Extracurricular

Today, I had a chance to sit back down with GOC 9th-grader Mia. This is the second time Mia has been on the podcast. She was on just a few episodes back with Langdon where they did a deep dive discussing GOC's spring musical, Freaky Friday. Make sure to check out that episode if you haven't listened yet. In this episode thought, it's just me and Mia and she shares some of her favorite hobbies and interests outside of school. We tal...

Today, I had a chance to sit back down with GOC senior and one of my current 12th Lit students, Langdon, who you may have heard just a few weeks ago on the podcast. He and Mia joined me to discuss their roles in GOC's Freaky Friday. Today, I got to continue that conversation one-on-one with Langdon. We chatted about Langdon's favorite movies, video games, music, live music, theatre, Greek mythology, acting, cooking, sports, his dra...

Today I had a chance to sit down with Karl and Monica from - I mean Langdon and Mia from Gwinnett Online Campus. Karl and Monica are the characters in GOC’s production of Freaky Friday that Langdon and Mia play. And they were phenomenal. I hope you all had a chance to see the musical - everyone was great. Langdon and Mia are no exception. We talked for over an hour about everything related to their performances - auditions, rehears...

Today I had a chance to sit down and chat with Nicole, a podcast guest way back in 2022 and new ITS Board President - we chat about that leadership role here. But we start by diving right into her role as Savannah in GOC’s recent production of Freaky Friday. Nicole shares what it’s like to play the villain and her approach to playing a new role. We talk about what can only be described as a hilarious play and production. We talk ab...

Welcome to our very first bonus episode of the podcast. If you haven't listened to Episode 93 with Nicole, make sure to listen to that episode. We have a chance to talk about recent events. This “lost episode” is actually one we recorded back in November of 2025 where I had a chance to sit down and catch up with Nicole, a 10th-grade student at GOC and previous guest of the podcast way back on episode 23 in May of 2022. We had a cha...

Today, I had a chance to sit down and chat with two guests - GOC 11th-grader Alex and 10th-grader Aiden. I had the amazing opportunity to work with Alex and Aiden as co-counsel for their prosecution of Poseidon on behalf of Odysseus in a mock trial rich-experience GOC had at the Gwinnett Justice & Administration Center. I was blown away by their efforts, and I loved having the chance to talk to both of them about their prep hard wo...

Today, I had a chance to sit down with GOC all-time greats, 12th-grader Tori and 11th-grader Gracie. If you have been to any of the GOC Talent Shows, Fall Plays, or Spring Musicals in the past 5 years, you have seen Tori and Gracie perform. They just finished their performances in GOC’s Spring Musical, Freaky Friday. Gracie played teen Ellie Blake and Tori played mom Katherine Blake and then well, they flipped their roles because t...

Today, I had a chance to sit down and chat with GOC’s new principal Mr. Bo Ford. We talked about his career in education, his focus on spending time with his family when not at school. We talk about traveling and vacations, Kiawah Island and his favorite beach games, mountain biking, hiking, coaching - and how it influences his work in education. Mr. Ford shares what it was like growing up in Tennessee in the 1970s and 1980s, sport...

At the end of last semester, I had a chance to sit down with Nicolas, a 12th-grade student here at GOC. We talked about football, basketball, baseball, and coaching. Then we dove deep into music - especially metal and specifically Metallica. We talked about live music and playing guitar - Nicolas is a talented and GOC-talent-show-winning guitarist. We also discussed jewelry, movies, video games, and two of the initiatives Nicolas w...

Today, I had a chance to sit down with three GOC students - 10th-graders Kendall and Ajjia and 12th-grader Anna. We talked about dance, music, concerts, travel, reading, sports, peer leaders, and the very exciting possibility of a new podcast hosted by Kendall and Ajjia. Yes - GOC may have a new and better podcast! I’m so excited, and can’t wait to see this podcast get started. Let’s jump right into the conversation. Here is Kendal...

Earlier this year, I had a chance to sit down and chat with Ansley. Ansley is a 12th-grade student here at GOC. We had an awesome conversation and chatted about interior design and architecture, internships and college, judicial building design - yes sounds weird - not at all - totally fascinating. We talked about GSLT, Student Council, Ansley’s service group that she started, singing - opera specifically, theatre, knitting/sewing/...

Earlier this year, I had a chance to sit down and chat with Colleen. Colleen is an 11th grade student here at GOC. Colleen and I had an awesome conversation - we chatted about friendship and how important good friends are in our lives. We talked about the joy of having multiple friend groups - school, youth group, etc., and the challenges of texting and hanging out with different friend groups - it can be hard to balance. We talk a...

Today, I had a chance to sit down and chat with Sean, a 6th-grade student here at GOC. Some of you may know Sean from school, and some of you may know Sean from YouTube or Instagram where he is known as Sean the Science Kid (find and follow him HERE). Let me tell you - Sean knows his science. We talked about Sean’s interest in science education, his experiments, and his current projects and activities. We discussed gravity, thought...

Today I had a chance to sit down with Bissette, a 12th-grade student here at GOC. Bissette was one of the very first guests on this Podcast. I sat down with her back in 2019 when she was in 8th grade, and it was so much fun to catch up with Bissette. We talk about school, dual enrollment, her decision to attend UGA, her future interest in Law, Entertainment, and Media studies. We discuss some of her current film projects, auditioni...

Today I had a chance to sit down with Russell, a 12th-grade student here at GOC. We discuss Russell’s awesome 1995 Volvo Green 940 and our dream cars. We talk about our shared musical interests - playing, listening, singing - all of it. We discuss performing and singing and Russell’s interest in voice acting. We discuss video games, design, technology, computers, and web design. We close out our conversation talking about running a...

Today I had a chance to sit down with Nicholas, a 6th-grade student here at GOC. We start our chat with the best topic of all - food. We talk Chick-Fil-A, Shake Shack, and The Cheesecake Factory. We discuss Nicholas’s recent trip to New York and his top restaurant recommendations. We dive into the some NBA talk and get into the LeBron vs. Jordan debate. We talk Madden and the NFL and Nicholas’s trip to Germany to watch the Dolphins...

Today I had a chance to sit down with Valentina, an 11th-grade student here at GOC. I’ve been able to see Valentina perform at the GOC Talent Show several times - she’s very very talented. We talk about the talent show and dance - she explains what it’s like to be a company and participate in recitals and competitions. Valentina explains her passion for lyrical and contemporary dance and she shares her plans to work with and dance ...

Today I had a chance to sit down with not one, but two of my favorite students here at GOC - Anyse and Sienna. Anyse and Sienna have each been on the podcast in the past, but today they teamed up for a group conversation about The Nest News, GOC’s student-led news program. You get a behind the scenes listen to what it’s like to be a member of the new crew. We also dive deep into iCarly, we talk about future plans and careers, gradu...

Today I had a chance to sit down with James, a 4th grade student here at GOC. We dive deep into Pokémon. We discuss the origins of Pokémon, games, card collecting, and movies. James shares his Pokémon notebook and we discuss his own drawings and creations. We discuss James' YouTube favorites and ambitions, his favorite movies, his drawing skills and history, Legos, music, his pets, running, video games, and his amazing treehouse.

If...