#thinking of the pipeline from this to her vogue questions interview

[yourgoldennotebook]

I don't know if he knows it's about him. Actually, I think that would be better because there would be lawsuits in order. No, I'm just kidding! The guy I wrote this song about, I didn't really ever "officially" date. We almost dated. It really bothered me that he was so cocky and that's where that song came from. After school, I would come into downtown. I had a publishing deal with Sony, and I would write songs every single day, exactly what I felt. I found myself just sitting there with my guitar going, 'I hate his stupid truck that he doesn't let me drive. He's such a redneck! Oh my God!' That actually became the chorus to the song, so that's one of the most honest songs I've ever written. I'm so glad you like that song. Hopefully it will be a single sometime so we can make a cool video with lots of angriness.

— Taylor, to a fan asking "I really like your song "Picture to Burn." Does the boy that you wrote the song about know it's about him, and how does he feel about it?" for GAC: Ask the Artist in February 2006

[samuel-dean]

MERCEDES EVANS’ FOR THE COVER OF VOGUE MAGAZINE, released june 1st, 2021

[read exclusive interview below]

Tell me the story of how you met.

It was quite an ordinary meeting. We met at his estate in Atlanta. I had been asked to submit a bid to redesign his home. I remember being shocked that Samuel actually gave me the tour of the home. Most of the time during those types of consultations it’s the wife, significant other or assistant who does so.  

What were your first impressions of Samuel? 

I was actually confused. It goes without saying that Samuel is an extremely handsome man. However, he was hot and cold. Super friendly one second then aloft the next. By the end I could tell he was good natured and nicer then most men of his ilk.  

What did you do on your first date?

I don’t know if we ever defined any of our interactions as dates.  -At least at the time I didn’t. We went to dinner in Hawaii and talked for hours. 

How did you know things were getting serious?

After our first date, as crazy as that sounds.  He disarmed me completely. He could have been an entitled, self absorbed jerk, but instead….  He was the sweetest man I’d ever met. I never wanted to be apart from him. Though I can’t say I was ready to admit that to him at the time. He felt like home.    

When did you know that you would end up getting married?

I knew I was going to marry him after we’d gotten into a huge argument.  I lost the fight, and I’ve never been so glad not to get the last word. He doesn’t fight fair, even in the midst of him being upset, he loved me with every word. I knew it was time to stop running. 

What did your friends and family think? 

Of our marriage? Or Samuel?  --Well to both counts they loved the idea and him. Most thought I was crazy for not marrying him sooner.”

Describe your engagement story.

Most women know or have an inking they are going to be proposed to. Even if they say they don’t. I guess he got me with our engagement and I got  with the wedding.  It was breathtaking. Samuel filled our home with a sea of roses on Valentine's day and just when I thought he couldn’t make me feel more special, there he was on one knee asking me to be his wife. I am now Mrs. Evans and when I think back on that day I still feel overwhelmed and humbled. 

How did you pull off a surprise wedding? 

It wasn’t just a surprise. I planned it in two weeks. I was a nervous wreck the majority of that time. Thankfully Samuel is trusting and doesn’t ask too many questions. That and I had help. My best friend and sister in law were invaluable to pull it all together.  

What was the most special part of your wedding?  

Standing at the altar with my world right in front of me. Samuel and our daughter.  It was perfect.  

What’s your favorite thing about Samuel?

What is the best part of being married to Samuel?

Those two questions go together. His patience and honesty are my favorite things about Samuel and being married to him. He’s a great man who loves fully. I’m blessed to have found him. 

What has been the best part of your marriage so far?

I can’t tell you what the best part is…Sorry. But the second best thing is feeling completely content and happy for the first time ever.

What are your hopes for the rest of your marriage?

To smile, laugh, grow, and love each other more and more each day.  And fight from time to time to keep things interesting.

Do you both plan to have more children?

We are talking about it. Personally, I am okay with Nouvel being an only child.  

What is the best part about being a mother?

Watching my daughter’s personality blossom. She is so confident and fearless.  I am scared for the rest of the world. 

What are the challenges of motherhood for you? 

Finding the balance between being a mother, being a wife and finding time for myself.  I’d also say it’s letting go of my own selfish expectations.  My daughter is going to be her own person. She is already proving that to me daily. 

What are your hopes and wishes for your daughter?

I hope and dream what any mother does. For your child to find happiness and forever protected.  I also hope that she appreciates all the gifts she has been given. That she has a heart for given, the way her father does.

What is the next thing you plan to conquer now? The world… That sounds like a good place to start.

You are the COO of Exxonmobil. How did that come about? 

The restructuring of Exxonmobil caused a whole in the company board that needed to be filled.  

What challenges do you face within your new title as COO? 

I came into my position at a challenging time. Having to implement new policies and procedures in a rapidly changing landscape has been trying at times.   

How did you deal with the oil spill and fire personally? 

The spill and the subsequent fire have taken a great toll on our company. My first and most important job was and is to keep a human face on the event. I have spent time with the families affected and set up trusts for those families as well as redesigned how we conducted inspections and maintain the miles of pipeline we possess. 

Has it been challenging shifting from interior designing to the oil industry? How was the move into your role managing a billion dollar corporation? 

Every new career comes with its fair share of growing pains. I won’t say it’s been easy. Though it hasn’t been hard either. Managing a billion dollar corporation or a dollar one isn’t so different. Except as COO I have more limitations. I can’t be everywhere. I had to learn, it’s not my job to know everything. It’s my job to surround myself with the best and brightest. We have that at Exxonmobil. Once I understood that, helping to run Exxon became enjoyable. 

[aenchantingstudenttreefan-blog]

Youth Radio

During my time at USF, I have had the pleasure of hosting my own show “The Cat’s Meow” on KUSF.org. My passion for music and public outreach inspired me to visit Oakland’s Youth Radio and learn more about the history of Youth Radio across the Bay Area. Youth Radio is a nonprofit production company that also provides education to a diverse selection of young people throughout the East Bay. In 2001, they won the Peabody Institution Award. One of the reasons for their winning of this award was that “through hands-on training and on-going interaction with adults and peers and in the creation of their own programs, these young people have gained valuable communication, media journalism and production skills” (Peabody Awards, 2017).

This training prepares these young people for employment in a variety of fields such as journalism, technology, media and art. Youth Radio, founded in1993 in Berkeley during a period of heightened youth violence and homicide, Youth Radio was established as an outlet for Bay Area youth to process their experiences and provide a platform to lead local and national conversations about big issues such as culture and politics (Youth Radio, 2016). 

I became interested in learning about Youth Radio and the stories of the individuals involved, not only because of my personal investment in media and radio but because of my own personal experience as a young man growing up in Harlem, NY. Growing up in my neighborhood, I wish that I had the opportunity that this organization is giving to students because I would have been able to hone in on my skills and further them. I was always really into music and actually used to record music, but doing so was so expensive.

As a teen in Harlem, I got involved with The Manhattan Neighborhood Network through a friend of mine who had enrolled in a certification class and was learning how to do television production and how to operate studio and control room equipment. I was intrigued at the freedom that MNN allowed and had not known that such an organization existed. There was no cost to operate equipment and I was allowed to produce and edit the content in which it would be broadcasted to the people within my community. “Manhattan Neighborhood Network's Youth Media Center produces critical media that presents in-depth analysis of the issues faced by young people in New York City and provides a pipeline for action” (MNN).

The fact that Youth Radio offers the opportunity to utilize state of the art equipment is amazing. It’s a way for a young person to began building their portfolio now because  not only will it be great quality, but they have mentors that will help guide them along the way. Thinking back to my teenage days I was actually a part of a public access television network that a friend of mind had got involved with producing shows of local artist performing music. The show got pulled because the network didn’t have enough funding for it to last more than a few episodes.

While I did not have the opportunity to be an extensive part of the community-based, non-profit media organization when I was younger, I did have the ability to see how successful this model has been in the Bay Area through this project. Youth Radio moved their headquarters from Berkeley to Oakland in 2007, and this is the building that I visited. While I was unable to go inside, the building is right in downtown Oakland and is surrounded by so much history .They may be based in East Bay but they work with youth organizations around the country such as NPR, and Teen Vogue. Their program boasts an audience  of 30 million people (Youth Radio, 2016). Youth Radio also has more than 250 paid internships available annually for young people. 

Storytelling is a big part of what they do. Youth Radio believes that storytelling deeply transforms the thinking of millions of people who actively listen to and are inspired by a youth perspective:

 “One of our big goals and values is really around preparing young people particularly low income and folks of color for the 21st century digital workplace so that’s where the youth radio interactive stuff comes to play” (Heather Buchheim). 

Their mission includes striving “for a society in which young people across the country are driving conversations that lead to new solutions for long-standing social problems and obstacles to a healthy national future” (Youth Radio, 2016). 

One story that stuck out to me was that of Quincy Mosby. In 2005, Mosby was only eighteen years old when he walked into Youth Radio’s newsroom. He shared a story about how his mother’s struggle with HIV has affected the entire family. His story explored an array of the mixed emotions he experienced before and after his mother’s diagnosis: anger, admiration, and disappointment. During this time, HIV and AIDS still held a huge stigma, especially for black men and women. The challenge of how to condense a story containing so much emotion, social commentary, and health and race politics all into a short two-minute long radio commentary seems like an insurmountable challenge. 

When it finally aired on NPR’s All Things Considered, it was presented in a concise and poignant manner. One quote in particular stood out to me: “when I was fourteen years old, my mother called me into her room. I remember the look on her face. There was something in her voice. I knew that she was about to tell me that she was HIV-positive. I think she cried. I know I didn’t.” (Chavez & Stoep, pg. 3). This story was the first of many that showed me just how powerful radio can be, especially as a platform for young voices to be heard.

Youth Radio partnered with Wide Angle Youth Media to encourage young people from Baltimore to share their stories around the current issue of the “Black Lives Matter” Movement. Each teen created a short film to express their own experiences as well as the history of this movement. Each teen spoke about feeling embarrassed or feeling as though they had to suppress their blackness. Each teen experienced pressure and a divide between “a black and white world” that we all live in in America. “My whole life has been tailor made to attempt to free myself of the assumptions attached with my skin color” says Madison Hall in her short video (Wide Angle Youth Media, 2018). She even states that her mother named her Madison to make her name sound less black. She acknowledges the struggle black Americans face by having to walk the line between stereotypes associated with their race or crude comments like “you’re so white” just for acting like themselves. In the end she raises the question: “if we recognize the accomplishments of black people and our own beauty, will we even need to continue saying ‘black lives matter’?” (Wide Angle Youth Media, 2018). 

While she brings up an interesting point, I personally think it is imperative to hear the voices of the youth because they are essentially the face of the future. No matter how uncomfortable the conversation, voices and opinions need to be heard. Being able  to give young people a voice without it being censored is an essential part of Youth Radio's core. There has been extensive research in which educators have come to the conclusion that this is essential to incorporate “When educators talk about creative learning, they generally mean teaching that allows students to use their imaginations, have ideas, generate multiple possible solutions to problems” (Thomson). 

In conclusion, I believe that Youth Radio is a great community organization and I would encourage any and all teenagers who are within the age range of their guidelines to reach out to become a part of their organization. I have two sons which one of them is currently sixteen years old, but currently lives in New York. Had he been living in Oakland, I would have encouraged him to enroll into the program. Youth Radio’s goal has been to help students thrive in different fields of focus and to shape them to be career ready. They are doing so with record numbers within graduation and enrollment rates “Last year, Youth Radio students had a 97% high school graduation rate and an 90% college enrollment rate” (Youth Radio, 2016). The data demonstrates that the efforts put forth by Youth Radio is helping young people reach their full potential, and also providing them with skills that are vital to their success.

Bibliography

Citation Style: MLA

Buchheim, Heather (2018 April 17) Interview.

Davis, Brandon (April 24th, 2018) Research Journal.

Mnn.org. (2018). Youth Channel: Media Advancing Social Justice in NYC | Manhattan Neighborhood Network. [online] Available at: https://www.mnn.org/videos/youth [Accessed 7 May 2018].

Peabody Awards Anon, (n.d.) The Peabody Awards - Institutional Award: Youth Radio. 

[online] Available at: http://www.peabodyawards.com/award-profile/youth-radio [Accessed 1 May 2018].

Soep, Elisabeth, et al. Drop That Knowledge: Youth Radio Stories. University of Califor -nia Press, 2010.

Thomson, Pat. Researching Creative Learning: Methods and Issues. Routledge, 2011.

Youth Radio Anon, (n.d.). Youth Radio – Cultivating Media and Minds. [online] Available at: http://youthradio.org/ [Accessed 1 May 2018].