The Striv Broadcasting class doesn’t have a set curriculum, which means it can be structured to students’ interests. This is how podcasts became a major unit for the class even though new business teacher Hunter Vanness said he didn’t originally have many plans for podcasting.
“When I first started, I really was looking for something that students would just enjoy,” Vanness said. “Obviously, once I started building or making the curriculum for it, one thing I really wanted to focus on was preparation and not just putting them in a room and having them make it up on the fly.”
The first step was to get into small groups and make a name for their podcast.
All together, there were eight groups who decided on a variety of different topics, from lists to specific memories.
Sophomore Delaney Shield formed a group with fellow sophomores Adie Gale and Addi Smith. They chose the name “Million Dollar Topics” because all of their memories are worth a million dollars to them.
“We talk about a lot of fun memories and current topics on our podcast,” Shield said.
Another group consists of sophomores Olivia Chapman, Jordyn Campbell and Madison Wilson. Their podcast was named “402 White Girls” by Chapman.
“We chose the topic of girl stuff because it was easy to talk about and easy to get started with,” said Chapman.
The groups then prepared for each podcast by figuring out what they wanted to talk about and who they would interview. Vanness said that his students chose things that are interesting to them so they have more fun. Some of the topics that students chose are top 10 lists, fun memories and everyday happenings.
“When we talk about girl things and have guests, it’s fun to hear everyone’s thoughts,” Chapman said.
Students incorporated more of the student body into their podcasts by inviting student guests to be on their podcasts. Vanness also created multiple social media pages to spread the word about upcoming podcasts so students can listen to them.
“We’re probably at square one of student involvement, but I have seen students invited as guests and I think students from other classes definitely know about it,” Vanness said.
One student not in the Striv Broadcasting class who enjoys following the podcasts is junior Drew Krajicek. Krajicek said that he listens to the podcasts regularly and was recently the first guest on the “3×10” podcast hosted by senior Connor Engel, senior Jack Edwards and junior AJ Arensberg.
“It was really fun to be involved in their podcasts,” Krajicek said. “I think it’s really cool to learn about what other people think because you don’t always get to have those in-depth conversations on certain topics.”
Bringing other students into the podcast as guests was also valuable for the students in the class.
“Having special guests is really fun. And you get to spend time with other people that you might not see every day and you get to hear their story,” said Shield.
Hearing the stories about his students is what Vanness enjoys the most.
“I’ve learned so much about what they enjoy and things they enjoy talking about. I learn things about their just everyday lives that they’ve talked about on the podcast that I would have never known if I didn’t listen to them,” Vanness said. “So that’s definitely my favorite thing.”
