Experience The Buzz: NO. 51 -- MITCHELL YOUKER | "Listening Across America" on Steno.fm

Experience The Buzz

NO. 51 -- MITCHELL YOUKER | "Listening Across America"

August 06, 2021 12:00pm

1h 5m

I wish more kids in high school were like MITCHELL YOUKER. The Senior from Christian Brothers High School combined his fascination for seeing the country and government to come up with the idea called LISTENING ACROSS AMERICA. Mitchell's goal was to make this a listening tour. So, the 16-year old jumped in a car and traveled through 25 states, logging interviews and traveling close to 7000 miles. He did portions of the trip with members of his family. Overall, I couldn't think of a better project.

In today's episode of Experience the Buzz, Host Steve Buzzard catches up with Mitchell while on a pit stop in Flagstaff, Arizona. "Knowing Mitchell since he was a young kid, I couldn't help but smile as he was talking about this unique experience. It gave me hope for the next generation." Our conversation hits THREE areas:

Segment ONE 💥 dives into the origin of the LISTENING ACROSS AMERICA idea. Mitchell discusses the planning stages, traveling with different family members, the route, and how he is feeling as he is nearing the end of his month-long journey.
Segment TWO 💥 gives us everything about Mitchell's experience. We get a look at the Talking Stories he accumulated over the course of his 7000-mile journey. We discuss education as well as what Mitchell was able to gather from all the people he spoke with in different parts of the country.
Segment THREE 💥 gives us Mitchell's biggest takeaways from LISTENING ACROSS AMERICA. We then discuss Covid through the eyes of a teenager. We finish up with RAPID FIRE 💥

Here are my favorite HIGHLIGHTS ...

▪️1. I was impressed by Mitchell's takeaways from LISTENING ACROSS AMERICA. It truly gave me hope for the next generation.
▪️2. I enjoyed Mitchell's take on education and his educational experience while having to be online for his entire Junior Year.
▪️3. Interesting to me how Mitchell's interview really ties into Episode 50's conversation with David Richards, who spoke extensively about what education should look like moving into the future.

Our Connection | I was Mitchell's P.E. teacher while he was a student at St. Michael's Episcopal Day School from Kindergarten through 5th Grade. Pretty cool to see him growing up and sharing this amazing experience with all of us.

ENJOY THE TALKING STORY! 🏝

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