“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...

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.

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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....

“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...

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...

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,...

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...

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...

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...

Common Ground Tacony: Christian and Jackie

Christian is a high school student who frequents the Tacony Arts Lab classes and open studios. Christian was really excited by the interview and cyanotype process, so much so he quickly downloaded the StoryCorps app. Upon encouraging Christian to start...

Wendy Chen and her friend Tang Xiyuan

Wendy Chen(19) interviews her friend Tang Xiyuan(19) about her high school life. They talk about their school, some interesting activities and friendship.

Interview with my grandma

This interview took place on December 1st 2019 at my grandmothers house in Reno Nevada. We talked about her high school experience. This led into a conversation about her travels during these years and her time in college. She talks...

Joseph William Eyles and Annette Jones Arnold

Annette Arnold speaks about her experiences in Dougherty County schools, including attending formerly all black schools after student freedom of choice was replaced by attendance zones. She also discusses her exciting, but difficult and protracted career path for a wife...