Hey, hey, hey. This is Lisa A. And you're listening to Who's That Star? On LCC Connect at Lansa Community College. Who's that Star? Is a behind the scenes show where I sit down and talk with the employees at the college. This is an inside look at LCC where you will have a chance to learn about their passions, projects, what inspires them both at work and in their personal lives. I'm your host, Lisa Alexander. I'm so excited to get a chance to talk to all the people who make LCC great. This show is for you to to get to know the people that work at Lansing Community College a little bit more and see what makes them tick. Are you ready? Okay. Let's go see who's today's star. Our star today began her career as an adjunct professor here at LCC as well as two other institutions about 10 years ago. She's been a public school educator for 25 years. 23 Of those years she was at the K12 level. She was hired to be a full time instructor at LCC in August of 2020 and has worked for LCC excusly. Excuse me. Since then. She believes that her responsibility as an educator is to simply find a way to connect with whomever shows up. And I love that. Outside of the classroom, this star performs regularly as a comedian, a storyteller and was featured on a TEDx speaker in 2015, which I'm gonna ask more about. She has a dog named Eleanor Roosevelt and they live in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Are you ready to learn more about today's star? Today's star is Catharyn Palomino. Welcome, Catharyn. Hello.

Thank you. It's nice to be here, Lisa. Thanks.

So Catharyn, do you prefer something else beside Catharyn?

Yes, my friends and my family call me Catie.

All right, Katie. Great. I'm so glad to have you here on who's at Star? So we're gonna get started. Okay, great. So tell me about your work at LCC. What do you do? I was being really, you know, I didn't want to let them know, but sure.

Yes. So I am starting my third year as a full time communication professor. I also just completed my first full year as the program faculty chair for the communication program as well.

Oh, wonderful. Good. Now I know I got an inside scoop too if I need something over there.

That's right.

Okay. So how did you get started at LCC?

I had a long term goal of teaching at the college level and specifically went back to school to get a degree in communication so that I could teach at the college level long term. I wanted to work full time at the community college and worked as an adjunct at a couple of different places. And when the opportunity arose for me to work as an adjunct here, within that first semester of working as an adjunct, I was told by the program, the communication program, that there was a job that was going to be posted for a full time instructor and that I should apply for it. It's always a good sign when they tell you to apply for it.

Exactly. It is.

So it was a perfect opportunity for me to leave the teaching I had done previously and come over to LCC before the pandemic really set in. Some of my friends joke and say, did you have a crystal ball to get out of K12 before the pandemic?

Exactly.

So that is when I started full time here and haven't looked back.

When you were at K12, what age group did you teach?

I started off teaching 10th graders and then I finished with 11th and 12th graders.

Okay, yeah. You stayed in the high school area? I worked at K through 12 and I did elementary, middle school and high school. And yeah, I enjoyed high school the most out of all of them.

I have even more empathy for my colleagues in the K12 than I ever did as a result of the pandemic and how hard the job has been for them.

For sure it has been. I know my daughter just. The instructors have been great in K12 in regards to trying to make sure they took care of the mental health of our students too. So I appreciate that. So what do you teach here at LCC?

I predominantly teach public speaking.

No wonder.

And usually the response I get from anybody when I tell them that I teach communication and specifically public speaking is I'm terrified of public speaking.

Well, yeah, I am. I faked a. I was gonna fake a heart attack to get out of doing public speaking. So it is, it's one of those. But I'm always referring students to that class because it's a good transferable class. But also the skills that you learn there is so wonderful and you need them in all aspects of your life. Right. You're going to speak somewhere even though you don't want to, so.

Absolutely.

I love that. I did not know it was the. The communications 130 that you speak.

Oh, yeah, that's mostly what I teach. I also teach Dynamics of Communication, which is kind of an intro, kind of a sampler platter of comm issues. Those are the two classes that I predominantly teach. You know, I will tell you, Jerry Seinfeld has a joke about public speaking. And this is true. He says, you know, statistics show that people are more afraid of dying. Excuse me, of public speaking. Than they are of dying.

Yeah.

And he said, so if you're at a funeral, you'd rather be in the casket than the one giving the eulogy.

That's so true. Because. Yes, I. Yeah, the flesh. Fear of that. And did you have. Well, no. I mean, did you have a problem mastering that? Like, to be able to have that as your profession, if you're teaching people to do that? Did you ever have a problem with speaking?

This is what I usually tell people. I didn't know that I was good at speaking, that it was a craft and a gift. I mean, I knew that I could talk since I was a little kid, very early, talking all the time, and I haven't stopped talking since I learned how. But when it comes to the art of actually public speaking, or using my voice or using persuasive techniques or organizing my thoughts, I did not know I was good at it until I realized that most everybody else is not good.

Right. Okay.

Yeah. And then, you know, I was like, give me the microphone, I'll do it.

Right? Yeah, sure.

I'll give a presentation.

That's wonderful.

Yeah.

And I think you can. You can reach so many people if you're just yourself and comfortable.

Absolutely.

But it's like, I just feel like, oh, my gosh, everybody's looking at me. Do you tell them to imagine people naked? No.

In fact, I bring that up and say, I don't know who ever came up with that, but that would make me more nervous.

Right? Yeah.

Right. Well, we do an activity in the Comm130 class, the public speaking class, that is addressing your fears. And I have them just flat out say, what is it that is so terrifying? And the list ranges from everybody staring at me to, I'm gonna mess up. I'm gonna mispronounce something. I'm gonna turn red while I'm talking. I'm going to lose my place. I'm going to stutter on my words. And those are all legit things to worry about. But once we acknowledge those things and recognize everybody has some anxiety when they speak, and it can be a good burst of adrenaline, that anxiety can be once it's mastered. But I just tell them to own those fears and realize as a human being, you're going to make a mistake, how you respond to that mistake is what makes you an effective speaker, man.

Okay. That's the great words right there, you know, because we. Everyone Thinks that they have to be perfect. And I'm learning that, you know, not that we. Not that we don't are perfect, but that you're gonna make mistakes. And when you talk, that's the human piece of you. Correct. You know, and you don't want to sound like a robot and stuff. So I'm glad that. Oh, now I have a friend.

Absolutely.

Who is a speech teacher who can give me some insight.

Absolutely.

That's wonderful.

I often tell my students, use an analogy. My therapist that I go to for mental health has told me, you're never not going to have anxiety, but you're going to learn tools to manage that anxiety. And I use that same example with my students. When it comes to fear of public speaking, you're always going to have anxiety. You're always going to be a little bit nervous. Those are good things. But how to manage that anxiety is what our goal is. And just honestly, public speaking and speech class. But I always tell them this class is about building your confidence and empowering you to know that you are an expert on something.

Right.

And you are the one that can share that with us in the form of talking about it.

Wow. You got me wanting to take this class.

There you go.

Katie, I have to.

I would love to have you in class.

I'm thinking about this now. Well, it definitely sounds like you have. You're passionate about your role here at LCC and we're glad to have you. But what's life like for you outside of LCC?

Sure. Well linked to LCC. I am a huge advocate for practicing my craft. My experience teaching at a four year university for a few years was that a lot of students felt like a lot of the instructors and professors were a bit out of touch with the real world. And we've all had that experience. Who wrote, literally wrote the textbook but. But can't communicate it to us. And also has no idea what it's like to actually work in advertising.

Exactly.

In a nurse's office. And so I am constantly pursuing and asserting myself to find situations and opportunities where I can practice my craft. I do a lot of hosting and emceeing events. I have given a lot of keynote speaker talks for different events. I market myself as someone who can lead those kind of events. So I try to do as much of that as I can so that my students know that I'm also not just telling them what to do, but I'm actually learning that still as well. So when I'm not actually teaching, I have two other gigs. I Always have a side hustle.

Yeah, I'm excited to hear about that.

Right. So I always have stuff to do, and I like having things to do, especially in the summertime. But when I started working at LCC Simon simultaneously, I was given an opportunity to serve as a communication consultant. I was hired as a private contractor for a nonprofit organization in Grand Rapids, which I'm going to talk about a little bit more when it comes to volunteering, that I want to talk about a little bit later. But I spend a couple of days a week there when I'm not on campus here, and I edit and evaluate the documentations that go out on the website, the information they send home to volunteers. I host a lot of events for volunteers, fundraisers and organize the events for those, and just am a fresh pair of eyes from a communication perspective for this nonprofit.

So that's wonderful.

Yeah, I love it. I. And I'm grateful for the opportunity to get to do both things right now.

Yeah. But I mean, because I wasn't thinking that that's what you were going to tell me, because I was, you know, wanted to ask you about the being a comedian.

Sure, sure, sure.

And so I thought that was you gonna bring it up, but this was a whole different thing that, you know. But it's a way to give back, use your skill set, but still keep yourself fresh.

Absolutely.

On top of everything. So that's wonderful. But, yeah. Okay.

Well, as far as comedy goes, I started in about 2014, and I was really, really intensely involved, doing a lot of open mics, doing a lot of events. I performed a lot all over town here in Lansing, as well as Grand Rapids, as well as Kalamazoo. And then I kind of grew kind of quickly. And I always tell people everyone thought I was more experienced as a comedian than I actually was because my presentation skills make it seem like I know what I'm talking about.

Yeah, you do, though. Yeah.

So, I mean, I think the material that I covered in my comedy was good, but I also have become very critical of watching other comedians and think, you're so focused, or we're so focused as speakers or comedians on the content that we forget how important the actual skill of presenting it is.

Yes.

And so I can see really good comedy writing, but terrible presentation skills.

You know, I was watching Dave Chappelle.

Sure.

He. What was the guy's name? The news show. Jon Stewart.

Oh, Jon Stewart.

Sure. He got an award. And I was just listening to Dave Chappelle, and it brings me back to how a person tells a story. And the information, how they give it to you. It's just as important.

Absolutely.

As the punchline or what they're giving. And I think, you know, you hit it right when you said that you have to present a specific way or your way.

Correct.

So that it comes across that we can understand you.

Yes.

But it's also funny. So are you still doing it? Are you still.

You know what? So just before the pandemic, the last, I don't know, maybe even a year before the pandemic, I wasn't doing as much direct comedy shows. The ones that I was doing at the time were more fundraisers. I had friends that like my friend's son's little league baseball team. The parents wanted to raise money for the season and so the parents hosted a fundraiser and I was the event, I was the entertainment.

Oh, wow.

So that was really fun. I did one for a basketball fundraiser at a local school in Grand Rapids as well.

Yeah.

And for a program of occupational therapy for a friend who runs that program at Western Michigan. Her students had a fundraiser and they invited me and I produced a show, performed, and then hired a couple of other comedians. So just like anything that was more fun because I got to pick who I performed with as opposed to just like you see in movies and TV doing open mic with a bunch of people who are telling the same kinds of jokes because they're all about 18 to 25 years old and boys. It's a unique voice to be a person at my age and a female.

Right, yeah. So you're not seeing many women comedian.

Yes. But not nearly as much as every 21 year old guy who thinks he's hilarious because his friends think he's hilarious. Yeah. Right, right. So I haven't done as much. I have done. I did do a happy hour event online during the pandemic for an organization, for like a staff outing. They had me come. It was online because everybody's working. So that was a unique experience. I have not performed face to face since. We've been a little more relaxed about things and I just was telling some folks today that I need to write some new material because so much has happened that I have lots to say.

I bet couple of years you definitely would have a lot to say. Well, you got to let us know.

Absolutely.

So we can let people know to come check you out. I would definitely come. You know, and that on the, on that note, you have such a great voice. You sound so well, you know, you should think about doing something for LCC Connect. I should do something So I think you need to join our family. So I'm gonna throw that out there.

Thank you.

But I also wanted to ask you, how did you do a TedX? And what is a TedX?

Sure. Well, for about six years, I was an adjunct communication professor at Grand Valley State University over in Allendale, just north of Grand Rapids. And while I was there, one of the students in my class, my speech class, was on the student senate, and they were hosting a TEDx event. So everybody in most cases has heard of a TED Talk. And TEDx is a local version of TED Talks. Oh, okay. So the X simply means it's somewhere other than on a national scale.

Gotcha.

Or global scale. So this was TedX at GVSU. Oh, wow. And they invited people to be guest speakers. And one of my students, of course, had had my class and she said, you would be perfect. Is this something you would be interested in doing? And I was like, absolutely.

What did you do?

Your talk, what I talked about. I talked about the concept of back to basics at the time. It's kind of ironic, these years later, what, five or six years later, I talked about how to regain passion for the work that you love and being burnt out. And specifically at that time. Right. I had 22 years in as a public school teacher, and I identified different ways that I found myself not caring and navigating through landmines and checking the box of what I have to do.

Exactly.

And I know there are lots of people who function like that in all kinds of work, but I decided either I was going to better myself and change that attitude and reframe what I was doing there as an educator, or I had to find another job because I wasn't benefiting anyone being there. And so that was what my talk was about. Just highlighting a couple of things that people can do to regain the zest. And a lot of it focused around the idea of over committing and feel like. Feeling like we have to be involved in everything. One of the things I talked about was be your best, not your better than. And we get in a habit of comparing ourselves to other people. No matter where we work, we keep track of who shows up to things. We keep track of who talks in the meeting and who doesn't.

Right.

And those are essentially comparables. And so recognizing, hey, I'm giving my best, it's not about what he or she does, it's about what I do. So it was a really cruel, really cool, excuse me, opportunity. And I was really thankful. And that that is on YouTube if you look on YouTube.

About to go watch it.

Katie Palomino, GVSU or TedX. You'll find it.

Yes, I'm definitely gonna look because, you know, you need some time to refill, you know, get. You need something to help you get through it. And a lot of times when you're going through rough spots, you are just checking boxes sometimes. And so you have to check yourself.

Right.

And so I think that's a good reminder a lot of times. So I appreciate that.

Well, we. We've all encountered people, and unfortunately in education, especially that person who says, ah, three more years and I can retire, which I never appreciate because that is what you're looking forward to. And I'm not saying that retirement isn't something to look forward to, but when, that's the first thing that you tell me when I meet you. And that shows me where your focus is.

Exactly.

And I didn't want to be that person because it just wasn't doing anything for me or for my students.

Right. Wow. I'm just loving this today.

Thank you.

So before we get I go down to any other rabbit holes, I do want to ask you about the volunteering that you do. Tell me a little bit about that.

Sure. So I mentioned that I work for a nonprofit in Grand Rapids. The nonprofit that I work for is called Kids Food Basket. A lot of people in West Michigan have heard of Kids Food Basket, but they don't necessarily know what our organization does. And I like to tell people that in summary, what Kids Food Basket does is they provide a third meal of the day for students who get free and reduced lunch breakfast at school.

Gotcha.

And so the idea being that there are many students who are provided those meals during the day, but then they go home and have to fend for themselves for a variety of reasons. And so Kids Food Basket every day packs up to 10,000 meals a day. Sack supper, that is a fresh, nutritious, ready to eat meal that we deliver with our volunteer drivers to different schools and different locations and give them to the kids that have signed up for those.

Wow, that's wonderful. Right?

Right.

Great way to give back.

Absolutely.

No, the babies aren't hungry. So that's a good thing.

Yeah. And I started. I got connected with the organization as a volunteer. And this is real, briefly, kind of a funny story. When I first started volunteering there, it was because I had two different students when I was teaching at Grand Rapids Community College, who, in their persuasive speech, two different semesters, two students who didn't know each Other who talked about why you should volunteer at Kids Food Basket.

Wow.

And I thought, what is this Kids Food Basket that I keep hearing about? Well, I had gone through a little bit of a rough patch a couple of years ago. And so to not be as focused on my sad and where I was, I used that energy to volunteer and I volunteered at this organization. But once I was done doing that and I got back on track with my mental health, I thought, I associate being sad with volunteering at this place. Now I need to volunteer when I'm in a better spirit and better mood.

Right.

And that just took off. We Kids Food Basket uses more. More volunteers. Excuse me. Than any other organization in Michigan.

Wow.

Maybe even nationally. I don't know all the statistics, but. Excuse me. I'm sorry.

Okay.

But for sure, in Michigan and hundreds and hundreds of volunteers every day to pack sack suppers and kidsfoodbasket.org is where people can get involved. It's a great opportunity for friends and families to work together and volunteer in the community.

All right, you guys. Kids food food basket. Basket.org.org you guys heard that?

Yes.

We need to start one. If there's not in this area, do one in this area. That would be super cool.

Exactly.

Or have a college spot. You know, hey, you know, do something like that. You never know. But that's great.

Thank you.

You are a busy lady.

I am, I am. I like to have things going on. Like I said, I know.

It's like you volunteer, you're doing TEDx talks, you're doing comedy, you're helping people get over their public speaking fear. Well, tell me something that you're really.

Proud of and why I feel like that. It's only been in the last couple of years and not intentionally, but related to now full time teaching here at LCC. I spent most of my life and anybody that has the same experience as being a talker like I am, I've spent most of my life being in trouble for talking too much.

Gotcha.

So I never knew that it was a gift because it was something I was always being told not to do. And it wasn't until I began to see the impact on students when they had a little burst of confidence as a result of taking a speech class or coaching students through the mindset of what's something you could talk about forever. That should be your speech topic because you can go on and on about just seeing the students click with them and for them to realize those things. So what I'm proud about is public speaking is my superpower.

It is.

And it's something that comes very naturally to me, and so I'm proud of the opportunity to empower other people to realize they are also able and capable of giving a really good presentation or talk.

Wow. I'm gonna have to end it off on this.

Sure.

I want to thank you today for coming. I've learned so much. I'm super excited. And are you looking forward to fall semester?

I am ready to go. I love a routine, so I'm ready to be back in the routine. And I love teaching comm classes, so I always encourage people in the community even to take comm classes and boost up their skills.

All right, well, you tell them who they are and who they can sign up for for public speaking class with.

That's right. Comm 130. Catharyn Palomino.

All right, Catharyn. Katie. Katie, we are so glad you came here. And I, I, I want to have you back.

Thank you.

I could talk to you all day. So I'm super.

Well, as I told you, I also could talk all day.

Right. So we, we're good. We're a good match. So you take care. And everybody, I will see you next week. You've been listening to Who's That Star? I'm Lisa A., and you can listen to this episode of Who's That Star and other shows from LCC Connect anytime online at LCCconnect.org. Thank you for listening. Catch me next time to find out Who's That Star.