The GNSF ”We Belong Here” Podcast

🎙 Episode #29 – Mike Baker This week on the We Belong Here Podcast, we’re honored to welcome Mike Baker, retired math teacher and long-time coach at Grinnell High School. Join us as we sit high above TT Cranny Field in the press box, taking in the Grinnell vs. Cedar Washington freshman football game, while diving deep into Mike’s journey. From the classroom to the sidelines, Mike shares the values...

Episode #28 – Brandon Sharp This week on the We Belong Here Podcast, we’re excited to welcome a special guest — Brandon Sharp, S.A.M. at Grinnell High School and Special Education Coordinator for the Grinnell-Newburg School District. As Brandon begins his second year in these roles, we take a step back to explore his story: growing up in Grinnell, his college journey, and the path that ultimately...

Episode #27 – Danielle McDonough This week on the We Belong Here Podcast, we’re excited to welcome a very special guest — Danielle McDonough, Instructional Coach and 9th–12th Grade Spanish Teacher at Grinnell High School. Danielle has dedicated 22 years to teaching Spanish and is now stepping into a new role as an Instructional Coach for the 2025–26 school year, while continuing to inspire student...

🎙️ This Week on the We Belong Here Podcast We’re wrapping up our New Teacher Series with Duncan Delzell, the new high school chemistry teacher at Grinnell High School! Duncan grew up in Burlington, Iowa, attended Central College, and is excited to be joining the Grinnell community. Tune in to hear about his journey, passion for teaching, and what he's looking forward to this school year. Stay conn...

This week on the We Belong Here Podcast, we welcome Morgan Savant, new 5th grade teacher at the Grinnell Middle School. Morgan came to the Grinnell-Montezuma from southeast Louisiana, and this will be her first year of teaching.  Trisha Arment also joins us on the second part of the podcast.  Trisha comes back to Grinnell from the Waterloo School District where she was a teacher at the Waterloo Ex...

This week on the We Belong Here Podcast, we welcome Eli Rose, the new Grinnell Middle School PE Teacher. Eli is GHS Alumni and after graduating from Central College, returns to teaching where he was once a student. Nell Hatch also joins us on the second part of the podcast.  Nell is a fourth-year Spanish teacher at Grinnell. She will share her experience as a GHS Alumni and Grinnell College gradua...

This week on the We Belong Here Podcast, we welcome Haily Collins, the new ninth-grade English teacher at Grinnell High School. Get to know Haily and hear about her passion as she starts her first year of teaching and connecting with students. We’re also diving into our podcast archives to revisit Podcast #4 with Kevin Hosbond, who is now stepping into the 11th-grade English position. It’s the per...

Host Dan Walker kicks off August with a special recap of the first six months of the We Belong Here Podcast, reflecting on the incredible stories, inspiring guests, and the strong sense of community that’s been built along the way. He’ll also share a preview of the exciting plans for the future of the podcast — and why you won’t want to miss what’s coming next. This month also features Podcast #2,...

Episode #21- Beaux Blanchard- This week, we’re excited to welcome a special guest to the podcast — Beaux Blanchard, 2025 Grinnell High School graduate. As Beaux wraps up his senior year, we visit about his journey of officiating in high school sports and what his future looks like as an official and post high school education. Grinnell has some pretty incredible students that graduate and go out i...

Episode #20- Trent Edsen- This week, we’re excited to welcome a special guest to the podcast — Trent Edsen, Principal of Grinnell High School. As Trent wraps up his first year in this new role, we’re taking a step back to explore his journey: where he grew up, his college years, and the path that ultimately led him to Grinnell Schools. Through our conversation, you’ll gain insight into the values...

Episode #19 Chris Grundler- of the We Belong Here Podcast. The special guest for this week's podcast is Chris Grundler, Vice President of the Grinnell-Newburg School Board. Chris will take a walk down memory lane as a former student at Davis Elementary in the late 70's-early 80's to the now sitting on the school board.  Sit back and enjoy a great conversation of history Grinnell and the exciting f...

Episode #18 Ethan Meints- of the We Belong Here Podcast. The special guest for this week's podcast is Ethan Meints, Grinnell Middle School 6th Grade Social Studies Teacher. Ethan was selected by the Class of 2025 to be the faculty speaker for the 2025 GHS commencements. We will visit with Ethan about this honor and the journey that he experienced to become a teacher at Grinnell. We will also discu...

Episode #17 Malissa Juni- of the We Belong Here Podcast. The special guest for this week's podcast is Malissa Juni, Grinnell Middle School 7th Grade Teacher. We will take a journey over the past 38 years of Malissa's teaching career at Grinnell and share a few memories of her time teaching various grades at Grinnell.  She will retire at the end of the 24-25 school year.  Malissa is a great example...

Episode #16 -Rhonda Gohlmann- of the We Belong Here Podcast. The special guest for this week's podcast is Rhonda Gohlmann, Grinnell Fairview Elementary 2nd Grade Teacher. We will take a journey over the past 25 years of Rhonda's teaching career at Grinnell and  share a few memories of her total of 32 years of teaching in Iowa.  Rhonda will retire at the end of the 24-25 school year.  Rhonda is a g...

Episode #15 -Lori Elliott- of the We Belong Here Podcast. The special guest for this week's podcast is Lori Elliott, Grinnell Davis Elementary 4th Grade Teacher. We will take a journey over the past 38 years of Lori's teaching career at Grinnell as she will retire at the end of the 24-25 school year.  Lori is a great example of our teacher’s hard work and dedication to our students over the years...

Episode #14 of the We Belong Here Podcast. Special guest for this week's podcast is Amy Skouson, Grinnell High School Family Consumer Science Teacher. We will discuss Amy's involvement with two GNSF Mini Grants and how her students were able to interactive with a local Read2Lead literacy program by reading with Head Start kids and also providing quilts to the kids as part of the project. The secon...

Episode #13 of the We Belong Here Podcast. Special guest for this week's podcast is Doug Cameron, retired teacher and principal from Grinnell Schools. Doug will take us on a journey of his experiences at the Grinnell schools starting as a new teacher, through his years as an administrator, to his continued commitment to the school system after his retirement.  Doug is another great example of our...

Episode #12 of the We Belong Here Podcast. Special guests for this week's podcast are Ashley Wolfe, Agriculture Teacher and Michele Barker, At Risk Teacher, both Grinnell High School Teachers will discuss the GNSF Mini Grant they applied for to purchase growing pods to help add fresh produce to the GHS Food Closet and give the vocational ag students an opportunity to learn in the process. Ashley a...

Episode #11 of the We Belong Here Podcast. Special guests for this week's podcast are Allison Pease, K-4 librarian and Chelsey Kolpin, 5-12 grade librarian. Allison and Chelsey will discuss the education curriculum and activities at the Grinnell K-12 Libraries and why the month of April is a special month for the programs. Allison and Chelsey are another great example of our school's librarians wo...

Episode #10 of the We Belong Here Podcast. Special guests for this week's podcast are Holly and Adam Kelley-Chown, GHS spring play directors. Holly and Adam will discuss what it is like to choose a play and then the process of planning, involvement of the students and and bringing all of the pieces together to have a final production for "Opening Night". Holly and Adam are another great example of...

Episode #9 of the We Belong Here Podcast. Special guests for this week's podcast are Chelsey Kolpin, GNSF Board Member, Maggie Kaup and River Haenfler, student GNSF Board Members and Advisory Committee Members. The three board members will review the recent student lead mini grants and past years student lead grants. Another great example of student and adult leaderships working together making Gr...

Episode #8 of the We Belong Here Podcast. Special guest for this week's podcast is Brian Conway, Davis Elementary Principal. Brian will discuss Grinnell-Newburg's summer school program and the success over the past years that this program has had on the student's literacy scores in our schools.

Episode #7 of the We Belong Here Podcast. Special guest for this week's podcast is Barb Baker, Director-Advertising & Community Relations at Grinnell Mutual Reinsurance. Barb will discuss Grinnell Mutual's involvement in the Partners in Education program with the Grinnell Middle School. 

Episode #6 of the We Belong Here Podcast. Special guests for this week's podcast is Julie Gosselink, Ahrens Family Foundation and Chad Nath, Ahrens Park Foundation. Julie and Chad discuss the gift of the land from Ahrens Family and the Foundation to the Grinnell-Newburg School District for the purpose of building a new K-4 elementary schools.

Episode #5 of the We Belong Here Podcast. Special guest for this week's podcast is Lisa Beames, Grinnell-Newburg Interim Superintendent. Lisa will breakdown the information and the facts behind the PPEL Levy on March 4, 2025 and how it will impact the Grinnell School District.