bigger festivals, the top tiers, you know, Cannes, Berlin, Venice, Sundance, Telluride, Toronto, in some circles, south by in Tribeca, for sure. 00;14;34;27 - 00;14;53;00 Speaker 1 I would count them as top tier. You know, those are good ones to sort of aspire to for a couple of reasons. One, if you get into it, a lot of these other festivals will come to you. Yeah, so you don't have to spend as much money, right? And they're also sort of career makers, right? They're the kind of festivals that if you do get in, it'll sort of move. 00;14;53;00 - 00;15;14;26 Speaker 1 The needle reps will start reaching out, production companies will start reaching out, you'll meet collaborators. I think that's a good approach. Yeah, I sometimes I'm weary of just a blanket applying to tons of festivals, both because some festivals have rules about premieres, so you have to be careful. Like if you premiere at one place. 00;15;14;26 - 00;15;16;12 Speaker 2 Yeah, yeah. And apply to that. 00;15;16;12 - 00;15;39;24 Speaker 1 Which is why sometimes it's better to start sort of it at the top and then work your way down. But also there's just a lot of festivals that I've found. They're not super helpful, but they still charge you to apply. And so I always advise students to be wary of that. You have to be kind of careful about what you're applying to because a lot of these festivals in screenplay competitions, they just they don't move the needle in the way that some of those other ones do. 00;15;40;13 - 00;15;56;24 Speaker 1 On the flip side, though, there's a lot of really great regional film festivals. You know, if you're a part of a community, I think those are also really helpful to go to, right? So that you, you know, can can be a part of that community and help grow it and um, you know, there's a lot of great ones around D.C., Maryland and Virginia. 00;15;57;07 - 00;16;15;05 Speaker 1 I mean, the Virginia Film Festival has been super helpful to me. Yeah, you know, it's helped grow me on a lot of festivals do that. Like they'll Berlin's been that way for me. I've been really lucky where they've accepted two of my films. So that's another way festivals can help, is that they can kind of help be your your advocate when you're starting out. 00;16;15;14 - 00;16;26;29 Speaker 2 And when you say like create a festival plan, do you think about that as you're creating the feature or the short? Do you have that in the budget? Like, are you are you thinking that far ahead? Absolutely. 00;16;27;11 - 00;16;38;10 Speaker 1 Absolutely. Yeah. I think one of the sometimes when producers are first starting out, they'll forget don't forget to put budget in for for festivals, not only submissions but also for travel. Right. 00;16;38;14 - 00;16;40;03 Speaker 2 Because Right of course. 00;16;40;05 - 00;16;55;19 Speaker 1 Oh Oh yeah. I mean a lot of the times for features they'll, they'll travel you out. The major ones will, but for sure it's a lot less, you know, you usually have to sort of find your own way. So I always advise students to, to, to take in some money for both. 00;16;55;19 - 00;17;10;26 Speaker 2 Yeah that's awesome. That's good advice. And then in terms of kind of the international recognition, so going to Berlin, did you feel like you were able to connect with the audience there too? Like, I know we were talking a little offline about how film is like a universal language. Yeah, So can you just talk about that a little bit? 00;17;11;13 - 00;17;35;18 Speaker 1 Yeah, that's always been really humbling to me that that that film sort of does transcend language in that way. It's Yeah, no it's, it's I was always, always surprised in a, in a really nice way sometimes it doesn't though I remember when we did the premiere at Berlin for the feature, there was a really somber moment and I remember like one person in the audience laughing. 00;17;36;12 - 00;17;47;15 Speaker 1 Like it just didn't it just didn't translate like, I know, not in that audience in comedy especially, right is so cultural and you know, it it just differs from culture to. 00;17;47;15 - 00;17;59;06 Speaker 2 Culture, I guess, is, you know, art is like all of our art is subjective, right? So it's totally the same way. So someone might perceive it differently. Is it true that farewell Ferris wheel was made over a long period of time? 00;17;59;06 - 00;18;01;17 Speaker 1 Yeah, like 90 years. Yeah, it was. 00;18;01;17 - 00;18;02;02 Speaker 2 It was. 00;18;02;03 - 00;18;03;15 Speaker 1 Though. It was six. Yeah. 00;18;03;16 - 00;18;04;26 Speaker 2 Yeah, I felt like 90. 00;18;04;26 - 00;18;26;16 Speaker 1 But my directing partner on that, we co-directed the film and I produced it. We thought it was going to be one summer. Okay, I remember this conversation where at Starbucks here in D.C., we're like, you know, this will just be a summer, will knock it out and and we'll see what happens. Yeah. Six years later, we realized how difficult it is to finance a feature doc, especially a first one. 00;18;26;23 - 00;18;33;19 Speaker 2 I guess, leading up to the next question. How did that experience kind of shape your like, patience and just perspective as a filmmaker? 00;18;34;12 - 00;18;55;18 Speaker 1 You certainly develop patience. Yeah, I mean, I've gotten into cooking recently because I just love this idea that you can make something and then eat it like whatever you make right in front of you. And it's immediate gratification. Yes, I think films are the exact opposite, where you really have to have a long term vision. I think films are made in pre-production and in development. 00;18;56;04 - 00;19;16;06 Speaker 1 Once the train leaves the station in production, there's there's very little you can do to stop it for good or bad. So. Right. And you need money for all of that. So it we learned a ton. I think that feature was it was a film school in and of itself for how to especially how to raise money because it takes a long time, especially for grants. 00;19;16;11 - 00;19;21;29 Speaker 2 Just in terms of that. What got you into that? You know, that type of content and talking about immigration all the time. 00;19;22;12 - 00;19;39;07 Speaker 1 Yeah, great question. I, I was still working as a, as a music manager and I had no idea how to make a documentary. I'd never even touched a camera. Yeah, that sounds braggy, but it's not. I just literally had no idea what I was doing. And so I had a friend of mine, Miguel Martinez, is his name, who I still work with to this day. 00;19;39;27 - 00;19;52;01 Speaker 1 We own a company together, but oh, that's cool. We just started looking at different ideas that we were interested in. In I grew up in the South and carnivals were always something that from a nostalgic standpoint. 00;19;52;14 - 00;19;53;12 Speaker 2 That was going to be my next. 00;19;53;16 - 00;20;15;18 Speaker 1 We're really appealing to me, and I read an article in the Brownsville Herald in Texas about this guy who was trying to bring in a nutshell. Most of the Carnival workers in America come from one single town in Mexico, called him up a coin and they come up every year. They work all the carnivals around the country, and then they come back down and spend time with their families during the off season. 00;20;16;09 - 00;20;35;25 Speaker 1 And we just found that to be fascinating. We thought that was a really interesting premise. And these are legal workers. Nobody was illegally. They're trying to literally work within the confines of the legalities of America and its visa process. And we didn't have to look far for conflict or issues or obstacles, you know, that there was just a lot there. 00;20;36;04 - 00;20;47;21 Speaker 1 And the deeper we went into it, the more we realized there was a lot more to that story than we thought. Much like a lot of documentaries, right? You start with one thing and then if you start doing a deep dive, it's yeah, it's way more complicated. 00;20;47;25 - 00;21;04;29 Speaker 2 That's really cool. This might be like a very black and white question, but after having gone through those two experiences, specifically does documents draw you more? Does narrative draw you more to fiction? Like, where are you drawn to one more than the other now? Or you're just kind of at the space where you're like, I'll do them all. 00;21;05;10 - 00;21;22;23 Speaker 1 I think different stories call for a different formats. That's sort of the way I think about it. I feel very lucky that I've had the opportunity to make a feature doc and a fiction feature film. I try to keep that open depending on what the story is, and then I start to think, you know, would one of those formats lend itself better to that story? 00;21;22;23 - 00;21;23;02 Speaker 1 Yeah. 00;21;23;11 - 00;21;27;29 Speaker 2 You just mentioned you and Miguel own a company together. Can you talk about that a little more? 00;21;27;29 - 00;21;59;09 Speaker 1 Yeah. You know, I, I love when you get to meet somebody and you just get to grow with them. And Meg and I have been together as a filmmaking duo for God since 2009. So it's it's you know, we were both sort of we met and met each other in the area. It's actually a funny story. I was working at Red Light and Music Management, and we got a call one day from this really irate guy who was saying, You guys don't program any Latino artists in in Charlottesville. 00;21;59;13 - 00;22;29;11 Speaker 1 Like, like and he was the host of the I think the only bilingual radio show in central Virginia at the time. And he was he was taking us to task. He was like, why? And I and I said, well, let's have lunch. Let's figure it out. You're right. Yeah. And that's how I met Miguel. And and so, you know, once I thought of this idea for Ferris wheel, I came to him because I knew he made music videos, made that, and then we started this company, and awesome. 00;22;29;28 - 00;22;48;21 Speaker 1 We do a lot of commercial work around DC, a lot of stuff for like events, DC, the National Institute of Health, the Smithsonian, just commercial work. That was honestly a godsend during COVID. It was it was nice to have that sort of sort of in the background. And I did back into it all the time. I really enjoy the work. 00;22;48;21 - 00;23;09;28 Speaker 1 I enjoy working with Meg and I enjoy working with people around DC. But one of the big projects over COVID that that Miguel and I did for Aster, we were presented with this opportunity to sort of events. DC came to us and we're like, we have this wonderful access. Yeah. To the embassy community and specifically to their chefs. 00;23;09;28 - 00;23;27;12 Speaker 1 And they had this thing every year called Embassy Chefs Challenge where you might not know this, but most of the embassies have chefs. They all came together once a year and they would kind of battle it out for the title of Best Embassy Chef. Yeah. And then during COVID, they couldn't do that. Obviously, they couldn't have that actual competition. 00;23;27;24 - 00;23;53;02 Speaker 1 So they came to us and said, Would you guys be interested in doing something in that world? We're not sure what it would be. So we made this little series and at the time it was called Embassy Chefs Challenge. It's an exploration of how food is is is a variation of soft diplomacy for ambassadors and how they can sort of use the culinary arts as a way to sort of make deals and do what's best for their nations. 00;23;53;02 - 00;24;07;05 Speaker 1 Yeah, So, you know, the first season was great. We we ended up winning an Emmy, which was really cool for it. And then we were asked to do another one. So we just finished a new series called The Ambassadors Table. 00;24;07;07 - 00;24;07;21 Speaker 2 Okay. 00;24;07;25 - 00;24;26;12 Speaker 1 And we interviewed the ambassadors and the chefs for Ukraine, for China and for Mexico. And that was really, really fun. And one of the best things for me that that we were able to do is we were able to bring students in and they were able to be a part of the project. Yeah, yeah, it was a blast. 00;24;27;09 - 00;24;28;29 Speaker 1 And so those are going to come out in a couple of months. Yeah. 00;24;29;00 - 00;24;32;19 Speaker 2 Great. Well, good luck with that too. Thank you. I'm sure it'll do great. 00;24;32;20 - 00;24;34;15 Speaker 1 And it's definitely the reason I got into cooking. 00;24;34;16 - 00;24;35;06 Speaker 2 Yeah, I. 00;24;35;06 - 00;24;56;03 Speaker 1 Get to say, I didn't know anything about cooking and then watching these unbelievable chefs do what they do. I remember with our first season, Peru, this cordon bleu trained chef. Wow. Just amazing. Like, it's so inspiring to watch these people do what they do. And yeah, it inspired me to try to, you know, make make something better than than, you know, macaroni and cheese. 00;24;56;03 - 00;25;04;28 Speaker 2 I feel that every time I watch a cooking show, I'm like, I can do this. Yeah, yeah. You try. And you're like, maybe not, but it'll take some time. Like any craft, right? It takes time. 00;25;04;29 - 00;25;11;21 Speaker 1 Ottolenghi is my favorite right now. I bought all his books and really early in the Jerusalem and Simple. There's a really good cook. 00;25;11;22 - 00;25;12;15 Speaker 2 Awesome. 00;25;12;15 - 00;25;13;21 Speaker 1 Yeah, those are my shout outs. 00;25;14;00 - 00;25;18;10 Speaker 2 Perfect. Speaking on on COVID. Did COVID effects stay awake at all? 00;25;18;22 - 00;25;20;06 Speaker 1 Big time. Yeah. Oh yeah. 00;25;20;06 - 00;25;22;27 Speaker 2 We we made three. That's yeah, it's like right here. 00;25;23;04 - 00;25;41;22 Speaker 1 How much time do you have, Grace We we could, we could get into this for a long time. Right. But, but yeah, we were slated to go in 2020. Oh wow. We had all of our actors lined up and then in our case, there were television clauses because we had two actors that were a part of pretty, pretty big TV shows at the time. 00;25;41;22 - 00;25;42;07 Speaker 2 Yes. 00;25;42;15 - 00;26;10;03 Speaker 1 And they just couldn't. Usually if you have an indie feature, TV shows are pretty gracious when they're when they're when they've gone dark, they'll just let their actors. But but technically, in a lot of these contracts, they sort of have to say whether or not an actor can go and be a part of another production. Yeah. And as you might imagine, there were so many health concerns surrounding COVID at the time that, uh, we're not we're not the exception by any means. 00;26;10;03 - 00;26;20;22 Speaker 1 I think most most television productions were a little bit more stringent. Yeah. So we had to wait. We had to wait a whole year. Um, we got so lucky that none of our financing fell out. 00;26;21;20 - 00;26;21;28 Speaker 2 Yeah. 00;26;22;07 - 00;26;40;03 Speaker 1 Now I have a lot of friends who had incredible movies lined up that they just weren't able to make for that reason. The only reason we got our film made was Chrissy Metz. If I can be real, when you're starting a lot of the Times actors, it's really just on a handshake. Yeah, if an actor will participate in your movie, it's not like they signed a contract. 00;26;40;09 - 00;26;58;23 Speaker 1 Yeah. And you're offering them nothing usually, right, for a small indie film. But Chrissy said she would do it. She said, Hey, stick with you know, I'll stick with you. Just wait till I'm done with this show. Yeah. And she was true to her word. I mean, I literally owe that entire film to her. That's. 00;26;58;23 - 00;27;13;10 Speaker 2 Wow. Yeah, that's very special. Very unique. That's amazing. What have you seen kind of in the last few years, change in the industry and what are some of the challenges that you've kind of started to face or have been facing, just anything that kind of open ended? 00;27;13;10 - 00;27;36;07 Speaker 1 Question Yeah, I mean, I think we're all feeling it right. There's there's something happening. There's something amiss. Yeah, that, that that's been going on for a while. I think today distribution is sort of broken. I think that's a pretty accepted sort of thought that that even if you're able to make your movie, it's hard to monetize your movie. 00;27;36;07 - 00;27;44;07 Speaker 1 Right. You know, usually if you made an indie film, you'd go to Sundance or Cannes or Berlin or whatever, and the hope would be that you would sell that. 00;27;44;10 - 00;27;44;20 Speaker 2 Yeah. 00;27;45;04 - 00;28;06;06 Speaker 1 Even back in the day, that was always hard to do. But these days it's become even even more difficult not only to sell it, but to sell it at a at a level where you can recoup your money and maybe even make your investors money. Right. So that's the part that's broken. You know, a lot of these streamers have been really disruptive, sometimes in a good way, sometimes in a more challenging way. 00;28;06;06 - 00;28;27;23 Speaker 1 You know, they've sort of challenged that entire model. But I think right now we're in that state of flux. It kind of reminds me of where music was back in the early aughts where, you know, Napster came and yeah, sort of disrupted the way CDs were sold at the time. I feel like we're seeing something very similar where there was a model that people could rely on to get a, you know, return on their investment. 00;28;27;23 - 00;28;41;09 Speaker 1 And it's just not happening now. The festival system of selling movies is still there. It's just that's I think that's the big challenge everyone's facing, is how do we how do we find a new model or how do we fix that one potentially? 00;28;41;21 - 00;28;45;06 Speaker 2 And how do you feel about this whole I business? 00;28;45;22 - 00;28;48;14 Speaker 1 I'm feeling okay about it. Yeah, If I can be honest with you. 00;28;48;14 - 00;28;50;19 Speaker 2 I yeah, for sure. We, we like all the perspectives. 00;28;50;19 - 00;29;02;24 Speaker 1 Yeah. I mean, Alexa can barely understand when I want to set a timer right now, so I feel like we're still such. We're still a ways away from from. I really, I think to take over. 00;29;02;29 - 00;29;03;22 Speaker 2 The industry all. 00;29;03;22 - 00;29;20;15 Speaker 1 Creative. Yeah. I think there's some jobs that are more at risk right now than others, but I still think we have some time until, um. Until I can can fully understand the emotion. You need to tell a story. 00;29;20;24 - 00;29;38;13 Speaker 2 That's, I think, what we're missing. Like what people seem to be forgetting, is there's so much emotion behind a director or even behind a producer, to be honest. Like, there's a lot of numbers and things on a piece of paper. But for me to actually creative director, creative producer, the word creative is kind of where we're, you know, we still have that, you know, human connection. 00;29;38;13 - 00;29;39;14 Speaker 2 So I feel like it's important. 00;29;39;15 - 00;29;54;11 Speaker 1 Yeah. And I think you bring up a really good point where we're producing just as creative as directing. I mean, you know, some people don't realize this, but kind of on the hierarchy, producing kind of is the top of the hierarchy. They hire directors, right? So at the end of the day, they control the budget and. 00;29;54;20 - 00;29;55;08 Speaker 2 Vision to. 00;29;55;26 - 00;30;08;05 Speaker 1 It. But the budget controls everything, right? And you might have a great song you want in your movie, but if the producer can't afford it, then then that's a creative decision that they're making, right? So a lot of creativity there. Yeah, for sure. 00;30;08;22 - 00;30;10;13 Speaker 2 That's that's good advice. 00;30;10;13 - 00;30;32;23 Speaker 1 But real quick, back to the I might be naive there. I mean, I, I have no idea. But I, I think I'm more optimistic. I see a lot of ways where I can help and enhance and support and it excites me. Yeah, I do. I think one day it'll catch up and get to a place where it can sort of do the same things that that writer directors do probably. 00;30;32;23 - 00;30;34;21 Speaker 1 Yeah. Um, but I still think we have some time. 00;30;34;21 - 00;30;35;27 Speaker 2 Yeah, I hope so. 00;30;36;01 - 00;30;36;13 Speaker 1 Me too. 00;30;38;02 - 00;30;51;14 Speaker 2 And then just in terms of kind of the advice you give, any pieces of advice, like if you were to just sit in a room with your students and they're just asking for pieces of advice for a filmmaker, what are some that you've learned kind of along your journey? 00;30;52;21 - 00;31;14;29 Speaker 1 Well, for the first part, I love teaching. Yeah. I mean, it's I think during COVID, especially as we all did during COVID, you know, there was a lot of time for reflection, and filmmaking can feel so selfish sometimes to me, where I'm asking all of these people to sort of help me realize my voice and my creative vision. 00;31;15;24 - 00;31;33;02 Speaker 1 I literally wanted to do something that just felt more fulfilling. Yeah. And that was not giving back. But I felt like I was a part of a community and helping to make a contribution. That was also something that I felt I was missing was that connection. And I think this community and in teaching is really sort of fill that gap for me. 00;31;33;02 - 00;31;58;16 Speaker 1 So and then I try to answer all questions the students ask, they ask all those kinds of questions and I think one of the nice things for me is that I'm actively making movies right now. Like I just started up a new one. So I have, you know, I try to be pretty transparent about my process, the good, the bad and the ugly in hopes that that will help prepare students in this kind of challenging market right now. 00;31;58;26 - 00;32;18;06 Speaker 2 Any advice you can going to give to the challenging market right now? Because I know it's like the you know, the industry feels ultra competitive right now. There's just a lot going on. Sometimes it does feel like every man for himself, you know, when you're trying to find like a community or collaboration. So just any advice you can give. 00;32;18;18 - 00;32;40;07 Speaker 1 Now, I've got a ton I mean, a couple would be I wouldn't fret too much. I think I think entertainment's always going to be there. People need entertainment. People need artists and voices. They need people that can help look at the world and make sense of it in ways that, you know, might like the symbolism. Yeah, that and and that's a big part of it. 00;32;40;07 - 00;33;06;07 Speaker 1 But also just I think art can really help in taking, you know, what's happening in the world in making sense of it. I was just teaching a class survey of international cinema and we were looking at two South Korean films, Burning and Parasite, which everyone's seen. But to look at how those two filmmakers explored class and, you know, socioeconomic strife, especially amongst young people in that country. 00;33;07;04 - 00;33;25;13 Speaker 1 I don't I don't think it's it's difficult to sort of draw a correlation with with some similar things that are happening, you know, worldwide. Those kinds of films help me make sense at all. So I think we need that. So I guess that's my first thing. I don't think it's going anywhere. Yeah, we all need artists, we need escape and we need people that can help us understand these issues better. 00;33;25;19 - 00;33;43;08 Speaker 1 Right? Also, I would say one, I would I would try to get a side hustle or some sort of gig. So that's not directly film related when you're jumping directly out of school, because I think it takes a little bit of time to to get yourself situated, especially if you want to be a writer, director or a producer. 00;33;43;08 - 00;34;07;06 Speaker 1 Yeah, I would work at, you know, a production company or work for a management company or an agency or or do something completely unrelated to film. But I think that's provided me a lot of stability. Yeah. So, so that I could say no to things that I don't want to do. And that's been really that's been empowering it really just to hang in there, this, this, this, this will, it'll get better. 00;34;07;06 - 00;34;12;20 Speaker 1 It really will. And this is an especially challenging time. Yeah. To try to go out and find a job but it will get better. 00;34;12;29 - 00;34;19;02 Speaker 2 Is there anything you're working on that you can tell us about or whatever's next, next project or anything? 00;34;19;06 - 00;34;48;28 Speaker 1 Yeah. So I just finished a screenplay with my co-writing this with, with a screenwriting partner called Jezebel. Jezebel is about a country country group, basically a duo brother, sister duo, Charlotte and Tyler, and they've spent years trying to make music in the middle of nowhere, Texas. And nobody cares and Charlotte is getting to a place where she's thinking of hanging it up and taking care of the ranch. 00;34;48;28 - 00;35;11;27 Speaker 1 And then one day one of their songs, Jezebel, is found playing at this horrific scene of a murder songs playing on repeat Jezebel scrawled in Blood Over Over the Windshield. And because of that, they start to grow. People start to take notice, and this band gets a little bit of life, and then they get to start opening for people in in Texas in the red dirt scene. 00;35;12;21 - 00;35;17;16 Speaker 1 And then as keep going, you know, things, things happen. And that's sort of Jezebel. 00;35;17;23 - 00;35;30;06 Speaker 2 That's exciting. All right. Good luck with that. Thank you. Wait to see. Okay. So just a little rapid fire. Is there a favorite film you've seen in the past year? 00;35;30;06 - 00;35;30;17 Speaker 1 That's a. 00;35;30;17 - 00;35;32;03 Speaker 2 Tough one that stuck out maybe. 00;35;32;17 - 00;35;34;07 Speaker 1 A new one or just any film. 00;35;34;07 - 00;35;34;14 Speaker 2 Any. 00;35;34;21 - 00;35;49;09 Speaker 1 Just because he's getting so much notoriety right now, I'm so happy for him. But Sean Baker is so good and I'm so glad he won the Palme d'Or. So glad he won Best picture. Yeah, I think people think that he's this overnight success. But but Sean Baker's been around for a really long time. 00;35;49;09 - 00;35;51;16 Speaker 2 That's such a real thing for a lot of people in the industry. 00;35;51;16 - 00;36;09;26 Speaker 1 So I like to point him out because he's not by any means an overnight success. I think. I don't don't quote me, but I think this is like his seventh, sixth or seventh movie. A lot of films that went nowhere initially. Yeah, just studying him, I think is a good case study on on what it really takes to sort of get into the film Film scene. 00;36;09;27 - 00;36;28;20 Speaker 1 Yeah. And then I love Lulu and I'm just a big fan of her work. The Farewell is one of my very favorite movies. Anybody I know, anybody who's been one of my classes knows how much I love Lulu Wang. And I also I want to point out Charlotte Wells Aftersun is a film that was made two years ago that I think more people should see. 00;36;28;28 - 00;36;35;04 Speaker 2 Awesome. And then do you have a dream actor you want to work with? Actor Does. 00;36;35;04 - 00;36;56;11 Speaker 1 You know what? I want to work with Owen Campbell again. You know, he's he was the younger brother in my short film Stay Awake. And he he was in what was the film ex tight Ty West's film with with me a goth part of that movie that did really well. I mean, he's he's been in a lot of great movies since, but it'd be a dream to work with him. 00;36;56;11 - 00;36;59;09 Speaker 2 Again and then scripted or documentary. 00;36;59;09 - 00;37;20;09 Speaker 1 What's scarier docs far and away. I to no no no contest. I think docs are so much harder in a lot of ways because I mean it depends on on your approach, right? If you do something that's more historical, right, Maybe there's you can write a script that may be more simple, but being a fly on the wall and doing something verité where you're not really sure where the story's going. 00;37;20;24 - 00;37;31;06 Speaker 1 Yeah, I mean, in the editing part of that, in the skill that it takes to find the story in the material, hats off to people who who do that constantly. 00;37;31;06 - 00;37;36;05 Speaker 2 Yeah, yeah. And then what's one piece of advice you'd give your younger self? The younger Jamie. 00;37;36;21 - 00;37;58;02 Speaker 1 Enjoy life more. Yeah. Stop. Stop being so stressed. Yeah. And and just realizing that what, you think maybe we can all relate to this. But I remember 20 years ago, I made decisions based on where the landscape was. Yeah. And it's been humbling to see over the last 20 years how much everything's changed. Right? The economy, our country. 00;37;58;17 - 00;38;07;27 Speaker 1 So just, you know, be be loose, be fluid, like be willing to adapt and enjoy that instead of be frustrated by it I think is something that I'm learning. 00;38;07;27 - 00;38;17;24 Speaker 2 Yeah that's great advice. And then just last one. I know you kind of touched on it, getting into cooking lately, but is there anything that you like to do just outside of all of this that kind of gives you a little bit of peace? 00;38;18;20 - 00;38;21;19 Speaker 1 I it's silly. I love watching movies. I just. 00;38;21;28 - 00;38;23;09 Speaker 2 That's my answer to yeah. 00;38;23;09 - 00;38;38;10 Speaker 1 I'm a big I'm a big fan of watching films and television. I mean, I'm just I'm rewatching The Wire right now for a new project I'm about to. Yeah. To write. And it's just been such a joy to sit at night and rewatch those seasons. It's it's just it's lovely. 00;38;38;13 - 00;38;39;19 Speaker 2 That's awesome. I think. 00;38;39;19 - 00;38;40;03 Speaker 1 That's lame. 00;38;40;03 - 00;38;54;09 Speaker 2 But no, no, I like to do I have that same answer honestly, because that is, I guess, what launched me into the career. But also it kind of takes me out of it sometimes. It's just like letting my head go to another space or another world or just another, you know, universe of characters. 00;38;54;09 - 00;39;06;16 Speaker 1 Well, it's nice too, because really, then your work is a joy. Like I really do genuinely enjoy what I do. Both, both filmmaking, watching films, teaching about film. Yeah, I just. I really. I really love. 00;39;06;16 - 00;39;30;03 Speaker 2 It. That's awesome. Thank you so much, Jamie, for coming on the podcast and we can't wait to see what you do. And good luck with the next project coming up. And I'm sure if anyone has any questions, please. Well, you know, drop all information in the description as well. Yeah. Take a class. Take a class, take a page out to drop what classes you teach or what class so that you know, at least just I don't think we. 00;39;30;08 - 00;39;32;20 Speaker 1 Think next semester I'm teaching, writing the short film. 00;39;32;28 - 00;39;33;03 Speaker 2 And. 00;39;33;03 - 00;39;48;22 Speaker 1 Producing awesome. And then generally, I oftentimes will teach writing the feature. So a lot of writing classes and then, you know, I taught cross-cultural cinema one semester, which was a Joy International cinema this semester. Yeah, I kind of skip around whatever, whatever's needed. 00;39;48;22 - 00;39;50;16 Speaker 2 But no, it's important. 00;39;50;16 - 00;39;54;18 Speaker 1 But thank you guys for having me. It's the other thing I wanted to say. It's really, really a pleasure. Thank you all very much. 00;39;54;18 - 00;40;12;22 Speaker 2 Really. It was an honor and pleasure. Thank you. And if you would like to donate to the School of Communication, go to give me dot American Edu. Otherwise, we will see you next time. And that's a wrap.

00;00;00;03 - 00;00;19;05

Speaker 1

Just do stuff. Right. Or if you try to do it and you think you're going to fail, that's okay, too. But honestly, if you do fail, that's okay. Have fun with it. Like this is a part of your life That is a perfect time to make mistakes. Be confident in your abilities. There's somebody out there who wants you.

 

00;00;19;09 - 00;00;35;07

Speaker 1

I'm thinking in a job. I mean, do you want to love life? Okay, that too. But like, you are good as you are right now. And because of that, you know, go try stuff. You've got an inkling of something you might want to do. Go ahead and do it and put the fear somewhere else.

 

00;00;35;24 - 00;00;48;28

Speaker 2

Welcome to Media The Mix, The only podcast produced and hosted by the School of Communication at American University. Join us as we create a safe space to explore topics and communication at the intersection of social justice.

 

00;00;48;28 - 00;00;50;11

Speaker 3

Tech innovation.

 

00;00;50;18 - 00;01;08;24

Speaker 2

And pop culture. Welcome back to meeting the mics. I'm your host, Grace Ibrahim. And today we have a very special guest, someone who's been making big moves here at American University School of Communication. She's our fearless leader, a dedicated educator and a champion for our students. So welcome, Dean Marnell. Niles, go in.

 

00;01;08;25 - 00;01;12;11

Speaker 1

Thank you for having me. I'm honored to have been invited.

 

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Speaker 2

Absolutely. And today is a very special episode because our production team behind the cameras are our students. Today, we're going to go a little bit beyond the title and get to know you on a different level. Okay? Okay. So let's get started. All right, I'm ready. So the podcast. All right. So we just want to get a little start to you and kind of how you got your intro into the world of academia communications.

 

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Speaker 2

Did you have like a distinct memory that kind of launched you into this space?

 

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Speaker 1

I there's some small memories I have when I was a kid of two brothers who are really annoying. I'm the only girl, middle child and I found them to be particularly annoying probably every day. So I just retreat to my room and read, and a lot of the things that I did included like recreating teaching environment. So I was teaching, I was putting together lesson plans.

 

00;02;07;24 - 00;02;27;06

Speaker 1

It's just, you know, that that memory in my in my brain, that was like a place of peace for me in addition to other things, right? Like, you know, I would do carpentry with my dad or or paint or draw or, you know, I created a news letter. But all those things were often me in moments where I was teaching.

 

00;02;27;07 - 00;02;45;17

Speaker 1

Yeah. I did not directly think I was going to be an educator. A lot of folks in my family are educators, and so I shied away from it. But I was in moments where I needed a little, little bit of reprieve. But I found myself doing some things that were related to education. But but even still, I want to be an artist.

 

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Speaker 1

Oh, wow. Yeah. Yeah. I'm going to be an artist.

 

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Speaker 2

Was there like, a specific art that you were drawn to?

 

00;02;51;22 - 00;03;11;06

Speaker 1

I love to paint. Even now, I don't have much time. I just write, you know, I love to paint. And so, you know, I did some, like, more College of Art when I was in high school. My art teacher was like, You should go to New York. And I don't know if most of our listeners know. You know, my parents are not from the United States of America.

 

00;03;11;06 - 00;03;18;03

Speaker 1

They are from another country. And they were like, No, yeah, this is that's cute, but this is.

 

00;03;18;21 - 00;03;18;26

Speaker 2

Not.

 

00;03;19;06 - 00;03;36;21

Speaker 1

Right. This is not what you're going to be doing here. We came to this country for you to be some artist in New York. So they never actually gave me all the compliments that the teachers they gave me. And so I ended up wanting to do graphic design in undergrad, but I went to a small college, and graphic design was in the communication department.

 

00;03;37;01 - 00;03;50;09

Speaker 1

And and so it kind of went from there. I took a class in, I think, intercultural communication, then another one and like public speaking. And then I was I was like, oh, you know, graphic design. Let's move on from that and think about comp theory.

 

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Speaker 2

That's awesome.

 

00;03;50;25 - 00;03;52;17

Speaker 1

And and that kind of paved the way.

 

00;03;52;18 - 00;04;01;16

Speaker 2

That's very cool. And then just in terms of now you're at SC, what is there anything that drew you to the school communications, anything that you feel that you were like, I really want to be here?

 

00;04;01;16 - 00;04;24;26

Speaker 1

Yes. Yes. So it's interesting because before I was here, I was at a another university in Arlington, Virginia. So not too far. Yeah. Marymount Universe. And I was the dean of the College of Sciences and Humanities, so I had communication, but I also had biomedical engineering and mechanical engineering. And we started those programs and we were starting social work in the sciences and humanities and so many programs.

 

00;04;24;26 - 00;04;48;12

Speaker 1

It was really, really quite wonderful. The faculty there and the students were phenomenal and then I saw the job opening at ASU for communication. I was like, You know, I have not been with only com scholars for a little while now. I am at the time I was, I think, first vice president of the National Communication Association and then president last year.

 

00;04;48;12 - 00;05;13;18

Speaker 1

Now I'm past president and that's when I kind of got my comm through. And then I saw the job and I was like, you know, let me just see. And then I went on the interview and everybody was wonderful. Everyone told the same story about SLC from the president at the time to the provost, to the students, the faculty, even the alarms about how wonderful SLC is and has always been.

 

00;05;13;19 - 00;05;18;08

Speaker 1

I was like, All right, that's great, I'll do it. Yeah. Yeah. I felt really well. Have you. Thank you.

 

00;05;18;08 - 00;05;27;24

Speaker 2

Thank you. And then just in terms of that, it's been a few months now settled into the role. What excites you about it? And then also, is there anything you're looking forward to doing?

 

00;05;28;15 - 00;05;40;03

Speaker 1

Yes. So I'll say I got my master's in piece in organizational and small group communication. Yes. And so my brain works in terms of like making sense of things.

 

00;05;40;03 - 00;05;40;13

Speaker 2

Yes.

 

00;05;41;05 - 00;06;02;07

Speaker 1

A lot of different things that, you know, for many people, including my husband, he's like, you're doing too much. Like, I can't this is this is too much. But the stuff that I do every day in this role fits with how my brain works. Yeah. So making sense of what the faculty are doing with their scholarship is the research that they're doing, the phenomenal students.

 

00;06;02;14 - 00;06;19;01

Speaker 1

That's one of the real thrills, like going to classes and talking to them and seeing them in the hallway, you know, say what you're doing and yeah, did you get that project on? And while it's a lot of problem solving, it really fits with how I make sense of the world. And, and so coming in the office is fun.

 

00;06;19;12 - 00;06;38;10

Speaker 1

Now when I get home, I am my brain is exhausted, so everybody needs to act right at that point. But coming here, it's like there's not a day where I feel as if I'm not doing what I'm supposed to be doing, even when there are some difficult decisions that need to be made, even when they're happy moments, it's all like, All right, yeah, yeah, that's great.

 

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Speaker 2

That's a parent, too. So no, thank you. We appreciate that. And then I'm going to throw in one, two, one fun question here. In terms of like SC, do you have like a dream major? You would add to SC or a dream class?

 

00;06;49;12 - 00;07;06;24

Speaker 1

So I am a nerd. I just say that like I told you that I studied organizational and small group communication and my minor was math. Like, I have loved math from the time I was a kid. My brother and I, my younger brother and I have like a competition of like who was going to do better. On the AP calculus.

 

00;07;06;24 - 00;07;29;18

Speaker 1

And I won. He's a math teacher right now. And I just want the world to know that I beat him and he's a year younger than me. So. So the classes that I think of, Yeah, are really a little nerdy, like because I can make sense of the world through, like, art. Yeah. And math and communication. It would be something related to like, you know, the art of math, which would not fit in SLC at all.

 

00;07;29;18 - 00;07;46;06

Speaker 1

Right. I mean, I guess I could make it fit, but that would be like no one would take, but I would just put together like all of my loves, like, you know, math. So, you know, give me a budget. I got. Yeah. Art, you know, painting and then something with com so if I could find a good way to put that together that would be great.

 

00;07;46;22 - 00;07;50;04

Speaker 1

There would be no waitlist. So because no one would still be taking it.

 

00;07;50;05 - 00;08;01;03

Speaker 2

You know, in terms of production, though, you'd be surprised how many numbers come up like it really is like allocating budgets and understanding that like we might run out of money and we ought to give you do that to prioritize.

 

00;08;01;03 - 00;08;02;00

Speaker 1

And that decision.

 

00;08;02;00 - 00;08;15;10

Speaker 2

Is a real thing. I was a math major when I first came to you. You know, I guess I didn't have very long. Oh, it didn't last very long. But I love math. I it's it's that mean girls quote. It's the same in every country. I think it's very poetic right Because to.

 

00;08;15;10 - 00;08;34;18

Speaker 1

Me, I mean, it's about sense making, right? So with math, that's what it's about. Like making sense of the numbers with art, it's also for me, like visually making sense of it. And I just never had to, like, separate the two. It was always like, All right, well, I'm really good at math. And, you know, I would have been a math major, but I want to graduate early.

 

00;08;34;18 - 00;08;40;23

Speaker 1

And, you know, I really love art. And so it was always like even at home, I okay. To love all those things.

 

00;08;40;23 - 00;08;51;12

Speaker 2

Yeah, that's great. Actually, for me, I do remember it was statistics that made me Oh, it was. I put that to the. Oh yeah, it was. It was a tough one. It's a tough guy. I love you. Loves this.

 

00;08;51;18 - 00;08;54;27

Speaker 1

So I did my first class was in grad school.

 

00;08;54;27 - 00;08;55;12

Speaker 2

Oh, wow.

 

00;08;55;12 - 00;08;57;18

Speaker 1

Okay. And I was. Yes, I really enjoyed.

 

00;08;57;18 - 00;09;20;12

Speaker 2

It, love. That's okay. So we're learning new things about you. I love that. So there is. And of course, now we're going to kind of go into the realistic aspect of that. But as the new dean, do you have any initiatives that you plan to introduce at American University to kind of support the idea of diversity inclusion? I know we're we're this year we are doing a lot of campaigns related to ICE.

 

00;09;20;14 - 00;09;21;17

Speaker 2

Is there anything there?

 

00;09;21;21 - 00;09;51;21

Speaker 1

Yes. So, you know, it's really interesting. One of the things that drew me to American University was how the student body is represented there from so many different countries. They have so many different interests and how the faculty support them. And one of the struggles that we're having right now in terms of some of our community programs that we work with is that they are struggling as well financially.

 

00;09;51;21 - 00;10;25;03

Speaker 1

And so some of our community partners, you know, are like, Yeah, we wish we could, but we don't have the the budget to be able to sustain like opportunities for our students. One of my dreams is to really build that back up and that would be more external facing a less internal. The faculty have like when I say brilliant staff, brilliant ideas of of what we can do to bring in more students and bring in more revenue when they're especially good at having the students network and have connections.

 

00;10;25;09 - 00;10;47;04

Speaker 1

But one thing that we are starting to struggle with is that these networks are starting to dry up, especially in the D.C. area. You know, real estate is up. We don't have as many students going to college nowadays is what they're telling us. And then how people view communication, the value of it for journalism, for film, you know, the industry is changing.

 

00;10;47;07 - 00;11;18;17

Speaker 1

And so as it affects our community partners, it's going to affect the student experience. So if I could just like, create this wonderful, exciting initiative, it'll be something where we have this direct connection with our community partners because that is where our students learn how to be not just experts, but experts in the field, right? Like yesterday, the Anacostia Film Festival, we had a showing of one of the films on campus, and it was wonderful.

 

00;11;18;17 - 00;11;40;00

Speaker 1

It was run the Hope Work was what? The documentary. I'm sure I have their backwards. It might be a whole run work. You could look it up. Yeah. And, and it was just amazing how some of our SLC film and media art students are working with these community groups and that is how you learn how to care for other people.

 

00;11;40;00 - 00;11;58;16

Speaker 1

That is not just where you learn how to put the stuff that you've learned on campus in the community, but it's also how you learn how to be a better person. Yeah, So when you're out here in ten and 20 years and your managers like that's how you learn how to treat people. Yeah, it's how you learn, you know, how to deal with somebody who comes in to work late.

 

00;11;58;24 - 00;12;16;00

Speaker 1

It's how you learn, how you know, somebody has a bad attitude. And that doesn't always mean you have to get it. Attitude back is how you learn how to have compassion and why you learn that here at a you, it's when you go out into the community and when you work with various groups that you learn how to be a real leader.

 

00;12;16;00 - 00;12;31;16

Speaker 1

Yeah. And also how you learn in a sense how to be led because it doesn't mean that you go out there in a, you know, a way where you're authoritarian and you're like, Yeah, I know how to run this. I've got this new education, right? The people know more than we do often, and we've got to learn from other folks in our community as well.

 

00;12;31;16 - 00;12;57;09

Speaker 1

And so that would be my dream if we could really solidify partnerships, if they weren't going away as much, if they could get the financial backing. And what else I will say of the students are not short of opportunities for even with some of that decreasing the jobs that they're getting, the internships they're getting, the work that they're doing in our community groups is just something that I am in awe of, frankly.

 

00;12;57;10 - 00;13;01;08

Speaker 2

That sometimes they create their own opportunities. Yeah, they do. Really, really impressive. Yeah.

 

00;13;01;09 - 00;13;06;08

Speaker 1

They'll stop me in the hallway like, Hey, I did this. I'm sure you saw my emails to me. I will watch it online.

 

00;13;06;11 - 00;13;29;00

Speaker 2

That's awesome. That's awesome. And you did say something that I kind of want to touch on of, you know, we're being told that not many kids are going to college nowadays. And I know with just technology continuing to advance in AI and all this stuff, there is this sense of, well, I can just teach myself. But do you have any insight onto kind of the importance of formal education and why that could, you know, being in the classroom, interacting with other peers and students?

 

00;13;29;00 - 00;13;30;04

Speaker 2

What's the importance of that?

 

00;13;30;04 - 00;13;49;12

Speaker 1

Yes, you know, I, I don't want to sound like, oh, I've been in academia for a lot. I mean, I have. Right. But there's also something we can learn from students saying, Hey, I can learn about this online and how we offer courses and what we're offering. But college is also about relationships. It's about the networking, it's about challenging yourself.

 

00;13;49;16 - 00;14;09;13

Speaker 1

So I'll say one thing, like with social media, which is wonderful, but it shows you what you want to show, right? And I'll give you an example. You know, I'm from Philadelphia, so, you know, by way of that that I love the Eagles. Right? And so when I am scrolling through what's coming up, it's all equals clips, Super Bowl highlights, going to see Champions highlights.

 

00;14;09;13 - 00;14;33;12

Speaker 1

I'm going to click on all of them. I want to like them. Yeah. What I'm not seeing is anything about the Chiefs, right? Right. I'm not seeing anything about the commanders. I'm not seeing anything about the Rams. I'm saying stuff about Philly, Right. And I'm liking it. Yeah, I'm happy. Yeah. But I'm also not challenging myself. I would have to be proactive and go to, like, the Kansas City Chiefs social media pages for me to go there and to challenge myself.

 

00;14;33;12 - 00;14;54;29

Speaker 1

Right. So in the age where we get to be surrounded by things that will make us comfortable, the college environment teaches us how to be around things that make us uncomfortable right? How to understand different perspectives, how to humanize people, how to not be angry when you know, like you are social me. You can get angry really quickly, right?

 

00;14;54;29 - 00;15;12;28

Speaker 1

You know, and you see the worst of people. Yeah, but that's not what real life is like. It teaches you how to disagree, right? Being in college, it teaches you how to advocate for yourself. If you get a grade you don't love, but also how to get someone to, you know, really mentor you in a way that is beyond something you can get online.

 

00;15;13;18 - 00;15;33;24

Speaker 1

And so I'll say the experiences of a college setting cannot be replicated by taking like a class when you're by yourself online. And the other thing I'll say is sometimes many times you've got skills and talents that sometimes other people see. A we don't. And online you're doing, you know, you're watching a YouTube video, which is wonderful, right?

 

00;15;33;24 - 00;15;58;28

Speaker 1

Yeah. I'm trying to figure out what to do with this toilet. I can be a, you know, any kind of person who, who, who, you know, studies how to fix toilets, I think. Right. And the say at the same time, if I'm saying, hey, you know, Mardell, you've got this skill, you should really hone in on this. That's not something that I would necessarily know myself unless someone told me.

 

00;15;59;09 - 00;16;15;11

Speaker 1

MARNELL You'd be a great artist, right? You're really good at math. If it was just me, I'd be online looking at like, you know, carpentry, right? Or out of the toilets or whatever. And I'd be good at it. Yeah, but there's some skills that other people might see and can pour into. You that you need to be in a college environment for that to happen.

 

00;16;15;14 - 00;16;16;08

Speaker 2

You can also learn from.

 

00;16;16;08 - 00;16;22;13

Speaker 1

You can also learn from it. Yeah. And also there's a whole aspect of like, you know, living in a dorm, That's how you learn how to do somebody else's hair.

 

00;16;22;15 - 00;16;23;18

Speaker 2

That's yeah.

 

00;16;23;28 - 00;16;42;10

Speaker 1

You know. Yeah. And like, I remember, you know, dyeing my roommate's hair. How can you have it? A chair is at home, you know, messing up her hair. And I tried to get her back. Was there some disasters that happen in college that you need to get that experience and then fail? Yeah. It's not until you try to cut one of your friends hair.

 

00;16;42;10 - 00;16;50;24

Speaker 1

You just. Yeah, you had to do a hat for a little while and what? But now I know that that's not a skill that you, that I.

 

00;16;50;24 - 00;17;02;25

Speaker 2

Yeah, Yeah. We were talking about the other day I had my college roommate pierced both my ears, so it's like. Yes, yes. I was the second one. It was the, the one. It was okay. To her credit, she did great.

 

00;17;03;04 - 00;17;03;13

Speaker 1

It was.

 

00;17;03;13 - 00;17;08;21

Speaker 2

Fine. Suddenly it's you know, it's it is true. It's things like that, though, like really to build character.

 

00;17;08;21 - 00;17;14;19

Speaker 1

A little bit builds character and that's how you learn how to fail. Yeah. Like at home, when I'm doing stuff, I'm doing stuff that I feel comfortable with.

 

00;17;14;19 - 00;17;15;03

Speaker 2

Yes.

 

00;17;15;03 - 00;17;18;26

Speaker 1

And in college you have to fail. You have to succeed at things you never thought you.

 

00;17;18;26 - 00;17;20;02

Speaker 2

Would get out of your home, get out.

 

00;17;20;02 - 00;17;22;12

Speaker 1

Of your comfort zone and then just, you know, have a little.

 

00;17;22;12 - 00;17;31;07

Speaker 2

Fun. Yeah, that's so true. And have a little another fun follow up question to this. All right. If you could go back and give your college self a piece of advice, what would that be?

 

00;17;31;07 - 00;17;38;06

Speaker 1

Well, you know, you know, folks have like recurring nightmare. Yeah. Yes. I'll tell you, this is why I'm in there. My reoccurring nightmares that I failed a math class.

 

00;17;38;06 - 00;17;40;10

Speaker 2

Oh, no, no.

 

00;17;40;10 - 00;18;01;09

Speaker 1

You go back. I'm like, Oh, my gosh. So anyway, my my college self, I might say, go ahead and do that, major. Like, don't graduate early. Maybe just go ahead and major in math. That should be fun to have a fun a fun piece of advice for me. But it's really like, you know, why not be a double major?

 

00;18;01;09 - 00;18;06;15

Speaker 1

You don't need to graduate that early. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I told you, I'm a nerd. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

 

00;18;06;25 - 00;18;24;26

Speaker 2

No, it's fine. It's fine. That's great. And then obviously, just on the the idea of what we're doing today, this experiential learning opportunity. Yes. What's your advice for associates, students? On that note, just how to get involved? Is there anything just as Dean, that you kind of want to get the message out there about?

 

00;18;25;11 - 00;18;46;00

Speaker 1

You know, one of the things, as I mentioned, I have two brothers, right? And so one of the things having two brothers and parents from another country, I just didn't have fear as a that was not my first emotion. So my suggestion is to try new things and just like do it like, I remember when I was like, you know what?

 

00;18;46;14 - 00;19;03;19

Speaker 1

I will learn how to ride a motorcycle, right? And then I got my motorcycle license. Did you really? I did. I absolutely. Don't ask me how to if I know how to do it now, but it was like, just go ahead and do it. You know, there's another time where there's this job opening at the FBI for Special Agent.

 

00;19;03;19 - 00;19;21;05

Speaker 1

And that's why I did all the, you know, polygraph, all the tests. I got it. I did. I was like, should I be a special agent? Anyway, the point is, just do stuff. Yeah, right. Yeah. If you expect to do it or if you try to do it and you think you're going to fail, yeah, that's okay too.

 

00;19;21;22 - 00;19;42;01

Speaker 1

And honestly, if you do fail, that's okay. Have fun with it. Like, this is a part of your life that is a perfect time to make mistakes. Yeah, right. You, you know, you could try it, you could fail, can not work out. Try something else that doesn't work out. Try something else. Be confident in your abilities. There's somebody out there who wants you.

 

00;19;42;02 - 00;19;58;22

Speaker 1

I'm thinking in a job, but, I mean, if you want the love life, then that too. Yeah, but like, you are good as you are right now. And because of that, you know, go try stuff. If you got an inkling of something you might want to do, go ahead and do it and put the fear somewhere else.

 

00;19;58;23 - 00;19;59;03

Speaker 2

Yeah.

 

00;19;59;13 - 00;20;12;03

Speaker 1

Do it scared and like, Yeah. And then if you fail, like, that's just a wonderful opportunity for you to keep trying, you know, not to put football lingo, but look at, you know, Jalen hurts. We played the Chiefs a couple of years.

 

00;20;12;03 - 00;20;13;10

Speaker 2

I was going to ask you about the Super Bowl.

 

00;20;13;18 - 00;20;30;25

Speaker 1

Yeah. Yeah. He you know, he didn't win and he came back and did it again. Or look at any sports analogy, any life analogy. You can see like, you know, do a scared do it. Nervous. Yeah. Go out in the community, make some big changes. Yeah. And, and learn from it. That's the whole point of this life.

 

00;20;30;28 - 00;20;32;10

Speaker 2

That's just to learn that and to.

 

00;20;32;10 - 00;20;35;19

Speaker 1

Become better humans. I didn't do it. If you do it when you're comfortable, right?

 

00;20;35;21 - 00;20;47;22

Speaker 2

I didn't realize that until I was a little bit older. Kind of teach giving back and teaching. Yes, I realize I teach more from my failures than I do my success because there's so much more to teach you there than there is. But it's like everything goes great and it's all right.

 

00;20;47;23 - 00;20;50;00

Speaker 1

If everything was great and we would be horrible humans.

 

00;20;50;00 - 00;20;51;23

Speaker 2

Yes. Yeah, that's true. That's true.

 

00;20;51;23 - 00;21;04;23

Speaker 1

That's probably the worst. If life was perfect, I don't even know if I would be here right now. I'd be somewhere in Fiji. I'm too good for this. Right? But that's what the values are. Teaches you how to humanize people, how to care for people.

 

00;21;04;23 - 00;21;19;11

Speaker 2

Yes. And to your point about being in the classroom, being surrounded by your peers, I feel like it kind of teaches you the idea of just never be the smartest one in the room, kind of like, you know, there's a bunch of minds put them together. We said that today. We were like, Let's use all of our minds and put them together and, you know, rip off each other.

 

00;21;19;11 - 00;21;20;03

Speaker 2

And it's yeah.

 

00;21;20;11 - 00;21;36;14

Speaker 1

And honestly, that's what being a dean is. It's leading, but it's not commanding people based on, you know, like my brilliance. I don't know everything, right, Mike? The faculty know, the staff know the students, know society, the trends that are going on. It's my job to be aware of it and to make sense of it and to lead it.

 

00;21;36;24 - 00;21;38;15

Speaker 1

But I'm not the smartest one in the room.

 

00;21;39;06 - 00;21;42;18

Speaker 2

I love that. That's great advice. I want to do some fun questions. Okay.

 

00;21;43;12 - 00;21;45;16

Speaker 1

I'm trying not to be a nerd. All right. Let's go.

 

00;21;45;19 - 00;21;47;05

Speaker 2

First of all, congratulations on the Super Bowl.

 

00;21;47;07 - 00;21;54;04

Speaker 1

Thank you very much. You know, I worked really hard to get us there. And so I am grateful to all of the people who supported me.

 

00;21;55;10 - 00;22;00;10

Speaker 2

Do do you do anything fun for you? Have a little Super Bowl party, You know, So.

 

00;22;00;22 - 00;22;10;28

Speaker 1

You know, my family, as I mentioned, born in Philly, but my parents are from another country, Barbados and Jamaica. But I watch it at home. Yeah. Because I need I need to watch it in peace.

 

00;22;10;28 - 00;22;12;02

Speaker 2

I figure that's.

 

00;22;12;04 - 00;22;20;29

Speaker 1

Like I don't need disruptions. I don't need you, you know? So my family, my husband and my kids were there. And yeah, I need some silence. And, you know, on the family check.

 

00;22;20;29 - 00;22;22;12

Speaker 2

Yes, we had a.

 

00;22;22;12 - 00;22;27;13

Speaker 1

Yes, yes, yes. I really had a good time that day. I wore a jersey the next day.

 

00;22;27;29 - 00;22;29;15

Speaker 2

So I guess. Yeah. Yeah.

 

00;22;29;15 - 00;22;34;01

Speaker 1

With I had a blazer over it so I did look professional and yeah.

 

00;22;34;09 - 00;22;37;11

Speaker 2

I feel like after the day after Super Bowl, it's should be a pass, you know.

 

00;22;37;22 - 00;22;43;16

Speaker 1

Educate. I thought about where. Yeah. There's the every day. Yeah. And then I thought that might be a little overkill that.

 

00;22;43;24 - 00;22;50;17

Speaker 2

We would have give it to you. It's okay. We have a fun question here, but if you could trade places with any Eagles player for a day, who would that be?

 

00;22;51;02 - 00;22;57;14

Speaker 1

Is it during football season or is this during like, you know, now that I have the money and I'm going on vacation?

 

00;22;57;15 - 00;22;59;07

Speaker 2

Oh, that's a good ques contract.

 

00;22;59;07 - 00;23;03;06

Speaker 1

Do I want or whose physical play do I want to engage in?

 

00;23;03;13 - 00;23;04;20

Speaker 2

Both.

 

00;23;04;20 - 00;23;14;09

Speaker 1

Okay, well, I would probably say Jalen hurts. Okay? It was not football season because, you know, he has a big contract and so I would be on vacation.

 

00;23;14;13 - 00;23;16;00

Speaker 2

I love right now I'm not here doing this.

 

00;23;16;16 - 00;23;40;05

Speaker 1

Well, you know, I just I would zoom in. I would zoom in. But if I were a player, maybe Micah back then, big ticket because he's huge and he has a one year contract and he just you know, he got released from the Jets recently and just his picture of him and his son enjoying the Super Bowl was great.

 

00;23;40;05 - 00;23;45;07

Speaker 1

Plus, he's just big, right? And I was just like he knocked people down. And that seems like that would be fun.

 

00;23;45;07 - 00;23;45;22

Speaker 2

That's awesome.

 

00;23;45;29 - 00;23;46;17

Speaker 1

People down.

 

00;23;46;17 - 00;23;47;13

Speaker 2

Yeah. Yeah. Just like.

 

00;23;47;13 - 00;23;53;16

Speaker 1

Yes, not in McKinley, right? So I just want to put that out there. This would be on a football field.

 

00;23;54;24 - 00;24;06;14

Speaker 2

This is strictly strictly football. Oh, that's awesome. So your your love for sneakers? Oh, yes. That's a thing I feel like everyone should know about.

 

00;24;06;15 - 00;24;08;24

Speaker 1

I do love sneakers. Yes.

 

00;24;08;24 - 00;24;14;15

Speaker 2

How do you get started? Was it just like you just be like this comfortable, but also fashion forward. And I want to keep going.

 

00;24;14;25 - 00;24;34;10

Speaker 1

A little bit. Yeah, because I remember going sneaker shopping with my dad. So in middle school and high school, I love sneakers. And then I think maybe I took a break or maybe I did it. I remember in college too, I wear a lot of different sneakers. And then there was a point where I was like, You know, I just want to wear sneakers.

 

00;24;35;00 - 00;24;53;02

Speaker 1

And when I was a professor, you know, you can dress down. And once I became a dean was like, Oh, wait, I've got to like, dress up. So I took it for a little bit and then I realized, okay, I can actually wear some Jordan's with this suit. Yeah. So I was starting to do that. But one thing I will say that most people don't know is that I had two hip replacements.

 

00;24;53;23 - 00;25;13;12

Speaker 1

Yeah. So 20, 20, I had a hip replacement, and in 2022 I had the other ones. So I also could really use that as a great excuse. Yeah. To say, Oh man, I'm unable to wear these high heels, I've got to get another pair, you know, a dunks or something like that, just because, you know it's what's my accommodation.

 

00;25;13;24 - 00;25;17;17

Speaker 2

Was in say what's a fun fact about you that most people don't know. I do.

 

00;25;18;04 - 00;25;19;09

Speaker 1

I know I've got hear.

 

00;25;19;28 - 00;25;22;00

Speaker 2

That but it's a fact.

 

00;25;22;12 - 00;25;38;22

Speaker 1

When I'm going through like security they they are very judgy. Yeah okay because I do remember going through one time and I heard the person ask elderly woman in front of me like, do you have any joint replacements? And this is at the airport. And she was like, No, I'm okay. And then she saw me. She's like, Come on through.

 

00;25;38;22 - 00;25;46;08

Speaker 1

I was like, You have any questions you might want to ask me? She's like, No, you're too young for that. And I was like, Go.

 

00;25;46;20 - 00;25;47;12

Speaker 2

I was like.

 

00;25;47;18 - 00;25;52;29

Speaker 1

Actually, you should probably ask. And then she kicked me out the line. I had to go. So she went through another line.

 

00;25;53;15 - 00;25;55;03

Speaker 2

No TSA stuff.

 

00;25;55;03 - 00;26;09;02

Speaker 1

Just I just go, TSA, get it together. That's really that's a, you know, fun fact. Yeah. Though if you know, if I've got a cane or a walker, like after the surgery, people are super nice. Oh, yeah. So that was that was.

 

00;26;09;02 - 00;26;17;17

Speaker 2

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And then I guess back to the sneakers. Yeah. If you could only wear one pair of sneakers. Yeah. Which ones would they be?

 

00;26;18;07 - 00;26;32;27

Speaker 1

Uh, I so Jordan ones are most comfortable, okay. And I would probably. I would probably wear my mochas. Yeah. Yes. But then those are also, like, one of my favorite, so I try not to wear them all the time.

 

00;26;32;27 - 00;26;33;13

Speaker 2

Right, right, right.

 

00;26;33;13 - 00;26;38;01

Speaker 1

But I keep them for. Yeah, but if I had to wear one every day. Yeah. They're comfortable.

 

00;26;38;01 - 00;26;41;09

Speaker 2

That's like the problem with new sneakers. I'm always like, I just want to look at them. But then.

 

00;26;41;09 - 00;26;42;10

Speaker 1

Yes, you have to wear.

 

00;26;42;10 - 00;26;42;19

Speaker 2

Them.

 

00;26;42;23 - 00;26;47;22

Speaker 1

And then take a break and forget about them. Yes. And then, you know, say, Oh, wait.

 

00;26;47;22 - 00;26;48;21

Speaker 2

I have this closet.

 

00;26;48;21 - 00;26;49;28

Speaker 1

Yes, absolutely.

 

00;26;49;29 - 00;26;55;00

Speaker 2

Love that. And then what's the last TV show you binge watched?

 

00;26;55;19 - 00;26;58;18

Speaker 1

This is does not include football or does it?

 

00;26;59;04 - 00;27;01;18

Speaker 2

I mean, it could be good.

 

00;27;01;26 - 00;27;07;03

Speaker 1

Because the last time I watched the Super Bowl was, I think Monday.

 

00;27;07;03 - 00;27;08;03

Speaker 2

Wow. Okay.

 

00;27;08;07 - 00;27;09;17

Speaker 1

And the last time I watched Highlight.

 

00;27;09;17 - 00;27;10;00

Speaker 2

Yeah.

 

00;27;10;05 - 00;27;32;13

Speaker 1

Was last night. Oh, wow. You had to do different highlights, right? You got to do, you know, Eagles chiefs and then you got to if you want to go back, you could do Eagles commanders and go back a little bit more and Eagles rams. Yeah, right. And so it depends what I'm feeling because the other thing I'll say, I've got three kids, so they're young, they're 11, nine and seven.

 

00;27;32;18 - 00;27;41;15

Speaker 1

So when I'm watching stuff, I tend to have to watch it and then like pause, Yeah. So I need to do something with, you know, it's low stakes. Yes. Something that I know.

 

00;27;41;17 - 00;27;42;02

Speaker 2

Yes.

 

00;27;42;02 - 00;28;01;06

Speaker 1

The ending to something like five minute increments, because even after they're in bed, are they really asleep? No, they're not. But but I'll say that some of the shows that I did, I recently finished watching, um, Harlem. I'm doing The Recruit.

 

00;28;01;20 - 00;28;02;17

Speaker 2

I love the recruit.

 

00;28;02;22 - 00;28;07;04

Speaker 1

And you did? Okay. So good. I think I and then my agent.

 

00;28;07;14 - 00;28;08;26

Speaker 2

And I just.

 

00;28;08;26 - 00;28;21;05

Speaker 1

Oh, the problem is I'm like, wait a minute, didn't this just happen? That happens. Who cares? Just completely confused. This is. I needed a week in between. Yes. Because right now I'm doing the night shift and I'm like, Wait, I thought he was dating the person in Korea.

 

00;28;21;05 - 00;28;22;05

Speaker 2

I feel like I'm I'm like.

 

00;28;22;05 - 00;28;23;05

Speaker 1

Wait, no, that's a different.

 

00;28;23;05 - 00;28;29;13

Speaker 2

Show. I know they are kind of a parallel storylines. So it's almost like, okay, yes, yes. That didn't happen in the show.

 

00;28;29;13 - 00;28;40;18

Speaker 1

It happened in the other. Right. Right. And because you're like, for me, low stakes like I mean, I've been in one episode of Night Asia for like three days. Yeah, let me do 5 minutes. And then, you know.

 

00;28;40;20 - 00;28;41;03

Speaker 2

I know.

 

00;28;41;07 - 00;28;43;26

Speaker 1

If they die. Okay, If they don't also. Yeah.

 

00;28;43;28 - 00;28;45;13

Speaker 2

Okay. Yeah, yeah.

 

00;28;45;18 - 00;28;46;02

Speaker 1

Yes.

 

00;28;46;05 - 00;28;48;11

Speaker 2

I have a problem staying awake, too. There's like.

 

00;28;48;22 - 00;28;51;16

Speaker 1

There's that.

 

00;28;51;16 - 00;28;53;19

Speaker 2

Is it just football? Are you a fan of other sport?

 

00;28;54;02 - 00;29;18;29

Speaker 1

Well, I, I do love basketball and I'll say that. Okay. This is gonna make me sound like so sad. In 2001. Yeah, it was the Eagles. I mean, the Eagles. It was a Sixers Lakers. Okay. And the NBA Finals. Game one, you know, we won game one. We lost the rest of the games. And like, I remember that, you know, feeling so hopeful and happy.

 

00;29;18;29 - 00;29;38;13

Speaker 1

And I remember hating Toronto Blue. I don't know if you remember that. I just look it up. I just remember that's back in the Iverson days that we lost. We lost and my heart was crushed. Everybody in Philly, you know, Philly fans are terrible but wonderful, right? And everybody in Philly was so sad. And I just said at that moment, I need to take a little bit of a break from from basketball.

 

00;29;38;13 - 00;29;41;09

Speaker 1

But I can't do sadness and multiple sports.

 

00;29;41;09 - 00;29;41;25

Speaker 2

Right, Right, right.

 

00;29;41;27 - 00;29;50;00

Speaker 1

This is just really affecting my life. Yeah. So I took a break from basketball, so I watch basketball now. I've done the guest coaching for the air. You mentioned.

 

00;29;50;24 - 00;29;51;17

Speaker 2

How it was.

 

00;29;51;17 - 00;30;08;23

Speaker 1

Great and I was like, you know, let me not be Philly. It's all, you know, right now. So let me be, you know, DeMar Now, in this moment, let me not bring back 2001. Yeah. And, and so I still love basketball but not I don't watch it like I did back then because I just needed one sport to.

 

00;30;08;23 - 00;30;11;16

Speaker 1

Yeah. Be sad about or Yeah yeah.

 

00;30;11;18 - 00;30;11;26

Speaker 2

Yes.

 

00;30;11;27 - 00;30;12;15

Speaker 1

Too much going.

 

00;30;12;29 - 00;30;15;08

Speaker 2

Really like takes a lot out of you.

 

00;30;15;23 - 00;30;19;15

Speaker 1

Yes. Yes. That was a bad feeling. It was a bad feeling. You know.

 

00;30;19;16 - 00;30;26;26

Speaker 2

I do want to hear a little bit more about how the guest coaching went with our basketball team was what did you get to do and how was that?

 

00;30;26;26 - 00;30;48;15

Speaker 1

Yeah. So Duane Simkins is the the coach. He's really wonderful. And then Kristi Plungers, Oh, who is one of the assistant deans, came with me. So every time it's something athletics, I'm like, Let's go. Kristi We're doing. Yeah. So we got there. We got to watch them warm up on the court. We got to go into the locker room for the pre-game speech during halftime.

 

00;30;48;15 - 00;31;03;25

Speaker 1

The post-game speech as well as like, get into every huddle. Yeah. So we were we were worn like, you know, we huddle a lot, you know, a lot of timeouts. You can go into any huddle. You want, you can sit and relax. Yeah. Kristi and I every huddle like y'all get. We're getting up to this like, Yeah, go team.

 

00;31;04;23 - 00;31;21;05

Speaker 1

And then they even invited us to eat after I was like, we have to go. Like, we've been here for hours. We've got an after dinner outfit, have the office. Yeah. And we had the Athletics Hall of Fame dinner. Wow. With our honoring, you know, our new athletes inducted into the Hall of Fame. And so it was really wonderful.

 

00;31;21;05 - 00;31;28;17

Speaker 1

So now I feel like I know them because I'm dreaming the crowd, and I'm like, okay, let's just condemn. Yeah, let's. You know.

 

00;31;29;01 - 00;31;29;23

Speaker 2

I feel really used.

 

00;31;29;24 - 00;31;35;07

Speaker 1

To the feelings of this guy. And and so but it was it was really quite fun this time.

 

00;31;35;11 - 00;31;37;25

Speaker 2

I know he's on to pictures of and I was like, that looks like a good time.

 

00;31;37;25 - 00;31;58;13

Speaker 1

It was it was courtside seats like you're right there with the team So fun. Yeah, they're the coaches. They are really inspirational. You know, they've got to, like, tell them not just, you know, fix what you're doing, but also to do it in a way where we'll be the players will be inspired. Yeah, I was yeah, I was very thrilled to be there.

 

00;31;58;28 - 00;32;02;27

Speaker 2

One last question here to wrap it up just on our sports talk, do you have a favorite sports movie?

 

00;32;03;06 - 00;32;12;18

Speaker 1

Well, okay, So, you know, Philly, I guess we've got to go Iraqi. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Does that tell you how old I am? Like the rocky steps. So Rocky one still.

 

00;32;12;18 - 00;32;13;02

Speaker 2

Holds.

 

00;32;13;24 - 00;32;21;14

Speaker 1

Our, you know, Rocky one through four. Yes, The new ones, you know, I know. Like Michael B Jordan is in. Yeah. Like everybody loves him. Yeah, but, you know.

 

00;32;21;20 - 00;32;21;24

Speaker 2

They're.

 

00;32;22;01 - 00;32;24;16

Speaker 1

The original. Yeah. Rocky, you a.

 

00;32;24;27 - 00;32;25;20

Speaker 2

There's something to it.

 

00;32;25;21 - 00;32;39;26

Speaker 1

There's something to it. Yeah. They're really, really. Yeah. Which is also why when another team who is in opposition of any Philly team. Yeah. They usually come to Philly and I'll put like their scarf or their hat or like the rocky statue in front of the art museum. And we know that if you do that, you're going to lose.

 

00;32;40;01 - 00;32;40;27

Speaker 1

It's like the curse.

 

00;32;41;02 - 00;32;42;06

Speaker 2

Really, on the pave.

 

00;32;42;07 - 00;32;57;27

Speaker 1

Yes, yes, yes. So you got a joke about that. So anyway, if you have not seen Rocky, which you should have, you should watch them all. I do binge watch it. Yes, Yes. One, two, three and four. And then you can just, you know, take a pause and watch them all over again another week. That's awesome.

 

00;32;58;05 - 00;33;06;21

Speaker 2

Well, thank you, Dean Martin. All this has been wonderful. Thank you for having. I hope everyone learned a fun factor, too. And we can't wait to see what you do at school.

 

00;33;07;10 - 00;33;14;19

Speaker 1

Thank you. I'm so honored to be here and to be with you and the rest of the SLC faculty and staff and of course, the students.

 

00;33;14;23 - 00;33;31;19

Speaker 2

Thank you so much. Look out for our next episode of In the Mix. If you'd like to donate to the School of Communication, go to giving dot American dot edu and we'll see you next time. That's a wrap.