More Than a Way Out
“Like a priest to a church, I wanna do my part…I want to serve my country.” Produced by Perry Lerit. Transcript for More Than a Way Out I went into the army at the age of 17. I was still in high school when I signed up, they would have a delayed entry program. So,…
A Well-Kept Secret
“If you don’t have access to the information, you don’t know what your potential is.” Produced by Reagan Skaggs. Transcript for A Well-Kept Secret I remember going to Pulaski. Pulaski was a middle school back then. Seventh grade, we had a speech teacher. She introduced us to black poets—black poetry—and all of us kids was…
Battle Scars
“To see somebody else struggling and to be able to lend a hand or lend an ear—that’s living a diaconal life.” Welcome Project at Valparaiso University · Battle Scars Produced by Rebecca Werner. Transcript for Battle Scars I wanted to be a twenty-year man more than anything in this world. However, you get battle scars…
Lineage
“‘Dad’s going to play Army.’ That’s what they would say.” Welcome Project at Valparaiso University · Lineage Produced by Rebecca Werner. Transcript for Lineage My impression of the military probably comes from my family. Members of the family have been in every major conflict since, like, almost the beginning. My dad, most recently, was a…
Praying Hands
“I remember watching this church being built.” – Mrs. Felicia Rhetta Childress, confirmed in St. Augustine’s Episcopal Church in 1955. Produced by Perry Lerit. Transcript for Praying Hands I remember the people in St. Augustine’s [St. Augustine’s Episcopal Church in Gary, Indiana]. Flossie Alexander, and we called them Flossie and Fritz because the two of…
Defining Moment
“I had a mother tell me, ‘Bring my boy home safe.’” Welcome Project at Valparaiso University · Defining Moment Produced by Rebecca Werner. Transcript for Defining Moment At the time that 9/11 kicked off, I was working as a civilian police officer. Like the rest of the country, that impacted me greatly. Just getting my…
This Whole Grace Thing Rocks
“Like I really enjoy this life thing, so I want to give it a shot, and part of that is accepting who I am.” Welcome Project at Valparaiso University · This Whole Grace Thing Rocks Produced by Courtney Earl. Transcript for This Whole Grace Thing Rocks So I knew that I liked guys and girls…
Hollywood Marines
“You see the movies, and they’re going in there gung-ho, but it’s a lot different…you shoot them, but they’re going to shoot back.” Welcome Project at Valparaiso University · Hollywood Marines Warning: story contains an ethnic slur. Produced by Rebecca Werner. Transcript for Hollywood Marines I spent thirteen months in country. And I was stationed…
We Were Bussed
“… we were in school together, but we were separated.” Editing by Welcome Project intern Brandi Casada. Transcript for We Were Bussed Originally, the East Side of Gary, which is anything east of Broadway. See, downtown was flourishing then, so we’re going to say from 8th Avenue down to 5th Avenue was the business district.…