College Town Talk

College Town Talk is a podcast from Tennessee Tech University in partnership with the Cookeville-Putnam County Visitors Bureau. Each week, hosts Jonathan Frank and Shan Stout introduce listeners to Tech faculty, staff and students – as well as successful Tech alumni, local business owners and civic leaders – who are making a difference and living Wings Up in their community.

College Town Talk is a news podcast hosted by Tennessee Tech University, with 89 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Tennessee Tech University hosts College Town Talk, a news show with 89 episodes published.

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  College Town Talk

  College Town Talk, Episode 90 - John and Sandy MacDonald

  Aug 17, 202624 min

  This week on College Town Talk, guest co-host Susan Luna Hazlewood joins us for a conversation with John and Sandy MacDonald, owners of Cookeville’s iconic Ralph’s Donut Shop. The couple shares how they came to own the nearly 65-year-old business, what it’s like working together as spouses and what it means to preserve Ralph’s legacy as a recently designated National Register of Historic Places site. John and Sandy also discuss their love for Tennessee Tech and Golden Eagles football, the impact of the 39 Depot Master Plan on Cookeville’s WestSide, and how the Cookeville community kept their small business afloat during the worst days of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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  College Town Talk

  College Town Talk, Episode 89 - Dr. Amy Hill

  Aug 3, 202624 min

  This week on College Town Talk, we sit down with Dr. Amy Hill, lecturer in Tennessee Tech's College of Emerging and Integrative Studies, three-time Tech graduate and a 2022 recipient of the university's Outstanding Professional Award. Dr. Hill reflects on her more than 25-year journey at Tech, discusses a student service-learning project that transformed a bedroom at the Cookeville Rescue Mission and shares the inspiration behind a local nonprofit she founded to help individuals overcome difficult circumstances. She also offers her perspective on how AI is changing graphic design and desktop publishing, highlights a recent summer publishing workshop she led for local high school students, and looks back on the experiences that have shaped her career as an educator, artist and mentor.

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  College Town Talk

  College Town Talk, Episode 88 - Matt Swallows

  Jul 28, 202624 min

  This week on College Town Talk, we catch up with former Cookeville Mayor Matt Swallows, a Tennessee Tech alumnus, former Golden Eagle football player and the president and COO of Swallows Insurance Agency. Matt reflects on his years leading Tennessee's College Town, shares his perspective on local government and discusses the lessons he's learned from a lifetime of serving the Upper Cumberland. In our interview, Matt also looks back on his days as a Tech football student-athlete, discusses the transformation of Tucker Stadium and shares what it means to carry on his family's 70-year business legacy. Plus, Matt recalls some of his favorite moments as a former local radio host and reveals what Tennessee Tech has meant to him both personally and professionally.

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  College Town Talk

  College Town Talk, Episode 87 - Dr. Thomas Payne

  Jul 21, 202629 min

  This week on College Town Talk, Jonathan and Shan sit down with Dr. Thomas Payne, dean of the Tennessee Tech College of Business. Since becoming dean in 2015, Dr. Payne has helped lead the college to its highest enrollment in a decade, overseen the addition of new, sought-after programs of study and presided over a renewed emphasis on experiential learning — with more than 90% of students in the college participating in résumé-building opportunities before graduation. In the interview, Dr. Payne discusses preparing students for the rapidly changing world of AI, the massive renovation underway at Johnson Hall and recent transformational gifts helping support student success in the College of Business. Plus, in our rapid-fire round, Dr. Payne shares his favorite Cookeville eateries, the career he might have pursued outside higher education and the Tech colleague most likely to make him laugh in the middle of a faculty meeting.

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  College Town Talk

  College Town Talk, Episode 86 - Jimmy Guadalupe

  Jul 15, 202624 min

  This week on College Town Talk, Jonathan and Shan welcome Jimmy Guadalupe, Tennessee Tech’s newly appointed student trustee and a rising senior majoring in business management and business information and technology. Jimmy reflects on being unanimously confirmed by the university’s Board of Trustees, discusses why supporting student mental health will be a priority during his one-year term and shares his experience navigating higher education as a first-generation college student. He also offers a behind-the-scenes look at his role as a Tech Trailblazer, which involves giving personalized campus tours to prospective students and their families, and shares a family memory that inspired his hopes to one day work for Coca-Cola.

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