Host/Production: Anna Cordova
With: Abby Becker and Jaxon Farmer
Music: Jack Higgins
At the start of each semester, a sense of gloom often settles over the student body. This is partly due to the demands of new classes and adjusting to communal bathrooms, but another significant factor is the shared experience of club rejections. Georgetown offers over 350 student clubs and organizations, yet many are highly selective, with multiple interview rounds held just as the semester begins, contributing to widespread stress and anxiety. I remember my friends and I spent weeks anxiously awaiting decision emails. These experiences led me to explore the stories of two individuals: one student who has faced multiple club rejections, and a board member of an exclusive club who has seen both sides. I aimed to ask them the key question—it all worth it? While I did not come to any concrete discovery on if club culture is worth it, for it varies between each person, I did gain a deeper insight into nuances of the experiences and it made me curious about how the built culture could/will change.
Creating this podcast was a challenge. Altogether, it took me about a week to complete, from conducting interviews to tackling the extensive editing process. The biggest obstacles were trimming it down to under 10 minutes and adjusting the audio levels. Editing the interview clips took the most time—each one was around 10 minutes long, and I had to prioritize the guests’ content. This meant cutting entire clips or shaving off individual seconds, then carefully matching them with other segments.
Halfway through the project, GarageBand stopped connecting to my computer’s microphone, so I had to switch to using my phone. A large part of the editing process became about matching audio clarity and levels. So I used Adobe Enhance to smooth out the rough spots (It did strangely make some clips sound robotic?). I also spent significant time crafting a script that guided the interviews and story forward. Initially, I included a few clips of my own experiences, but I decided to shift the focus away from my perspective and toward the stories of my guests.
Even though I struggled with the technical side—I’m far from tech-savvy—I enjoyed learning as I went. I spent hours adjusting audio levels, listening to my own voice, and trying to perfect the sound. I have never been one to listen to podcasts because I dislike having my attention pulled in different directions (I am always having to re-listen to segments). However, through this process, I gained a deeper appreciation for the production of podcasts. I also learned more about power of storytelling through audio. It’s not just about what’s said, but how it’s said. For example, I found that both times I asked “is it worth it?” my guests breathed and paused between each thought, which in the audio, paints a better picture than if I had cut straight to speech.
As for the music, I recorded my boyfriend’s piano practice and had him create an intro song for me. In the background, you can hear him playing “Merry-Go-Round of Life” from Howl’s Moving Castle.
