Episodes

  • S2 E16: Thank You and Enjoy Your Summer!
    Jun 5 2025
    Host Andy Perrine (’86) briefly reflects on the first two seasons of Being The Change as we pause publishing for the summer, returning in late August for Season 3.
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    3 mins
  • S2 E15: Justin Constantine’s (’92) Legacy Lives On
    May 23 2025

    Iraq war veteran and inspirational speaker Justin Constantine (’92) died in 2022, but his spirit lives on. Hear how first-year JMU student Samantha Cornell is benefiting from Justin’s legacy because of Dhalia Constantine’s generosity, and how Navy nurse Racheal Fletcher (’05) cared for Justin stateside before discovering they both were JMU alumni.

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    30 mins
  • S2 E14: Undergraduates Describe Their Research
    May 14 2025
    In the second episode in a series about JMU’s continued evolution as a research institution, Dr. Patrice Ludwig (’96, ’01M), biologist and interim assistant vice president of Research and Innovation, provides context on how research pervades the undergraduate experience at JMU, while students Corrinne Cullina (’25) and Tony Gelona (’25) describe their life-changing research experiences starting early in their careers at Madison.
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    28 mins
  • S2 E13: JMU’s Evolution as a National Research University
    May 7 2025

    From a teachers’ school for women, to a regional master’s-level university, to a national research institution, JMU certainly has evolved during its 117-year history. Dr. Anthony Tongen, vice president of Research, Economic Development and Innovation, and Dr. Rudy Molina, vice provost for Student Academic Success, discuss how this evolution continues to progress and what’s in JMU’s future.

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    24 mins
  • S2 E12: Rainey-Shepard-Kushel Business Plan Competition
    Apr 24 2025
    Successful investors and entrepreneurs Don Rainey (’82), Rusty Shepard (’86) and Rick Kushel (’87) describe why the College of Business’ business plan competition is such a formative experience for JMU students and why their endowed scholarship fund, which distributes $53,000 annually in competition prizes, charges the competition with real-world high stakes.
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    27 mins
  • S2 E11: Navigating Political Polarization
    Apr 17 2025

    Dr. Kara Dillard, executive director of the James Madison Center for Civic Engagement, discusses the recent conversation on campus between Virginia Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell (’93) and Minority Leader Ryan McDougle (’93), and how these two JMU alumni from opposite sides of the political spectrum collaborate despite their differences.

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    27 mins
  • S2 E10: Uncovering Local History
    Apr 10 2025

    Chaz Haywood ('97), clerk of the Rockingham County Circuit Court, and Megan Pullen ('18, '23M), the court's deputy clerk for historic archives, discuss how unearthing courthouse records dating back to the 1700s brings to life local history and demonstrates how much our lives have improved since the early days of the republic.

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    32 mins
  • S2 E9: Celebrating JMU Women, Supporting JMU Students
    Apr 2 2025

    Sierra Stanczyk ('09), Meghan Schenker-Fulcher and Carole Anderson ('86) discuss the phenomenal rise of Women for Madison, a group that has taken the JMU campus community by storm by celebrating successful women and supporting the university.

    Click here to register for Women for Madison's Women Who Amaze Summit, May 2-4, 2025.
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    25 mins