The Whole Student

A New York Times International Bestselling Author 23 times over (including the Orphan X series), Gregg Hurwitz is a master storyteller whose work has appeared across many media – from books to comics to screen and digital. Also a writer of political editorials, Gregg works against polarization in culture and politics. Hear the origins of his liberal arts education and learn about the foundational moments that have brought Gregg to where he is today. Gregg puts his passion for the craft on full display through spotlighting the teachers who influenced him most.    

Educator and author Elizabeth Denevi is one of the industry's foremost experts on promoting equity and diversity in schools, colleges, universities, and community agencies. As a former student who did not have a teacher of color herself until graduate work in college, Elizabeth personally understands the value of seeing yourself in history lessons — making concepts like Black History Month and ethnic diversity among faculty so important to students of color. Her writing and professional development also includes measures that reveal how white people have contributed to antiracism, paving paths for everyone to celebrate and take part in the movement.

Considering how comedy writer Les Firestein helped usher TV smash hit "In Living Color" to fame as an executive producer with the show's unique and irreverent brand of risk-taking sketch comedy, it's no surprise that Les also challenged the system in his days as a student. Watch him reminisce about his educational experiences and reflect on how a propensity for challenging authority as a youth has led to his latest entrepreneurial venture, a magazine that blends architecture with his personal brand of humor titled The Riv.

In a matter of weeks, Mike "Oz" Osegueda lost his dream job then suffered a devastating family tragedy. But the former prototypical journalism student took inspiration from his grandfather's motor shop to pivot into entrepreneurship as the premier Fresno food aficionado, and has used those reporter skills to help bring awareness and reform to hit-and-run penalties in California.

Join Montecito Journal CEO and Executive Editor Gwyn Lurie as she details the most impactful teachers along an illustrious career that includes spans as an ABC News journalist, documentary filmmaker, Hollywood screenwriter, and on to her renaissance in local print journalism. In contrast to previous guests who leaned on classroom experiences, Gwyn heaps praise on the teachers and mentors who helped shape her in her adult life.

Nationally renowned for his writing and Ted Talk on racial literacy as well as his decades of experience as a clinical and consulting psychologist in low-income rural and urban neighborhoods across the country, Howard C. Stevenson had teachers who recognized and celebrated his talent and who challenged the status quo to give him and other black students opportunities that he still treasures today. Just as vivid in his mind are those teachers who marked him for abuse. On this episode of The Whole Student, hear Howard's recollections both of teachers who uplifted him and those who took out their aggression on him as a youth.

Season 2 of The Whole Student podcast starts now! Justin Ching, Forbes 30 Under 30 award-winning writer/director for TV and film — and Dunn School alumnus — returns to his alma mater to talk about his experience as a troubled youth in the Inland Empire, the transformational teachers he experienced at Dunn School, and an entrepreneurship mentor who influenced him at home.

As a collegiate and professional athlete, Grady Hall's formative teachers ranged from the third-grade teacher who first legitimized and encouraged his status as a day dreamer to high-level coaches who taught him in adulthood how to cope with pressure on the baseball pitcher's mound. They're lessons that stick with and influence him into the next stage of his life and career as a budding filmmaker.

As he supported his wife Giulia through psychotic episodes and grueling hospital stays, International Bestselling author Mark Lukach’s world was completely upended. He dedicated his waking life to supporting her and first imagined his unconditional love would solve everything. 
But Lukach learned an important lesson during those times that is especially poignant as the country acknowledges National Mental Health Awareness Month: You have to take care of yourself — mentally, emotionally and physically — in order to care for someone else.
“Twelve years ago when Giulia got sick, the conversations about self care were really quiet and sort of hidden in the closet,” Lukach said, “and thankfully I feel like there’s a lot more around that. I’m glad I can be another voice encouraging people to take care of themselves as they face their own traumas in their lives and lean on the people who they love to get through them.”
Lukach, an educator and author of the International Bestselling book ‘My Lovely Wife in the Psych Ward’ is the latest guest of “The Whole Student” podcast, a show hosted by Lukach’s former colleague in the classroom, Dunn Head of School Kalyan Balaven. Lukach spoke about the teachers who have influenced him over the years, including the 10th-grade English teacher, Mr. Jordan, who inspired his love of writing — by challenging him with his first and only poor grade.  

Acclaimed graphic novelist Emily Bowen Cohen writes and draws from the perspective of her multi-ethnic identity — Jewish and Native American. But defining that identity was something she was struggling with as a youth after the death of her father, a Native American physician in Oklahoma. Then her English teacher in her mom's home state of New Jersey gave her an assignment that forced her to confront not only her feelings about the loss of her dad but also what being Native American means to her. The cathartic and formative experience was perhaps her secret origin, laying the groundwork for her artistic expression.
Don't miss this episode of The Whole Student, and enjoy Emily's work at the following spots:
https://www.memberoftwotribes.com
https://www.instagram.com/memberoftwotribes