Talking is definitely a strong suit for me, so it was fitting when I was asked to start podcasting. The new Virginia High School League guidelines require a podcast to be included on all newspaper sites, and the work began right away. Last year, senior Jacob Bundrick quickly signed on to co-star on the podcast with me before we had even formulated a name. Together in the library, we panicked while trying to figure out how to connect the microphone to the Macbook. Just like many scenarios in life, the process took trial and error, but, eventually, we created “The Rising Roar.”

 I quickly found out that it took more than just leading a conversation to make a successful podcast. It took design-work, planning and hours of editing. I went into podcasting completely blind as far as knowing all the technical details, and I am still no expert. 

Through Newspaper, I have been able to build two different podcasts from the ground up with the support of my classmates. “The Rising Roar” is open for all students and the “Friday Night Lights” also known as “The Dicky and Tommy Show” covers our football games. From starting off borrowing the library’s microphone, to buying updated microphones this semester, the program continues to build. The very first episode covered the first annual Butterball event hosted by The Lion’s Roar and now we cover students’ interests and ambitions. 

The process was filled with many small triumphs that led to bigger victories; at first, we were just excited to hear the three sharp beats signaling the recording was live. After recording the audio, we realized an outline needed to be formulated to keep ourselves and the guest on topic. Excitement echoed throughout the Makerspace as we reviewed our first ever Butterball game that took place last winter on episode one. Just when we thought we had mastered the craft, we hit another obstacle: editing. Adjusting the volume, clipping out the awkward pauses and reordering clips: editing the podcast quickly became tedious work. One instance tears rolled down my face as I tried to reach my deadline. Uploading a podcast from a school bus on the way to a volleyball game. As this year began a new idea was pitched to us by Andrew Woolfolk: the creation of a football podcast that included members of the community. Every week, we host a pregame breakdown of the up-coming game. Junior staffer Savannah Bragg and I quickly brought the vision to life in one week. Light anxiety kicked in as we realized we didn’t have the highest knowledge of football and all the terms within the game. However, the conversations that have occured over the microphone in the Makerspace led to uncontrollable laughter and also serious conversations. 

Podcasts open your eyes to new ideas by hearing the new angles students and community members present. I have learned the power of listening instead of just doing all the talking. Podcasting, although it may seem silly, has taught me to push through even when it feels like the walls are closing in. There is always someone that you can ask for help and with the support of Mrs. Curran, Mrs. Wagoner and many others the podcast has been able to go from the drawing board to a reality. Mrs. Wagoner has met me after school or even during lunch to calm the anxiety and help me through getting the podcast uploaded on time, and without her help it would probably never have been uploaded. Our class is always looking for fresh perspectives so reach out if you have a story you want to hear echo through the mic and the halls of the high school.