When we do our interviews, or lead our programming, or share our stories, I always have three audiences in mind.

Not to be self-serving, but the first audience is me. When I sit with people who have experienced things in life that are different from what I have experienced, I always come away having learned something new. No surprise there. When you start from a place of curiosity and open yourself up to what other people have to share, your circle gets a little bigger. Your life, a little richer.

The second audience is the person who I am interviewing. I want to make sure that they come away feeling whole. That they have a positive experience and at the end of it, feel like they have been seen and heard and valued. 

You know the feeling. If you spend time with someone and at the end you think, “Wow, they must be the most interesting person in the world,” that’s fun. But if you spend time with someone and at the end you think, “Wow, I must be about the most interesting person in the world,” that’s even more fun.  So these interviews are about letting the other person take the spotlight and letting them know that what they have to say is important.

And the third audience is the broader public. Because it feels safe to say that if I can learn something along the way, odds are pretty good that others can, too. So it’s a great honor and joy to curate and carry these stories as we travel the country.

Earlier this month we worked with public health professionals in Montana and asked, “When have you seen public health make an impact in your community?” It can be a tough time to be in public health. The challenges are big. The consequences are high. The level of public trust is low. You don’t choose a career in public health because it will make you rich. You choose it because you care and see the chance to make a difference.

So again, three goals. When I spend time with people who are doing this work day after day and listen to their stories, I come away with a better understanding of what they do. I hope to leave each person there with the sense that they have been seen and heard and valued. And finally, I hope the stories can help the broader public see the ways that public health has made a positive impact on their communities.

So always, we work with larger systems in mind. And at the same time, we celebrate the small and personal victories, like this statement that was shared in one of our feedback surveys by a studio participant:

“Always battling with self esteem issues, I was able to see the beauty in myself.”

There is beauty and wisdom all around us, if we choose to see it.

Here’s what some of the others shared at our studio.