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Education is more than the accumulation of knowledge. It’s the growth we experience when digging deep into the topics, systems, and ways of thinking that give flavor to life. Enlighten Me is dedicated to bringing listeners into the world of the unknown and providing meaningful insights into issues that affect us all. In each episode, we bring in researchers and experts from a wide range of fields to discuss a topic and how it relates to their industry.
Part of the TXST Podcast Network: https://www.txst.edu/podcast-network.html
- Hi, I am Rodney Crouther.
- And I'm Jeremy Thomas.
- And this month we're bringing you a very special episode of "Enlighten Me" recorded live on the Quad.
- You know, we usually have our faculty experts come join us in our studios and we have conversations about things like AI and how Texas music is influencing our culture.
- Yeah, but this month we wanted to step away from those big issues and do something a little more fun and try to bring a little joy to campus. So we're gonna talk about some of the little moments that bring us together.
- That's right. So in this episode, we want you all to be our experts. We want you all to enlighten our listeners and so we've already got some questions prepared for you all and we know Bobcats always have a story to tell.
- Right, so come on Bobcats, enlighten us. Hi, if you could just tell us your name and your major.
- Hello, my name's Aleah White. I'm an industrial engineer major and I am a senior.
- Tell us, what's something simple that you're grateful for today?
- Man, that's a great question. I think I'm grateful for my education and even just be able to come to college. I reflect on my like past three years here and I'm like, wow, no way I'm a senior already. So yeah, I've just had a lot of great professors and great opportunities to learn, so I'm very thankful for that.
- My name is Marqus Tarango and my major is business management.
- My name is Marcello Aguilar and I'm also a business management.
- What's something simple that you're grateful for today?
- You know, just another day of life on God's green Earth. You know, that's all I'm grateful for.
- I'm grateful for my daughter. I have a two-year-old daughter, so I'm just grateful for her. Every day she wakes up, I'm just happy.
- My name is Ryan Parsans and I'm an agriculture major with a concentration in mechanics. How nice the weather is today. It's a beautiful sky, no really clouds. It's not too hot. So that's something grateful.
- Any day, it's not too hot, we're grateful in Texas, right?
- Oh yeah, definitely, definitely.
- Always grateful for that.
- My name is Cristopher Quintanilla. I am an English major with a concentration in film.
- And what's something that you're grateful for today?
- That my leg doesn't hurt. I went skating last night and I took a pretty nasty fall and I told myself like, "Oh yeah, "I'm gonna feel this tomorrow," but I'm fine. And I'm taking these stairs like a champ, so-
- My name is Zey, I'm a nursing major and this is my sophomore year this year. So hopefully I'll be going to Round Rock soon.
- What's something that you're most grateful for today?
- The ability to take a moment, to take a moment. And in that sense I feel like everyone is always rushing to go to class, do their assignments and I just, even in the small moments like this and being able to like talk to my peers, talk to y'all, meet y'all, I think there's just so much beauty in that to just slow down for a minute and just realize, hey, like I don't have to do this right now. And it's okay.
- Thanks again for joining us. Can you just tell us your name and what your major is?
- My name is Serenity and my major is communications.
- Okay, Serenity, what's a small moment this semester that's brought you joy?
- Hmm, I would say that going to the first football game, it was so exciting. Like the tailgate from like just going, like seeing everybody and then going into the game, that was my favorite part.
- So my name is Mariano Casares, I'm a geographical resources and sustainability studies major.
- Could you tell us what's a small moment that's brought you the most joy this semester?
- I mean, I'm a commute student from Austin, so just being on campus and just like walking around. I got the university start today for the first time, so that was kind of fun and I'm really enjoying my classes this semester for the most part. But yeah, I think just being on campus.
- Yeah, getting that campus vibe, energy.
- Yeah, absolutely.
- Yeah.
- My name is Tiffany Walker and I'm an exercise and sports science major.
- What moment has brought you the most joy from this semester so far?
- So I'm actually in a ministry group called Crosstalk and I'm one of the community group leaders, and we actually have group tonight, but every Tuesday it just brings me so much joy just seeing a bunch of college kids just be on fire for Jesus, it's great.
- What's something that's made you smile this week?
- Oh, the ice cream machine's working.
- The ice cream machine works.
- Yes, yeah, usually never working but they were working now.
- Oh, which ice cream machine?
- In Harris.
- In Harris.
- Oh,
- Okay, what's your favorite type of ice cream?
- Chocolate.
- Oh.
- I love chocolate all day.
- I'm Avery Rogers. My major is history, I'm minoring in Chinese.
- Avery, tell us something that made you smile this week.
- My classmates, I'm in my first class with Chinese and just practicing language is like already a barrier as itself and I think learning along with your classmates just makes the experience like so much better.
- Hi y'all. My name is Kam'ryn Scott. I'm a psychology major here and an anthropology minor.
- When's the last time you laughed so hard you cried or just you had a really good hard laugh?
- I'm a RA at EZO, and I ran into one of my residents and she told me that she had a, knocked on my door and I wasn't there but she said she had a seafood boil for me. I fell out to the ground, I love to eat, I'm a big bag. And she went to her room, pulled out an entire bag of crawfish, crab legs, the whole nine yards, a whole pound of seafood boil just for me. And I nearly cried. Yeah, that was hilarious.
- You're the RA they like then, they don't do just any RA.
- No.
- I've never heard of that before. That's really good.
- Yeah, that's an affirmation.
- That's a nice surprise for sure. I appreciate that.
- It really was.
- Do you have a particular professor that was really impactful for you?
- Yes, Dr. Rosas-Vega. She actually was my professor when I studied abroad.
- Oh really?
- I took my first class with her doing engineering statistics and yeah, just seeing the way that she thrives within the engineering field has been very encouraging to me and even just like the way that she pours into her students is pretty awesome. It's definitely honestly encouraged me to go back and get my master's.
- My name is Bianca Borrego. My major is computer science and I have a minor in applied mathematics.
- Who's a person at Texas State who's changed your perspective?
- Hmm, I've had some really, really great professors here. Most of them I would, I guess not like a specific person, but I guess I can say a collection of some really great professors that I've had. They understand my need to know more, they understand my need to understand why, and they've never really made me feel dumb or stupid for asking those questions. They've always been really, they've always been really open and honest with me. So I would say probably my professors, a lot of the, I mean things like this, things like this, you walk around, you see other people are open-minded, other people are interested, they wanna get to know you.
- My name is Krystal Hernandez and my major is biology. I'm gonna have to say Miss Kathy Woods. She is the first gen coordinator, and she just helped me maneuver through this huge, huge system and made me feel a little bit more comfortable being the first generation attending college and pursuing my career and goals. So shout out to Miss Kathy.
- No, that's great to hear because I mean the college can be a big transition for anybody, especially a first gen. So it's nice to have that kind of support system kinda help you navigate that transition of the college life, for sure.
- I'm gonna go with Mr. Felty, he's the ag mechanics teacher right now and I have him for structures and engines as well and I mean I'm always in there just trying to help out and every time I'm in there I learn something new. So I'm gonna say Mr. Felty.
- My name's Alex Garcia and I'm an education major. Well, I'm double majoring, education and history. I've had some really good like teachers throughout high school, middle school, but my professor this year has really gone more in depth with the practices and theories in education, and the way he applies them himself has just really just like inspired me on like how much more I could do when I become a teacher later on.
- My name is Christian Nathaniel. I am a performance and production major with a African American studies minor. One, I love seeing my professors and you know what I'm saying, just seeing how encouraged they can be. Like my Professor Goldstone, she's awesome.
- What's the most impactful thing you've learned in class at Texas State?
- Ooh, that's a good question. Honestly, something that I've learned that's really helpful is failure is inevitable. I think for me I put a lot of pressure on myself to achieve success the first time around and I've just seen that like sometimes that's not always gonna be the case. So definitely doing things one, and two, and three, and four times, maybe even six if it's needed, has definitely helped me thrive within my field.
- Right, I'm Chuck Harris and I am a graduate student in music composition.
- What's the most impactful thing you've learned in one of your classes here in Texas State?
- Oh, so I was in class with- Dr. Mooney's my favorite professor by the way, Kevin Mooney, School of Music. He's a musicologist, and he just kind of sparked me into some research which I really have gotten into like going to the databases and researching all these things. And so actually I'm gonna try to pursue another degree after this one.
- Awesome.
- So I didn't have that on my bingo card but that's been inspiring and that's something I learned that I really do enjoy.
- Interesting.
- Great. That's part of the journey, right? Being open to the opportunities.
- Yeah, and I'm old so you know.
- My name is Mia Villarreal, I'm a freshman here. My major is finance.
- What's been your most fulfilling Texas State experience so far? What's something that you've experienced in your time at Texas State that just makes you say "I belong here, "I feel welcome and supported."
- Ooh, that's a really good question. Okay, so I'm in the business school, right? So they have like certain days where they put like organizations out and they have like these meetings, like these gatherings I guess. And it's just honestly it's like so cool to see all these people like gather together and like know that we all have something in common and that we're all reaching towards a common goal to like get our degree in whatever it may be, like marketing, finance. That was just really cool to like be there and get to experience that kind of stuff.
- I feel like a lot of college students kind of put a pressure on themselves to succeed and to be instantly successful. So how would you give like some advice to a student that's dealing with that?
- Yeah, I would definitely say be comfortable with messing up just because it's gonna happen. Like if you go into it thinking that this isn't gonna be the most successful pass I guess at whatever you're doing, it definitely helps you get in that mentality of like, "Oh darn, I messed up. "Not the end of the world, I'll just do it again." It's definitely hard, I will say to get over that mindset 'cause I even find myself still struggling with it. But yeah, I don't know, it's just a part of the journey and yeah, not every path is linear.
- What advice would you give other students about finding happiness in little things?
- The time, like people would just be like, oh you know, this completely like ruined my day. You know, it's like, "Oh, I just bombed this test." But it's like, you find a dollar on the ground, that's still pretty nice but you gotta be willing to look for that happiness, you know?
- Yeah, so just be open to it.
- My piece of positive advice is to go for your dreams. Don't ever limit yourself. I'm a first-generation college student and I'm graduating a year early.
- Congrats.
- So never limit yourself to what you can do. Apply yourself to everything and don't limit yourself.
- Well, hello, my name is Robert Garsia and I'm a marketing major here.
- And hello, my name is Louie Lopez and I'm a construction management and science major.
- If you could give a positive message to anyone that's listening to this podcast, what would you say?
- For me, I would just say be you. Don't be afraid to be who you are. Like I know here, especially like if you're like, for me, I'm a freshman, you're a new place, you're scared. I just say be you, go out, have fun and enjoy just being away from home or near home, but in a new environment.
- Chuck, if you could share one joyful message with everyone, what would it be?
- It doesn't matter what's happening in the world. Those things don't steal our joy. The only thing that can steal your joy is you. And so I think, trying to be joyful, I like to say I bring joy and chaos everywhere I go. The chaos part's fun for some people. I think that in this world right now, there's a lot of stuff happening that can steal your joy but I just always say, your happiness, your joy depends on you and how you wake up in the morning and how you're gonna approach the day, so.
- So my name is Lauren Delgado. I'm a anthropology major with a minor in forensic psychology.
- If you could spread one piece of joy to every student, what would it be?
- That it's okay to be uncomfortable in your new environment. It's okay to be alone right now. It's a change of scenery and if you don't know what path you're on, that it's okay. It's a big, being here at Texas State, 300 miles from your hometown, like it's a big change and it feels lonely sometimes, but that's okay. Like I think that's just the one piece I needed to hear coming here.
- I would say it's okay not to know. I know right now, you know what I'm saying, you're in college, you know what I'm saying, you're supposed to know what you're doing and that's expected, but you don't have to, you know what I'm saying? College is to find out what you want to be, who you want to be, who you are.
- My name is Gabriel Hernandez, I'm a finance and French major.
- Who on campus makes your day a little better just by being around?
- I could definitely just say my friends. I mean it's like, even though I haven't known them for too long, I mean we've only been in school for like a month. They've managed to get me out there if I'm down. Like they always, I don't know, they're a reason to keep going. Like if let's say I don't want to go to class, they're like, "Well you have to go." And they do it in a positive manner. They're always down to go out to eat and stuff, so it's like, it's really nice to have them around, you know?
- Yeah, my name's Jolee Gavito and I'm a journalism major.
- Could you tell us who on campus makes your day better just by being around?
- Usually it's just all the vendors here, local vendors, especially at the Farmers Market. And I actually just got this ring at the Farmers Market. I think it's really cool they have like all small businesses in one place, especially on campus. So after class I can just go shop.
- Who is someone at Texas State that has changed your perspective on something recently?
- I guess my roommate, he's actually right there. He's actually walking right in front of us. We have different like outlooks on stuff, but he always manages to like make me look at things different. Like, I don't know, I guess I'm not a negative person, but I do tend to look at things on the negative side and then he usually tells me like, "Hey, maybe try this, maybe try that." Even though we like just started living together and stuff like that. He really like pushes me to be somebody better as like as a brother would or something like that.
- I would say my friend and my roommate Samantha, Brooke and Val, they've really supported me through a lot and taught me a different, more positive perspective on life and school and just realizing, just taking a breath and focusing on your studies, and doing what you need to do at the end of the day through a positive mindset is the way to go.
- Are there any other campus resources that you use to kind of help you out with your academic career so far?
- I definitely joined organizations like my freshman year I was a part of a service organization, Texas State Darlings, they were great. And then I also got connected with my ministry, so my faith is definitely a big thing that keeps me grounded. I've also leaned on Texas State Counseling from time to time, honestly, just helping me process change and navigate that, has definitely made all the difference. And I think it was very challenging for me being a Black student 'cause it's like just in the community that can be kind of a difficult thing that's talked about. But my parents honestly were so supportive of my journey. But yeah, that definitely helped me get to where I'm at today.
- So what would you say is your favorite spot on campus where you just feel like you're in your happy place and you're just at peace? Is there a certain spot around the Texas State campus that you really like to spend time at?
- I really love the Quad. Just walking around and seeing what's going on. There's always people going around and I don't really spend a lot of time on campus or just like being here, looking at the organizations and stuff I think is my happy place.
- No, there's always something different going on. Always different groups out here, so.
- Yeah, it's a good place to just kind of soak it up.
- Yeah.
- And then you get things like this, so that's kind of fun.
- I would definitely say Sewell Park, it's so fun. It's not overrated at all.
- How often would you say you go to Sewell Park?
- Oh my gosh. Whenever I can, like seriously.
- So I'm Sully Allen and I'm a junior at Texas State and I am a dual major in English and education.
- So what's something that you're most grateful for today?
- I don't know, living, I guess if that's an answer, I can say.
- No, that's definitely an answer.
- I try to like appreciate what I have every single day and I appreciate just being alive every single day. 'Cause, I want to experience everything life has to offer me.
- That's a great way to approach the world. So good advice for our listeners too.
- Yeah, I think a lot of people kind of get caught up in like the next step and the next thing and they just forget to like appreciate what they already have right now in the moment. So it's really interesting to hear you say that as a student perspective for sure.
- I mean, I heard a quote the other day, "The shapes that the trees make when you look up "will only be seen by you, "so why not stop and appreciate 'em?"
- That's beautiful.
- That was profound. I'm like, wow, that just kind of blew my mind. That's kind of enlightening me right there, to be honest.
- Yeah, so that was really good.
- You're right on-brand for us, thank you.
- Yes, thank you for sharing that.
- For sure, awesome.
- Thank you all so much for joining us on this live recording edition of the "Enlighten Me" podcast, live from the Texas State Quad.
- And thank you to all the Bobcats who took the time to come and talk with us.
- And we'll see you next time on the next episode.
- Bye-bye.