Learn 2 Listen

On this episode of Retention Chronicles, we’re joined by Jenny Sichel, paralympic silver medalist and three time silver medalist at the World Championships as well as the Operations Director at the National Council on Independent Living and Paralympic coach for USRowing. In addition to talking about Jenny’s career in the rowing world, we discuss her networking with the mindset of ‘what do i have to lose’, pursuing acting in film and talk shows, the lack of equity and equality of media coverage and medal payout for olympic and paralympic athletes, readjusting how we view success as an athlete, dealing with discrimination for disability, and becoming an advocate. Listen on Spotify Listen on Apple Podcast

  On this live audience recording of Learn 2 Listen, we team up with Big Brothers Big Sisters as well as Mike Leonard and Bud Boughton of ERPro Plus to talk about mentorship, listening to your mentee, and impacting the next generation by sharing life experiences. In this episode, we specifically talk about the importance of mentorship, the potential mentorship can have on an individual or a group, lessons learned through the years of raising kids and mentoring others, how to sift through uncertainties and insecurities as a mentor, and how to take the first step in becoming a mentor. This episode was recorded in partnership with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Indiana. If you'd like to get involved and volunteer, please fill out this form ! Listen on Spotify Listen on Apple Podcast

  Colton Haymon, Solutions Architect Manager at Range21 and Co-Founder of ColMonet, a feel-good lifestyle brand, joins us this week on Learn 2 Listen to chat about life. Specifically, we chat through not fitting in growing up and how that influenced our lives now, quickly being able to identify your own people, how we think we stand out, having friends that bring you out of your shell, investing in friendships, protecting your time, and starting your own brand. Listen on Spotify Listen on Apple Podcast

  On this episode of Learn 2 Listen we’re joined by Allison Allyn, MA LICSW, a licensed social worker in the state of Massachusetts and Co-Founder of Ehrhart Singer Therapy Group. We chat through Justin Suia’s podcast Losing Control with Dr. Colleen Hacker, what is the relationship between leadership, vulnerability, and confidence looks like, the connotation of vulnerability and weakness, identity and the self, and much more! Listen on Spotify Listen on Apple Podcast

  On this episode of Learn 2 Listen, Olivia West is a Brand Marketer & Global Launch Readiness Associate at Eli Lilly as well as founder and owner of The Speaking Company. She is an avid cyclist as well as a DEI advocate. On this episode we chat about Olivia’s past of showing horses and her journey in starting cycling, how cycling has become a point of pride for her, knocking down barriers that could stand in one’s way, and what impact Olivia would like to have on the Indianapolis community. Listen on Spotify Listen on Apple Podcast

  On this episode of Learn 2 Listen, we’re joined by Mario Leavell, Sales Representative at Stryker Surgical Technologies and VP of Evansville Bicycle Club. On this episode we discuss when Mario started cycling, why cycling and maintaining your physical and mental health is important to him, lesson learns from cycling, balancing work and working out, the inclusive nature of cycling (it welcomes all shapes and sizes), the community engagement cycling brings to riders, the impact community cycling can have, and so much more. Listen on Spotify Listen on Apple Podcast

  On this episode of Learn 2 Listen, we’re joined by Armando Sanchez, Notre Dame Alumni (2020), Orr Fellow Alumni (2020), and Product Manager at Multiply. We chat through; Being each other’s accountability partner Personal and professional development What we wish we knew about transitioning into the workforce What expectations vs reality look like in the workforce Navigating being a first-generation college student and graduate Completing mindset training & the power of your subconscious Mindless timelessness & dopamine detoxing Listen on Spotify Listen on Apple Podcast

  This week we are joined by Sam Manfreda, former D1 Rower at the University of Notre Dame (‘21) and current Software Engineer at Google. Sam is one of Mariah’s very best friends (if you couldn’t tell from the many laughs) and trusted confidant. In this episode, you’ll hear them discuss what it’s like to transition away from higher education and the service industry to a full time position at one of the biggest tech companies, the idea that there is plenty of space for emotion and empathy in our world, different methods of coping with stress and expressing vulnerability, as well as the interesting relationship one can have with working out and guilt. That’s a lot of stuff to cover, but lucky for us, we recorded it all ;). Listen on Spotify Listen on Apple Podcast

  On this episode of Learn 2 Listen we’re joined by Allison Allyn, MA LICSW, a licensed social worker in the state of Massachusetts and Co-Founder of Ehrhart Singer Therapy Group. Allison tells us all about what therapy is actually like, the difference between sport psychology and clinical therapy, the negative connotation between vulnerability and weakness, the difference between process and progress, and more! Listen on Spotify Listen on Apple Podcast

  This episode of Learn 2 Listen is a tad bit different in that my lovely friend and Orr Fellow, Devon Ngo, is interviewing our host, Mariah Parsons, on why she started Learn 2 Listen. Devon attended the University of Notre Dame (Class of 2021), is currently in the Orr Fellowship, and is also an Operations Analyst and Photographer. He is currently building out his photography portfolio and asked Mariah if she would be featured. The mission of Devon’s project is to capture people in their element, doing what they are passionate about, and for Mariah, that’s podcasting! If you’re in the Indianapolis area and are looking to get involved with Devon and his photography, please check him out via his website ! Listen on Spotify Listen on Apple Podcast

  This week, we are joined by Alea Rashid, current Orr Fellow and graduate of Butler University. one of my closest friends here in Indy and there’s so much we go into. Have you ever thought through how your past experiences impact the person you've become? In this episode you'll learn about how Alea’s life was impacted by having all brothers growing up and how joining a sorority taught her a different perspective. Mariah shares her mirrored version of that where rowing taught her to embrace her athleticism and confront her fear of being ‘too masculine’. You’ll also learn about the international trips Alea and Mariah have been fortunate enough to go on and what they both learned and took home with them. Do you know what entomology is? What about barracudas? Do you know why this podcast was founded? All the answers lie inside… Listen on Spotify Listen on Apple Podcast

Today we are joined by Sarah Kolczak, current Orr Fellow and Co-Founder of Soul & Flow, a wellness experience and community to connect deeper to our higher selves through mind, body, soul, & flow. We chat about Sarah’s experience growing up as a performer. We also talk about Sarah’s background as a ballerina and the sometimes toxic culture that surrounds the world of dance. We also chat about what it’s like to workout looking into a mirror in a tight uniform and what that can do to one’s body image. We related to so many things and I didn’t even know of Sarah’s past of ballet or how deep it ran. Then Sarah walks through how she left her dancing career and started focusing on her yoga practice and becoming certified. Eventually, her love of yoga turned into her co-founding the Soul and Flow wellness experience. I was blown away and so impressed by this conversation and I hope you will be too!  Listen on Spotify Listen on Apple Podcast

  Leeann Passaro is Chief Operating Officer at The Hidden Opponent, an advocacy group that raises awareness for Student-Athlete Mental Health to address the stigma in sports. Not only is Leeann passionate about her non-profit work but she is also a high school English teacher and soccer and lacrosse coach. Leeann vulnerably shares her story about her relationship with soccer, her coach and team, and her history of concussions. We bond and elaborate about the guild and uncertainty that surrounds injury in sport. We give our two cents about the fear and manifestation of symptoms that surround injury and why it creates a web of pressure and confusion. Leeanne discusses her reframing of a very difficult situation where she wasn’t asked to return to soccer her senior year where she was forced to transition out of sport a year earlier than she thought she would.  Listen on Spotify Listen on Apple Podcast

Madeline Barlow, Ph.D., is an Athlete Mental Performance Coach currently working at Drexel University to help athletes become mind-wise and transition away from sport post-graduation. Madeline is also the founder of the MindWiseMentor, the creator of the Mind-Wise Method, and the author of the book The Highly Sensitive Athlete. She earned her degree at the Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania where she was a varsity swimmer of four years. Join us today as Madeline tells the Learn2Listeners community what it means to be mind-wise. She shares some of her favorite practices everyone can integrate into their daily schedule. We take a deep dive into the take-a-ways Madeline experienced from her fourteen-year swimming career, mainly navigating one’s body image while constantly competing in a bathing suit. Thank you so much to Madeline for taking the time to teach us all how to be more mind-wise and sharing her story on Learn 2 Listen. Listen on Spotify Listen on Apple Podcast

As I sat down to reflect on my experiences with mental health, I realize that what I thought were pivotal experiences in my life were more so pivotal reflective points. Instances in my life that within themselves, were so impactful, but really was the opening of continued self-discovery, pain, and change years after. When pivotal moments in life happen, it feels like the biggest thing in the world while you’re in the middle of it, but for me, the most challenging and gratifying parts come with time afterward.  Where I now sit at 27 years old, 5 years post-college graduation, I look back on the last 6 years with a lot of sadness and exhaustion. Yet, if you ask me how I’m feeling right now or on most given days, I will tell you that I’m tired but that I’m doing pretty well! There is room for both.  As far back as I have memories, I have been involved with athletics and am very physically active. As a kid, I loved playing outside and getting dirty, and I like to think I still car...

Ever since I was in junior high, I’ve been bullied. It wasn’t that bad until I got to college in Valparaiso, Indiana. That’s when it started to become hell. By the start of my third year in September 2010, the bullying turned into cyberbullying. I would get calls from restricted numbers telling me just how worthless I was. I also was getting sexual references scrawled on my whiteboard. The more I tried to get help, the more I was ignored. This led me to get severe Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and contemplating suicide as a result. I was also taking way more credits than I could handle as well. This led to my grades suffering and being suspended for all of 2011. The reason I didn’t end it all is that I found an angel in disguise who became my best friend. When I finally graduated in December 2014, I made sure to send her an invitation. What I wasn’t expecting was a card telling me how proud she was for not giving up. To anyone who is being bullied, you aren’t alone. I’m here for you. ...

Doctor Nancy Michael is currently a Professor and Director of Undergraduate Studies for the Neuroscience and Behavior Major at the University of Notre Dame. She has dedicated her professional life to the scientific community, having studied pharmacogenetics, molecular biology, and neuropsychology, all while publishing multiple research papers. Join us as we discuss human tendencies and connections surrounding life transitions and the COVID-19 pandemic from a neurological point of view. We begin by discussing the transition from collegiate life into post-graduation life, which many students struggle through, and what advice Dr. Michael provides her students with. Then, we dive into the pandemic and its neurological impacts on students and communities. If you’re curious how we try to reestablish socialization as an everyday necessity and how we must unlearn the anxiety and guilt that accompanied the pandemic, listen now! Thank you to Doctor Nancy Michael for her insight, time, and contin...

In my 24 years, I have witnessed firsthand how mental health struggles can debilitate one’s life. For me, most of my story illustrates how mental health and addiction have the ability to completely crush someone, while simultaneously reverberating its devastating effects to those around that person. The story does not have an ending because the battle with mental health struggles is an ongoing journey that some people must navigate day by day. Rather, the story sheds light on the ways in which mental health education plays a pivotal role in the type of love and support one can provide to those suffering. My brother and I are one year apart, so growing up, we were very close. We were given the same opportunities and tools to succeed. We went to the same middle school and both graduated with high honors; we were fortunate enough to attend prestigious high schools and graduate at the top of our classes. Once I left for college, I was beginning to see a change in my brother. In his senior ...

Regret is a funny thing. Ironically, decisions about long-term health are not always easy. In high school, my athletic journey took a striking turn. An athletic trainer once turned to me and said, “What will you regret more? Having played, or not having played?” For me, quitting my sport was never an option. I subsequently learned the difference between manageable pain and potentially dangerous pain. I have spent the last 8 years perpetually reestablishing myself as a soccer player with a body that’s limited by injury. I tore my right knee’s anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) for the first time when I was 15. During the first spring practice of the season, I jumped up to win an airball, and as I landed my knee snapped. The next thing I knew, I was being carried by two of the team’s Soccer Dads’ to the car where my father was waiting to drive me to the Emergency Room. Later, I learned that this meant I would be out of commission the summer before my junior year of high school and for most...

Hello everyone! I am so excited to be able to share my story with all of you! I just read a few incredible stories that some of you were brave enough to share, and my story is nothing like any of yours! However, I still want to write about it, for my sake as well as everyone else's who struggle in silence every day, too ashamed to openly talk about how we feel. I think I started becoming depressed my senior year of high school, but it was a vague feeling, and I did not really think much about it. I made it through freshman year of college without any issues, and after thinking that freshman year was WAY EASIER than I had anticipated, three more years seemed like it would be a piece of cake! I was SO WRONG!!! It was only a few days after I wrapped up classes that I started feeling extremely suicidal. I was on a trip with a few other members of my family and a close friend of ours to visit her daughter in another state when all of these really dark thoughts crept into my brain. I had...