Western Michigan University, one proud conversation at a time.
Raise The W brings Western Michigan University students, staff and administrators into a campus audio lab for one-on-one conversations with host Tim Tarentine. Topics range from a student clothing label that pushes back on fast fashion to what dining services learns from students, and the host admits he is biased.
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Raise The W is an interview podcast about Western Michigan University, recorded in the Hickey Audio Lab inside the university's School of Communication. Host Tim Tarentine does not act like a neutral observer. He calls himself biased, closes with lines like it being a great day to be a Bronco, and asks listeners to spread the word. The boosterism is the frame, but the substance comes from the guests. Each conversation pairs Tarentine with one person from campus, and the guests come from very different corners of the institution. Students sit alongside staff and administrators. Avery Green, a student founder, explains the thinking behind his label, House of Pariah. He says fast fashion turns out clothing that is unwearable after a few washes, and he wants people to take pride in what they wear and spend on things that last. Pooja Mandagere, a double major in Computer Information Systems and Communication Studies, applied for a political affairs role in the Western Student Association. She was placed on diversity guidance instead and made the most of it, describing the post as a voice for underrepresented students on campus. Her résumé before college includes Michigan Youth and Government and a meeting with Bernie Sanders. Judy Gipper, the director of dining services, has the most down-to-earth line of the set: everybody eats, so everybody is an expert. She credits students with pushing the kitchens toward less food waste, more local food and healthier choices, even though a reward of soft serve with sprinkles still has to be available. Greg Jasperse, director of Gold Company, tells how the group won at its debut at the Next Generation Festival. One of the schools it beat has a vocal jazz group run by a former Gold Company member. Tarentine cuts in early to keep him from getting too humble about it. Kyle Herm, a director of major gifts, talks about the stories donors share and how time on the road away from campus renews his appreciation for the place. Dr. Staci Perryman-Clark, associate dean of the Lee Honors College, remembers early scholarly submissions coming back with harsh feedback. She learned the conventions and later built research on students of color and writing. The closings follow a pattern: they point to a page on mywmu.com and ask listeners to tell others about the university. One closing admits the university is imperfect before insisting it is strong together. What a listener gets is a warm view of how a university works, told by the people inside it.
Made for: Suits a listener with a tie to Western Michigan University, or one considering it, who wants to hear directly from the students, staff and administrators who shape campus life. It also fits someone curious about how a university's dining, fundraising and honors programs look from the inside.
What sets it apart: The guests come from across the whole campus, so a dining director, a director of major gifts and a student clothing founder all get the same one-on-one studio time. The host is openly a booster, not a neutral interviewer.
Learn about the people, places, and programs that make Western Michigan University the special place that it is.
From helicopter parenting to philosophers and welders, your campus curiosity gets a workout.
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