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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...

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.

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...

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...

About me

Three high school juniors talk about the emotional impact of social distancing and the abrupt end of Spring sports.

Colleagues Valerie Johnson (60) and Becca Werginz (26) chat about their favorite teachers and school memories.

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...

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...

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...

[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....

One Small Step Conversation partners Dina Wood (66) and Bailey Shepard (34) discuss experiences in college, major influences in their life, personal values, and political points view.

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...

[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...

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...

Lydia Weiss (33) and Kyle Holsinger-Johnson (36) discuss childhood memories and experiences, identity, love, and navigating life. They talk about their relationship with one another and how it started, as well as their personal growth and proudest moments.

Jeannette Holland (68) speaks with her son Erik Townsend (31) about her experience transferring high schools her Junior year at the onset of integration in Nashville, Tennessee. Jeannette recalls the safety and support she felt at her all-Black high school...

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...

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,...

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...

Barbara Hester Kurtz (87) talks with her granddaughter Susan Scott Peterson (39) about her relationship with her father during her teenage years and living in Japan during the U.S. occupation following World War II.

Spouses Elizabeth "Liz" Krumwiede (44) and Gary Wyman (44) recall how they met as children, being self-described nerds, and falling in love later in life.

Adrian Sanchez and Edna Zarate met as sophomores in high school in Baytown, Texas. They hit it off right away and have been together ever since. Now both 28, their marriage may not be the traditional variety, but it's the...

interview between 2 students in Ethnic Studies at Valley HS in Hacienda Heights CA

[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. Colin Heil (17) is from McLean and Josie Fischman (17) is from...