Conexiones Students Interview Larry Anderson

Perhaps you have listened to the interview I conducted with three students involved in the Conexiones Project that is being operated at Arizona State University. These students are high schoolers who are classified as migrant students. They were so charming, eager, and creative.

However, one of the fun things that occurred at the annual Microcomputers in Education 2006 Conference (MEC) at Arizona State was when these students, functioning as student reporters for the conference, asked if they could interview me. What a thrill for me!

The interviewer is rather hard to hear in the audio; however, I believe you will enjoy listening to this interview. Also, when you navigate to the students' web page, feel free to look around and check out th other things they are doing! Please send them feedback, too, in the form of encouraging words. They worked extremely hard to post this material and could use a hearty pat on the back.

I sat down with three high school students during the Microcomputers in Education (MEC) 2006 Conference in Tempe, Arizona, where I was invited to be a keynote speaker. These students are part of a program focusing upon migrant students' use of technology and interpersonal relationships skills. The students talked about their leadership roles, how they perceive leaders, and how the Conexiones Project has helped them succeed in their academic pursuits.

Music for this episode was provided by Ted Scalzo, Bay Area High School in New York. The audio for this episode is quite poor due to the conditions in which we recorded. Plus, I did not have my mixer with me, so we had to use only one microphone and it was highly directional. I pointed the mic at the students rather than myself. Please pardon the quality, but I had to make a decision to go ahead with the recording or to miss this opportunity completely. I chose to record!

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• David Rumbarger, Executive Director, Community Development Foundation, Tupelo, MS
• Mike Clayborne, Executive Director, CREATE Foundation, Tupelo, MS

The three of us gathered in Mike's conference room to discuss elements of leadership that had made the two young gentlemen as successful as they are. As you might imagine, they both were quite modest, seeming unwilling to accept the accolades I offered them. They talked about the importance of each other's organization as a key component in the North Mississippi region's growth. This is one mark of a great leader--a willingness to offer credit to others for the achievements they have engendered.

During our one-hour interview, they discussed the conscious decision by CREATE to host a leadership enhancement program for young leaders in the region. Enhancement was the focus rather than mere development, because they want to make sure they build upon the successes existing in the area, already. Yet another mark of a stellar leader--concern and consideration for those around you!

I asked David and Mike to name some books (or authors) that had meant the most to them. In case you would like to purchase the recommended books, here is a short list:

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A SPECIAL THANKS
I want to offer a special word of commendation and thanks to Jeff Sewell, owner of Sewell and Associates, a local audio/video engineering firm. Jeff spent several hours helping me figure out some new equipment I had bought. Plus, he loaned me some new microphones to test. But, the most help came when, after I recorded the session, I couldn't believe how much hiss had been recorded (I definitely didn't have the same thing coming through my headphones as what wound up on the recorder), so he helped me figure how to diminish that with Soundtrack Pro. Please bear with me as I learn proper ways to use this new equipment and software for podcasting.

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