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We talk with Kelly O’Neal of Texas A&M Universityabout getting drafted into minor league baseball and starting college later with almost no roadmap. 

Kelley starting college at a community college as a non-traditional student while working full time.  He talks to us about how he defines “success” as stability while still not knowing the rules of college and why a grandparent’s degree does not always translate into social capital. 

Along with La'Tonya, Kelley co-founded the Black First Gen Collective, a national body, and in this episode he explains what people misunderstand about Black first gen students and the harm of treating communities as a monolith. 

https://www.firstgenforward.org/our-initiatives/advocacy-and-policy/black-first-gen-collective

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We sit down with Melissa Bordenave to unpack how work-study opened doors at LMU and how financial aid counseling becomes life-changing support for first gen and independent students. 

This is Melissa’s origin story for her advocacy with first-generation college students and what led to her partnership with Dr. LT Miles.  Together they built a strong relationship to ensure that first generation college students, from all backgrounds, received a level of attention, intention, care, and empathy that allowed them to thrive within their undergraduate education without wondering how they were going to pay for it. 

We also dig into the real math behind aid gaps, the audacity it takes to push broken systems, and how those lessons carry from higher ed to LA28.

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We sit down with Hall of Fame athlete Anthony Ireland to trace his path from Waterbury, Connecticut to Loyola Marymount University to pro basketball in Europe and back home as a YMCA CEO. We talk honestly about being first-gen, getting mislabeled early, and turning adversity into a practical leadership skill.

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We talk with fellow UCLA Bruin Craig Young about the unseen work behind raising an elite athlete and why protecting the parent-child bond matters more than chasing a highlight reel. We also get real about bias against Black quarterbacks, NIL-era pressure, and the surprisingly practical steps it takes to write and launch a book people actually buy.

Go here to order a copy of Growing Up Young by Craig Young.

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We use a new W.E.B. Du Bois documentary as a reason to rethink him as a Black first-gen student whose path runs through family responsibility, church support, Fisk College, and elite gatekeeping. We pull out what his story teaches about the hidden curriculum, non-deficit student support, and why first-gen students should see themselves as part of higher education’s legacy. 

Link to the new book on Black first-gens:
https://bookstore.emerald.com/amplifying-voices-of-first-generation-black-college-students-hb-9781806862061.html

Link to the Du Bois documentary:

https://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/w-e-b-du-bois-documentary/34807/

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Part 2 of the Virginia Humanities series about Alexandria, Virginia.  

LT and Sam talk with Dr. Thea James about growing up in Alexandria and learning to lead by questioning rules, from winning a drum major audition to building a career in emergency medicine. Her stories connect school integration, identity, and ambition to a simple belief that access and listening can change a person’s whole trajectory.

Dr. James was the first Black and the first female drum major at George Washington High School, one of the rivals of TC Williams HS in the late 1960s/early 70s.   A first-generation college graduate and transfer student, she would go on to study medicine at Georgetown Medical School.  Currently, she is VP of Mission and Associate Chief Medical Officer at Boston Medical Center. 

• Sports media recommendation: the Jackie Robinson story

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What stories did Remember the Titans leave out? In part two of a special three-part Smart Girl series, La’Tonya “LT” Rease Miles and Sam Pinto sit down with William “Slinky” Patterson, a longtime family friend, T.C. Williams alum, and the school’s first Black drum major. Patterson takes listeners inside a turbulent era of school integration, reflecting on entering high school at just 12 years old, navigating subtle racism in the classroom, and finding refuge and healing in music. From the band room to the soundtrack of the late 1960s, Patterson offers a powerful firsthand account of an Alexandria history that extends far beyond the football field. This special series is made possible with support from Virginia Humanities.

Here's the court case that Mr. Patterson mentions: https://www.courthousenews.com/dc-circuit-tosses-child-slavery-suit-against-chocolate-giants-for-lack-of-standing/

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Think you know Remember the Titans? Think again. In this episode, Sam and LT unpack the real TC Williams story, the cheer squad’s role, and the hero Hollywood sidelined. Hear the music, rivalry, and truth that was missed in the 2000 movie. Listen now and tell us: what shocked you most?

Special thanks to our guest, Ms. Linda Lewis-Pickett.

This episode was supported by the Virginia Humanities. 

https://virginiahumanities.org/

Learn more about the infamous 1971 state championship team here:

https://robertmluckett.com/

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We rewatch Remember The Titans with Dr. Andrew Sargent (West Chester University) and confront how a feel good sports movie can still center white sacrifice, flatten Black interiority, and sell a seductive colorblind story about integration. We also reconnect through grad school memories and talk about teaching film, African American literature, and cultural analysis when students arrive with strong feelings and sharper questions. 

Text mentioned in this conversation: 

https://www.amazon.com/Signs-Life-USA-Readings-Popular/dp/031264700X

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What happens when you can't afford to eat in college?

Sam and La'Tonya speak with Lenita Seals, LT’s cousin and the unforgettable voice behind the “Basic Needs” chapter of Smart Girl. Lenita takes us back to Williamston, North Carolina, where class shaped everything and Black women were expected to stay small. 

Then the story turns to what too many first-generation college students still face: food insecurity, financial aid confusion, and the pressure to pretend you’re fine. Lenita explains how $20 was expected to last months, how hunger made studying impossible, and why pride kept her from telling family how bad it was. We connect that to today’s campus basic needs conversations, including how systems can fail students even when dining halls exist, and why student affairs leaders still underestimate hunger.

We also zoom out to culture and mythology, talking Remember the Titans, Coach Herman Boone, and what it means to hear from someone who knew him before the movie version took over. 

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