Podcast Highlights The Educational Journey Of Non-Traditional Students

Yane Nemeroff was at a crossroads. 

After struggling to raise his second child, Nemeroff, who was studying hospitality and tourism at Broward College, dropped out of school to work full-time at Publix. 

Four years later, the then-homeless 24-year-old realized he needed to make a change; he re-enrolled at Broward College to pursue an associate’s degree in intercultural and organizational communication. 

Now a speech and communications professor at Hialeah Campus, the 40-year-old is using his story to inspire others. On March 31, he released The Non-Traditional Scholar Podcast on Spotify to help students navigate the educational system. 

The first episode discusses how non-traditional students can traverse the educational landscape by obtaining help from college advisors, tutors and librarians. 

To date, the podcast has created eight more episodes. The episodes are released weekly. Topics range from discussions about overcoming educational obstacles to how students can benefit from resources at their institution. 

“My podcast is another opportunity to see how you can connect to somebody, even though at first glance, you might think that they have no commonality with you whatsoever,” said Nemeroff, who’s been teaching at Hialeah Campus since 2015. 

Nemeroff’s wife, Lesley Gonzalez, came up with the idea to create the podcast after she attended one of his Reroute, Return and Redemption events at Hialeah Campus. 

“It hit me like a ton of bricks,” said Gonzalez, who was a hairdresser for nine years before returning to college to earn an associate’s degree in psychology from Hialeah Campus last year. “Every time I went to the event it was very impactful but I always felt I wanted more.”

The podcast is a TEDx Talk-styled event in which guest speakers discuss how they overcame challenges such as raising children, dealing with unsupportive parents and being undocumented. 

To kick-start the series, Nemeroff reserved a space at Learning Resources at Hialeah Campus. He utilizes lapel microphones and his own phone to do audio recordings. 

Nemeroff’s guests are people whose educational paths weren’t a smooth transition from high school to college. The only exceptions were episodes two and five, where Nemeroff spoke about his path to becoming a college professor while raising his two children. 

Episodes last 45 to 60 minutes and guests talk candidly about the trials and tribulations they have faced. A recent episode featured Medical Campus Student Government Association President Arturo Ortiz, who at the time served in the same capacity at Hialeah Campus. He discussed his struggle as an undocumented college student.

“I think it has shined a light and given a voice, again, to the non-traditional route,” Ortiz said. “It kind of helps highlight the fact that the college journey is not a one size fits all.”

Other people featured in the podcast include Gloria Rodriguez—a pizza restaurant owner in Miami Lakes who is studying to become a teacher at Hialeah Campus—and Kelly Hernandez, a writing coach at Medical Campus who went from working in a factory to attending Georgetown University. 

After Nemeroff conducts the interviews, he polishes the voice recordings through Adobe’s Enhance Speech software. Then, he uses Spotify’s podcast creator software to add music to the audio before sending the final product to the guests for final approval.

Nemeroff is applying for a grant from the National Endowment of the Humanities to purchase new microphones, soundproofing walls, video equipment and a green screen to turn the podcast into a video series. 

“I hope this can reach as many people as possible,” Nemeroff said. “It can serve as an initiative to connect people that feel like college passed them by and inspire them to realize they still have a chance.”

Click here to subscribe to our bi-weekly newsletter, The Hammerhead. For news tips, contact us at mdc.thereporter@gmail.com