Season 2 Kickoff: Connecting Ideas and Education

20231205 Season 2 Launch

Renee: Hello everyone. I'm Major Renee San Juan, an executive producer on the show, an associate dean for communications. Today you're in for a treat. We're changing it up. Okay, sir. Today you're in the hot seat. All right. Excited. Since you need no [00:00:36] introduction as a show host, let's dive right in. And the first question is a doozy. Are you ready?

Dean: I think I'm ready. Let's go. Okay.

Renee: All right. What are your initial thoughts after completing the first season?

Renee: Awesome. And that's a great point. So reflecting on how rewarding this experience has been for you personally, do you have any advice for other education or industry leaders?

Dean: Oh yeah. I would say if you have the ability to do so, creating this type of opportunity is a no brainer. I've been able to build deeper connections with the scholars and our faculty throughout West Point.

And so it's truly inside access to West Point.

Dean: Yeah, there's a lot of different conversations throughout this first year of the podcast that have stuck in my mind. And I guess I'll highlight a few. In the very first episode, which was with Colonel Suzanne Nielsen, who's the head of the social science department. She focused on the difference between an army officer being apolitical versus non partisan.

But it's incredible to know that their partnership flourished through some of the simplest interactions. And you start to [00:03:36] find out that faculty or ideas can be generated through the simplest interactions. It might be having a cup of coffee, it might be sitting next to each other at a sporting event.

Renee: As you mentioned, there are a wide range of topics that we covered in the last year.

Could you maybe connect some of these dots or show us how they might be more connected than we realized?

Dean: Yeah you're right. I mean, you're absolutely correct. We covered what seems like really eclectic topics maybe disconnected topics ranging from talent retention to high energy lasers. But they're all connected in this.

More capable and more resilient. And sometimes people think education is just for educational institutions. And oftentimes education is thought of just in theory. But really education is just an approach. Pairing knowledge with creativity and application, which by the way is the real power of West Point.

However, West Point also has a connection to the operational army. So you get practical solutions. And so you get these well thought out solutions that aren't just theoretical. They're also practical and application. So whether it's identifying ways to retain good talent or the necessary requirements for making the tactical fleet more resilient.

And perhaps most importantly, learning from each other is how we connect the dots back to that point we made about Professor Nasu and Colonel Corpella. They learn from each other by engaging and connecting together. And West Point is a, oh my gosh, it's a dynamic environment.

And so, what I'm getting at is it's all about breaking down silos. And what I found through doing the podcast is I'm seeing those silos are starting to crumble as really talented faculty are starting to cross pollinate and talk to each other about their various disciplines, resulting in these really creative and innovative solutions but practical in implementation.

So you might be an engineering expert, but you can benefit from being intellectually curious and questioning assumptions.

Renee: You always talk about how our purpose here is to educate and inspire our next generation of officers and for those that are listening that aren't sure how exactly the work of our guests connects to that.

Could you paint us a picture?

And that's why we push our cadets in the classroom, provide them opportunities to identify how to apply their knowledge to real world problems, make them put their knowledge to the test, and we want them to think outside the box when things don't go as planned. And they do all of that, and they integrate all of that into their educational experience.

But we do, because We've got them to the point where we expect them to do that.

Renee: And the confidence that they're showing to be able to do that in the first place.

Dean: And the secondary and tertiary benefits to them in terms of presenting in front of an audience, the confidence that requires, all those things you just stated.

In Episode 4, Colonel Will Wright discussed opportunities that research has provided for cadets to travel around the country to places like Alaska where they collect data firsthand.

I mean, that's pretty awesome. Yeah. So what's important to highlight is that this isn't just happening overnight, of course. There's a ton of work going on behind the scenes by our senior and our junior faculty, often supported by external partners and supporters to make all of these opportunities for the cadets possible.

Renee: And that's just inspiring to think about. And you often talk about this educational ecosystem, and I appreciate you laying it all out there, right? Here's some examples of how it develops and how many people are involved in this. Just like you provided many of your guests 30 seconds to plug their department or their academic major

Why don't you take a moment to plug the podcast?

Dean: I'm going to take more than 30 seconds, I think. We'll see,

And that preparation is going to come through in this type of work, the type of work that we talk about on the podcast. So I would ask you to join us and follow along. We've already slated a number of interesting topics this season, like how to teach character development, the science and application of renewable [00:10:48] batteries.

And the impact of a robust international exchange program. So be a part of history and learn about some fascinating topics along the way.

And as we close season one and we move into season two, which I'm immensely excited for, I do have to take a moment.

And thank you and the entire team and all of our guests who put so much effort and energy into making the podcast both the success and the enjoyable experience that it is.

Renee: Thank you, sir. It's been great.

Dean: And to our listeners, be sure to tune into the Inside West Point Ideas That Impact podcast next month.