By Katie Vasquez
Podcasts have boomed over the years, but the latest up-and-coming voices to step up to the mic come from a room turned podcast studio at Divine Wisdom Catholic Academy in Douglaston, Queens.
Students participating in the pod say the have much to look forward to. “Excited, I was going to be famous,” third grader Connor Arrington told Currents News.
“The experience was fun,” added classmate Franco Gentile.
The first episode of the show, called “Voices of Divine Wisdom,” dropped Jan. 29 during Catholic Schools Week.
The school’s principal Miriam Bonici came up with the idea as a way to inform parents at the school.
“Life has just gotten so busy for many of our families that even just tuning in on a Zoom, it might not necessarily fit in their schedule,” she explained. “So by recording these podcasts, it’s just offering them another opportunity to really hear about what’s going on in the building.”
During the podcast, students like eighth grader Gavin Barnett talk about their experience in the classroom.
“I talked about, ‘Well, you would change your foods or change the food menu,'” he said ”What did you learn from being in Divine Wisdom?'”
It’s a task that was easy for sixth grader Carolina Perez.
“I really always had this thing for acting and singing,” she explained. “I just like talking, because I never stop talking.”
Others found it harder than they anticipated.
“For someone like me to say that, it’s hard to talk a lot,” said Gentile.
Divine Wisdom hopes to create a podcast club and invite guest speakers like Brooklyn Bishop Robert Brennan.
“We would love to invite him to come and be part of our podcast,” said Bonici.
In the meantime, these students are happy they get a chance to talk about their stories.
“I think that they just really care about that,” said Arrington. “Children can make a big difference.”
“It’s a great opportunity to speak your mind,” added Barnett.
If you would like to tune in, you can look for “Voices of Divine Wisdom” on Spotify and Apple Music.