Overcoming challenges, embracing opportunities, and using your resources: A compilation of advice from faculty

Welcome back to the CFI Faculty Lounge Podcast, where we explore the experiences, challenges, and strategies of dedicated educators. In this special episode, host Eric Magrum shares a collection of interviews with various faculty members, each responding to the question: If you could go back in time, and meet yourself before your first day at JMU, what advice would you give -- and why?

Faculty members share advice on:

• Staying present
• Networking
• Recognizing your skills
• Planning
• Community-building
• Being open to new experiences
• Using campus resources
• Engaging in meaningful teaching

Tune in for an inspiring compilation of faculty members reflecting on their early experiences at JMU.

Listen to advice from various JMU faculty members at the timestamps indicated below

Dr. Bobby Vaziri 0:30 – 1:42

Dr. Chen Guo 1:43 – 3:05

Professor Colleen Watson 3:06 – 4:20

Dr. Delores Phillips 4:21 – 5:18

Dr. Elizabeth Brown 5:19 – 6:44

Dr. Eric Guinivan 6:45 – 7:59

Dr. Leonard Richards 8:00 – 10:16

Dr. Modjadji Choshi 10:17 –12:41

Dr. Robyn Kondrad 12:42 – 14:05

Dr. Tiara Brown 14:06 – 15:15

Dr. Timothy Ball 15:16 – 18:58

CFI Faculty Lounge Podcast would love hearing from you! Do you have a question for our guests, a teaching tip to share, or a story about faculty life? Send us a message by clicking on this text. Your message might make it into a future episode.

Empowering Student Success Through Creative Collaboration: A Conversation with Dr. Eric Guinivan

Welcome back to the CFI Faculty Lounge Podcast, where we explore the ideas, experiences, and challenges shaping academic life. In this episode, Grammy-nominated composer and associate professor Dr. Eric Guinivan joins us to talk about teaching, creativity, and the ongoing effort to support students while sustaining a meaningful work-life balance.

Dr. Guinivan shares:

• Early teaching experiences, from high school marching bands to graduate teaching at Indiana University
• His innovative work at a public charter school with mixed-age classrooms and peer mentorship
• How enthusiasm, analytical thinking, and creativity shape his teaching philosophy
• Strategies for setting boundaries and maintaining well-being as a faculty member
• Reflections on a workload equity project and what it revealed about faculty expectations
• Thoughts on collaboration, composition, and stepping outside his creative comfort zone

Tune in for an inspiring conversation about empowering students, embracing experimentation, and building a collaborative learning environment rooted in care.

CFI Faculty Lounge Podcast would love hearing from you! Do you have a question for our guests, a teaching tip to share, or a story about faculty life? Send us a message by clicking on this text. Your message might make it into a future episode.

From Rural Roots to Global Classrooms: A Conversation with Dr. Modjadji Choshi

Welcome back to the CFI Faculty Lounge Podcast, where we explore the experiences, challenges, and strategies of dedicated educators. In this episode, host Dr. Eric Magrum speaks with Dr. Modjadji Choshi, Associate Professor of Nursing at James Madison University, about her inspiring journey from a remote village in South Africa to becoming a globally experienced nurse educator.

In this episode, Dr. Choshi shares:

- Her clinical and academic path through South Africa, Ireland, and the U.S.

- Insights from her PhD research on self-care among rural women post-coronary intervention

- The value of empowering nursing students and staying current with industry advancements

- How she creates supportive, student-centered learning environments

- The transformative impact of her South Africa study abroad program on cultural competence and hands-on learning

Dr. Choshi’s story is a powerful reminder of the global dimensions of healthcare education and the role educators play in shaping compassionate, culturally competent practitioners.

Tune in for an engaging conversation on nursing, mentorship, and the future of community-based learning.

CFI Faculty Lounge Podcast would love hearing from you! Do you have a question for our guests, a teaching tip to share, or a story about faculty life? Send us a message by clicking on this text. Your message might make it into a future episode.