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We rewatch Remember The Titans with Dr. Andrew Sargent (West Chester University) and confront how a feel good sports movie can still center white sacrifice, flatten Black interiority, and sell a seductive colorblind story about integration. We also reconnect through grad school memories and talk about teaching film, African American literature, and cultural analysis when students arrive with strong feelings and sharper questions.

Text mentioned in this conversation:

https://www.amazon.com/Signs-Life-USA-Readings-Popular/dp/031264700X

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What happens when you can't afford to eat in college?

Sam and La'Tonya speak with Lenita Seals, LT’s cousin and the unforgettable voice behind the “Basic Needs” chapter of Smart Girl. Lenita takes us back to Williamston, North Carolina, where class shaped everything and Black women were expected to stay small.

Then the story turns to what too many first-generation college students still face: food insecurity, financial aid confusion, and the pressure to pretend you’re fine. Lenita explains how $20 was expected to last months, how hunger made studying impossible, and why pride kept her from telling family how bad it was. We connect that to today’s campus basic needs conversations, including how systems can fail students even when dining halls exist, and why student affairs leaders still underestimate hunger.

We also zoom out to culture and mythology, talking Remember the Titans, Coach Herman Boone, and what it means to hear from someone who knew him before the movie version took over.

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Sam and LT talk with Boston Celtics and WNBA reporter Noa Dalzell about turning lifelong basketball obsession into a real job after being told the dream was unrealistic. They dig into why off-court community reporting creates better access, better questions, and a more honest picture of sports culture.

Recommended links:

https://www.youtube.com/@WNBAonCLNS

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1xjBrTJiOk&list=PLv1Zsk99iuxAt3OJ4QBfKSVCCg0Nhs8W9

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Season two starts with a pivot. We’re still here for first-generation college and grad school life, but now we’re applying that lived experience to the stories we all watch, quote, and argue about. As two English PhDs, Sam and LT bring a sharp cultural analysis style without losing the warmth, humor, and honesty that made this show feel like a real conversation in the first place.

In this episode, they talk about the methodology shift from season one, which stayed close to La'Tonya's Smart Girl origin story, into a bigger project focused on cultural representation.

Subscribe, share this kickoff with a friend, and leave us a review. What show or film should we put under the first-gen microscope next?

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https://www.smartgirlbook.com/

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In this episode, LT and Sam go behind the scenes of First Gen & Juice, a practitioner-driven anthology that turns pop culture, such as Barbie, Oppenheimer, K-pop, comics, Tupac, even The Godfather, into ready-to-use lessons for classrooms, advising, and staff development. Born from a standing-room-only conference session, the book responds to a simple but urgent request from educators: don’t just tell us why pop culture works, show us how.

We talk with co-editor Martha Enciso about advising offices lined with action figures, writing classes built on cinematic analysis, and why confidence is often the missing ingredient in first-gen student writing. Martha breaks down how cultural touchstones lower defenses in hard conversations, while LT unpacks the editorial blueprint that makes this book so usable: every chapter includes activities, prompts, or week-by-week plans you can copy, remix, and teach tomorrow.

The only homework: buy the book:

https://adeii.health/first-gen-and-juice-exploring-first-gen-college-student-narratives-in-pop-culture-and-mass-media

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https://www.smartgirlbook.com/

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Don't call it a comeback. Sam and LT look back on a year of school visits, book chats, and pop-up events that turned a memoir into a community project, where first-gen stories, fandoms, and everyday art met in classrooms, clinics, and even a 24 Hour Fitness.

We also get tactical about what worked, i.e., adding visuals—childhood photos, book inspirations, family snapshots—pulled people in. Shifting the live reading to the Len Bias chapter created a bridge for sports fans and non-fans alike, blending grief, research, and the campus library into a single thread. Along the way, teen boys connected with Smart Girl through sports and comics, proving that identity and joy can share the same seat. We kept hearing the same worries about majors and careers, especially from first-gen and working-class students, and we broke down how humanities paths can lead to writing, leadership, and meaningful work.

Support came from surprising corners: a Body Pump class that built a book table out of gym gear, oncologists who opened appointments by asking about the tour, and a barbershop wall that turned our book cover into neighborhood iconography. We push back on higher ed taboos—talking openly about money, branding, and writing books people actually read—because visibility matters.

We’re turning the page toward season two with a wider guest list, fresh topics, and the same commitment to saying names right, meeting people where they are, and keeping the conversation brave and warm.

If this resonated, subscribe, share it with a friend, and leave a review. Tell us what film, show, or fandom you want us to explore next. Your ideas shape what comes next.

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https://www.smartgirlbook.com/

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What if campus events felt less like ceremonies and more like sanctuary? We sit down with Doctora Alexia Fernanda Pineda Soto to rethink how universities design gatherings for first-generation students—from the invitation to the furniture to the final song. Our conversation moves past turnout metrics and prestige speakers to something deeper: events as living archives that teach belonging, honor family, and affirm first-gen wisdom as academic power.

We trace the origin story of LMU’s First To Go program and the student-led practices that shaped it: cafés where stories lead, human libraries that replace lectures, and an annotated campus map that reframes familiar buildings through first-gen eyes. Lexi shares why “community must be primed for community,” offering practical ways to slow the pace, lower the guard, and cultivate vulnerability with care. Together, we unpack how to swap “fix-the-student” programming for design that centers agency—down to the flyer fonts, room textures, and the soundtrack that cues the heart as well as the mind.

Expect concrete takeaways for academic and student affairs teams: how to onboard student staff as culture keepers, design spaces that feel like home, and measure success by connection rather than headcount. We also talk event formats for book talks and fireside chats, with vibe-setting picks from BrassTracks to Billy Joel to Bad Bunny. If you build gatherings where students are seen as sanctuary, the learning deepens, the room softens, and the archive of belonging grows.

Subscribe, share this episode with a colleague who plans campus events, and leave a review with one change you’ll make to create more third spaces on your campus.

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https://www.smartgirlbook.com/

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In this episode, LT and Sam are joined by two students from the fall Smart Girl roadshow: Liz Hardy (UCSF) and Maliah Siyoum (SMC). Together, they unpack what happens when Smart Girl moves from the page into real college and grad school spaces.

Liz and Maliah share what the book unlocked for them, including recognition, discomfort, joy, ambition, and that unmistakable moment when a class shifts from “discussion” to real talk. They also reveal how the memoir resonates far beyond first-gen students, opening up conversations about why we go to college, what keeps us there, and how stories shape both individual and institutional change.

Go here for the Smart Girl experience:

https://www.smartgirlbook.com/