This year’s Research & Creativity Week (April 30 – May 4) will feature John Jay’s talented and creative student innovators, including those that are discovering new ways of using stories to promote equity and justice.
Karen Argueta (’18), who is graduating this May with a major in Criminology, is a Senior Producer with Life Out Loud, a literary nonfiction podcast based out of John Jay. For Research & Creativity Week, she’s inviting John Jay community members to listen to the amazing true stories she’s made into podcast episodes using equipment here at John Jay.
“It’s more than storytelling,” says Argueta. “We spend so much time and energy researching and teaching ourselves to sound edit and use a sound board. Most college students don’t necessarily think to pick up those skills.”
“The podcast has changed my life in regards to the way I view humanity. I never assume anything about people. Everyone surprises me.”—Karen Argueta ’18
Argueta, who first became involved after Professor Christen Madrazo in the English Department invited her to help produce the podcast, believes that everyone’s perspective is valuable, and that part of her work is to create a platform for voices that usually go unheard. “Hearing from people you don’t normally hear from is of great social importance,” she says. “The stories we feature are from young people of color, with different sexual orientations and genders. There are a lot of societal undertones to take away from their stories.”
When Argueta and the podcasting team, made up of current and former John Jay students, find several stories that fit a theme, they convert them into episodes that range from hilarious to humbling, and are on topics as varied as friendship, the pursuit of the American dream, and navigating cultural boundaries. For Argueta, who has a unique story of her own as an immigrant from El Salvador who grew up in Long Island, hearing true life stories from many of her peers on campus has been transformational. “The podcast has changed my life in regards to the way I view humanity,” she says. “I never assume anything about people. Everyone surprises me.”
John Jay community members and visitors will be able to hear listen to the stories Argueta produces for Life Out Loud on May 1.
Check the Research & Creativity Week calendar for a full listing of events.
