Podcast: Engaged By Design
Episode: Part 2 — Faith, Culture & Courage Abroad
Guest: Dr. Sylvia Nemmers — scientist, educator, world traveler, multilingual mother, and author of Happy Now.

Episode Summary

In this second installment of our three-part conversation, Dr. Sylvia Nemmers takes us around the globe—Pakistan, Jordan, Greece, and beyond—to explore what happens when identity, faith, disability, and culture intersect.

She shares how falling in love with a Pakistani student reshaped her worldview, how a spiritual moment in St. Peter’s Basilica led to an unexpected conversion to Islam, and how living across cultures forced her to confront assumptions she didn’t know she held. Sylvia speaks openly about learning Arabic through immersion with children, navigating strict gender norms, raising her own children across borders, and discovering humility as a transformative leadership tool.

This episode illuminates what it means to be a cultural learner, not just a cultural observer. It shows that empathy can only flourish when we stop assuming our own lens is universal.

Key Topics

• Falling in love across cultures
  – Meeting international students
  – Recognizing shared identity as “outsiders” in academic settings
  – Navigating family expectations and early marriage
  – Beginning life in Pakistan
• Conversion to Islam
  – The pivotal moment in St. Peter’s Basilica
  – Faith as recognition rather than instruction
  – Joy, continuity, and spiritual belonging
• Life in Pakistan
  – NGO work in the Northwest Territory
  – Navigating conservative norms (“Don’t act blind; no one will respect you”)
  – Learning agency and self-advocacy in unfamiliar systems
• Jordan: Lessons in Humility
  – Raising children in multilingual, multigenerational households
  – Misunderstandings with in-laws and the power of listening
  – Learning Arabic through play and daily life
  – Major cultural adjustment: food, family, and rhythm of life
• Greece: A different kind of freedom
  – Experiences outside extended family structure
  – Observing different models of happiness and social life
  – Gaining a more global understanding of “normal”
• Universal Lesson: Unlearning Assumptions
  – Recognizing that each culture has internal logic and dignity
  – Learning to ask questions instead of drawing conclusions
  – Seeing disability differently in each country
  – Realizing humility is the beginning of wisdom

Quotes

• “When you live in another culture, you stop assuming the way you see the world is the only way.”
• “People have grabbed me on the street, and I’ve said, ‘I’ve been blind a long time. I’m very good at it.’”
• “As educators, we have expertise and resources—but the person we’re working with is the expert on themselves.”
• “Humility is what keeps curiosity alive.”

Reflection Question

What assumptions about people or cultures might you need to unlearn in order to see more clearly?

Resources

• Book: Happy Now — Shattering the Myth of Happily Ever After (Amazon - https://amzn.to/49PHHYZ).
• Sylvia’s speaking & consulting: BeyondLimits.cc.
• Engaged By Design: MACRO Leadership resources.

Podcast: Engaged By Design
Episode: Part 1 — Authenticity & Resilience
Guest: Dr. Sylvia Nemmers — scientist, educator, and author of Happy Now: Shattering the Myth of Happily Ever After

Episode Summary

From childhood blindness to becoming a scientist and department chair, Sylvia traces how authenticity, curiosity, and courageous mentors shaped her leadership. She shares her early life in an institution for the blind, the hard pivot to a mainstream Catholic school, and the creative lab workaround a professor designed that unlocked independence and confidence.

Key Moments

• Opening, Sylvia’s reveal (born blind; limited sight after age-4 surgery); framing authenticity and strength.
• “Happily ever after” myth vs reality; first vision (sunlight hurts; learning to adapt).
• Institution years: separation, “authentic me,” and the fire-escape slide (bare feet in the Iowa snow!).
• Transition to Catholic school: social codes, learning hurdles, stubborn hope.
• Father’s influence: math on car rides, love of chemistry, finding equal footing in science.
• Barriers & resolve: counselor skepticism; “evaluate my ability, the job is mine to find.”
• Mentor moment: Dr. Larry Davis’ notched-syringe hack enabling precise dilutions; lab independence.
• Universal design & the social model of disability; partnering with learners to remove barriers.

Quotes

• “At that school, I was authentically me… No one expected you to be normal, and that was a blessing.”
• “There are some things you can’t change… and then figure out ways to make it work.”
• “Words are powerful. What you say to your students can change their whole future.”

Reflection Question

How have you overcome your own limitations—or the labels that others have given you?

Resources & Links

• Book: Happy Now — Shattering the Myth of Happily Ever After (Amazon - https://amzn.to/49PHHYZ).
• Sylvia’s speaking & consulting: BeyondLimits.cc.
• Engaged By Design: MACRO Leadership resources.

In this episode of the Engaged By Design Podcast, Michael and Vernon sit down with Rachel Sweeney, Scholarly Communications Librarian at Bucknell University, for a deep and candid conversation about how generative AI is reshaping scholarship, copyright, authorship, and trust in academic knowledge.

Drawing on her background in documentary filmmaking, copyright, and publishing, Rachel explains why the scholarly record is so difficult to define—and why generative AI poses such a profound challenge to it. Together, we explore fair use, authors’ rights, AI hallucinations, fabricated citations, predatory journals, data scraping, and the market impact on creators and scholars across disciplines.

Rachel also shares practical guidance for faculty, librarians, students, and researchers who want to use AI responsibly while protecting the integrity of their work.

This is a timely and essential conversation for anyone navigating the pressures and promises of AI in higher education.

• Rachel’s nontraditional path from filmmaking to scholarly communications

• What the “scholarly record” is—and why defining it is so complex

• How generative AI companies have used copyrighted materials in training

• The explosion of AI-generated content and its impact on academic publishing

• Why recursive AI training produces “AI slop”

• How attribution breaks down when AI scrapes content without citing it

• Copyright fundamentals and the limits of fair use

• Real-world examples from Hollywood, journalism, and academia

• The rise of fabricated citations and nonexistent DOIs

• Class action lawsuits involving monographs and AI scraping

• How scholars and students can verify sources and protect their work

• Why ORCID, DOIs, and Google Scholar profiles matter more than ever

• Ethical considerations for using AI in teaching and learning

• The market impact on early-career professionals and creative workers

• Practical tips for responsible, thoughtful, academically honest AI use

How can faculty, librarians, and students use AI more thoughtfully, ethically, and responsibly at your institution?

We invite you to reflect on this question with your colleagues and teams and consider how these insights can shape your academic and organizational practices.

Rachel Sweeney
Scholarly Communications Librarian
Bucknell University

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