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Washington Square. On air is the audio town square for the Washington Square Review. Lansing Community College's literary journal. Writers, readers, scholars, publishing professionals, citizens of the world, gather here and chat about all things writing.

Hey there.

This is Melissa Ford Luckin, editor for the Washington Square Review. I'm here today with Amanda Gatchall, and her story Sanctuary will be featured in our Summer 24 issue. So, hey, Amanda.

Hi.

How are you?

I'm good. I'm excited to be talking to you because you do a lot of cool stuff.

I'm excited to be here.

So tell us, how did you come to write the story Sanctuary?

So that one, I wrote that story. I don't remember how many years ago it was. It was, if I'm remembering right, I wrote it for one of my writing classes in college. It was for a dystopian and post apocalyptic fiction class. And I remember we did like a bunch of smaller prompts. And then we had the assignment of like, okay, now write a dystopia. And I had one of the prompts. Like, we would read a couple of stories and then we would write a prompt based on, like, the common theme of those stories. Like, I think for Sanctuary specifically, the theme was like, isolation and being in, like, an isolated place. And there were. I had this idea of, you know, these people living in this kind of isolated society underground. And then I also had another idea in my head that was like, I want to write a story about a cute little robot. That's what I want. That's what I want to do. It's what my heart wants. And some way or another, I'm going to make it work. I'm going to make this shoe fit. And I did. And so that's kind of where that story came from. And it has been since I wrote it for that class. It's been through a couple of different iterations. A lot of revision and rewriting things and taking things out and adding things in later. And then I brought it up again for a publishing and editing course that I took where we assembled like a portfolio of some of our best work or what we think is our best work. And then we would like, peer review it to kind of get a taste of the publishing process, I guess. And so after that class, I just started submitting this story everywhere and the rest is history.

All right, so I want to take a real quick detour. Are there any cute robots that inspired you to make you, made you want to write a cute robot?

Man, I mean, I've always kind of loved cute little robots like all, like, everybody knows that. Knows me, knows that. One of my favorite books from my childhood is. It's called Sea Otto, and it's about, like, this robot that, like, I think he, like, he goes on a rocket ship and then, like, crashes on Earth, and he meets these two monkeys and they all become friends. And I. I don't know why. I always loved it as a kid, and funnily enough, I gu. Other kind of robot that inspired me was, I believe it was at the time I wrote this story, my D and D character for the campaign I was in, he was a fun robot guy. And I've always had a connection with him because I always loved writing stuff for him. Only he's a little bit different from the robot in this story. But I think definitely that's where my heart was at because that's what I was thinking about when I wasn't thinking about school. So I think they kind of bled into each other a little bit.

Makes sense.

Yeah.

Because the robot in Sanctuary is cute and sweet, and I think that that sweetness works really well in the setting, which is kind of. It starts out kind of like, you know, sort of upbeat, but the further you get into it, you know, about the time you're halfway through, you realize it's all. Is not cute and sweet. And so the contrast between. Yep. Between the robot and really what's going on makes it intense because one of the things I had been wondering about, but now I know the answer was, why did you choose to use a robot character instead of a human? But now this is my book club question for you. Okay, so what is gained in the story by using a robot instead of a human?

I don't know. I think something that I like to explore in, you know, because I like to write sci fi most of the time, that's mostly what I enjoy writing. And I don't know, I think, like, in writing for, like, I mentioned, like, my robot character that I had for D and D and, you know, other stories that I've written. I think that something that's always been kind of intriguing to me in media is, you know, a cre. A being, I guess, that isn't fully organic or, you know, isn't like a fully a human like us. But what makes us human isn't the fact that we have, you know, flesh and bones and blood flowing through our veins. I think that a major part of, like, our humanity is being able to kind of recognize that, you know, you. That you have complex feelings inside you, because I think little one's journey in the story is kind of. That they had this preconceived notion, and it was, this is the way things were, and it's great, and it's fine and everybody's happy. And once they learn that, no, this is not the way it is, and it, you know, it actually, there's like a dark underbelly underneath everything. And that's kind of a complex revelation to come to, that this person that you revered and adored for so long turns out to be hurting people. And whether it's for what they perceive as a greater good or it's ultimately getting more people hurt, then that's kind of something you have to battle with. And I just like the idea of I don't know, because in some ways, I'm still learning how to be a person.

Yes.

So I like writing characters that in some way, shape or form are still learning to be a person, too.

I think we're all still learning to be people.

I sure hope so.

I'm way behind.

When you think about the theme of isolation, it's interesting that the robot is essentially isolated and becomes more isolated as we move into the story and they start to discover the consequences of the bigness of what they've discovered because we don't want to say what they've discovered.

Yeah. No spoilers here. This is a spoiler free podcast.

That's right. The interesting thing to me, in addition to the little robot, was the earth element. So once I learned a little bit more about you, and I know now you have a science background in environmental science and biology. So at the time you were taking the creative writing classes in, I'm guessing was undergrad, you were also studying science and biology. So talk a little bit. How did you decide to take creative writing along with those other things?

I mean, I always liked to write since I was a kid. And, you know, I think everybody, or at least I had the aha moment of what I wanted to study in college, in high school. Like, when I took. I took a marine science class in high school, and I thought, this is the coolest thing ever. I just want to do. Can we just do this all day? And then it was like, oh, wait, I can do this all day if I go into an environmental science degree. And I also took, I think in, like, one of my English classes, we did, like, a creative writing unit where we learned about the facets of creative writing. And at the end, we wrote a short story, and everybody else was like, oh, that class. That unit was difficult, and I didn't find it Interesting. And I was like, man, that was great. English class would be perfect if it was just this, if we did this the whole time. And I was thinking, you know, I can do creative writing in college too. Only I wasn't 100% sure about going purely into an English degree because, you know, you know, I've met a lot of English people who do a lot with their English degrees, but I didn't think I could figure out something to do with my English degree where I could like, reasonably sustain myself, if that makes sense. So at first I was just going to take some creative writing classes on the side with my major. And then I found out later that I could have a creative writing minor, which, you know, and I could have a minor. It didn't have to be a minor that related to my major. Like, you know, a lot of people did say, like I had one classmate who did the flip of me where she was an English major and she minored in environmental science. So that was always kind of interesting. But yeah, I was really excited to. I was like, I'm going to take these classes anyway, so I might as well get that extra feather in my cap for a creative writing minor.

Well, it seems to me, knowing what I know about you, that it worked in your favor because you've done some amazing science things. Tell us a little bit about some of the research that you've done.

Oh, man. Where should I start? Oh, man.

Well, there's one with turtles.

I don't know. I kind of got involved in a little bit of everything in undergrad. So I should probably add, I went to College in St. Augustine, which is one of the big reasons why I chose that school, because it's right on the coast. And I figured that that would create a lot of really good opportunities to get out on the water and do research and make connections in that way. And, you know, there was a mix of, you know, projects that were done within classes I had to take. And there were some things where professors would send out mass emails and it'd be like, oh, if anybody's interested, reply to this email and we'll meet at this place on this time. And you know, most of the time I would be like, you know what? I have time that day. I can, you know, go collect soil samples. Let's do it. And probably the most notable one was it was originally just going to be a week long study abroad trip for me, but it turned into like pretty much a whole summer where I went to Bermuda. And I, because I did this study, I was going to do the study abroad. And then my. One of the professors running the trip, who was also my academic advisor, she told me, like, you know, oh, we're recommending people because we have a partnership with, you know, scientists in Bermuda and researchers. And, you know, they've been opening things up again after, because it was like right after Covid too. And they, for the first time in like a year, are bringing back interns. And they were like, so can we, can I recommend you? And I thought, yeah, that's really cool. Let's do it. And I did. And I learned a lot and I did a lot of things.

And what was, what were they studying?

It was. I did. I kind of liked to think that I was kind of a jack of all trades because it did a little bit of everything. Because my study abroad was because there was a snorkeling group and a scuba diving group. And I am not scuba certified. I'm too anxious to scuba dive. And so I did snorkeling, which is really cool. It was really cool and so beautiful. And everybody in the snorkeling group had to pick, like, a specific creature to study that we could see snorkeling. And everybody else picked like, fish. And I was like, first of all, I think I. I don't want to say fish are boring because they're not. Fish are interesting. But I feel like, I don't know, there are more interesting things that I could learn about, so. And also I wanted to pick something that couldn't like, hide and swim away from me because I had never snorkeled in open water before that trip. So I picked the fire sponge. And I did a mini research project on the types of locations they prefer to be in. Like, I looked at more developed areas like docks and harbors and marinas versus, like a reef that's like a 30 minute boat ride out from the mainland. And I found that the sponges, they are way more prevalent on, like, developed structures. Like, I think there was one picture I took when we were looking at like yachts where there was just like a whole section of the dock was. You would look down and it was just covered in sponges.

What do the sponges, what do they look like?

They, the fire sponge is like, it's a bright red kind of orangey sponge, and it's called the fire sponge because if you touch it, it's not gonna, like, seriously hurt you, but it just like stings a little bit and burns. That's why it's called the fire sponge, because it'll Burn you. But it's not like anything super dangerous. It's just. That's what it's also because it's, like, bright red. And I remember when I saw pictures of it for the first time, because we did a research phase before we left, and I looked up pictures online, and I thought, there's no way that's real. And it is real.

So was it the docs you said that were covered?

Yeah, yeah. In closer to more developed areas was where I saw them the most.

And what do they eat?

Sponges are filter feeders. So they kind of just sit there and take in microbes and minerals or whatever from the water.

Okay. All right. So you watched the sponges and wrote up about them. And what else did you do in Bermuda?

I did my internship was with the Bermuda Aquarium. So I got to. We like. The place where me and our other intern stayed was, like, right across the street from the aquarium. So it's kind of cool to have a short little walk to work every day.

But

I kind of got a taste of, like, kind of everything that would go on at the aquarium. I helped with, you know, feeding the animals and, you know, cleaning different enclosures. And occasionally someone would get a call about, like, an injured animal or, you know, something that they needed to check on or releasing an animal. And, you know, we would go out on the boat and do that or go drive to wherever the animal was. And I got a taste of a little bit of everything. The things I remember the most, because they were the most consistent was they had harbor seals that would be fed three times a day. And it was kind of a. It was like an educational thing. It's like. Like, someone would stand where the people would be and, like, talk to them about the seals while the rest of us would just be doing our thing. And the thing I remember is that all three of those seals are. They're kind of in their, like, retirement era, because they are. They're kind of like old ladies. I see. Also because, fun fact, seals develop cataracts in their eyes over time because when they swim, they get the sun in their eyes. And in the wild, typically, we don't see that because those seals get eaten before they finish up their natural lifespan. But since those seals in Bermuda are in captivity, they get to live out the rest of their natural lifespan. And so it was kind of. I don't know, it was interesting because I didn't realize it was a possibility, but, like, all three of those seals were. They were all blind, and I thought that was kind of Fascinating because you could still tell them to do things like move from one pool to another or, you know, like, twirl around, but it was just with, like, a movement of your hand or like a stick in the water. And I don't know, I thought that was so fascinating because I had never seen it before.

What do you think? Yeah. What do you think drives your need? Your. Your need or your desire, Your longing to write? Because like I said, you're obviously busy, you got lots to do, and you

come up with a very interesting question. I like to use reading and writing as kind of a form of escapism because, you know, sometimes it's easier to jump into a fictional world than deal with your real problems. But that's not always the best solution. But I find myself doing it more often than not. I don't know, I just like having all these fun ideas and then getting to share them with other people and kind of. Because, I don't know, I think when I read other people's writing, I like that I can see a glimpse of them, like they put a bit of themselves into their work. And I think it's interesting because it kind of creates a sense of, you know, everybody gets to see the world through someone else's eyes for a little bit. And I think that, you know, I use it as a way to sometimes ignore my real world problems, but sometimes not. Sometimes I just, you know, it's like I don't. I don't want to. I don't want to do laundry. I want to write about, I don't know, a world with little robots dancing around. I don't know.

Well, and you said earlier we were talking about, you know, kind of what it means to be human. And so that's a possibility. That. That's something in the back of your mind is what doesn't, you know. The other thing I was wondering is, you mentioned D and D, right?

Mm.

So how long did you play that? How much? How often?

Yeah, I still play DD with my friends to this day because that's storytelling.

That's a strong storytelling influence.

Yeah, that's great. The way I describe D and D to people who have never played before is I say it's collaborative storytelling because in reality, especially with the way me and my friends play, like, we're not big on combat and all that. We just like to make silly little characters and go to silly places and talk to other silly characters and do silly things we're not big into. Like, combat is not interesting to us. So over the years, we have kind of created this world where it's like we can just hang out and, you know, do magic sometimes. And that's it. I've been playing D and D since my freshman year of undergrad. And then it really picked up when Covid hit because we all couldn't go anywhere. And my friend who is our current dm, she had a one shot for a club at our school that she was going to do, but then when everything shut down for Covid, she was like, amanda, I don't have anybody to run this. And then I invited a bunch of my friends to play, and we kind of all became friends, and we started playing, and then it kind of. We. Then it was a one shot that turned into one campaign. And then the logical ending of that story came, and we were like, man, we don't really want to stop playing D and D with each other because it's fun. How about we start another campaign in the same world with new characters? And then we did that, and that campaign ended, and then we're in the campaign that we're in now.

When you think about your own creative writing, how does the D and D show up there? Do you ever pull any themes or pieces of characters, anything like that?

Over? I think with, like I mentioned, I had my. My robot guy, my robot character. And a big part of his arc was kind of learning his place in the world beyond what he was built to do or what he thought he was built to do, because he was very. He. He was very sheltered. Kind of in the same way littleone was where he really hadn't been out in the world too much before, like, the main plot of the campaign, because, you know, for one reason or another, robots in that world were prejudiced against. And so we kind of had to hide. Only he didn't really realize the extent of that being an issue. And so when finally he was like, man, I gotta go. I gotta save my people. Then he kind of. He kind of relearned or he learned how the world worked. And I kind of. When I think about that character's experience in the time in my life that I was in, I think it's really interesting that in a way, I kind of had to relearn the world because, you know, after we all, you know, hid in our houses for the summer, and then it was like, okay, come back to school, right? I don't know. It felt really different. And it was definitely a culture shock in some ways. But I think another thing that I take from playing D and D with my friends and putting into my writing is. I don't know. I think I have always tended to enjoy writing characters and writing character pieces rather than doing world building. But I think D and D is definitely giving me practice in that because I was a dungeon master once for a one shot that I wrote. But I think I prefer being a player. And I like. I don't know, I like being able to get inside a character's head and go, okay, what would they do? You know, in this situation? I'm not me, I'm them. And, you know, are they going to ensue chaos or are they going to follow the rules? I don't know. They know I don't. And I think also working with other people and their characters or it's kind of shown me that, you know, seeing my friends create all these characters kind of helps me think about, you know, what types of characters would work well together, what types wouldn't. What kind of conflict could happen that isn't necessarily caused by the world itself? Because sometimes the most intriguing conflict can come from just two characters having a disagreement with each other or miscommunication.

And yeah, yeah, that's interesting because the two characters could be in a tavern or they could be by a coral reef. But if it's a conflict between the two characters, the setting feeds in, but the tension is really coming from the two characters.

Exactly.

That's really interesting to think about. What kind of creative stuff are you working on right now?

Oh, man, right now I like writing a little bit of poetry every now and again. I really want to write a. I want to do a short story collection that is a sci fi retellings of fairy tales. Because there's another story that I wrote that I would consider a sister story to Sanctuary that is not published yet. So I won't say anything about that just in case anybody in the future outside of my friends and family gets to read it. But that story kind of tied in to like, I realized, like, I was talking to my friends about it and then they were like, did you mean for this to be a retelling of this? And I was like, no, I didn't. But it's interesting that you thought that. And then I realized that I have a couple of other ideas for stories for fairy tales that I would want to retell in the works because I think that I think old fairy tales are interesting. And one of my best friends is. We consider her our kind of our resident fairy tale expert because, you know, she knows all these old fairy tales and tells them to us all the time. And I don't know, I just like writing sci fi and I like, I like the idea of having a basic framework of a story told like hundreds of years ago and keeping the same ideas and then twisting them in a way. Because something I really like, one of my favorite books series ever, is it's a unified plot between all the books, but it is a series of sci fi retellings. And I always, when I read those books for the first time, I always thought it was so cool when I got to read a scene and then have the aha moment of oh, this is the connection to the original story, only it's in this context. And I always thought that was so cool. And I was like, I want to do that with my work. Work. I want to give somebody else the aha moment.

That sounds great. All right, so if people are interested in getting in touch with you, maybe so they can hear more about your collection when it comes out, you said that they can find you on LinkedIn.

Yes, I am on LinkedIn. Oh yeah, sanctuary does have a Spotify playlist. I should probably make that public.

Oh, yes.

So if you send us the link for that, we'll be sure to include that in the show notes. So people.

Oh, cool. Of course. Yeah, I'll happily do that. I've had that playlist for like years now.

Nice.

And now I can, I can finally. And I've been listening to those songs and so I can, I can show it off. So yes, please do.

That sounds wonderful. Thanks a lot for joining us today.

Thank you so much for having me. This is so exciting. I'm so excited to read the whole. The whole issue.

Awesome. Thanks for stopping by the Audio Town Square of the Washington Square Review. Until next time, this has been Washington Square on air from Lansing Community College. To find out more about a writer's community and literary journal, visit lcc. Edu WSL Writing is Magic, But Do It Anyway.

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Edu cc, LCC Connect, Voices, Vibes, Vision hey hey hey.

This is Lisa A. And you're listening to who's that Star On LCC Connect at Lansing 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 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 Hello. Who's that Star? Community I hope you all are doing well today. On who's that Star we have a truly dynamic individual. She has a way about her that is so calming and I just love it. Today's Star started her diversity and equity and inclusion journey at five when she began world tours due to her father's government role and mother's education service. In her community she saw where the world was very diverse and from that tender age she saw the many inequities. This continued into her adulthood through professional and mission work in the USA in about 53 countries. I didn't even know we had 53 countries so I can't wait to talk about this. This star has served in a variety of roles and projects in all major sectors including education, business, government in all levels, federal, state and local church and non government organizations. These roles include President, Vice President, Dean and faculty. Also high school teacher with a focus on dei, academics and accreditation, online learning, training and development, mediation and conflict resolution, and teaching, business and leadership. Wow. What can't you do? She was outstanding in her academic pursuits Earning her diploma of Excellence in European and Hispanic Studies. She also received the Blue Ribbon Award for being the most outstanding American graduate in Hispanic and European studies and received the Mayor's Award for Service in Columbus, Ohio. Our star graduated from the Venezuelan Bilingual Institute with highest honors and received numerous awards for best orator. I know she is upset with me right now. Outstanding student. And for loyalty and service. And I can definitely see that she is a member of the National Dean Honor Society in the Sigma Delta Beta chapter for quality business professionals. She has been honored as an outstanding woman of technology for America. There's so much more that I could say about this star, but I think it's time for us to meet today's star. Drum roll.

Today's star is dale dan, chief diversity officer at lansing community college.

Thank you, Dale, for coming on. Who's that star today?

Thank you for having me.

So are you ready to jump into the questions?

Yes, absolutely.

Okay. I want to know a little bit about you. A lot of times when I'm speaking with people, I kind of know a little bit more than what I do. So could you tell me a little bit about who you are right now and what's important in your life?

So, as I said, at the moment I'm serving as chief Diversity officer at Lansing Community College. I have to say that that is one of the most precious things in my life right now. I started in January 2024, and I see my work as a mission field. It's just been amazing being able to be in an environment where DIB is desired, not required, where I would have to say, honestly, it's most. All of the campuses around LCC are so engaged and desire to be a part of this journey. And through the Office of Empowerment, we absolutely hoping that each and every person will feel special, as unique as they are. And our thumbprint proves how different we are. And to feel equipped and to be feel really belong to the college as a part of the family. So this is really exciting for me. Originally, I'm from Guyana, South America, but lived in the United States for 35 years, have been in education that long, serving as vice president of Academics and accreditation and also building online universities for students in 53 countries, students who could not go to the campus. And then my third lane has been dib. And so coming on to my final years in my career, I decided to choose DIB because I always felt it was the most rewarding and how wonderful to do it at lcc.

I know we had talked a little bit about how you selected LCC you know, we weren't your first choice, were we? I mean, hey, it's okay because tell the reason why and people will understand.

I think it's a little funny too. I think last time year I was very busy in a project, but at the same time contemplating, you know, how I wanted to wind down my career. And so a friend might say, hey, you're too busy to look for a job. Why not let a headhunter do it? And so I spoke to headhunter and I literally on the line, I'm looking for an opportunity in a southern state that's very warm.

That's the funny part.

They sent it with five possibilities and I did interview. And then suddenly one morning they say, oh, we know you wanted the southern states, but there's a small college in Lansing, Michigan that we think fits you like a glove. Would you be at least willing to speak with them? And so I did. And long story short, having done all the interviews, meeting the amazing leaders at Lansing Community College, and as I said, recognizing for this college is about desiring di, not requiring it really won my heart. And so long story short, I started in January, the middle of the snow, A few snowstorms hit and then I realized, you know, at the end of the day I felt such purpose here that the weather became secondary. And honestly, the love, immediate love and support that I felt with Lansing Community College really was the warmth that I needed during the winter. It's really fantastic.

And I think that because you've warmed us, right? I mean, your attitude, how you, you want everyone to feel a part of this college experience, it's wonderful. I mean, you impact people in such a way that you make them feel welcome.

Thank you. I think it's reciprocal, both sides. Yeah, it's been a blessing.

And so we're glad to have you so much. Like, what do you, what do you think your special contribution was, will be to LCC or thus far? You know, you talk about wanting people to feel welcome, but what is a, what is a special sauce for? Dr. Dan, what's your special sauce or your contribution?

Lisa, thank you for asking that. I don't want to oversimplify your question, but I will always answer that. I've been asked that so many times. For me, the secret sauce lies in a four letter word and it's the word love. I believe that if we love each other, we're going to respect each other, we're going to support each other, we're going to be there for each other, we're going to value each other and so just like the three icons, you know, we have three centers in the Office of Empowerment. We have the Cesar Chavez Multicultural center, the Maya Angelou Training center, and the Martin Luther King Equity Center. And all. All of those icons spoke so deeply about love. Love being that on the girding factor. I feel when that's the foundation, everything built on top of it is solid. And so my secret sauce is quite simple, is let's. Let's love and see what comes out of that.

I love that. I think that's great. Well, we learned about what you do here for, you know, your job. Like, what do you want to bring to the college? The things that is important to you, but what is life like for you outside of working at LCC?

When I'm not with LCC, I actually run an international mission in 26 countries called Joy at Work. I've been doing that for about 15 years. And again, very simply put, it's helping people to see that work is much more than 85 or 95. Work is about serving others, and it's really a part of our life's calling and a purpose. And so, again, it has been a lot of training and mentoring over the years, guiding and assisting people to come to that place where they really find what is their true passion. It's wonderful when you. You really know what you're born to do, what you're born to be, and that your work becomes something like a mission field where you're being paid to do something that you.

So you felt like this is what you were born to do. The stuff that you're doing now, like, did you. Was there a path that you, like, could you see it or was it okay, I tried this, and then you bumped into these different things, and then you got to the passion.

I think it started at the age 2 1/2 for me. I started kindergarten, and at that age in my country were 20 students in the class. And for some reason, the teacher, when she went to market, had me be in charge of 20 students at two and a half. It was allowed to do that in our country. But going from there to, as you said, at the age of five, touring with my parents, and then at the age of 10, I would literally feel as if I was carrying a globe on my heart. Literally, someone placed the globe. And that was when I just fell in love with people and wanted to just make a difference in the simplest of ways, helping people to find purpose. I believe, Lisa, that when we wake up in the morning, most all of us want to feel loved and Want to feel purpose. And so if I could spend the rest of my life helping people to find that, even one person, I think it's worth it.

Oh, I think it's. I think it's worth it too. I think I just love how you say that.

Thank you.

What's the first thing you do after you get home from work?

So when I get home from work, I, for some reason, I would always have a shower just to relax a little bit. But that show comes after doing some form of exercise. I love doing what aerobics used to do it five days a week. Want to get back into that. But how? I. I've been doing what, aerobics for 12 years and actually was formally trained and then creating my own one hour routine with kind of inspirational music I like. So when I'm in the pool, I'm doing my exercise. Exercise physically, but mentally and in my spirit, I can just feel that calm as I listen to the music that I choose, you know, so it's kind of my time of just relaxing and then take a shower. Some. Some nights I do some teaching. I teach doctoral and master's degree students in the field of business, spend time with family and friends and so on. But I wind down my night. What I love doing is recording inspirational music for persons especially. My desire is people who are blind and go to sleep in a dark world. So I'm at the piano very late at night doing that recording. And in recording and blessing those people, I find as if I'm rejuvenated and I'm relaxed, rejuvenated, and ready to rest and face a new day.

So I'm sorry, I'm going off. I'm just thinking about, like, your wide range of experience. Experience. Do you think that came, like, with your parents? Like, you traveled at such a young age and you were exposed to just a lot of different people and things, or like, what made you just explore so many different areas? Like, what do you think brought that on? Like, just being a traveler as a young child and then just because it seems like that would be kind of hard.

Lisa, Honestly, from. As a very, very young child and even into my adult life, the two things that come easiest for me, naturally for me is just loving and praying. Everything else is an effort. Okay, so everything I've achieved in life is just amazing how it flowed or just came into being, none of which I actually chose. And I'll give one quick example. When I went to the Ohio State University to study, shortly after getting there, I learned all my scholarships had canceled. I'd wanted to study music and business. And so I had a choice of either returning to my country or finding some way of paying my fees. And so, you know, the international office said to me, look, we don't have any business scholarships, but we have only one scholarship. It's a criminal justice. And so it was not at all what I wanted, but I did it right. And while I was doing that, the court in Ohio had a need, a special project, and they sent to Ohio State University, say, do you have a group of students? So I led a group of volunteers there from there onto Spain. I went to study to do legal translation and assisted that courthouse, worked with the chief judges. And that chief judge had me transferred to Florida with the chief judge when I. After my father died. So one thing led to the other, and then I was offered by the judges, hey, would you be interested in going to law school and maybe being our first West Indian judge? And I said, no, it's not something I ever chose or liked. And they were sweet enough to ask, what would you like? I said, I love education. My education started the age of my orientation at 5. My mom ran the largest business college in our country, but for girls who were condemned in society. So I saw how transformational education could be moving these young ladies from where they were to working women. And so I fell in love with education. And so, you know, my boss said to me, why don't you pursue that? And that's how I went on to pursue my. Continue my master's doctorate and so on, and then ended up in the field of education. So it's like just things came at just the right time. Not anything I really asked for, but it just everything fell into piece like a puzzle. The pieces fell into place. And the undergirding thing for me, as I said to you, was loving and serving people in whatever capacity I was in. And I enjoyed all of it.

But the thing that I hear from that story is that you were open, right?

Very much so.

You were open and available for the experiences that you could get based off of what you were trying to do and what you wanted to do. You were open to that. And then I think that is so cool, because I think a lot of times we block things because we just have our mind so focused on one thing that we don't know that the blessing could be somewhere else, right? And so I just. I just think that's an amazing story. And I think that look how it. Look how it's worked out, right?

Like, I think for me, being Open it is once it involved people and it gave me option to serve people and help them to be their best. I was ready. I didn't care what it was.

Yeah, but sometimes people don't look at things like that, right? Like they're like, oh, I can only do it in business and music. I can't help. You know what I'm saying? But you were open and so I think that's super cool.

Thank you.

What was your first job like? You got paid? Your first paid job?

My first paid job being a. A teacher, a young teacher at the age of 16. I, I really wanted to teach, but I wanted to teach at a school where kids were condemned or they were from divorced parents or they were under drugs and my parents wouldn't have it as remember, there were people in society and they wanted me at the top schools. So there was a struggle back and forth. And then they eventually saw and felt my heart and allowed me to teach at one of what's considered the worst schools. And I did. And the one quick memory of that school is just feeling the heart and the hurt of those young people. And I remember it was coming on to Christmas and I wanted to do a Christmas concert and people pretty much laughed at me. And mistress like, this is not the type of school for a Christmas concert. These kids don't have talent. And I said, give me a chance. So long story short, we realized there were singers. They knew how to play instruments and so on, bought instruments for them, and we put on a concert that raised enough money to fix the windows, they broke.

No way.

And once they paid for the windows, they broke. We saw different attitudes, ownership. But that's a job I will never forget. I mean, I was very young and of course kids would have tried to bully me.

And so that's what I was saying. You're 16 and you're probably teaching your peers, right?

Oh, yeah. Some were 14 and even tells them to do their homework. They refuse and would say to me, who are you to tell us to your homework? But, but I think that was when my very first job is, when I really believed that love is the answer. Because those were broken kids. And when I started to just cover them with love and just let love be the my, my, my strategy, I saw lives change and it's just been amazing.

Oh, wow. That is, that's wonderful. Okay. I wonder, do you consider yourself an introvert or an extrovert?

So that's an interesting question. You know, some people would think I'm an extrovert, but you know, When I did. You're familiar with the Maya Briggs personality test? They did it, like, seven times on me. And I'm an extreme introvert, really, so. And I think that it came from my orientation. I attended a convent school years ago with nuns. And a large part of our day was in meditation and prayer. And it taught me from a very young age how to go into myself and feel peace and calm. And so I actually enjoyed that. I can do it for months, but on the other hand, if I have to speak, I will do it right. So again, it's service. If people need me to be quiet, I'll be quiet. If they need me to speak, I'll speak. It always comes back to loving people enough to serve them where they need me.

Oh, wow. I love that. Okay, so let me ask you this question, and it may not. This is like a Michigan kind of question. So normally I'll ask people MSU or U of M, but I feel like I heard you say you went to Ohio State.

I went to the Ohio State University.

So then it doesn't. You're Ohio State, so it's not really. Well, let me. But if you had to choose, I probably. It wouldn't be you of them, would it? Cause y' all don't like us. I mean, you a V.M. but that's funny. So. Yeah, I never had.

I don't think of someone from there.

Ohio State come. I'm always pick Michigan or Michigan State, but you kind of throw a different.

But I've heard a lot of great things about Michigan State and other schools here.

So how long did you stay at Ohio State?

Like, I was there probably for about seven years. There were six to 3,000 students, almost the size of my country. So it was. It was interesting.

Did you come from your country?

I came from Guyana to Ohio. Well, I went through Florida, but I studied at Ohio State University, and then I went on to Jose Ortega University in Spain and then to Florida to do my master's and doctorate.

Wow, that's amazing. Well, there's a lot more that I can ask you, but I'm curious. Your voice is, like, so great. Do you do any, like, mindfulness where you help people meditate? Do you do that, like, where you may talk about what people were breathing? Because I know you said you do it for yourself. Do you ever record for people, like, breathe in? Like, I just feel like you got the best voice.

No, I have not done that. I think for me, it's. And we're going to be doing it here at lcc. It's so exciting through our reflection room projects. Helping people through yoga and meditation and reflection, I think is what I've done, not what you shared, but more helping people to find that quiet inside of them. You know, the world is so noisy and so it's so beautiful to be able to come away from all those, those noises go inside of you where you feel that calm. And when you feel that calm inside of you, you realize that nothing out there can affect that. And I think it's the art of externalizing, not internalizing things is so important. I think it's Harvard University that says increasingly we are seeing that one of the main reasons for illnesses is stress. And so I would love to spend time here at LCC and elsewhere helping people not only how to de stress but how to avoid getting to that place of stress. And for me it has been the beauty of finding quiet within.

Oh man, I love that I could talk to you all day. I want to thank you for coming on who's at Star Today? I want you to leave us with some great parting words before we end today.

The best parting words I can leave, Lisa, is that I'm doing this today because of you. Having met you and feeling your heart as well, I knew that whatever you do, such as a podcast, will be phenomenal. I want it to be a small piece of it and my general message to everyone is whatever you do, remember to love.

Oh, there's nothing else I can say. I'm gonna close it with the great and the wonderful Dr. Dale dance.

Thank you, Lisa.

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@lccconnect.org thank you for listening. Catch up me next time to find out who's that Star?

Keep connected with LCC Connect at lccconnect.org

LCC Connect Voices vibes Vision 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 all these Buckeyes by Joshua Thompson Linton, a farcical work that touches on current issues. HOA President Bingus Stunk is determined to keep the Ohians in their place. But there are so many Buckeyes. Will his assistant Gibble save the day? 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. My Next Move is an enrollment event

for new and returning adult students.

If you're 25 or older and thinking

about taking classes at LCC this fall, the Admissions Office welcomes you with a chance to learn about funding opportunities, program offerings, support services and more. My Next Move takes place Wednesday, June 25th. Register to attend at LCC.

Edu My Next Move LCC Connect Voices

vibes Vision

this is Bob Myers from the Historical Society of Michigan with a Michigan History moment. Ulysses S. Grant, Mark Twain, Groucho Marx, Winston Churchill, George Burns. They all have something in common. They all smoked cigars, and probably all of them at one time or another enjoyed a cigar made in Detroit. Men smoked the cigars, but women made most of them. Detroit was a hub of tobacco manufacturing, turning out cigars, pipe tobacco, chewing tobacco and snuff. By the early 20th century, Detroit tobacco factories were turning out a million cigars and £91,000 of chewing tobacco and pipe tobacco every day. And during that time, cigar making was the single largest employer of Detroit women, even ahead of such traditional women's jobs as seamstress and laundress. Why? Women cigar factory owners considered women employees more orderly than men and as having a natural dexterity for rolling cigars. Because women rarely smoked, they didn't pilfer the tobacco leaves for their own use. Many employers also saw women as more reliable and careful than male employees and easier to manage. Another key factor was pay. Women would work for less money and in fact, drove down the wages for male employees. Employees Although cigar makers wages fell, rolling cigars still paid more than almost any other trade open to women. Women could make as much as $40 a week rolling cigars. In other occupations, women might earn as little as 16 cents an hour, or about $8 for a 50 hour work week. Wages were good, but working conditions could be more miserable. Rolling cigars left tobacco stains on the women's hands and the smell of tobacco in their clothing. Tobacco dust hung in the air, leading to a high death rate from lung ailments. Women workers were also subjected to unwanted sexual advances from their male supervisors. Refusal could mean the loss of a job or reassignment to less desirable work. Polish immigrants made up the majority of Detroit's cigar makers. So many of them were from the old country that the factories had to close during Polish holidays. Most of the largest cigar makers moved their factories to Detroit's Polish district to be closer to their labor force. After a 1937 strike, Detroit's cigar factories began moving to the south, where there were few labor unions and they could be closer to the tobacco fields. The last tobacco products manufacturer in Detroit closed in 1969. This Michigan history moment was brought to you by MichiganHistoryMagazine.org.

This is LCC Connect.

Voices, Vibes, Visions

Massage therapy can be an effective method to combat stress and anxiety. It can also be helpful for injury treatment and prevention. The Lansing Community College Massage Therapy Clinic is open to the public and provides the opportunity for students to learn. Visit LCC Edumassage for more information.

This is wlc, lnc, Lansing. You're listening to LCC Connect, a weekly program that features the Voices, Vibes, and Vision of Lansing Community College. To find out more about LCC Connect programs or to listen on demand, Visit us@lccconnect.org LCC Connect, voices, vibe, Vision.