Student Stories

Season 7 Episode 3    Summary:  First Generation Students Michelle Castrillo Garcia and Amy Cajamarca Leiva join us on the podcast to talk about their college journeys. Milexy, Xander, Amy and Michelle discuss being Hispanic in Albany and being the first in their family to attend college. From trouble finding good tortillas to machismo and religion, listen in for a special episode.    Time Stamps:...

Season 7 Episode 2    Summary:  Two D1 student-athletes from the Track and Field team, Ja’Lil Reynolds (High Jump) and Hannah Solomon-Hollander (Pole Vault), join the podcast to talk about their experiences.   (Warning: Explicit Language)    Time Stamps:    0:00 – Guest Introductions  3:30 – Getting recognition  6:45 – Discussing Field Events  11:40 – Why are we still doing track? How did we get t...

Meet the Podcast Team: Season 7 Season 7 Episode 1 Summary: Welcome to the first episode of the UAlbany Student Stories Podcast Season 7. We, Leann, Milexy, Angel, and Xander, as the hosts of the podcast introduce ourselves, share where we’re from, and how we got here. We also talk about some interesting stories as young adults and students. Look forward to 5 more great episodes! (Warning: Explici...

Season 6: Episode 6  Title: Meet the Podcast    Summary: In this episode, UAlbany students Arely Gonzalez Hernandez, Asia Harris, Bianca Zazzarini-Leon, and Alexa Crespo discuss their experience while working on the podcast. They talk about their favorite moments and episodes, their plans for the future, and the creative and editing processes of the podcast. The four of them reflect on how working...

Season 6: Episode 5 Title: Get to Know Serendipity A capella!   Summary: In this episode, UAlbany students Arely Gonzalez Hernandez, Alexa Crespo, Asia Harris, and Chia Salisbury talk about the student group, Serendipity. Serendipity is the first and only femme identified, SMAT (soprano, mezzo, alto, tenor) acapella group on campus. They talk about the importance of student orgs, sisterhood, and m...

Season 6: Episode 4  Threads of Change: Dissecting the Fashion World   Summary: In this episode, UAlbany students Arely Gonzalez, Alexa Crespo, and Asia Harris have a roundtable style discussion about the fashion industry, including important topics such as self-expression, trends, and sustainability. Each of the women go in depth about their own individual relationships with fashion and open to a...

Season 6: Episode 2 Title: “You are Kenough” Summary: In this episode, UAlbany students Dylan Fumarola, Asia Harris, and Arely Gonzalez discuss how Barbie, a movie that communicates the effects of patriarchy and feminism, reinforced their views on society. Dylan discusses his view on how the standards in society affect people and how he stays true to his authentic self. They discuss topics such as...

Season 6: Episode 2 Don’t Give up on the Dream - The First-Gen Latino College Journey   Summary: In this episode, UAlbany students Ariel Gonzalez, Alexa Crespo, and Arely Gonzalez Hernandez, discuss the process of applying to colleges and becoming first generation Latino students. The conversation explores the resources and meaningful mentors throughout high school that were crucial in the college...

Season 6: Episode 1  Title: Exploring the LGBTQ+ Experience and Allyship   Summary:  In this episode, UAlbany students Mia Cannizzo, Alexa Crespo, Arely Gonzalez Hernandez, and Bianca Zazzarini-Leon discuss the experiences of being members and allies of the LGBTQ+ community. The conversation explores navigating sexual identity and confronting biphobia. Furthermore, the conversation goes into detai...

Season 5 Episode 6 Title: Meet The Podcast Summary:  In this episode, UAlbany Student Stories podcast team, Ryan Pare, Sophia Smith and Bianca Zazzarini-León give you a sneak preview into who they are and what it was like to be part of the podcast team! Each one of us dives into how unique this podcast team is from previous seasons and what brought us to join this season. We each explore our perso...

Season 5 Episode 5  Title: Being our Barbie Selves   Summary: UAlbany students, Sarai Lewis and Alyssa Roman discuss their leadership positions and roles at UAlbany. The conversation centers around the Barbie movie and how patriarchal standards and norms impact Sarai and Alyssa in their leadership positions. Furthermore, the conversation surrounds women’s empowerment in society and highlights the...

Season 5 Episode 4 Title: How disability friendly is UAlbany? Summary: In this episode, UAlbany student Sasha Chattergoon tells her story of resilience and strength relating to her disability. She then delves into stigmas she has faced on campus and throughout her life for being disabled. As a student at UAlbany, Sasha highlights the lack of accessibility she has dealt with on the UAlbany campus....

Season 5: Episode 3 Title: The Libros/arte and Cartonera exhibit: What is a book? In this Episode, UAlbany student Claudia Piqué discusses the exhibition “Libros/Arte: Handmade Books from Latin America & the Caribbean” at the University Art Museum, which is the first bilingual exhibit at the University at Albany Museum. This exhibit is unique as it breaks the tradition of what we typically vie...

Season 5: Episode 2 Title: #Multicultural Living Summary:  In this episode, UAlbany students Sophia Smith and Bianca Zazzarini-Leon discuss what it was like to grow up in a multicultural household. Sophia and Bianca delve into how their identities have evolved and what hardships come with negotiating identity. Both students discuss how violent being multicultural in the U.S can be, centering stori...

Season 5: Episode 1 Title: Hola and こんにちは (Konnichiwa) Come Study Abroad with Us! In this episode, UAlbany students Casey Navin, Sophia Smith and Bianca Zazzarini-Leon discuss their studying abroad experiences. Casey, Sophia and Bianca discuss how they prepared for their new adventure, which includes preparing before, during and after study abroad and the anxieties and worries that came with...

Season 4 Episode 6   Season 4 Finale: Meet the Podcast Team!   In this episode: Season 4’s podcast team introduces themselves. They talk about why they decided to join the team, and what this opportunity was like for them. Each podcast member explains what their plans are for the future, and they all discuss how studying abroad and pursuing graduate education are things they consider for their nex...

Title: Authentically Thoroughly Really, Me, Jalibeth Tells All Joining us this week is our dear classmate, friend, and Vice President of the Spanish Club, Jalibeth. In this episode, she talks about her background and identity as a Dominican woman. She describes her challenging life in New York City and then reveals how moving to Albany brought her freedom. She then discusses how she has recreated...

Season 4: Episode 4   Title: Latin Lessons in Daily Life    In this Episode, guest Colin Mance, a senior at UAlbany, talks about his life growing up in Albany. He speaks about his military school experience; as well as his trajectory and transition from military high school to UAlbany. Additionally, he discusses how he came to appreciate the Latin language and his great appreciation of his Latin i...

Season 4: Episode 3    Title: UAlbany Student Stories - The Power of Storytelling     In this episode, UAlbany Student Stories’ Executive producer and editor, Dr. Carmen Serrano, along with Season 4 co-hosts, Yesenia Melo, and J-Lyn Thomas, are interviewed by hosts Dr. Eric Hardiman and Alyssa Lotmore on the Social Workers Radio Talk Show. They talk about how in 2019, armed with a $6,500 Universit...

Season 4: Episode 2 Title: Through Food and Protest: Celebrating Indigenous Heritage In this episode, guests Jillian Benedict, and Ryleigh John tell the history behind their founding of the Indigenous Student Association at UAlbany. They dig deeper into the extraordinarily successful events their group has held so far, including an indigenous food tasting, and a vigil for the victims of the Reside...

Title: Miss Travesía of the Garifuna Community In this episode, UAlbany student (and season's 4 co-host) J-Lyn discusses her Afro-Latinx heritage and her experiences as part of the Garifuna people. J-Lyn also speaks about the historical background of the Garifuna people and how this has impacted her family history as well. She focuses on her experience participating in a cultural beauty pageant wh...

Seasons 3: Episode 5 Season Finale: Meet the Podcast Team! In this episode the entire Podcast team introduces themselves, and gives the audience a sneak peak of what occurs behind the scenes when producing podcasts. Each podcast member explains why they decided to join the team, and how UAlbany Student Stories has changed their lives for the better. They each get personal and share a piece of advi...

Seasons 3: Episode 4 Title: UAlbany Changed My Life In this episode, UAlbany student Ava Green speaks about their coming out story, alongside the many challenges they had to encounter as the only queer individual in their high school. Ava discusses how UAlbany opened up many doors that they didn’t know existed, it opened their mind and introduced them to what the rest of the world has to offer. Th...

Season 3: Episode 3 Title: Unmasking The American Dream In this episode, UAlbany student Willy Estevez talks about the hardships he encountered when he immigrated to the United States. Willy mentions the difficulty he had learning a new language and having to choose the correct path. He also states that UAlbany felt like the right choice due to its student diversity and the opportunity offered to...

Season 3: Episode 2 Title: They Told Me It Was Important to "Improve The Race" In this episode, UAlbany student Bianca discusses the many hardships her family has endured, and specifically during the dictatorship of Rafael Trujillo (1930-1961). She focuses on her brave grandfather and how he stood up for what was right regardless of the repercussions. Bianca also speaks about issues of discriminat...