All Episodes

Curt Bly - "There are things that happen in our life that are true perspective-creating events."

Lunar Moms - Fatma Elmaery, Shaimaa Garaween & Brandi Holmes

Jeff Schlaeger - "Everyone is grieving something."

Kevin Peyton - "The prepositions we avoid are 'to', and, 'for', and 'at' -- the preposition is always with -- how do we stay in relationship and work alongside folks."

Amy Boynton - "I was in Kohls, and a stranger came up to tell me that her daughter is battling cancer. I got in my car and I’m just crying. A month and a half later, Ella was diagnosed.”

Lenka Crawshaw - "It's paying it forward. I was an ESL student as an adult. I understand what the families go through."

BJ Smallwood - "There was never, ever a time I thought I'd be a teacher."

Quinn Robinson - "We talk a lot about not being afraid to straight up ask people 'Are you thinking about suicide?'"

Sarah Burkhart - “Being a biracial person in Cincinnati, and having my foot in both worlds, was a difficult straddle.”

Dr. Littisha Bates - "Not everyone is on board with mitigating bias and changing the narrative, but our kids our powerful."

Dan Broaddrick - "At 12 I began to binge drink alcohol. I would be intoxicated in school. Just wanting to feel better. "

Chloe Zhang & Amy Wang - “Kids say that smells SO good!"

Eryn Kramer - "When I’m with them, I’m not seeing or feeling the stress. Sometimes it’s hard to go home and be by myself - then it hits me."

Charles Galvin - “I’m kind of figuring out how to re-calibrate and set new goals and new ways to give back.”

Sonia Milrod - “We have to nip hate speech in the bud. The first time anybody says something.”

Rachel Craddock - "I wanted to get as far away from my pain as possible."

Doaa Jasim “We are part of the community and want the best for the community, and want to encourage all of our kids to learn about other cultures and holidays and celebrate all the holidays.”

Tamara Earl - "I got a second chance."

Felix Santa Lopez - "Make one friend every day."

Pressing Pause to Give Thanks

Jill Waldon - "Most people think adoption is a fairy tale. It is beautiful in many ways, but also very painful."

Fred Stemmler - “Our squadron lost better than 10 people. They parachuted out and froze to death. It was 40 below 0. Here you’re flying a single engine plane, first of its kind. You were scared.”

Ashley Palac - “It was about a year after 9/11. I was 17 and I felt the call.”

David Charpentier - “People look at veterans like they’re heroes. There’s another notion that they’re broken. For sure there are heroes. But largely we are like everybody else."

Mili Nichani and her son Ishaan - “I wanted him to feel pride in his celebrations and culture.”

Tracey Carson - “Giving up my plan turned out to be the best part of my life.”

Christine McCormick - “I knew I needed to live my truth.”

Hakim Oliver - "I try to treasure my time here and treasure every interaction."

Fairy Shokohee - " You don’t know how much energy I get when I walk by those people and see that smile, and a smile doesn’t cost a cent. "

Andrea Hefferan - “Even though I live in America, I’m still Mexican and that’s still a part of me.”

Michelle Krugh - “My whole thing is to be in the moment.”

Tonya McCall - “I was used to being one of very few students of color in class.”

Kaya Rossey - “I was diagnosed with depression and anxiety and it’s so important for me to be [the help] for someone else because so many people have been there for me.”

Bob Cross - “You guys are burying our Father who I never knew, and we’re talking for the first time. And, [my brother] said it's a kind of cyclical - everything happens for a reason."

Amy Brennan - “Having a mom who was a Chinese-American immigrant certainly gave me a level of empathy when you're asked as a kid many times - ‘What are you?'"

Krissy Hufnagel - “I am a single parent and that has been incredibly challenging at times, and incredibly rewarding at times.”

Shanna Bumiller - “I had a younger brother who was very, very troubled. He didn't play school well.”

Rebecca Bate - "“I was that child with ADD, I wasn’t supposed to be able to sit still.”

Jim Fox - "It's always been a great place to grow up and raise kids, but it's just become the best."

Hannah Humes - "I don’t need easy or optional - just opportunity!”

Mariah Norman - “I really learned the importance of losing that day. There are always going to be people smarter than you, taller, prettier. It taught me to run my own race.”

Rishika Jeyaprakash - “It’s OK to judge a book by it’s cover, just don’t judge a human by their cover.”

Owen Smith - "Dads can help, too!"

Katie Lin - "Does he understand that mommy and daddy don't really look alike?"

Litty Mathai - "That's your name, that's important, that’s your identity, and that matters."

Kristen Lazuta - "You know, none of this is meant to be perfect."

Soroya Smith - "I made up in my mind having moments like that, I wanted my students (and really anybody that I encounter) to feel big, to feel seen, feel important."

Jonathan Cooper - "There are difficulties and crucibles along the way, but those are the moments that really shape you."

Bobby Dodd - "Let's not just talk about things, let's make it happen."

Lauren Gentene - "Do I need to be HERE doing this?"

Eric Messer - "You can never be afraid to embarrass yourself!"

Javaris Powell - "Your kind won't do well in a 4-year university."

Melissa Bly - "School was always a safe place for me."