Transcript -Episode 4: Embracing the Journey with Jason Robinson, Director of Professional and Organizational Development

00:00:00 Jason Robinson

I love that my work has a purpose. What I'm trying to make happen is that our students will walk onto this campus and feel like they belong, see themselves reflected here, going to classrooms, going to offices, have amazing experiences that help them see who they are, that help them feel, I can do this.

                

00:00:25 Veronica Daniel

When it comes to a community college as students, we're the reason why everyone else is here. I think a lot of times when people think of students, they're thinking about us growing and learning. But the one thing that I realized talking to my professors is that they are constantly also growing and learning as well, whether they want to admit it or not.

                

00:00:46 Veronica Daniel

I'm your host, Veronica Daniel, and I'm a journalism and communication student here on campus.

                

00:00:51 Liesel Reinhart

I'm Dr. Liesel Reinhart. I teach mass communication and TVR courses here at PCC, and I am thrilled to co-host with my amazing former student, Veronica.

                

00:01:01 Veronica Daniel

On this show, Liesel and I are going to talk with some remarkable individuals from our PCC campus community. These are people you may know, but stories you probably don't.

                

00:01:09 Liesel Reinhart

It can be tough, but we don't have to do it alone.

                

00:01:12 Veronica Daniel

Exactly. Because in higher education, we are all under development. A podcast from the Office of Professional and Organizational Development at Pasadena City College and funded by a PCC Foundation Community Excellence Grant. Hi, Liesel.

                

00:01:29 Liesel Reinhart

Veronica.

                

00:01:30 Veronica Daniel

Liesel, have you ever traveled outside of the U.S.?

                

00:01:34 Liesel Reinhart

Well, that's a fun question to get us started. Yeah, I have. I didn't travel until I was 30 and I loved it so much and as a teacher I thought, I want my students to go much earlier. So, I started taking student groups on trips all around the country because of speech and debate, but then also internationally too, including, I think the first trip I ever took with students was to Paris.

                

00:01:55 Veronica Daniel

You've never taken me to Paris.

                

00:01:57 Liesel Reinhart

Well , you weren't in the right class. We'll keep working on it. We'll keep working on it . I even took some students to Hawaii. But yeah, the Paris trip was the first one of a series of really great remarkable trips.

                

00:02:08 Veronica Daniel

Well, I ask you this because today's guest has these remarkable stories of traveling all over the world and just kind of talking about his experiences and how they've shaped him and molded his identity.

                

00:02:23 Liesel Reinhart

I see that so much. Every time I took students on a trip, it was stunning to see their growth, the new perspectives that they experienced. It's one thing to learn about it in a book. I know at PCC, we have a wonderful study abroad program and that's a way that people can get out and experience things. Faculty can take sabbaticals and experience travel.

                

00:02:42 Liesel Reinhart

And many of us just through our wanderings in our lives, have had these experiences and they really inform who we are and how we interact with others.

                

00:02:49 Veronica Daniel

I'm definitely eager to get more stamps on my passport because every time I leave the country I learn so much about so many different people and their cultures, but I also learn a lot about myself. So, you guys should definitely take advantage of any study abroad programs that your school might offer.

                

00:03:05 Liesel Reinhart

What's the highest impact travel you've had so far?

                

00:03:08 Veronica Daniel

Highest impact, I would say earlier this year I went to Oaxaca and I cried like four times while I was on the trip because we just went to so many different areas. It's a very historical city. There was this tree called the Tree of Tule, and it's the widest tree in the world. In that moment, I just sat down on a bench and just stared at this tree until the sun went down. I didn't say a word and it was just the most amazing experience. It was so spiritual.

                

00:03:36 Veronica Daniel

It's like when you're around something of that magnitude, you're just in awe. You know what I'm saying? You can't talk. You just have to sit and be in the presence of this tree. And it was funny because my partner said that that was the quietest that he's ever seen me.

                

00:03:51 Liesel Reinhart

Well, these are all great experiences that we've had and our guest today has also had some really interesting international experiences and just life experiences overall, including being from a different country originally. So, we're going to learn a little bit about the perspective that travel gives you and also we're going to learn about the executive producer of our podcast and the reason that we're here.

                

00:04:12 Veronica Daniel

Exactly. I'm so excited. Let's get into it.

                

00:04:15 Liesel Reinhart

Let's do it.

                

00:04:19 Veronica Daniel

Jason Robinson, welcome to the Under Development Podcast.

                

00:04:24 Jason Robinson

Thank you for having me.

                

00:04:26 Veronica Daniel

You are so welcome. And you are a very special guest because-

                

00:04:30 Jason Robinson

Ooh , I like being special.

                

00:04:31 Veronica Daniel

Yeah. I mean, because in addition to being a PCC employee, you are also the executive producer of this podcast.

                

00:04:39 Jason Robinson

You're giving away my secrets.

                

00:04:42 Veronica Daniel

It's been such a pleasure getting to know you since we've started all of this. I mean, I love all of our conversations-

                

00:04:47 Jason Robinson

Same.

                

00:04:47 Veronica Daniel

That we have. I always walk away from them thinking about them a lot. Just breaking down a lot of the different things that we have discussed.

                

00:04:59 Veronica Daniel

But it's exciting to have you here because we are here to talk about your experiences and there's been a lot of them and how they have informed your work here at PCC. Can you tell us about your role here as the director of the Office of Professional and Organizational Development?

                

00:05:19 Jason Robinson

Yes. It wasn't a super intentional planned out thing. I've always been interested and engaged in professional development or professional learning. I've been in education for over 20 years, and from the very beginning I was interested in not only student learning, but how my peers were learning and how I was learning.

                

00:05:42 Jason Robinson

And so, I just kind of, through my career moved from being a teacher to being an administrator, to then going into a PhD program. And right at the very end of the program, I was asked to come and do some work at PCC and kind of was really impressed with the people that were in that room and thought, these are good people and I really like the work that they're focused on. And this position had actually just been flown.

                

00:06:14 Jason Robinson

I left that training and went for lunch and I looked it up and it actually had just closed. And so, I couldn't apply. And then about three or four months later it popped up again online. And so, I applied and there you go.

                

00:06:27 Veronica Daniel

Here we are.

                

00:06:28 Jason Robinson

Yeah.

                

00:06:29 Veronica Daniel

Okay. Well I can hear it a little bit in your accent, but can you tell us where you're from?

                

00:06:37 Jason Robinson

Sure. I am from Canada. I grew up on a farm just in a small rural community in Alberta, Canada.

                

00:06:46 Veronica Daniel

Okay. So, I do want to talk a little bit more about what you do here at PCC, but before we get into that, I wanted to discuss your journey and how you got to PCC, specifically your travels overseas. So, we talked about it before, but I do want to talk about Cairo. So, can you tell me a little bit about the story of how you decided to go to Cairo and-

                

00:07:13 Jason Robinson

Sure. Yeah, I'd love to. If it's okay, I'm going to tell you a little bit about maybe some things that are a bit before Cairo, if that's okay. I had just finished my teaching degree and this was in I think 2000. And I was living in Vancouver, Canada and was working as a substitute teacher in a couple of school districts, but there were just no jobs available full time . And I was living with a roommate and I had student loans and I was just really struggling to kind of make ends meet.

                

00:07:45 Jason Robinson

And I had heard, in my travels around talking to people, I'd heard about these overseas schools and in my mind I had painted a pretty glamorous life, these big houses. And they had all these trips that they would go on and stuff. And I was like, "I want to do that," and because I can't get a job here, I'm like, "Maybe I should try this."

                

00:08:09 Jason Robinson

This was right around the time when the internet was just coming on and I had a friend who had been doing some work overseas and she mailed me a pamphlet of a school in Dubai and I was like, "Oh, well I'll just apply there. They'll hire me."

                

00:08:25 Jason Robinson

And so, I went on to the internet, found their website, and it said that they were going to be at this job fair in Waterloo, Iowa. And I had not been to the United States at this point in time, so I was like, ooh, the United States that's like, I'll go to the United States to this job fair.

                

00:08:42 Jason Robinson

But I didn't really have the money to go. I had enough room on my credit card to go and I was trying to decide do I max up my credit card and do this or not? And I was kind of leaning towards not .

                

00:08:55 Jason Robinson

And then a friend of mine, he was close to me and knew kind of this decision I was trying to make. And he took me out for dinner one night and he handed me an envelope and it was airline tickets and a booking to a hotel in Waterloo, Iowa to go to this job fair.

                

00:09:15 Jason Robinson

Then I went to the job fair and I had a couple of offers to go to interviews for schools in Egypt. And I really wanted to go to Europe because I think in my mind that was close conceptually to my own experiences in Canada. And I was sitting down at a table writing a no thank you note to these schools in Egypt that had asked to interview me. And this guy came over and sat down beside me and I swear he looked like Jesus. In my mind of what Jesus looks like, this is what person looked like, and his name was Jason and my name is Jason.

                

00:09:55 Jason Robinson

And so, we started chatting and he was like, "What do you got? Where are you interviewing?" And I was like, "Well, really nowhere but I do have these offers from Egypt to interview, but I'm not interested." And he was like, "Oh wow." He is like, "I would love to go to Egypt." He's like, "You should really go to the interviews."

                

00:10:13 Jason Robinson

So, he convinced me to go and I went up to the table of the first school and we all had little name tags on. And when I walked up to the table, this woman who was sitting under the side said, "Jason, I've been waiting for you to come by." She said, "I have a job for you." And she said, "I'm also from Canada."

                

00:10:32 Jason Robinson

And so, I was kind of taken back and impressed that this person knew who I was. It was 600 people at this job fair. And she knew who I was and no one else seemed to know who I was.

                

00:10:46 Jason Robinson

So, we ended up spending a couple hours together. She told me all about the school, she gave it to me, the real side. It wasn't great money, it was a for-profit school, but she said, "Egypt is amazing and for your first time overseas I think it's the place to go to and I will take care of you, I promise." And so, I signed on and that's how I got to Egypt.

                

00:11:13 Veronica Daniel

That's amazing. I love that you're talking about at this point it's three specific people that have pushed you out of your comfort zone a little bit. Interesting.

                

00:11:24 Veronica Daniel

Would you say that part of maybe the reason why you were a little bit like not necessarily wanting to do it had to do with growing up in a small town and being out in a country that you don't really know that much about?

                

00:11:37 Jason Robinson

When I went to the job fair and got the job, it was the coolest thing to come back and tell everybody guess where I'm moving to? And it was like, they'd be like, where? And I could say Cairo, Egypt. I honestly at the time, didn't even really know where it was on the map.

                

00:11:51 Jason Robinson

And so, people were like, "Wow, Cairo, Egypt, that's amazing." But then once I had told everybody, the reality set in, now I have to do this, I actually have to move to Cairo, Egypt.

                

00:12:05 Veronica Daniel

I mean, it's a really big risk for you to decide to go to Cairo, even if it's a dream of yours. I mean, a lot of us want to go do something, it's a dream, but to actually do it is very scary.

                

00:12:18 Veronica Daniel

So, once you got to Cairo, how did you feel? Was it as scary as you thought it was going to be? Or were you just like, "I'm here, I'm ready."

                

00:12:25 Jason Robinson

Oh no, it was terrifying. Everything about it was terrifying. From the moment of everybody had been told, realizing that I have to go to actually landing in Cairo, that whole period was terrifying for me.

                

00:12:39 Veronica Daniel

Okay. So, once you landed, I want to know everything, how did the people embrace you? I mean, you definitely don't look Egyptian, so what was that experience like, especially, being a teacher. How did the students treat you and what was just the community like there?

                

00:12:57 Jason Robinson

Landing in Egypt was kind of it felt like somewhat maybe of an out-of-body experience, I don't know else to explain it . It was like watching myself kind of, that's what it felt like. I felt like watching myself in this dreamland because everything was different.

                

00:13:16 Jason Robinson

Egypt is just brown, it's desert, the buildings look different. I mean, people are all dressed in Galabeyas and the language is Arabic. The cars are older.

                

00:13:31 Jason Robinson

I had no point of reference. Everything was different. Everything. I think I got to the point where I was like, this was my norm. But it took a long time. Kind of like, oh yeah, there's a donkey right beside us on the freeway. That's just what it is.

                

00:13:46 Jason Robinson

But people in Egypt were wonderful. I've been in lots of places, but Egypt, hands down is one of the more hospitable places I've been. People were incredibly warm and accepting. That said, I felt like an outsider for sure. I didn't fit in visually, I couldn't communicate, I didn't understand the foods. Yes , it was a real challenge for the first while.

                

00:14:11 Veronica Daniel

And how long were you there?

                

00:14:12 Jason Robinson

Four years. Yeah. And when I went, I thought I'll be here for sure one year because I didn't have enough money to buy a return ticket home. So, I was like, I'm here for a year. I ended up getting a better job the second year at a better school. And so, I stayed at that school for three years. I only stayed at the first school for one year.

                

00:14:31 Veronica Daniel

I see. I see. So, when you first got to Egypt and you were teaching, obviously you were in a completely new country, but how do you feel new employees who are coming here at PCC? I mean, I'm sure for a lot of them it feels like they're landing in a place that's like Egypt too. There's a lot of employees who aren't from America. It's their first time in Los Angeles. And so, how do you think that they feel?

                

00:14:55 Jason Robinson

Well, I think definitely for employees who haven't worked in the California community college system, I think we kind of have this, it's almost like a running joke. It's like when you land in the California Community College system and you have to navigate the bureaucracy and the rules and the laws and the policies, it's overwhelming. I mean, it is kind of like being in a foreign land for sure.

                

00:15:22 Jason Robinson

I also think about our students too. Particularly first generation students, students who are first in their family to come to higher education. That to me is more so linked to my experience of being in Cairo because it's like a new language. And you don't know where you're going and you don't know how to make things happen. It's like you have to learn the ropes. And I do hold onto that when I think about my work.

                

00:15:51 Veronica Daniel

And so, how do we help those people with that transition once they get here ?

                

00:15:56 Jason Robinson

That's a great question. I think there's lots we can do. But if it's okay to kind of keep linking it back to my own experience, community, it's like one of the core kind of principles of how I see my work and how I want to be in my work.

                

00:16:15 Jason Robinson

I feel that, so I grew up in this really small town and I think I've shared that I didn't love growing up in a small town, just preface that. But people gossip and blah, blah blah, and it's cliquey. But when someone's barn burns down or something really horrible happens to someone, the entire community rallies around that person and provides them with what they need, whether it's cookies or it's help to rebuild.

                

00:16:43 Jason Robinson

And that sense of community, I witnessed that from such an early age. And then when I got to Cairo, it kind of came looping back on me again because I relied on the people who were going through the experience with me. So, like these friends, I made some incredibly deep friendships through those experiences, those challenges of living in a foreign country.

                

00:17:07 Jason Robinson

And then also the people in Egypt who I became really, really close with, who kind of took me under their wing and helped me learn how to be in that new place.

                

00:17:20 Jason Robinson

So, at PCC, I try to do the work I'm tasked with doing, but as I do it, build community, not just for myself, but try to help others build community and help them enhance the toolkit for building community.

                

00:17:40 Veronica Daniel

So, when you talk about the toolkit, like what toolkit are you thinking about that people can access?

                

00:17:46 Jason Robinson

The tools that I think they need are opportunities to connect. So, providing those opportunities. They maybe need some tools for how to connect. Like how do we talk with each other? What can we talk about? How do I connect to you if I perceive you to be different than me? Whether it be you work in a different office, or you are a different age than me, or you are from a different community than me.

                

00:18:16 Veronica Daniel

You talk about identity and differences. And I kind of want to talk a little bit about your experience at USC when you were getting your doctorate. Obviously being in Cairo and in some of your other travels you look very different, but at the same time you have an identity that is a lot more recognizable. And I think in some ways a little bit more respected.

                

00:18:38 Jason Robinson

So, one of the things that being in Egypt really helped me see was privilege . I had these experiences where I would go to rent an apartment, I would be treated almost like royalty, as a white male in this land. And it was visible to me in a real way for the first time. I'm sure I knew it, but it became visible.

                

00:19:07 Jason Robinson

So, when I came to USC, I came with that understanding. And part of why I was able, I think, to be accepted into that program was because I talked about that in my application and the person I ended up working with, Estela Bensimon , her whole career has been focused on racial equity and education.

                

00:19:31 Jason Robinson

And I came in probably a little bit cocky thinking that I had it sorted, but I really had not lived in the U. S. And I did not understand this context. And it was through her grace and kindness and toughness that she helped me kind of take that initial learning and really deepen it. And it wasn't just her, it was everybody that I worked with, everyone that was in my cohort.

                

00:19:58 Jason Robinson

And I sometimes think about conversations we had as an initial cohort in my first year and some of the things that came out of my mouth that I wish I could go back now and fix that. But that's a learning, that's what we do. And we have to be willing to accept that sometimes we're not going to get it right and that's okay. Just own it and be better.

                

00:20:25 Veronica Daniel

I think that's a really important point that you bring up, is that as we get older, there are always more opportunities for us to grow and for us to take a step back and realize that the way that we were thinking before wasn't right and that we can do better.

                

00:20:39 Veronica Daniel

So, while you were getting your PhD at USC, can you tell me a little bit more about some of the experiences that actually really pushed you to be uncomfortable and to realize the different areas that you needed to grow?

                

00:20:55 Jason Robinson

Well, so I identify as a gay male. And that was partially also the privilege dominant/non-dominant experience that I already kind of had. And I think that for a long time I wondered why that difference wasn't the focus as much as a racial equity.

                

00:21:18 Jason Robinson

But it was through kind of learning that I came to understand the ways in which those two experiences unfold in very different ways. And it took me a while to get that.

                

00:21:30 Jason Robinson

I remember being in a class my first year and there's a famous Canadian, she has a quote that's pretty famous and it's like none of us have made it until all of us have made it. And that really resonates with me because of my identity to community. I've talked about community being so important to me, so that really resonates with me.

                

00:21:52 Jason Robinson

But we were talking about racial equity in this class and I remember pulling that out and and it was like, that's really easy for me to say as a white man. Why can't we just all get along? Why can't this all be equal? It was like very naive.

                

00:22:08 Jason Robinson

And I think that when I talk to my family in Canada, I sometimes hear that naivety in them. And I think what has allowed me to kind of move through that, and it's still moving through it, it's a lifelong thing for me. And I think for all white people, or it should be, is I had to sit and read and listen. And in a PhD program you read a lot and you sit and you listen and you talk a lot and you write a lot. So, I had the space to do the work, that internal work, that inside individual work.

                

00:22:44 Veronica Daniel

I think with what you're talking about, it does require a lot of work. Not everybody's at USC, getting their doctorate and having someone who is essentially a mentor and helping you kind of realize those things. And so, what would you recommend for people that don't have that opportunity?

                

00:23:03 Jason Robinson

What we need is a critical friend. And I love the idea of a critical friend because when it comes to learning, and it comes to, I think particularly learning about topics related to equity, to racial equity, it can be uncomfortable. This is particularly for white people. We don't want to make a mistake. We're so worried about ourselves feeling … I mean, I really do think that we just are so concerned about getting it wrong.

                

00:23:33 Jason Robinson

So, you need a friend who you trust or you can lay it out, but you need the critical aspect of it. You need somebody, a friend who's going to say, "That's not right. You're not taking the full picture into account. You are missing certain details. You need to do a little bit more thinking. And here, have you thought about this?"

                

00:24:00 Jason Robinson

I really think a critical friend is essential. And then I think we all just need to find time to read and continue to learn wherever we are on that learning curve. It's like ask people, what's a good book? What have you enjoyed reading? What have you learned from? I think that's important.

                

00:24:19 Veronica Daniel

I agree. And also just being open. It's okay to get embarrassed if someone is saying, "Hey, that's not right. Don't say that to somebody. You shouldn't be thinking like this." I think sometimes as people, we're so used to always being on the defensive if someone says something that we don't like.

                

00:24:36 Veronica Daniel

And so, I think that if you are going to have a critical friend, then you have to understand that there are going to be moments where you're not just uncomfortable. You might be embarrassed, you might be upset. It might take a day or two or a week for you to even process the things that they're saying.

                

00:24:51 Veronica Daniel

We are in the age of the internet now. So, you can look things up and you can look at discourse and see what other people are saying and know that there's options, essentially. So, thank you for saying that as well.

                

00:25:03 Jason Robinson

Yeah.

                

00:25:05 Veronica Daniel

So, with the work that you do in OPOD, the Office of Professional Organizational Development, through that, that is how this podcast came to be.

                

00:25:15 Jason Robinson

Right, yeah.

                

00:25:16 Veronica Daniel

Can you tell me a little bit about that and your original ideas for the podcast?

                

00:25:21 Jason Robinson

The idea came when we launched our Community Excellence Grants and a couple of years back I had attended a PD session with some folks that you and I know who help out with this podcast. And I thought that's a great way to bring people into learning and to bring people into community.

                

00:25:43 Jason Robinson

So, I pitched the idea to our flex coordinator, Nicholas Hatch, and said we should put a proposal in for this. And so we did. And our proposal was accepted.

                

00:25:54 Veronica Daniel

The podcast has evolved a little bit. Yeah , I mean, you said that you didn't necessarily want to be talking, but you were originally going to be the host.

                

00:26:01 Jason Robinson

Host. Yeah, I know. It's crazy Veronica, how things happen . So, initially it was like, well, we'll use this as a venue . I think we even pitched it in the proposal that it would be a venue through which we could unfold professional development topics, people could learn.

                

00:26:19 Jason Robinson

But as we got more into now we're going to do this, it was like, that's kind of boring. We don't want to do that. We want this to be something that people are actually going to want to listen to, that's really special.

                

00:26:31 Jason Robinson

And I love talking to people, I love talking. So, I was like, yeah, I can do this. And I kind of coming out of like qualitative research, my PhD program, that's the type of research that I did was qualitative research. And so, I trained, and you and I have talked about this before, how that's a big part of that work.

                

00:26:51 Jason Robinson

I mean, big part of it is sitting and writing and analyzing data, but a huge portion of it is getting the data from people and through interviews. So, I was like, yeah, I want to kind of go back to that and do a little bit of that work.

                

00:27:03 Jason Robinson

But then we met you and it was like, you know what, this is beautiful, this is beautiful. The idea of having one of our students be in the host chair, having conversations with people who work at PCC. Again, it's one of those things you have to be willing sometimes to let go of your plan when you see something different taking shape in front of you.

                

00:27:28 Jason Robinson

And this was one of those moments and I'm just super grateful that you were here in this moment in time and were willing to do it because you're just exceptional at this. And yeah, I've loved being able to partner with you and work with you from a different position in the project.

                

00:27:45 Veronica Daniel

Aw, thank you. That's really sweet. I want to kind of go back a little bit because I would like to know more about what exactly OPOD does, even though this podcast is here because of it, I would like to know a little bit more exactly what you guys do. Because a lot of people on campus I'm sure have never even heard of your department before. So, can you kind of go into a little bit more of that please?

                

00:28:09 Jason Robinson

Yeah, yeah. So, the office didn't exist prior to my coming to the college. It was a new office and a new position that I came into.

                

00:28:18 Jason Robinson

So, we're fairly new, only about five-years-old, but we are responsible for working with different constituency groups, employees. So staff, faculty and administrators to identify what their learning needs and interests are and then working with them to create programming that addresses those needs. And we do that in lots of different shapes and forms. Yeah, that's kind of what we do in a nutshell.

                

00:28:52 Veronica Daniel

Thank you. I feel like you have done a lot in your life. It seems like you've lived at least 20 different lives, you know what I'm saying? And we've talked about this a lot, but I wanted to know what part of you is still under development?

                

00:29:08 Jason Robinson

I identify as teacher and identify as learner. I mean, I just do. So, there are so many things that I want to learn about. I have two little kids right now, so it's like, it's hard to find time day-to-day to do learning. But I want to enhance my own skillset related to technology. Some of the basic stuff, I just want to be better at Excel, that's so silly. But it's like, I want to be better at Excel.

                

00:29:37 Jason Robinson

Artificial intelligence has got my attention. Continuing to learn about my own identity and how that impacts the work that I do, the way I move through this world, how it impacts how I parent, how I partner with my partner, all these things. I believe I will continue to learn. I mean, I'm not too worried that I won't, I will continue to learn because I love learning, so-

                

00:29:58 Veronica Daniel

I love that perspective. That was really good. That's a lot of different things in different areas that to your point, I definitely, I know that you can accomplish that. Just would like to know from your perspective, what is something about PCC that you love and something about PCC that you feel could be improved?

                

00:30:20 Jason Robinson

I love that my work, even though it's maybe one or two degrees back from the day-to-day student experience, I love that my work has a purpose. At the end of the day, what I'm trying to make happen is that our students will walk onto this campus and feel like they belong, see themselves reflected here, go into classrooms, go into offices and have amazing experiences that help them see who they are, that help them feel, I can do this. Somebody believes in me. I'm getting the tools.

                

00:31:02 Jason Robinson

I want people to have these great experiences. I want our students to have these great experiences. So, I love that my job has that purpose.

                

00:31:10 Jason Robinson

The thing that we could improve on, there's lots, well, we're not there on racial equity and that is woven into a national conversation. But I'm hopeful that we will get there. I feel sometimes if this can't happen at PCC, I don't know where it can happen.

                

00:31:36 Jason Robinson

We have things at PCC that other colleges don't have and it's all over the place. People, resources, supportive community. So, I'm optimistic that we can be better, but we need to be better and we're not alone.

                

00:31:52 Veronica Daniel

Thank you. So, for anyone that wants to find you, how can they find you?

                

00:31:59 Jason Robinson

They can find me in the C building, the main administration building. And we have a nice little corner in the back of C-221 and we don't get tons of visitors, but we love when people come to see us. So, and then of course you can find us online. We have a website as well that you can access through the PCC website.

                

00:32:21 Veronica Daniel

Perfect. Yeah, I just want to say thank you so much, Jason, for being on the podcast. It's honestly so great to have you specifically here as a guest. And I just want to say thank you so much for believing in this project that we've worked on with Liesel and with with myself, and just letting us figure it out. So, thank you.

                

00:32:44 Jason Robinson

Oh , well I am honored to be a part of it and excited for what may come.

                

00:32:53 Liesel Reinhart

Wonderful job interviewing Jason Robinson. You two have a really nice chemistry together, Veronica.

                

00:33:00 Veronica Daniel

Thank you so much. Yes, he is so lovely. I just love his energy every time I see him and I'm able to speak with him.

                

00:33:07 Liesel Reinhart

That is a perfect word. He has an amazing energy. And Jason is a wonderful facilitator and leader and he speaks frequently in front of everyone, but to get to hear his story and his perspectives is actually pretty unique and special. And I've worked with him for almost four years now, so I'm learning and growing from that experience. So, that was really great.

                

00:33:27 Liesel Reinhart

What were some of the most interesting things that he shared for you?

                

00:33:31 Veronica Daniel

It definitely has to be the critical friend. Everyone needs a critical friend, regardless of your identity. We all need someone that can keep us in check and hold us responsible for the things that we say, the things that we think and do. And I think that if someone is going to take anything away from this episode, it would definitely be to get a critical friend, but to also be open and honest with that critical friend.

                

00:33:58 Liesel Reinhart

I feel like you can be my critical friend. You are a truth talker. I love that about you. I hope you know that you bring a confidence into the room with you, and I hope you feel that you are open and can share your thoughts and feelings with me and with Barsi, our producer, and with all of us. I think you've done a really great job doing that. This is also the final episode of our first season.

                

00:34:21 Veronica Daniel

I know, it's crazy.

                

00:34:22 Liesel Reinhart

I know, it's been a great journey and such a learning experience. I feel like we've grown throughout the process. There's the part where we get together and talk and meet the guests , but there's all the behind the scenes work that you and the rest of the team do. And I want to make sure and thank everyone.

                

00:34:38 Liesel Reinhart

Our engineer today is Jen Campbell. Our production partner is Avant Haüs Media. And Christina Barsi, a former student of mine from many years ago , and now the kick-ass queen of podcasting, who we're so lucky to get to work with.

                

00:34:53 Liesel Reinhart

And of course, Nick Hatch and our guest today, Jason Robinson, our executive producers, but especially you, I mean, I feel like you've been the one who everybody doesn't always know all the work you do behind the scenes, the pre-interviews, the logistics, and just trying to keep us moving forward.

                

00:35:10 Liesel Reinhart

This has been part of Veronica's role, not just on mic, but throughout the year to keep us flowing forward. So, we're so grateful to you for doing that.

                

00:35:19 Liesel Reinhart

Do you have any takeaways or thoughts about this experience as we wrap season one?

                

00:35:24 Veronica Daniel

I think one thing that has been coming to my mind every time that I've sat down to interview with somebody is how much I can relate to those people in so many different ways, regardless of their identity or where they came from. Every time they tell me a story, I can see myself in that story. And I think it's beautiful.

                

00:35:43 Veronica Daniel

There is a lot of work that goes into creating a podcast and of course being a host, but for me it's so rewarding. I never really have any moments where I'm upset or frustrated. I just feel really grateful for everything that I do. It's been, of course, an experience where you learn, but it's definitely something that I feel like is now an integral part of who I am as a person.

                

00:36:06 Liesel Reinhart

You've given us incredible confidence in the role of students to be involved in professional development and professional podcasting. And we're hoping to continue the podcast in a new iteration with even more students involved, because this is also a work-based learning opportunity for students to learn a valuable set of skills that will help them, and not just in this career, but probably in any career they might do.

                

00:36:29 Veronica Daniel

Taking on these types of opportunities as a student is a great, great opportunity for you to figure out what you like and what you don't like, and to hone in on your skills and to meet people who are just as passionate as you are.

                

00:36:45 Liesel Reinhart

Yeah. And I think my final takeaway too , about the way in which this story evolved as you and Jason talked about today, to be based on stories and narratives, is the idea that everybody I meet now has a story. They may not have told their story on the podcast, but the story is there.

                

00:37:03 Liesel Reinhart

And we need to take more time out in our lives to listen to each other's stories and make space for that. And I know there's a lot of initiatives on campus that are trying to support that, and I think we should all really partake of them when we can so that we take the time and find that time to really get to know one another.

                

00:37:20 Veronica Daniel

I just want to give a special thank you to all of the guests that we had on the podcast. Their stories were so beautiful and so incredibly impactful, and some of these people were just people that I'd walked past or saw in an event. So, you never know.

                

00:37:34 Liesel Reinhart

You never know.

                

00:37:37 Liesel Reinhart

Thank you for listening to the Under Development Podcast. This podcast a is production of the Office of Professional and Organizational Development at Pasadena City College and funded by a PCC Foundation Community Excellence Grant.

                

00:37:51 Liesel Reinhart

I'm your co-host, Liesel Reinhart. Our host is Veronica Daniel. Executive producers of this podcast are Dr. Jason Robinson and Nicholas Hatch.

                

00:38:00 Liesel Reinhart

We invite you to join our community by subscribing to the podcast or visit the website for the Office of Professional and Organizational Development at PCC to find out more resources mentioned in this show, workshops you can be a part of, and how to get involved in professional development here at the college.