We're talkin' a new podcast: the Honors College's 'Honorable Mentions'

With podcasts on the rise, Honors College Dean Dr. Breanna Naegeli thought adding a podcast to the college's toolkit would be the perfect way to connect and engage Grand Canyon University students.

When she presented the idea to honors students, they loved the thought of highlighting student stories and offering a glimpse into their college life.

After months of recording, producing, marketing and advertising, the college launched the first episode of the “Honorable Mentions” podcast.

“A lot of this started simply because I have the opportunity to interact with so many incredible students every day,” Naegeli said. “There are so many students that you start to cross paths with and uncover maybe they lived in three different continents all before finding their way to GCU, they’ve started their own business or have an insane side hustle going on – and no one knows about it because they don’t always share it.

“We wanted to start this podcast as a way to really illustrate who our students are as people outside of the academic stereotype.”

The first episode aired Tuesday morning, featuring a roughly 40-minute conversation with sophomore Adison Hamele and co-hosts Dr. Marette Hahn, Honors College director, and senior Jordan Ward.

When the college distributed interest forms, Hamele was intrigued by the idea of sharing, on a public platform, her student life and involvement on campus.

In November, she met with Hahn, Ward and sophomore podcast producer Selah Fronda in the Technology Building’s podcast rooms. They hit “start,” and with no agenda, began recording the first episode.

Hamele never expected to spend the following 40 minutes opening up about one of her most personal life experiences: a struggle with an eating disorder.

“Initially, I wanted to talk about the homeless ministry, how that has affected me and my idea for what I want to do in the future,” Hamele said. “But the main reason for this podcast is to show that there are real students behind the Honors College. So, I kind of just went for it.

“I didn’t want anyone to know my story initially because I didn’t want the stereotype, but I hate dancing around it, and it’s nice that now I have it out there. I hope people who have struggled with the same things are encouraged.”

Though the topic of the first episode was unplanned, its final product is the exact vision the Honors College had for the project. While striving for impressive academics and rigorous extracurriculars is the goal for every college student, Naegeli also has expressed that it's also important to build character and a supportive community.

The name “Honorable Mentions” pays tribute to the stories each student carries that have shaped them into who they are, as heard in the first episode with Hamele.

“The stigma with Honors College is mainly academics,” Fronda said. “But there are so many stories behind students we sit next to in our classes that we would never know if we didn’t have something like this. We really wanted to show the human behind the student.

“It is a platform where they can geek out about what they love and share small or big things they wouldn’t share on their own if we didn’t probe it out of them.”

The podcast intends to foster this atmosphere with biweekly episodes that will toggle between personal student features, college life and academic tips, advice for career development, and more.

Here is what to expect in the first season of “Honorable Mentions”:

GCU staff writer Izabela Fogarasi can be reached at [email protected]