Western Washington University’s Wellness Advocate Program, a group focusing on improving the well-being of Western students, created a podcast for students called “Campus Conversations.”
The podcast first aired in May 2024 and currently has five episodes available for streaming on multiple platforms, including Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
Kayla Long, a third-year Western student and member of the Wellness Advocate Program, wants to help students navigate a new phase of their life through Campus Conversations. “We tried to make something that Western students would want to listen to and something that would give them helpful information to increase their well-being during college,” they said.
Campus Conversations covers a variety of topics on mental and physical health, such as its episode on cannabis neuroscience and harm reduction, aiming to create a safe resource for students to learn about subjects not often discussed.
“Last quarter, we did an episode on food. This quarter, we’re doing an episode on creativity. Previous episodes have been on all sorts of different topics, anything that we find interesting or important for Western students,” said Long.
Campus Conversations is student-led and is conversation-based between the hosts.
“It’s really cool to deep dive into a topic and learn about it,” said Long. “I learn a lot through discussing with my co-workers who work on the podcast with me.”
Along with discussions among co-hosts, members of Campus Conversations also interact with members of the community. The group often does interviews in Red Square to get opinions and statistics from Western students.
“It’s really fun because I get to talk to a stranger and hear their opinion on something, and I always learn a ton. It’s really cool to get different perspectives on a topic,” said Long.
Campus Conversations makes its content accessible for students through podcasting. Alex O’Connell, a third-year Western student and former student production manager of the Digital Media Center, recognizes podcasting as an important form of communication.
“It's a medium that can be enjoyed while doing other tasks, be it commuting, housework, or whatever else,” said O’Connell.
For college students who are often on the move, balancing school and life, podcasts offer an opportunity to learn and listen while maintaining a busy schedule.
“In today's busy age, where it can be hard to sit down and read the news or other stories, audio opens up extra opportunities to engage with media,” said O’Connell.
Campus Conversations and the Wellness Advocate program strive not only to make room for important conversations but also to share resources that could benefit students and community members.
“We hope that they learn some good, helpful information to increase their wellness during college. We like to share as many resources as we can that people might not know about that can be helpful for them to access,” said Long.
Amanda Peitzman, a third-year Western student, has learned valuable information after listening to the latest Campus Conversations episode, “Food and Well-being.”
“I feel like I gained tips and tricks on how to eat on a budget and a sense of community listening to my peers share their ideas and, at times, relating to their experiences,” said Peitzman.
The Campus Conversations team aims to release an episode every quarter. Following the episode on creativity that will soon be released, the hosts are excited to touch on new and intriguing subjects.
“We have so many cool ideas for episodes, the topics are endless, and there are so many things we are excited about,” said Long.
Find where to listen to past and future episodes of Campus Conversations through their website.
Mackenzie Rankin (she/her) is a reporter on The Front’s campus life beat. She is a third-year public relations journalism major. Aside from finding new stories to write, she can be found doing art or on walks with her friends. You can reach her at mackenzierankin.thefront@gmail.com
