On the air: GradTalk podcast debuts at UND
The University’s graduate students have amazing stories to tell — and now, here’s their chance, says Interim Dean Soojung Kim
By Madison Dame
As part of Interim Dean Soojung Kim’s promise to support storytelling for UND’s graduate students, the UND School of Graduate Studies is announcing the start of the GradTalk podcast.
The idea began with Kim’s promise and turned into a podcast that showcases the amazing work graduate students do at UND.
GradTalk features current and former graduate students who are making a difference in North Dakota and beyond. As each episode is produced, it will be posted on UND’s YouTube page. The first episode has already been posted, and a transcript is available in today’s issue of UND Today.
Model students are mission-aligned, Kim said, and graduate program directors and faculty are encouraged to share names of the students who are models in fulfilling their program’s mission and vision.
With the podcast, Kim hopes to create a way for both faculty and stakeholders to learn more about the work taking place across the university’s various graduate programs.
In memory of David Beach
The podcast was made possible by the David Beach Memorial Endowment. Originally established as a scholarship, the endowment was intended to support students who excelled at the former on-campus radio station, KFJM, where Beach had worked, according to his widow, Barbara Beach, who created the scholarship.
With the station closing and the scholarship needing to continue supporting students while honoring David’s memory and legacy, Kim suggested redirecting it to a student hosting a podcast rather than interning at a radio station. Barbara Beach said she was initially skeptical about the suggested change as well as podcasts in general.
But after talking with a few of her late husband’s friends and listening to a podcast, she eventually felt comfortable changing the scholarship into an internship stipend for students who host a podcast and are pursuing careers in audio production.
“My husband’s friends who were in the business explained to me that this is the next thing, and I trusted them,” Barbara Beach said. “Then when Soojung had me listen to a podcast, it really had convinced me that this was the way to go.”
A showcase for students’ work
Lincoln Retzlaff, a senior studying Communication and Journalism at UND, is the host of GradTalk.
“I really do love UND,” Retzlaff said. “And I’m passionate about it.”
Among other reasons for this passion, Retzlaff said, is UND’s ability to show students what they can do with their degrees, including the impact their career can have on their communities.
And that’s what the GradTalk podcast is meant to do, too. Kim said she wants to provide a space that lets all graduate students showcase the important work they do.
Chuck Haga, the late UND educator and Grand Forks Herald and Star Tribune journalist, compiled a COVID-19 oral history for Grand Forks a few years before he passed away, Kim said. She herself was among those Haga interviewed for the project.
“Chuck’s project captured UND and the local community’s tremendous collective efforts made during one of the most critical moments in history,” she said. “I was inspired by that.”
Kim noted that graduate education continues to evolve with new technologies, shifting policies and changing workforce needs. From a historical perspective, GradTalk will serve as a living record of how our graduate students and programs adapt, make a lasting impact over time, and inspire others, she said.
Retzlaff agreed. “Just listen to their experiences,” he said, when talking about his approach to hosting the podcast. “Listen to how they got there, and just take the inspiration.”
The podcast will be held on YouTube once a month during the academic year, Kim said. She anticipates five or six episodes throughout the year.
About the author:
Madison Dame is a Communications and Journalism major at UND. After graduation, she hopes to pursue a career as a journalist.
