College Town Talk

This week on College Town Talk, Jonathan and Shan are joined by State Senator Paul Bailey, who represents the Tennessee Tech campus as part of his six-county region in the Tennessee General Assembly. Senator Bailey discusses the importance of Tech’s Rural Reimagined Grand Challenge, lessons he learned from an early campaign loss, future goals in the state legislature and the impact of Tennessee Tech on his district and his own life. Up first, we hear from Tennessee Tech 2024-2025 Student Government Association President Kelsey Hewitt who shares her passion for student government, her favorite parts of life in Cookeville, and how she hopes to put her education and foreign language majors to use in her future career.

This week on College Town Talk, Jonathan and Shan are joined by University Archivist Megan Atkinson. Megan discusses the history behind the upcoming centennial anniversary of Tech's identity as the Golden Eagles and shares about Tech's rich concert history, including performances on campus from Johnny Cash, Ray Charles, Neil Diamond and others. Then, we hear from Tech alumnus and former assistant basketball coach Steve Taylor. Steve spent 27 years with the FBI and was named to Tech's all-century basketball team in 2022, but his proudest accomplishment is his family - including his daughter Maria Taylor, the host of "Football Night in America" on NBC.

In the season two premiere of College Town Talk, Jonathan and Shan are joined by Amy New, a Tennessee Tech alumna, member of the Tennessee Tech Foundation Board, and the President and CEO of the Cookeville-Putnam County Chamber of Commerce. Then, we hear from Tennessee Tech head football coach Bobby Wilder about his plans for the Golden Eagles' upcoming season.

On the season one finale of College Town Talk, we're joined by Kaitlin Salyer, a Tennessee Tech graduate and former staff member who now serves as talent development director for the Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce and was this year's recipient of the Mandala Award at Tech's annual "Window on the World" festival. Later, we hear from J.R. Russell, a proud Tennessee Tech alumnus who now serves as administrator of the Tennessee Legislative Internship Program at the Tennessee General Assembly in Nashville.

Thanks for making College Town Talk part of your week and check back in fall 2024 for all new episodes!

This week on College Town Talk we're joined by Lela Gracy, the reigning Miss Tennessee Tech and a current senior majoring in computer science with a concentration in cybersecurity and French. Then, we're joined by Tennessee Tech alumnus and award-winning sports writer Thomas Corhern. Thomas has served as Tech's sports information coordinator since 2016 and previously worked for a decade at the Herald-Citizen, Cookeville's local newspaper.

This week on College Town Talk we're chatting with Dr. Alma Núñez, associate professor of finance at Tennessee Tech’s College of Business. Dr. Núñez tells us about the college's events for Financial Literacy Week (April 1-5) made possible through a partnership with Wilson Bank & Trust. Later, we hear from Myron Douglas, MPH, a 2010 Tennessee Tech graduate who now works as a health communications specialist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, Georgia. Myron tells us about his passion for public health, his CDC deployments to faraway countries and the fraternity at Tennessee Tech that significantly impacted his life.

(Programming note: Portions of this week's episode are recorded by phone due to power outages from a severe weather event at the time of our recording. As a result, the audio may sound slightly different from past weeks.)

This week on College Town Talk we're joined by Bob Luna, a longtime community leader, proud Tennessee Tech alumnus and the voice of the Golden Eagle Marching Band for more than 30 years. Then, we hear from Amelia Greer. Amelia is the morning anchor for WDEF News 12 in Chattanooga and a proud graduate of Tennessee Tech's class of 2023.

This week on College Town Talk, Jonathan and Shan are visited by Chelsea Dartez, founder and publisher of the popular local magazine Cookeville Lifestyle. Then, we hear from Dr. Helen Hunt, director of the Women's Center at Tennessee Tech University and associate professor of English.

Find Cookeville Lifestyle on Facebook at @cookevillelifestyle and Instagram at @cookevillelifestyles. Find the Tennessee Tech Women's Center on Facebook and Instagram at @tntechwomenscenter.

This week on College Town Talk, we're joined by Tennessee Tech alumni Jay Albrecht and Dr. Rosa Vásquez Espinoza.

Jay owns the popular local restaurant "Seven Senses" and is a former newspaper publisher who was recently named chair of the board for the Cookeville-Putnam County Chamber of Commerce.

Dr. Espinoza is a native of Peru and a proud graduate of Tech Honors. Today, she is an award-winning chemical biologist, National Geographic explorer, sought-after speaker and host, and the founder of Amazon Research Internacional.

As Black History Month comes to a close, Jonathan and Shan are joined by two trailblazing Tennessee Tech alumni. First, we hear from Morris Irby who, in 1967, became the first Black baseball player recruited to Tennessee Tech. Morris is a Tennessee Tech Sports Hall of Fame member and a past board leader for IMPACT Cookeville, WCTE-TV, the Cookeville-Putnam County NAACP, and other organizations. Later, we're joined by three-time Tennessee Tech graduate Lori Jackson Strode. Lori is a longtime local educator and past IMPACT Cookeville honoree of the year who recently directed and co-created the Cookeville Theatre Company's production of "I Am My Ancestors' Wildest Dream," a musical and spoken-word production honoring the struggles and triumphs of Black history.