Junior communications major Tess Hayes will release her podcast “The Stories of our Sisters: A Living History” on March 1, which will be available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
Hayes said her podcast is an “oral history effort” to document the sisters of the convent and their life stories. Through the process, Hayes said she became friends with many of them.
“It's about hearing their stories as who they are in their lives. We often read books and biographies, but this is like a live autobiography where you can actually hear personal stories. ,” Hayes said.
She started working on this project in the fall of her sophomore year. The first step was to talk to faculty and professors. Mr. Hayes particularly thanked Jessica Koblenz, associate professor of religious studies and theology and gender and women's studies.
“I'm really grateful to her and her guidance and all the conversations we had. She was my shepherd,” Hayes said.
The project was inspired by Hayes' experiences growing up in Dallas, where his family attended Ursuline Academy. She said her family was close to some of the Ursuline sisters who worked at the school, especially Sr. Peggy Hill.
“She would sit us around the table and just tell us stories all day long. She really instilled in us the importance of stories and in addition to the history of the school itself, They will share what it means to be a student,” Hayes said. “That's exactly what I discovered about these sisters. They're telling the story of St. Mary's School and their own story in parallel. It shows what it means to be.”
The podcast's name comes from a comment Hayes' mother made about the Sisters of the Holy Cross, which inspired her to consider them as living history of St. Mary's College. He said he gave it.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, students at the university lost most contact with the sisters in order to keep the convent safe. Through the podcast, Hayes hopes to give back to the community with their stories.
“We have a right to connect with them just through human connection, and they have a right to receive that from us. Connecting is what's most important,” Hayes said.
In addition to telling the story of the Sisters of the Holy Cross to students and the St. Mary's community, Hayes said she plans to use the findings from the podcast in her senior integrated project.
Hayes told listeners, “I just hope that people will be open-minded and open-minded and receptive to what the sisters have to say because there's so much wisdom that the sisters have to offer.” Ta.
Looking to the future, Hayes said she is interested in continuing her project and possibly expanding it to include Sisters of the Congregation of the Holy Cross overseas. She is also considering developing a podcast or an entire season dedicated to telling the stories of previous generations of sisters at St. Mary's College, including Mother Pauline, Mother Angela, and Sister Madeleva Wolfe. He said he was there.
“I think really listening to others, whether it's a 70-year-old sister or a new student across the hall, helps us learn, and we can learn from each other.” said Mr. Hayes.
