At a time of year when many college students take a break from their studies, Fairfield University international studies and international business majors Lucas Santiago '20, Micah Martin-Parchment '21, Melissa Navarro '21, Diana Muteba '22, Martha Maree Quiblat '22, Laura Seeger '23, Caroline Timmerman '23, Nicholas Gayle '23, and Nya Jones '23 spent their summer months researching, networking, and remotely recording interviews with University partners from around the world. As classmates working collaboratively on a virtual internship opportunity presented by former International Studies Associate Director Anita Deeg-Carlin, their mission was clear: find a way to diversify and strengthen Fairfield University's international outreach during the coronavirus pandemic.

“When Covid hit, many of our students were devastated to learn that their plans to travel were canceled,” Deeg-Carlin said. “Fairfield's international studies program is committed to global education, and I felt that at this time, more than ever, we couldn’t back down. We needed to find ways to keep Fairfield's global connections current, to keep our students learning from, and engaging with, our global partners – to keep building global learning into our students' profiles, and to keep them competitive in the increasingly difficult job market they are about to face.”

After several conversations with campus partners at home and abroad, Deeg-Carlin pitched the Covid Around the World podcast idea to her international studies and international business students, and quickly gathered an enthusiastic team. 

“Our internship team wanted to inform [audiences] about the global impact of Covid-19, and we decided that a podcast would be a creative and modern way to conduct student-led interviews with our partners from across the globe,” explained podcast production coordinator and international studies major Nya Jones '23. “We hope our listeners not only learn about the devastating effects of the pandemic, but also the outstanding resilience and adaptability of communities and organizations during this unprecedented time.”

The ten-episode Covid Around the World podcast features engaging and enlightening student-led interviews with University partners located in Brazil, Costa Rica, Ecuador, The Gambia, the Philippines, Zambia, and the United Kingdom. Each episode addresses the worldwide impact Covid-19 has had on education, migration, and health. The podcast’s list of special guests features a wide range of industry experts, including international educators, healthcare workers, business owners, and non-profit affiliates, as well as a diverse mix of professionals like Nicaraguan journalist Cindy Regidor, and Jenn Zocco, co-founder of the Guayaquil-based non-profit Starfish Foundation.

Faced with the logistical challenge of developing and producing the entire podcast remotely, the nine-student team overcame obstacles by holding regular meetings via Zoom while researching, recording, and editing each episode in quarantine. After four months of hard work, the podcast is now available for download on both iTunes and Spotify.

“Our internship team is very proud of the final product because we were able to develop an informative and innovative podcast that showcases the unique stories of our international partners,” Jones said. “This project brought together a diverse group of life-long learners and global citizens from all walks of life. Without each intern, the podcast would not have been possible.” 

For more information, visit the Covid Around the Word podcast page on Red Circle.