Elias Estrada knows the power of shower thoughts.
While bathing one day, the business major thought about the need for a student-run podcast at North Campus.
“I think that’s when the best ideas come to mind,” Estrada said about his shower epiphany. “That’s why I say don’t put any music in the shower.”
The 18-year-old already had a passion for media. He wanted to complete an Honors College project that felt close to him, so he decided to work on a podcast.
“There was no podcast here at North Campus,” Estrada said. “I [was] like, ‘let me take action on this’.”
After sharing the idea with classmates in October, Estrada connected with Jose Venero, an electrical engineering student. Together, the duo made SharkCast come to life.
Estrada and Venero began assembling a podcast crew last November. By December, they began production.
After months of recording and editing, the team published their first episode on March 16. It featured Yandel Polanco and Jorge Rodriguez, the president and vice president of the INIT student chapter at North Campus—that offers technology opportunities to students— and professor Carmen Bucher, their co-advisor.
They shared their story on the creation of SharkByte, the first student-led hackathon at MDC.
Since then, the show has aired six episodes, completing its first season. Guests range from Sherley Joseph, a student at North Campus who co-founded the teen mom support organization STEP, to Grammy-winning saxophonists Joey Calveiro.
“I was scared I was going to answer all the questions wrong, but it just felt like a conversation,” said Pia Concha, who owns a pilates business and was featured in the fourth episode.
The episodes range from 20-minute long segments to one-hour discussions. Each show aims to uncover insight into the experiences students have on campus and features organizations and initiatives led by members of the North Campus community.
“It offers, not only the campus, but the College as a whole, a platform to be able to articulate all the fantastic things that are occurring on campus,” said North Campus President Fermin Vazquez.
Currently, the series is recorded in Room 2102-05 of the learning commons at the North Campus library. During the fall and spring, it is set to release every Friday.
The team at SharkCast is composed of roughly thirteen students, whose roles range from scriptwriting, digital design, logistics and social media content creation. The crew includes various majors, ranging from engineering to mathematics.
Currently, the podcast is airing a special series on the 2026 FIFA World Cup, titled Beyond the Trophy, featuring Estrada as host.
For the first episode, he was joined by students Lucas Alvarado and Daniel Sandi. They gave their predictions for the tournament, including which teams will perform the best and which they believe will fall short.
In the fall, SharkCast plans to launch a leadership series featuring student leaders on campus, and a series to spread awareness on climate gentrification.
“My mission, and I say this in every episode, is just to give a voice to anybody here on campus.” Estrada said. “I go on there to host, but I’m just hosting the people who are coming to speak.”
SharkCast is available on Spotify, Soundcloud and their YouTube channel.
Click here to subscribe to our bi-weekly newsletter, The Hammerhead. For news tips, contact us at mdc.thereporter@gmail.com.
