FLORENCE – Born out of the College of Arts, Sciences, and Engineering Advisory Board,  “The Shine” podcast has provided a unique opportunity for first-year University of North Alabama students to learn a special skill while also meeting and interviewing alumni of the institution.

The first season is available on the YouTube channel here.

“This initiative highlights the stories of UNA alumni as interviewed by students in our First Year Experience (FYE) course,” said Dr. Ryan Zayac, interim dean of the college. “The podcast is produced entirely by students in the class, showcasing their growing skills in media production and storytelling.” 

The one-hour course is taught each fall semester by Michelle Eubanks as part of the First Year Experience program, which assists students acclimate to their academic and student support resources. This course focused on Podcasting.

Capped at 12 students, the course provides students with insights into how to interview, edit, produce, and create audio for a podcast episode that is approximately 25 minutes long. Featured guests are UNA alumni. This season’s guests include Grammy-award winning artist Dillon Hodges; former NFL player and small-business owner Lamonte Thompson; and former member of the UNA Marching Pride, Rita Harris. 

“Before the class, I only listened to podcasts while driving or working out,” said Emma Pugh, a freshman and one of the students in the class. “I didn’t really appreciate all the work that went into making an episode. Throughout the semester, I learned how each of the parts come together to create a whole episode, how to work as a team, how to conduct an interview, and, finally, how to edit and produce the final version of our podcast.

“It was a really great learning  experience.” 

Episodes will be created each fall as part of the next course cycle and uploaded to the first  season. To submit the name of a UNA alum for the podcast, click here.