In the final episode of “The 2023 UCF VLP Institute Podcast Series,” we return to an “after-hours” edition as Sebastian Garcia spoke with Nicole Bennett (2nd-grade Teacher at Webster Elementary), Erika Grant (Physical Education Teacher at Webster Elementary), and Judy Lindquist (K-5 Gifted Teacher at Andover Elementary), at the hotel after the entire Day 8 program. This includes the events of Episode 6 (“meta” field trip) and Episode 7 (subsequent roundtable discussion), in addition to afternoon workshops titled “Themed Explorations: Putting together your Mini-Theme Tour of SANC” and “Trying Tech: An Introduction to Using Google Maps, Cilo, and StoryMaps for Veterans History.” What ultimately ensued was a tremendous reflective exercise for these teachers as they had A LOT to process and decompress. Given this, in addition to the teachers closing in on Day 8 and approaching the final two days at the Institute, the conversation carried an unintentional finality—a beautiful way to close this podcast series.

At the end of the episode, Sebastian brings it to the present, as he briefly spoke with Dr. Amelia Lyons about her reflections on Year 1 of UCF VLP executing an educational Institute for K12 teachers about teaching and memorializing Veterans’ history. Dr. Lyons even shared with us some exciting details about the future of this initiative.

This episode was directed, produced, written, edited, and hosted by Sebastian Garcia, and featured Nicole Bennett, Erika Grant, Judy Lindquist, and Dr. Amelia Lyons.

Executive producers: Sebastian Garcia and Dr. Amelia Lyons.

Music: “Honor and Glory” and “Real Heroes” by SergePavkinMusic (Pixabay)

Podcast Cover Artwork: Sebastian Garcia

The 2023 UCF VLP Institute Podcast Series is brought to you by UCF’s Department of History and UCF’s Veterans Legacy Program—a partnership with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ National Cemetery Administration.