Behind the Podcast: Episode 5
Who: Laura Franklin – Chair of Fine Arts at Saint Louis University
Where: Her house in STL
With: Recording microphone that sat on her dining room table
When: June 12, 2016
Prelude: Laura and I were grad students at UNCG together (when she was a doctoral student and I was a master student for one year). She was my percussion ensemble director for the first semester I was in the program there.
This visit was, sadly, the first time I’d gotten to see her in Missouri since she’d moved there 2 years before. But it was great getting to see her in town.
What constitutes "in town" these days.
Volume issues: This has been a recurring problem while listening to my podcasts. I clearly have to raise the volume going forward for the in-person interviews…it’s just too soft. When I hear another podcast come up right before/after mine, it’s MUCH louder. I have no problem hearing their podcasts at pretty much any volume. But when I’m listening to my own on the highway? Have to turn up the phone AND the car volume to hear it easily. Gotta fix that going forward.
Can't hear you.
HEEEEYYYY!!! That's more like it!
During the interview, her daughter came up on “checked on her, made sure she was okay”. It was very sweet. And actually, she timed these check-ups nicely. Allowed us to stop for a coffee break, use the bathroom, just chat etc. Kept the conversation running smoothly.
Little bit slow on my own delivery of “raves”. Sounds good…too slow.
Content: Was a blast to talk to Laura. She’s super easy to talk to, very pleasant, very informative, easy laugh. Plus, she drops lots of great information. Such as:
She was very driven in College, and finished in 3 years, but knows she did so at the cost of any real type of social life. But, she realizes, she was FULL SPEED AHEAD, so some things had to be dropped to the side and left alone.
She took on LOTS of committee work (even doing the Accreditation writing for her school as an untenured faculty, which, for those in the know, is INSANE) and realized that she liked these experiences of expanding her knowledge. She’s also, for those who know her, someone who works hard to build bridges across departments and colleges. The fact that she’s turned into a well-respected administrator is about the least shocking thing I’ve heard this year. Case in point: the fact that she won the job at SLU considering they NEVER go outside to hire for administrative positions like hers.
Lesson: Soon enough, if you’re good at things, people will notice.
I always think about what a senior colleague once told me, when I told him I handed in a budget for something or some other paperwork about load credit on time: “What?! What’s wrong with you? You know what’s going to happen now? They’ll give you MORE administrative stuff to do. Is that what you want?”
Wise words.
(Approximation of who gave me the advice.)