**** Producer's Note: The following is a general transcript of LCC Connect's weekly radio program. Contents include but may not be limited to podcasts, program imaging, announcements, and PSAs. More detailed and accurate transcripts of the podcast episodes featured in this broadcast can be found at LCCconnect.com or by following the links provided in the show notes of this episode. ****

It's time for Stars on Sports, a

podcast radio show dedicated to sharing stories about our athletic program at Lansing Community College.

LCC athletics has a strong tradition. 24 national championship wins, over 170 all

Americans, 19 MCCAA all sports trophies.

Stars on Sports will introduce you to individuals that have contributed to our program success and give you the backstory on what it takes to develop it.

We'll also dive into and break down the topics and issues facing athletic departments across the nation. And here at lcc, this is Starz on Sports.

Hello, and welcome to another episode of Stars on Sports. I'm joined today by our assistant athletic director, Stephen Cutter, and our producer, Jereny Robinson. And gentlemen, as we record this podcast, we are wrapping up our fall season here at LCC and had a great fall. And the thing I want to discuss today is about finishing and even talk a little baseball and softball, how we're finishing up a fall season. But it's really finishing in preparation for your spring season. So even some of that finishing is preparation for your next start. So there's so many ways to go, as we talked about before we came on air, about finishing strong or things not going well, but you still finish or how close you are to finishing with success, it might not be there. Or how do you get to the finish line, you know, in sports with. With teammates and such. So as I always do, I just want some initial thinking on finishing in sports, and we'll see where this, this one goes because I definitely have a couple things I want to hit on.

Okay. I feel like finishing is one of those things where it can encapsulate so many different things. You. You could go in directions of how important is touching the line? Why do people have success when they don't touch the line? You know, you can talk about why people often fail to have success because they quit right before that. Success is, you know, basically right around the corner and they give up on those dreams because it's so darn challenging and so many things are stacked against them. So there's a lot of different ways that we can go in this podcast. And I'm definitely excited to see your pictures and all the stuff that you have to lead us.

Not finding my picture. I have a picture because you touched on the one thing that, like when I come up for topics of the podcast is touch the line. When I was a coach, that was kind of what I lived by. Like, I want my student athlete to touch the line. And in running, you run through the line, the good runners, I believe you don't run to the finish line. You don't slow up to the finish line. You run through the finish line. But as I've talked before on our podcast, it's about practice. And in practice, when you do running or you do any drill, it's about finishing it. It' finishing it strong. It's about touching the line and not coming up short. Because I would. Even though you're right, there are people that do succeed that don't touch the line. Overall, I would agree. The ones that do touch the line would end up having more success. So I was in a leadership class a couple years ago, and we had to come up with our. I forget what the word. Your passion statement and mine was like touch the line in competition, life, and other things. But the key message was touching the line. So that's. Actually, I'm glad you brought that up because that's why I wanted to discuss it today, because that's been how I tried to live as a coach and as an administrator is touch the line finish. Don't take shortcut. Don't let the little things go. And I think that helps lead to success.

Okay. For those who don't know what is

touching the line, well, in my eyes, you know, when I was a basketball coach, it was when you were running mainly, and those that didn't run all the way up, we ran. I think they're line drilled now or, you know, so touching the line was mainly running drills. But I think it just. And most people didn't like running or didn't want to do the running in practice, so it was almost something you didn't want to do. And, you know, a key point you hit on before we talked about that I thought was interesting, is the support you get. Like, even when you ran the line drills and practice, those that are done were encouraged to help the other and usually had a time you had to get to. And that's one of the reasons maybe you didn't touch the line is because you were trying to get the result of, you know, a faster time, but by having the support of teammates, which I think is a huge thing in sports. And how finishing. I just came back from our cross country nationals as we're recording this, and we had a young team this year, and at the big race and in running, sometimes teams go out fast to set the pace, and you worry about getting caught up in that if that's not your style. And being a young team, we were worried about that. There was another team that had five runners in the front of the pack at the first turn and I was following, I was actually screenshotting our places and we were like in third place at the first eight minute mark. We were at second place in the 16 minute mark. We were at first place in the 20 minute mark and we finished in first place at the 25 minute mark. And it more led to how you finished and not how you start. And I still believe back to my statement earlier about finishing is preparing for that start. You still got to start well or you got to start right because if you don't start right or well, it could lead to a certain thing. But it was just really cool how our team just finished strong and won. You know, we got we our 25th national championship doing 25. We have to change our bylaw or log thing. But, but the key was the finish, how they finish and, and you know, every point counts. We saw you and I talked about this over the summer in the 100 meter dash. Usually the start in the Olympics is so important. But the gentleman that won it this year was like in last place at 40 meters and just that last 16 meters started just picking off. And it was one of the first examples in the 100 of how you finish. You know, everyone focus. I mean, because every mini second counts that you got to have a great start in the 100. But you know, he just finished so strong and won it. But in every sport, you know, because the postseason is usually what you play for, which is at the end of the season that you're, you're hoping that you're getting better, which is a big thing. We talk about being better every day that you're hitting your, you know, peak at the end of the season and finish. And we know injuries can play into it.

Yeah.

I mean I know a coach that I felt our teams were tired at the end of the season because we worked so hard that they weren't their best at the end of the season. That. So it's, you know, there the cliche out there, it's a marathon, not a sprint. I, you know, here or there, that can apply to different things. But the key is that to be successful it's about touching the line or finishing.

Yeah. So I asked you about what touching the line is because some people may not know what that means. I'm glad. You know, a great example of finishing. You know, I happen to be from Detroit, Michigan and you know, it's this team called the Lions.

And that's a great year right now.

That game though was. It started out really bad. We didn't score in the beginning, great amount of interceptions. But we stuck to it and somehow we just crept back in and then was it a fresh rookie court? A rookie kicker?

New kicker to the NFL.

Yeah. New kicker to the NFL. Yeah, I think he A new kicker or a rookie. Both of his kicks barely got in, but they got in.

And that's a great point. I mean what a finish. Especially when you probably played as poor a game. The quarterback did that he has all year. But it's also about adjustment too, throughout that, you know, through that game, through a race, through a nine inning or seven inning game, through a basketball game. And you see good coaches that help make those adjustments so that you can finish. Because if you're doing the same thing you do, you're not going to finish well.

Yeah, because the main thing I want to point out is that the announcer was like this is good for the Lions because in the playoffs it don't always go your way. But how, how do your team know how to react when it doesn't go your way? When things aren't going away, do you still know how to get that win even though things aren't going away? So I thought that was a really

good and then we've talked about on this podcast about getting, handling adversity or getting hit in the mouth. So how do you work with your team on do you talk? That's one thing I wondered if team practice, finishing or, or I know you're big in mental performance and you guys, you know, you guys see things and then do things to visualize. But is there anything that you do differently to make sure you finish or.

Yeah, I think about just a few different things. And the first one is that we tend to teach there is not a finish and the lines that are down should come from you and those lines are your standards and that you're often going to need other people to help you along the way when you cannot reach those standards. Much like the quarterback of the Lions, he probably would say he didn't touch the line in that game, but he had others around him that did or over exceeded that line to make sure that he was picked up. So I believe that most line touching comes from your standards, what your expectations are and you never really finish that. It's a continual thing that we call process.

And I agree. And one of the things at our level is we have a changeover in our roster. Every team does every year. I mean you could change one person in your team significantly different in the next year. But even what I alluded into at the beginning is that finish is the next start. You know, if you don't not having a good year that you want to have, you can still finish strong and build for the next year if, or again back to the lines if you're not having a good first half to finish the game strong so you can have some momentum going into that next game. So finishing is important. But you're right. It seems like in sports there's always something after that finish line and, and there's even talk of how long can you celebrate your finish, whether it was good, like if it's bad. We're going to bring up Ted Lasso here. Ted Lasso moment. Ding, ding. Be a goldfish, forget about it. But if it's a good finish, you always hear we got 24 hours, then we're on to the next one. And that's even the off season, you know, even when you win a national championship or, you know, I, you know, win a national championship in cross country on Saturday. Our coach had recruits in Monday morning for next year, you know, talking about the kids for winter workout. So great point. In sports, you know, they're, there's lines there and we can put. I like the idea of our standards and lines down because I agree winning a national championship is special, but we've always talked about a standard and you know, you can win a national championship and not run well. You could win, not win it and run your best. I mean the other team was just better that day and we've talked about that. So yeah, great point on the finish because even like right now where you guys are at in your season, you're not necessarily wrapping up your fall season. You wrapped up your fall competition season, but it really is in preparation to start your spring season.

Yeah, I believe that the people's faces will always change in your environment. And, but that doesn't mean that the standards or those lines need to change. And the hardest part, why I feel that people will end up falling short sometimes of those lines is because it's difficult, it's challenging. It's one of those things that's just really hard. And as I said earlier, you do need people around you. But the other thing is that when you are process based, you are about your standards and what your process is, those results will take care of themselves. The results are not always going to be there, but the, the one consistency that you can have is in your process and what you do.

And I think that the key word consistency, and we've talked about consistency and I Think the more consistency you have, the better chance you have at finishing strong. But as we've talked about in sport, that's not always easy, especially in games.

And if the Lions would have lost that game, if that kicker would have missed that field goal and would have lost that game, it still would have been rewarding because they hadn't. They. They. Their quarterback had played not great.

Right.

Statistically, really bad. And they had a chance to win the game.

Yeah.

Win that game at the very end. So that's still a win, whether that goes through the uprights or not, because that's process. That's what you want to see. You want to see people compete, even when the chips are down, fight through it.

Great.

It's. It's excellent that they won, but it still would have been a great sign for them to still be there against a very competitive team at the end with all that was stacked against them.

But what a fine line, you know, back to that line of touching is that you're right, they could have taken something if they would have lost. But winning a game like that, I think puts them even at another level.

So much hard work that goes into winning, but it's also a huge piece of luck. I mean, that last ball just barely missed the upper, you know, so it's a. It's a game of inches, they say.

But it's also. And we've talked about the butterfly effect before because that's not even their number one kicker. Their number one kicker gets hurt in the off season and they bring someone on and he turned out to be a great kicker that you could argue this started back at the beginning of the season. Where would their regular kicker have made that? Would they have gone for it? And. And that's the neat thing about sports. But there's still some common things there. Like you said, finding ways to finish or even using that finish as a catapult to what is next. Because they haven't handled much adversity this season because they played so well. That. But also, you know, the back to even what the coach did with the halftime adjustment because the other team didn't score in the second half, scored 23 in the first half. You know, so there's so many variables in finishing. And in the end, the media focuses on the result.

You know, it's not just the media.

True. I apologize.

Media. Everybody focuses on the result. And that starts at a young age. You've got. If you have a basketball player and you say, you know, hey, the first two questions they get asked after a Game all the time is did you win and how many points you score. You know, all results based. Not, you know, what kind of effort did you put in? And you know that what kind. What kind of teammate were you today? It's all results based. And so that gets internalized at really young ages. And then people tend to just focus on the results all the time versus what they're actually doing, what their process is. And the process ends up being way more important than what those results are. And that's why a lot of times you'll see the dreams get left behind because the results aren't there yet, but they're not going to be there yet. It's the same thing with, you know, if you've never really picked up a tennis racket and you're playing a Division 1 All American in tennis, how are you going to do. You're not going to do well. So you just give up on it because. But you look at who you're playing, look at what that standard is. They started probably so much earlier than you ever did. But if you start doing that consistently, you will get better. So if you get wrapped up in the result, you give up. But you get wrapped in the process, you can see growth.

I'm just glad you used tennis and not pick on my golf game like you had a history of doing here because I don't usually even finish the round of golf because I'm so frustrated with it. Who came up with the number nine in golf? I'd been happy with six holes or 12 holes instead of 18. But the other point you make.

Hold on, hold on. You just said you didn't finish.

I know the thumb golf round. I don't finish.

We going to have to replay this podcast whenever you feeling good thing golf

of the hobby and not. But again, if we tie in all our podcast how you do anything is how you do everything.

I was about to bring that up.

J. All right, I'll. I'll finish my next round round, I guess.

Yeah.

Spent that money. Enjoy yourself.

But. But there's two things else that you hit on that I'd like to dive into a little deeper is patience. Because sometimes we don't have the patience to finish. Like you said that especially I think as the younger generation is more like

you have to become best friends with delayed gratification.

Right.

And that's so hard to do. So hard.

Harder and harder actually in our, you know, society and younger generations and the technology and everything.

The quick at our disposal started with microwaves.

It did start with Microwaves, I agree. It's called the microwave effect, I believe. I like the microwave.

But.

But yeah, so patience, I think, plays into that, that finishing. And then also you talked about, you know, starting later. You know, how that people have head starts and how that could lead to a better finish. And I think that's more prevalent, like at the high school and youth level, like about 10 years ago, there was always discussion, what age should kids start playing football? Should it be when they're four or five? Should they start tackling in third or fourth grade? Or should they wait till seventh and eighth grade? And we saw a pro athlete that didn't start till high school. But in our.

You see ones that start at four.

Right.

That's why there's always going to be an argument for either way.

And the problem is, I think back to the competition thing is you feel like if someone else started at 4, that you can't wait till 6 to start because you're two years behind them. Even though development stages are different for everyone. But my point is, at our level, I think that's a neutralizer because it doesn't. Regardless where you start, you know, you're all at this level playing, which is a small percentage anyway. But I do think, you know, to the point of, at the younger levels, a head start can make a difference in whether someone finishes or not finishes

because Those ages of 6 to 10 are enormously prime for building some blocks.

But even the development of the, of the person, you know, some are late developers and, you know, I just had this conversation the other night with somebody that I remember when I was at the high school level as an administrator, some of those middle school teams or freshman team would say, we won the freshman championship. Why aren't we very good at varsity? And you know, because at some time the coaches would do like double reverses or they would just get the ball to the tallest kid.

Best underclassmen were already on varsity, and

that's part of it too. But also it could have been they, they went around the strength that wasn't a strength that people got older. And if you're 6:2 in 8th grade and you can get the ball inside and just put it up there in varsity, everyone that youth football, when I

coach, which was whoever could get to the sideline, you know, on offense. If you can get to the sideline on offense, you were going to score, you know, whoever could get over to that edge, you know, Right. You don't run up the middle, get to that line.

You get outside

and you get to the line or the edge? Yes.

Interesting, huh? Yeah. So.

Yeah.

So even having head start doesn't always process.

If you've got a better process than what the person that had a head start, you could start decades later. Decades.

And that process for me is touching the line. If you do that every day in practice, whether it's a running drill, whether it's finishing your velocity, pitching on the last repetition, the same with a layup drill. I mean, you're shooting for six minutes or even free throw practice or running four eight hundreds. Running that. That's the neat thing in cross country is they usually put times on, you know, let's run four eight hundreds and 210 or something. So, you know, they're the. They're the goal for each one. But the point is doing that every day, touching that line every day, finishing every day will help you finish when it matters.

All right, that was deep, man.

Like that.

All right, let's go to. Those are still. Listen.

Yeah. We got a question.

I've kind of broken it up now to a food question, and would you. Question. So my first. First of all, this is a dumb question.

Pizza and no.

And, you know, having fun pizza. Actually, my original question was gonna be, what was your favorite deli? We're gonna stick with it. Now. I was gonna do something different, but what's your favorite deli sandwich? Like. Like, for me, like, I do like the pizza sub at a local restaurant in Mason. They just make an excellent pizza sub. But if I'm going to a. Like, a deli place, it's a turkey Reuben with coleslaw and not sauerkraut on it. So those are my deli sandwiches. Do you guys have a favorite deli sandwich?

Two. It's two.

Okay.

All right. So, you know, home of the Detroit is really famous for the Reubens, so I do like a classic ribbon with the sauerkraut. You know, you taking it off is. Of course, you'd be different, taken away from the sandwich authenticity, you know, So I did. I did.

Yeah.

You took away from the authenticity of the Reuben, but it's okay. You had it with turkey, so it was already kind of getting weird.

Wow, you two ganging up on me.

All right, so no corned beef Reuben, classic. And then an Italian sub. I don't know. Anywhere I go. Anywhere you go. If. If you don't know where the food's at, you can always go on Italian. Yeah, it's gonna be. Usually be solid.

Okay, good one.

I think you guys had some decent ones. Oh, decent.

Okay. What you got?

Yeah, what do you got? Got.

Well, I think that I tend to lean towards things that are, you know, a little higher level. And so I'm gonna go with a PB and J.

You know what, that's.

What kind of jelly?

Strawberry.

Strawberry for sure.

Great for me. Really?

I slept on that.

You said.

They said deli, though. That's not a deli.

You get those?

Yeah, that's okay. It's sandwich. I'll go. I'll let you slide. You gotta, of course, be a little different. So higher standards.

That's my home go to.

I mean, if you talk to sports nutritionists, a PB&J is excellent throughout the day for student athletes.

So.

Okay, we got one. We started this last time when you weren't here, but. Okay. Would you let me find the one I was going to ask today? Would you rather be stuck on a desert island by yourself or with someone you dislike? Is that supposed to be hard? No, that's the question. It's not hard for me either.

It is not hard for me.

Okay.

I would rather be by myself, really.

Okay. What about you, Journey?

It will be someone I dislike. I feel like I can love them, to love them. Love them enough to make them change, you know, not change who they are, but I can learn to enjoy who they are as a person.

Being an athletic person, I would be with the person I dislike too. Hoping that we could find common ground and work together.

Great answers.

So, all right, just having fun here at the end. We'll continue that until you guys keep booing me off the set.

We're not like that last. Like I'm telling you, the last thing you said. Man, that's a clip. We need to take that out and put it in like an intro somewhere.

Okay, that was good. Well, we're trying here, so until next time, Go Stars. Stars on Sports is recorded live at the WLNZ Studios. Engineering and production assistance are provided by the Dallian Lowry and Jereny Robinson. You can listen to this episode and other episodes of Stars on Sports on demand@lccconnect.org to find more information about our athletic program, visit lccstars.com thanks for listening. Go Stars. Oh, I'll have a real good time. Examining the issues and topics that affect our lives from the local level to the world stage. Listen to the programs of LCC Connect anytime@lccconnect.org

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Lansing

Community College Performing Arts is proud to present Summer Stage under the stars featuring

a 10 minute play festival directed by

Paige Dunkle and Shelley Peterson. A wonderful variety of styles and concepts for this evening of theater, including.

Please silence your cell phones by Natalie Kowalski.

A play within a play, this comedic piece pits a die hard actor against that one one person in the audience who always forgets to silence their cell phone. Featured at LCC's outdoor amphitheater July 23rd

through the 27th at 7pm in the

event of rain or extreme heat, performances will move into Dart Auditorium. For more information, visit LCC.edushowinfo. all performances are free to attend. Mr. Detweiler, it's time to wake up. Mr. Detweiler.

Hey, Mr. Detweiler.

How we doing? Your surgery is over.

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What did I do?

You were captain of Team Detwiler. You told us everything we needed to know. Your medical history, your allergies and prescription meds. You asked me tons of questions. What your options to surgery might be, what to expect during recovery. You even asked me how many knee replacements I've already done. Huh. I guess I did kind of run

the whole operation, didn't I?

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Welcome to youo Are Invited, a podcast hosted by Dr. Dale Dan, where we celebrate diversity and invite everyone to share their own stories with the world. Here at Lansing Community College, we believe every voice matters. Dr. Dan and the Office of Empowerment want you, our LCC community, to be part of the conversation. Join us, share your experience, and help us build an inclusive community where everyone is hurt.

So, hello. Good afternoon, Angelica. We are so, so honored and privileged to have you as a part of our podcast series. You're invited. This particular podcast is entitled In Spite of Life. Here I am. We think of how much we can be an influence, blessing to so many because of our own life's journey. I have to tell you, when we met in my office, I don't know, a couple of months ago, I was so impressed with your story and deeply touched by it. And I think that's when you and I decided, wait a minute, don't hold that story to yourself. Let's share it with others. Especially in today's world, when so much is spinning around, persons can use a word of encouragement or a life story that can propel them forward. So thank you again for being here. So you want to tell us a little bit your name and a little bit about yourself, job wise?

Yep. So my name is Angelica Basic. My nickname is Angie. When I was in high school, people called me Angie or Angel. Later on, as far as where I work right now, I'm currently working at Lansing Police Department. I am a central records supervisor and LPD coordinator.

Wonderful. So once again, thank you. What do you like to be called at work?

They call me Angelica. My family calls me Angie.

So who should I call you?

Whatever you feel comfortable with. I was called Angie when I was little and it stuck because people couldn't pronounce my name. It was all about the pronunciation of the name. So it was just easier to go by Angie.

Well, you're so sweet and Angie just fits you perfectly. So I'll do Angie for today. So, Angie, I'll ask you to share with us, please, a little bit about yourself, your upbringing.

Sure. So I was born in Lansing, Michigan and I moved to DeWitt when I was about nine years old. Faith was a big part of my upbringing. I'm extremely thankful to have attended Catholic schools and I did that from DK to 12th grade. I will admit though, in high school I was questioning why I had to go to this high school. I was not sure, like, why am I going here? Why can't I go somewhere else? I didn't understand, but I was really inexperienced, young, just didn't really appreciate it. So little did I know that my parents were doing hidden financial sacrifices and time sacrifices, which again, I didn't realize it until way later. And now I'm a parent myself and I get it. So I really, you know, I can appreciate what they did for me as far as that goes. I do have a older brother, eight years older. So when I was in, I guess junior high and then high school, he was already out of the house. So I was essentially like an only child at that time. And I've always been very like introverted since I was little. I really have tried working on that considering different jobs that I've held, which I've held a lot of different jobs, like little part time jobs, stuff like that. And another thing that stood out was My mom, she worked for the Department of Defense and specifically the Marines. So I was around a lot of military families. And to me at the time, I thought it was normal how the way of life was, and come to find out, it's way different than most people. But I made a lot of interesting friends and just learned a lot. And then I later was in the United States Marine Corps Cadet program when I was 10, and I actually met my God sisters there. And one of them I'm still extremely close with. So we've, you know, been connected all these years. I learned to do, like, parades, marches. I learned my Social Security number when I was 10 years old, which is apparently weird. And kind of experience discipline and. I don't know, I really liked being a cadet. I thought it was really interesting. It was fun, and I had a really good time. And, I mean, I have really good memories from that. Again, it was when I was 10 years old with the cadet program where I work LPD. We also have a police cadet program. Yeah. So I think it's really funny that after all these years. Yeah, I'm still around that. It's just. It's a little different. Yeah, it is. It's like, you know, it's a small world. And another thing that my parents really instilled in me was kindness, calmness. And I always saw my mom giving to the church, like, donating. And she always told me that, you know, you have to remember, like, the less fortunate.

Yes.

With that being said, if someone needed help with moving or whatever, she would always volunteer me and to help. And I did that. I did just that. When I was 14 years old, I actually was volunteering at a domestic violence shelter. And when the moms would be looking for jobs or needing to go to appointments and whatnot, I would be the one that's watching the kids. And this first experience that I had never has left me. I was 14, and there was a baby that had a deformity. And essentially the baby had the mouth and the nose, like, together. And the baby started crying. And I had never really held a baby or fed a baby at that time. I didn't have, like, much younger cousins, and I didn't have any other siblings. So I panicked, called my mom, mom, help. And she showed up within, like, 11 minutes. And she's a slow driver, so that's very quick for her. And she basically, like, took the baby from me and was like, this is what you do. Because I didn't have any experience, and I just kind of, like, witnessed, watched, and I Would do that a couple times a week. And I got really attached to some of the kids, and they got really attached to me. One of the little boys, his name was Philippe, he absolutely adored me, wanted to go home with me, and he was so protective. And it was just really, really sad to see some of these kids because, you know, the environment that they were exposed to, which was abuse. I noticed one of the little boys, that same little boy, very protective of this one small girl. And somebody was trying to take a toy, and, like, he immediately stepped in, like, pushed her aside, got in front of. And it was like he was 5 years old. And for him to have to do that, you know, that's what he had learned. And it was just really sad. And, like, that actually was a start for me to really be interested in that. And obviously later, like, you know, I went into the CARE program, which is through the Lansing Police Department as well. And I've always had a passion for helping people, and I think it started when I was younger.

Thank you. Thank you for sharing your upbringing. I think of when you're. You're speaking life experiences, memories, like you said, when you look back and you think about how mom and dad did for you, a lot of times I, too, look back at life, say one of, you know, if I thought of this, would I have acted differently? Would I have said something differently? And you speak about your brother, eight years older than you. Was he the bossy brother?

Not too much. I mean, he just acted like, well, I'm older, so I know a little better. But he. He didn't boss me around. It was. It was pretty good.

I'm glad to hear that. Well, listen, I'm listening to you again, and I think of why I enjoy our conversations. You have such a rich upbringing. It's like this beautiful collage of so many things you can pull from that makes you the beautiful person you are today. Thank you. Angie, can you share with us a few of the challenges you've had along the way?

Absolutely. So, growing up, some challenges that I faced were questions like, why do you look like that? Why do you look different? The reason why I'm asking or was being asked these questions is because the schools that I went to is predominantly white, and so I did look different in comparison. So I would get asked by kids that were much younger than me. One time I got. I was told I looked like the maid that they had. So stuff like that. Yes, yes. And one memory that I would like to share, which I can remember just like it was yesterday, I Was in second grade, and I was in a reading and writing class. The teacher had announced she's going to be doing two groups, a red and a green group. And I was like, okay. So she divvied up the kids. And I remember distinctly, why is the red group ginormous? And why is the green group so small? It just. It didn't make sense just by looking. Correct. And I was young, second grade, and also in the green group, I noticed that the kids had my skin color or darker. So I'm like, okay, I'm starting to. To figure out what the difference is.

The groups. Yeah.

So I went home upset, and I told my mom. And I was like, mom, this is what happened. And her advice was, okay, like, does that bother you? Why does it bother you? Try to get me to talk about it. And then I said, it bothers me because I'm really good at reading and writing. Why did I get put in a group where I feel like I'm not good at reading or writing? She said, to study and be prepared for tomorrow, you know, because we are going to get quizzed tomorrow. And I said, okay. So I did just that next day, go into the circle, our little circle. And as soon as she started answering or asking the questions, I immediately rose my hand. Every single question. My hand was up, and it was like a movie scene when she said, does anybody else have an answer besides Angie? And I looked around, kept raising my hand. I said, I know the answer. Call me. And so she asked me to stay behind. So she said, you can move into the red group. And it's just like. Again, I still remember it like it was yesterday because it stood out so much. I mean, I didn't have really strong math skills at the time. I studied, like, math. I would have to get, like, a tutor with math. That was the one subject I struggled with. But with reading and writing, I was always good at it. So the fact that I had to prove myself at such a young age that I knew what I knew was crazy to me. And that was the start of realizing that that's essentially other things I'm going to face. And unfortunately, I have. And another time when I was in eighth grade, I had a really good friend and her sister, she. She just had an issue with people that were not white. And I remember she was picking my friend up, and she just, like, flicked me off, like, for no reason. And I just, like, looked at her. I was like, is this happening? I thought it was a joke. Like, I thought she was joke. She wasn't Joking. And then when I saw my friend get into the car, and she, like, hit her sister, like, on the back, and her face was so upset, and she's like. And I read her mouth, and she said, why are you doing. Doing this? And I was like, okay, so this is actually happening. That wasn't a joke. She's just. She hates me, and I didn't do anything. So it's. It's things like that. And I mean, I experience, like, going to restaurants, not being served, like, stuff like that. So, yeah, those were challenges that I had to essentially accept.

Yes.

And learn to deal with them, which, you know, I mean, obviously I did. But the point of me sharing that, essentially, is just to say that just because, you know, you're having a stereotype about you doesn't mean that. That it's true.

Exactly.

And you have to, I guess, you know, push forward and move forward. And that's exactly what I did.

What you did. I'm so proud of you, you know, especially in the second grade. That's pretty young.

It is.

And when you made that transition from green to red, what were your initial thoughts? Do you remember that?

I do. I remember looking around and thinking, like, okay, why. Why am I sitting in this giant group when some of you don't even belong in this group? Then I started questioning, like, other people in the group because I was, like, essentially judged. And I'm like, well, I know a couple of these people I'm sitting next to don't know reading and writing as good as I do.

Yeah.

And so I kind of question that. But, I mean, I excelled in that. In that course, of course. And that's always something I've been really good at.

What I love about your story is that you did not allow yourself to be beaten down in the sense that you knew your values, your qualities, your strengths. Right. Correct. And you used them. And when. When the teacher was asking questions, you answered and so on. Not many people find that Some. Some people similar. Your situation would probably give up, you know, and so, again, it is kudos to you. You know, as we started saying, this podcast is so, so important because so many I know will listen to it. What would you say to others, especially younger people, you know, what would you advise them based on your experiences on what you did? What are three advice you'll give to them?

Right. So definitely believe in yourself not to give up, not to surround yourself with people that are negative and find the people that are positive to support you. And if you don't have that, then believing in yourself is enough. I know that where I work currently at lpd, I do have police cadets that are there on the floor and one in particular reminds me of me. And so when she asked me for advice or a couple others, I'm always willing to give it, even if it's work related or not. Just because I see, you know, myself being at that age and remembering and like pulling experiences like I've shared with you today of, you know, this is what happened with me, this is what I would recommend. And when they're asking me questions, I'm able to give responses. And not just responses, I can give a whole section story on why I'm telling you that. And I do and, and I love it because they listen, because they find it interesting. It's like I've been in your shoes, I, I've been there. So please listen to the story I'm going to tell you and then you can make your own decision. Of course I'm not forcing you, but I appreciate that because you know, I, I'm at least trying to help them. And that's what it's all about.

That's what it's all about. Thank you, Angie. A lot of times I say to myself, because as you can imagine, we've all gone through different, probably different experiences, but tough experiences that at times I say to myself, our experiences are not ours to hold ourselves but to use them in a positive way, which I think is what you've been doing. And again, listening to your story today, I just envisioned this beautiful, beautiful picture and I think you can relate. In our lives, we have the bright colors. You know, you look any really rich painting and they're bright colors, they're dark colors. And if you were to take out the dark colors, you realize it's not as pretty, right? The colors balance each other. I think what I see when I look at you and spend time with you is that beautiful painting that you have. So I am so encouraged by the many who can now today learn from your experience and step up in their lives. What was curious to me as well. If you yourself had to go back to 10 years and you had to advise Angie back then, what would you have said to her?

I would tell her to re evaluate what you're doing and do some changes and all for the better. I wasn't motivated to go to get my graduate degree right away. I was like, I have time, it'll happen, you know, And I sat on it and I looking back, why did I sit on it? Go right away, get it Done. And it's going to be harder. And I did. I put myself in that situation where it was harder because of what was going on with my life. So I would definitely say that and not to give up. There was times, you know, being older, even where I was like, you know what? It's just. It is what it is. I'm just gonna just leave it be. And it took me months, you know, sometimes even a year to really refocus and be like, no, this is what you have to do. You have to move on. Like, get up, do something. And so I would just say just to believe in myself more and the negativity, if I was around it, if anyone was around me that was negative, instead of just taking it, I would have just walked away.

Absolutely. Thank you for sharing that. I think you agree with me. Like one author says, the only constant today is change. So change is constantly there, you know, and we just have to say to yourself, get up and go. You just have to. We have to keep going. That's just so important. I'd love to hear from you, Angie, who's the biggest inspiration in your life?

I would say my parents. They instilled their hard working ethics in me. They both work constantly. And again, it was a big part was for the schools that they were sending me to, which I didn't understand at the time, of course, but they were very positive and loving. I think, think I grew up in a healthy environment, loving environment. And I know one of my best friends, when I was, you know, in second, third, fourth grade, she didn't have that. She had a mom that wasn't there for her and just wasn't very supportive. And then when I was older, I realized, you know, she was going through a lot worse than what I saw. And so I was fortunate that I didn't have to go through that.

Yeah. Thank you. Just this week, I was thinking, you know, in the context of what you said, I don't know if you're familiar with the poem the Desiderata, always greater, always lesser. You know, like, you went through a lot, you know, but to see your parents were there constantly. There are others who went through but didn't have that foundation or something to step on.

Right.

So I'm glad that you had that. I wonder today, when you think of where you are today, what motivates you to just, again, keep going, even when I'm sure you still have some tough days.

Yeah, absolutely. We definitely all have some tough days. And we. We all have different crosses to bear too. I mean, My experiences are different than your experiences, but they're still experiences. So as far as motivation, I keep that in mind. I know and I understand people from all walks of life. My parents, I strive to do better for them myself. Role model for my daughter.

Yes.

I have a daughter and how old is daughter? Daughter is 15. Yeah. Going on 20. Yeah. She is so smart and I always give her credit and tell my parents this all the time, that she is way smarter than me. And I hope that it's stays that way.

Yes.

But yeah, just my family, especially my daughter, because I want to be that role model for her. And basically anybody that has shared some of my experiences that look like me, that you know, that are wondering like, well, if she can do it, I can do it and. Absolutely. Right. You absolutely can. You just have to believe in yourself. Yeah. I mean, going to school for my undergrad, I was working full time doing the care program at that time. And also I was a single parent at that time, so. And going to school part time is just. It was so hard. And that's why I always tell my daughter, like, you need to go to school, focus. And she takes it serious.

Yes.

And she's thriving in school, so I'm really proud of her.

That's encouraging. You know, Angie, we can't take back the experiences that you have had, but it is really beautiful when I think of the many, many persons in your own life right now, whether it be your job, your home or so, and the many who will hear this podcast to think how you can better lives through what you went through. And so just really thank you again for doing that. So what do you do for fun?

When I do have time, which is not a lot. Yeah. I like to go to the movies. I like to have a date night with my husband. We actually love horror movies and scary movies and so that's always fun. And I like going for walks and the typical hanging out with friends and family. No really matter what it is, as long as you're just hanging out, having a good time. When I can, which is not often, I like to leave the city and just get out of the city. Go somewhere. Yeah, go somewhere else. I like being on the water.

Yes.

When I was younger, I didn't. I don't know why. But now that I'm older, I'm like, I love the water. It's wonderful.

Do you swim?

I swim, but I like to be on a boat, like, and I like the scenery. And yeah. My bucket list is to go on a cruise because I've Never done that.

Oh, my goodness.

I think that would be wonderful. And honestly, fun for me would be sitting at home.

Yes.

Watching a really good movie, relaxing in my own home, and just having that peace and quiet and just enjoying it. I love quiet. I love the peace. When I'm at work or doing a bunch of things, there's always chaos around. So I really appreciate, like, the quiet, which is probably why I like to be in a different city scenery and just really enjoying, like, nature.

Taking that correct. You said earlier in your younger days you were also an introvert. You know.

Yes, and I know extremely.

And I know also you can speak if you need to speak. I don't know if it's our Catholic education, but I too, believe it or not, I'm an introvert. I think it comes way back from, again, that Catholic education, being around nuns and that introspection. Of course. But if we have to speak, we speak, right. And not I. I guess you make me realize I have to start having some fun for me. You know, I like piano concerts and movies, not horror. I am more a Song of Music Pollyanna, which is really boring.

You know, to each their own.

Yeah, but. But like you, we do have in common. I love water. It feels very therapeutic. I know it sounds funny. Even a glass of water, even at the beach. I just love water. It's just so serene. And I think of that. Is there anything else you'd like to say to us before we close? We're so honored to have you.

Thank you for having me. And yeah, I mean, I just hope that maybe somebody out there can relate to my story or is going through a hard time and just be inspired, you know, that you can do it. It takes time. That's my advice. It does take time. And there's going to be times. I'm not saying it's easy. There will be times when you're like, why am I killing myself and working, you know, all these hours and going to school? Like, when is this going to pay off? I promise it does, because it does.

You know. Thanks for sharing that. Even when you look at what young people are going through today, in fact, I said to someone just this morning at breakfast, even we who are older and experienced sometimes can't always deal with life. What young people are going through you and sometimes a point of despair. What would you say to that person right now who's totally at the point

of despair, that not to give up and reach out to who they know that is going to be there for them. There's always going to be somebody. And if you don't have family, there's friends.

Yes.

And you'd be surprised. I mean, even classmates, co workers. If you just reach out to them, they're going to help you.

Oh yes. Oh yes. I agree with that. I think the most important thing is what you're ending with is don't keep it to yourself.

Absolutely.

We all need an outlet, some type of outlet. So again, we just want to save our hearts to yours. We love you, we appreciate you, and we know this is not our last podcast, and I know it will bless many of our students and those outside of Lansing Community College. So thank you so much.

Thanks for having me.

Foreign this concludes today's episode of you Are Invited, hosted by Dr. Dale Dan. We hope this episode inspired you to reflect on your own experiences and share them with us. For additional resources on diversity and inclusion, visit us at LCC Edu Empowerment. We'd also love to hear your thoughts. Send your comments or questions to you are invited. Your voice helps shape future conversations. Let's keep building a stronger, more inclusive community together. Connecting you with Lansing Community College. This is LCC Connect

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