SEAHO Report - Fall 2020 - 18

FEATURE ARTICLES

JOURNEY TO LAUNCHING
OUR FIRST PODCAST
Dr. Christina Ujj and Tyrone Smiley, Kennesaw State University
What started as a comment
made in jest turned into a
biweekly podcast. During a
planning meeting, Housing
and Residence Life leadership
started talking about how
to make sure staff received
pertinent updates. We receive
and send so many emails;
sometimes an email providing
updates is not read as quickly
if there are figurative fires to
put out. Our leadership team
all listen to podcasts regularly,
and so the hunt began to create
a private podcast for staff to
receive updates (piloting with
the leadership team). After
rolling out the pilot, the idea of
a podcast snowballed.
We realized we could provide
a podcast for many different
audiences. We quickly formed
a committee with Chris Bruno,
Keith Echols, Ama Economy,
Phillip Sullivan, and Christina
Ujj. First, we started talking
about the logistics of creating a
podcast and started discussing
who our audience would be.
We were lucky to find another
professional at Kennesaw State
who launched the podcast for
University College. From this
initial meeting, we realized
there were a lot of free
platforms and software that
we could utilize to make this
podcast dream a reality. We also
found that our IT department
had podcast equipment (a
high-quality microphone and
headphones) available for check
out.

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Through our initial meetings,
we realized there were so many
avenues for creating a podcast.
We could focus on students,
parents, and even other
professionals in Housing and
Residence Life. After talking it
through, we decided to focus on
creating a podcast for students
and parents. We decided that
the podcast would air every
two weeks because we felt
that was a sustainable model
moving forward. The initial
plan was to launch in May for
Resident Assistants to listen
to and provide feedback on
pilot episodes. Then COVID-19
changed our plans.
Similar to many Housing and
Residence Life professionals,
our focus shifted to planning
for our COVID response, which
ultimately shifted to plans for
moving residents off campus as
our institution went virtual. As
the dust settled, it became even
more apparent that we needed
to provide this opportunity
to engage with our residents
and incoming residents. The
charge was set to drop our
first podcast in May to the
public, and the Podcast Posse
(podcast committee) rose to the
challenge.
We came together and created a
schedule for the summer. This
included topics relevant mostly
to our incoming students
but included information for
our returning students. Our
schedule includes how to
connect with your roommate

prior to arriving, what it means
to be on the waiting list, how
facilities is preparing for
move-in, the role of a Resident
Assistant, campus traditions,
and more! Our next hurdle was
navigating how to interview
guests while being mindful of
social distancing.
Through a quick internet
search, we found a free platform
option (Zencastr) that allows
you to record remote interviews
specifically for podcasting. We
had assembled our technology
arsenal. We use Zencastr to
record the episode, Audacity
to edit our recording, and
Anchor.fm to distribute our
podcast to eight different
podcast platforms. We also
found royalty free music for
our "theme song." With the
technology lined up, we were
ready to record and launch.
To date, we have launched four
episodes and a trailer. Based on
analytics provided by Anchor.
fm, we have an average of
60 listens per episode with
minimal promotion. The
podcast has been integrated
into our residential curriculum
for Fall 2020. Soon, our Podcast
Posse will expand to include
a production crew for editing
the podcast. We welcome you
to check out our podcast on
your favorite podcast listening
platform. Just search for "Live
Your Nest Life."
http://www.Anchor.fm
SEAHO Report - Fall 2020

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