College Town Talk

This week on College Town Talk, Jonathan and Shan sit down with Trudy Harper, the chair of Tennessee Tech's Board of Trustees. Trudy is a two-time graduate of Tech's College of Engineering, a devoted philanthropist, and the former president of Tenaska Power Services Co., the power marketing affiliate of Tenaska - one of the largest privately held companies in the United States. Then, we're joined by Randy Wilmore, the chief relationship officer for Farm Bureau Health Plans and recipient of the Tennessee Tech Alumni Association’s 2024 Outstanding Service Award. Randy also gives us an update on his cousin, NASA Astronaut and Tennessee Tech trustee Barry Wilmore, who is currently stationed at the International Space Station.

This week on College Town Talk, Jonathan and Shan are joined by Maria Baltazar, a two-time Tennessee Tech graduate and former local elementary school teacher who now serves as the new recruitment specialist in Tech’s Office of Access, Belonging and Community Outreach. Maria shares about being a first-generation college graduate and the sacrifices that her immigrant parents made to equip her for success in life. Then, we’re joined by Damon “Dee” Prince, a Tennessee Tech alumnus and community leader who was named to Cookeville Lifestyle’s inaugural “Most Influential People” list. Dee tells us about the long road that led to his college degree, the importance of mentorship, and his heart for community service.

This week on College Town Talk, Jonathan and Shan are sitting down with Sidonie Sansom, board president for the Bryan Symphony Orchestra, the Upper Cumberland's professional symphony that operates in partnership with Tennessee Tech's School of Music. Then, we hear from Kelly Chambers, a two-time Tennessee Tech graduate and the current assistant director for the university's Crawford Alumni Center.

This week on College Town Talk, Jonathan and Shan are joined by Dr. Harry Ingle, Tennessee Tech's executive director for Student Affairs and head of the university's new Office of First-Generation Student Success. Then, we hear from Andrea Kruszka, assistant director of the Tennessee Center for Rural Innovation, a celebrated local artist and current Tennessee Tech graduate student.

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.)