Briana Alberghini ‘21
Associate Social Media Director
Merrimack College President, Dr. Christopher Hopey, dived into the podcast world in the fall of 2019. He started by interviewing athletic coaches on “Coaches Corner” and has since expanded to “Podcasting with the President.” Being president of Merrimack means building relationships with faculty, staff, and students. And, according to Hopey, this is one of the reasons he wanted to start the podcast.
The first episode of “Coaches Corner” in October of 2019 featured Jeremy Gibson, Merrimack’s Athletics Director. The show consists of all things Merrimack sports-related. Some coaches interviewed include football coach Dan Curran, women’s basketball coach Monique LeBlanc, men’s basketball coach Joe Gallo, men’s lacrosse coach Mike Morgan, women’s ice hockey coach Erin Hamlen, women’s lacrosse coach Julie Duffy and more. With Merrimack transitioning to Division I, sports are an even bigger topic on campus.
The second podcast segment released in November 2019 is “Podcasting with the President.” This podcast explores and explains popular topics in higher education and the world around us. This podcast is designed to give listeners an inside perspective of the everyday life of a campus community member and all the great things happening at Merrimack College. Some guests featured on the show so far include Darren Conine, who is the Vice President of Enrollment and Dean of Admissions, and Courtney Johanson, who is the Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer. Faculty featured on the podcast include April Bowling, Sc.D., Assistant Professor of Health Sciences, Juliana Cohen, Sc.D., Assistant Professor of Health Sciences, and Kyle McIniss, Sc.D., Professor of Health Sciences. Additionally, Debra Michals, Ph.D., Assistant Professor and Director of Women’s and Gender Studies, and Melisa Zimdars Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Communication and Media.
“I found myself having less and less opportunities to get to know people more deeply about their interests. I wanted to develop a way of highlighting faculty, and our coaches and eventually alumni as a way of me spending time with people,” Hopey said.
Hopey also does another short podcast, “Merrimack in a Minute,’ that updates listeners on all the things happening at Merrimack in just one minute. He mostly covers sports, but has also covered campus happenings and the new nursing building. All episodes can be listened to and downloaded now at Merrimack Podcasts.
