My Grandmother’s Life

In this interview conducted on November 26, 2017, Jonathan Rhodes (17) interviews his maternal grandmother, Betty Ann Coble Emmert (76) about her life. She talks about what her childhood was like while living in Texas with her older sister and...

Eleanor Ague and Ben Lashley

[Recorded: Friday, July 21, 2023] This One Small Step conversation was recorded in Charlottesville, Virginia as part of the Sorensen Institute’s summer High School Leaders Program in 2023. Eleanor Ague (17) is from McLean and Ben Lashley (17) is from...

Joseph William Eyles and Bill Keenan with Grady Gordon Sceals

Grady Sceals talks with former students Bill Keenan and Joe Eyles about his experiences growing up in Albany, attending Dougherty County Schools and returning to Albany after college and his Navy service to first teach in the Dougherty County School...

“I don’t know whether to feel sad, angry, or lost.”

Shay Makinde & Pedro Damasceno speak prior to a vigil held for the victims of the tragedy at Stoneman Douglas High School on February 14th, 2018— a day prior to the date of this conversation. Shay shares his first-hand experience...

David Larbi and Judy "Chess" Cheserek

[Recorded Monday, July 17, 2023] David (26) and Chess (34) have a One Small Step Conversation in Charlottesville. David is from Ghana and is a human rights activist advocating for youth empowerment and LGBTQIA+ rights across the African continent. Chess...

Jacob Saul and Kate-Lin Ly

[Recorded: Friday, September 15, 2023] Jacob Saul (19) from Bristow, VA, and Kate-Lin Ly (19) from Northern Virginia participated in this One Small Step conversation as part of their Public Service Pathways 1-credit UNST course at UVA. Jacob shares how...

Reminiscing about the founding of Portland Waldorf High School from the perspectives of a student and a teacher.

Mariama Loos-Diallo learned to knit in first grade, and since then, handwork has been a constant and beloved interest for her. After graduating from the pioneering class of the Portland Waldorf High School, Mariama continued her education at Whitman College,...

“And at that moment I thought, it was real.”

A conversation between Emma Gonzalez & Pedro Damasceno recorded during a rally in favor of gun control laws— held in response to the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas Highschool. Emma had just delivered a speech addressing her experience during the...

Hayley Morales and Riley-Paige Belisle, December 2020

Coming at you live (not really) from their homes, two freshmen from New York's "The Beacon School," Hayley Morales & Riley-Paige Belisle discuss in a teenager's perspective the events happening in the world that is from the messy year we...

Monique Emond and Isabel Lafrance-Melendez

[Recorded: Friday, July 21, 2023] This One Small Step conversation was recorded in Charlottesville, Virginia as part of the Sorensen Institute’s summer High School Leaders Program in 2023. Monique Emond (17) is from Warrenton and Isabel Lafrance-Melendez is from Henrico....

School Dress Codes: Helpful or Harmful to Self-Expression

Mekensie Weinholtz discusses how school-implemented uniform policies/dress codes can affect the outcomes of socialization and self-expression in adolescents. She interviews her sister, Sydney, who gives insight on her own experience within schools that have strictly-enforced uniform policies.

Aunt Wanda (sibling number #8)

My Aunt wanda had a few choice words for the tourists flooding Floridas beaches, Governor DeSantis and Donald Trump. When it comes to the virus she refuses to go down without a fight. Aunt Wanda has entered "Walking Dead Mode"...

COVID-19: Eric Robinson

Eric Robinson talks about how difficult it has been to watch his son, a senior in high school in March 2020, grappled with the disappointments of the Covid-19 shutdowns. Because of the nationwide stay-at-home orders all three of his sons...

We Need More Teachers Like Her!

My name is Ozan Kara and I am a 17 years old cultural exchange student from Turkey. As an high school student in Bloomington, Indiana, I have had the chance to know a wonderful person, Vanessa Domizlaff, my German teacher...

A Good Head on Your Shoulders! Alisia and Niko

My name is Alisia Lilliebridge, and I chose my youngest brother Nikolas Perales for this interview because we are a decade apart in age! I thought it could be a thought-provoking conversation. One of the topics we always discuss is...

Liz Player and John Kortmulder

[Recorded: Friday, December 3, 2021] Liz (43) and John (68) have a One Small Step conversation in Charlottesville, Virginia. Liz is a mother of three teenagers and teaches at a local elementary school in Albemarle County. John opened a yoga...

Joseph Eyles and Walter L. "Van" Yielding

Van and Joe met at the Chicken Salad Chick restaurant in Panama City, Florida to discuss Van's experiences in the Dougherty County Schools, the zoning of Dougherty County Schools in 1971 due to a desegregation lawsuit, Van's career and other...

Molly Peacock and Michael Groden

Poet Molly Peacock (73) talks with her husband, Michael Groden (73), a James Joyce scholar, about their sixty-year love story that was interrupted for twenty years. They talk about ongoing love, Mike's melanoma, the novel Ulysses, and the parallel lives...

Interview with Randy Richardson

Alfonso G. Torres (18) interviews his high school math teacher, Randy Richardson

Sadie Bolan interviews Joe (father) about his life leading up to this point.

In this interview, conducted in November 2023 in Valparaiso, Indiana, Sadie Bolan (16) interviews her father Joseph (62) about his life— beginning at his high school career— and leading up to his life in the present. With school, he talks...