Beyond Boundaries Podcast

On this episode, Rob sits down with Class of 2025 Beyond Boundaries Program student Loren Lacruz who intends to double major in Psychology and Political Science in the College of Arts & Sciences at WashU. Rob and Loren discuss LOTS of things including Loren's "big question" that got her into Beyond Boundaries and how that question has evolved, her internship as a paralegal last summer in NYC with Cravath, Swaine & Moore, her work as a Podcast Operations Intern with Bryon Pierson and his company EDUrain that addresses challenges with off-campus housing and financial education for students, her workstudy roles in Psychological & Brain Sciences and Admissions for the WashU School of Law, and her new podcast True Shh available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube. Click the link that's right for you and give a listen! And don't miss this episode full of wisdom for all students!

On this episode, Rob sits down with Professor, Author, and Chair of the Washington University in St. Louis English Department Abram Van Engen and Koch Professor of Practice for Family Enterprise and Director of the Koch Center for Family Business Peter Boumgarden. Professor Boumgarden is also the Academic Director of the Center for Experiential Learning at the Olin Business School at WashU. Together, these two WashU faculty members teach a popular Beyond Boundaries Program course called Morality & Markets offered next Spring. They join the pod to discuss their work at WashU, how they connected, and the reasons behind choosing to teach a course that questions combining business and literature can open in unique ways. The course uses great books, classics of film and modern television, and the tools of modern psychology and business strategy to think critically about what is entailed in living a moral life in the midst of the modern market. Don't miss this episode and be sure to enroll in this GREAT class next Spring! 

On this episode, Rob interviews self-proclaimed "Scholar Kid" Bianca Rodriguez Pagano, a student in the Class of 2025 cohort of the Beyond Boundaries Program. Bianca talks about her history as an "ABC" A Better Chance Scholar, the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Scholars and the Herrendorf Family Foundation and her role as a proud member of the John B. Ervin Scholars Program at WashU. We talk about her major in marketing at the Olin School of Business and minors in the Business of Social Impact and Design at the Sam Fox School as well as her family's love of dogs and their volunteer work with No Dogs Left Behind in New York City. Don't miss this episode!

On this episode, Rob sits down with Sparkle Whitaker, a recent Class of 2022 Washington University in St. Louis alum with majors in Fashion Design and Sociology. Sparkle talks in depth about her Creative Collaborations project that she did with classmate Danielle Branch, her involvement in student groups from being a costume designer for Black Anthology to Design for America to the Sam Fox School Black Students Network she founded at WashU. We talk about her next steps post-graduation including her own professional label: The Onyx Label and how she had a pair of fashion shows in St. Louis (Made to Model) and Chicago within a 24hr period last Spring. And big shout out as well to her grandmother Rosie who taught Sparkle how to sew at age six.

On this episode, Rob chats with another pair of Washington University in St. Louis students who have received a Creative Collaborations grant for a project related to writing and crafting a children's book that will help multicultural families explain the cancer diagnosis of a loved one to a child. The students are Beyond Boundaries Program student Christine Nguyen and Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts student athlete and Ghostlights cast member Mary Kate Charles. We chat about how they met in the Catholic Student Center (CSC), study in the Interdisciplinary Project in the Humanities, and the non-profit that Christine founded called Limitless Foundation dedicated to providing support for cancer patients and treatment centers. We also talk about Mary Kate's art and Christine's magical cheap-flight algorithm which has made her a world traveler in recent years. She documents her journeys in her travel blog Sightseeing with Stine. A terrific episode featuring two extraordinary students. Check it out! 

On this 50th episode, Rob interviews Beyond Boundaries Program Class of 2025 student and AP Scholar Aisha Adedayo from her home in Minneapolis, MN. Aisha is in her first year at WashU and intends to be an Organization & Strategic Management major in the Olin Business School. Aisha spent a gap year in 2020-21 with the Minnesota Army National Guard as a Behavioral Health Technician. In this episode, we talk all about that, the non-profit she co-founded called Pathway to College that provides underserved Minnesota high school students with the resources, mentorship and guidance to apply to college nationwide, the WashU BOLD@Olin (women in business) and First-Year Summer Academic (FSAP) programs that Aisha attended prior to officially attending WashU, and her latest business venture as a portrait photographer as founder of a company called Narative Portraits. 

On this episode, Rob chats with a pair of WashU students taking advantage of the Creative Collaborations Initiative under the umbrella of the Beyond Boundaries Program where they receive funding to explore an interdisciplinary across divisions at WashU. Alicia Yang from the College of Arts & Sciences and Victoria Xu from the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts plan to address an issue related to homelessness in the St. Louis area by connecting the homeless with information they need to find resources. Their proposal includes creatively designing a booklet that is accessible to individuals who may potentially be illiterate or speak different languages and involve, for example, designing detailed maps with transportation routes to connect unhoused people to services in a way that is easily understandable. It's a great project and we hope YOU consider finding a student partner and apply for YOUR OWN Creative Collaborations grant today!

On this episode, Rob chats with the pair of faculty teaching a very popular Beyond Boundaries course this Spring called 'To Sustainability And Beyond: People, Planet, Prosperity' in Professor Ray Ehrhard, a faculty member in Energy, Environmental, and Chemical Engineering (EECE) in the McKelvey School of Engineering and Professor David Webb from Environmental Studies in the College of Arts & Sciences. Originally conceived by Professor Webb and Professor Avni Solanki, the course serves as a great pathway to other courses on sustainability such as Sustainability Exchange as well as student groups like Engineers Without Borders which Professor Ehrhard discusses on this pod! If climate change, the environment, water, etc. are important to you, you definitely want to give this episode a listen!

In this episode, Rob chats with Beyond Boundaries Program student and Marketing & Psychology double major Molly Rogers from Cleveland, Ohio. Molly talks about her journey to WashU and her Questbridge application, first year Beyond Boundaries courses like Designing Creativity and When I'm 64, case competitions in the Olin School of Business, and even the Drone Racing League. Perhaps most importantly, Molly illustrates the "ships" concept: how building relationships with faculty like Dr. Diana Parra and Director Patrick Rishe and others mixed with initiative and drive can lead to some amazing internship opportunities with companies like Pegasus, Rem & Company, and her upcoming one with Anheuser Busch in their Commercial Trainee Program. Molly also shares stories about her incredible experience from Spring 2021 as both a full-time WashU student and a full-time employee in Costa Rica and her upcoming study abroad opportunity in Dublin, Ireland. Lots of great wisdom and humor from Molly.

On this episode, Rob chats with Beyond Boundaries Program Class of 2025 student Ella Urton who has interests in studying Urban Studies and Dance at WashU in addition to her other passions including working at SWAP (Sharing With A Purpose), one of WashU's many STEP (Student Entrepreneurial Program) businesses, visiting St. Louis area museums, and museum curation. During the chat, we talk about Ella's course schedule from last Fall and her upcoming Spring courses in Beyond Boundaries, local dance legends Josephine Baker and Katherine Dunham, plants (and who she does and does not trust caring for them), binge-watching Last Airbender (and others) with her mom while virtual learning, and her challenges with bleach unintentionally ruining her clothes. Listen and SUBSCRIBE!