Supercast

Anthony Godfrey:
Welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. They are role models making a big difference at Copper Hills High School and in the community. We're talking about students in the Latinos in Action program. On this episode of the Supercast, we visit a Latinos in action class and talk to some amazing students who take great pride in who they are, where they're going in education and the good they do for others on a daily basis. We're here with Ms. Oda at Copper Hills High School, the advisor of Latinos in Action. And you have a couple of classes as well. Tell us a little bit about Latinos in Action for those who don't know what it is.

Ms. Oda:
All right. It's a class as well as a club primarily for Latino students, but we allow anyone to join if they're interested. And we focus on education, leadership, service, and culture. So as a class, we will learn about cultures from the Latino communities we'll learn about each other. Usually this year is that's the case cause of COVID, but normally we go and tutor at neighboring elementary schools and they are paired with other elementary students and help them with their reading skills and sometimes their math skills. And so that's actually one of their favorite parts of being part of LIA is being able to interact with the younger students and kind of be those roles

Anthony Godfrey:
Or a lot of activities at the school, but also outreach to the community. Tell me a little bit about that.

Ms. Oda:
Yeah. I mean, being part of the class is more than just showing up to class. There's a lot expected of them to participate in other socials that we may have in service projects and fundraisers. So yeah, some of them are within the school, but also just to help the community in general.

Anthony Godfrey:
And some folks might think that this is just something unique to Copper Hills, but the Latinos in Action is highly organized at the state level. In fact, I was supposed to pre-COVID attend a conference and an event for students and for the advisors. Explain the organization and really what it's about.

Ms. Oda:
Yeah. It actually is a really big program and now reaches outside of Utah. It's also in other states such as Florida, California. I'm not exactly sure all of them, but there are quite a few now, and it's had a really positive effect on students. They're really able to embrace their Latino culture and be proud of it. But also gain confidence in themselves academically and their skills. And so they're able to help them gain confidence to join other parts that of school culture that they may not have joined previously.

Anthony Godfrey:
So by being part of Latinos in Action, it may be a launchpad to be involved in a lot of other things at school and to connect in other ways.

Ms. Oda:
A lot of my students especially my officers who show leadership and LIA have re branched out and become really great strong students in other subjects as well.

Anthony Godfrey:
How many members do you have.

Ms. Oda:
Between the two classes we may have around 70. And we also have more students that are part of the club, so maybe they couldn't fit it in their schedule and so they may attend the socials and other activities.

Anthony Godfrey:
Just talking with some of the students. They definitely live up to the name, Latinos in Action. They don't sit around and plan and think about things. They take off and they get things done. And it's incredible the number of things they have going on at the school and out in the community.

Ms. Oda:
Yeah, it's true. Honestly, as an adviser, I am here just to advise. They do everything. I'm here to be the adult in the room and they take over and I love it. It's really impressive how they just take charge and make it what it is. You may have noticed, I'm not Latina. I don't speak Spanish. I volunteered to do this. I actually was the LIA Advisor at Pason High School for one year and then I transferred schools. When I came here, I actually told them that I was interested in it. I think it's a really important organization. I, myself am half white, half Japanese. And so although I don't fit in necessarily the Latino culture, I think it's really important for people to be proud of where their family may come from, their differences and how they can use that as their strength. So, although I am not Latino myself, I really enjoyed this program.

Anthony Godfrey:
And the sense of belonging this created, it's not just within Latinos in Action. It's a connection to the broader school community.

Ms. Oda:
Yeah. And I've seen how their friendships within here have reached out to other classrooms and stuff. And so it is nice to see. But they always say, if you're part of LIA, you're part of the familia, the LIA familia. So it really is like a family. And you can see in the beginning of the year, it may be a little awkward. People don't know each other. But by the end of the year, you can tell it's a completely different class.

Anthony Godfrey:
And that's what we hope for every student, that there's some way to connect some way to identify yourself with school. Whether it's band, whether if it's athletics, it's a club, it's some connection. And this provides a connection that then creates other connections beyond this.

Ms. Oda:
Yep. It's true. I see it, the catalyst for a lot of things.

Student:
And so for my presentation, I picked through the course discussion. So first there's different channels you can take. But then one of the most that attracts most toys is late. And you could tell, it takes about four days, but obviously there's places you've stopped to eat or sleep and stuff. And then at the end, there's much be too, which it to be believed a religious place for Inca leaders. And then it was only discovered like besides the people that were around there until 1911 by an Explorer. And it takes a lot to be found because that was his purpose to try to be hidden.

Student:
Cuba is an island located in the Caribbean sea. The size of 40,000 square miles with a population of 11,000,300, 317,818. Cuba has many different habitats from mountains, forest to jungles and grasslands.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell us about the presentations that the students were doing in class today.

Ms. Oda:
So they were able to choose any of the Latin American countries and then a topic within that. So like today we had some presentations about Peru and Cuba. A lot of my students are Mexican or Venezuelan and we've got some students from other countries as well, but they're doing a lot of the other countries that we don't know as much about.

Anthony Godfrey:
Is this kind of to expand their view of the number of really Latin American countries?

Ms. Oda:
Yeah. Because the culture differ so greatly from each other and we've also been practicing learning where all the different Latin American countries are. We know of different people that are like, Oh, I'm from Guatemala. And you're like, well, where exactly. So we're learning those right now too. And so that's been actually pretty interesting because when you understand where countries are in relation to the others, you actually understand a lot more about the cultures.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, thanks for letting us spend time with you and thanks for everything you're doing for Latinos in Action.

Ms. Oda:
Well, thank you. It's been fun.

Anthony Godfrey:
Stay with us to hear more from students who are part of Latinos in Action.

Break:
If you're ready to start your child on the path to personalized learning, we are ready to help. The Jordan Virtual Learning Academy is coming to Jordan School District in the 2021-22 school year. Three new schools will be opening as part of the Academy, Rocky Peak Virtual Elementary School, Kelsey Peak Virtual Middle School, and King's Peak High School. Each school will have their own principal and teachers and each will give students a choice in their own learning. The schools will offer synchronous learning, which is teachers providing real time, live online instruction and asynchronous learning where teachers provide videotaped instruction for learning on a student's schedule. To register your student in the Jordan Virtual Learning Academy, visit http://connect.jordandistrict.org.

Anthony Godfrey:
I'm here with the officers of Latinos in Action. Hi everybody. Let's meet all the officers.

Student:
Hi, my name is Kiana Tapia and I'm one of the vice-presidents. What we do is mostly focus on being the big brother or the big sister. We like to be the person to welcome people into the club to make sure they know they're included. We also work with fundraisers. But for the most part, we do focus on just making sure people know that they have a place here and that they're welcome.

Student:
Hi, I'm Elizabeth Fuentez, I'm the Education Leader. What we do is introduce colleges here around the state, just so the students can get to know what universities or colleges are available to them, and also the scholarships that can help them.

Student:
Hello. My name is Kim Robles. I am President of the Latinos in Action. My position consists of taking all these ideas and bringing them all together to see how it flows best because we have eight great minds here. And you know, sometimes we need someone to collect all of our thoughts. And I also help promote the club and go around and encourage members in LIA to participate as much as they can and members outside to join.

Student:
Hi, my name is Ari Valenzuela and I'm the other Vice President for Latinos in Action. And we just oversee all the other positions and make sure that everybody gets the help they need. And if they need help with organizing socials or service activities, we're there to provide that support.

Student:
Hi, my name is Daniela Garcia. I am the Service Officer. I am in charge of making sure that we have the service activities provided for the community and outside of the community. I get the ideas going and then I come up with things that we could possibly do and then, whether or not they're approved, then we could do them. And it seems like a good turnout. It's really wonderful.

Student:
Hi, I'm Brian Siradi. I'm the LIA Secretary. My job is really just to kind of summarize the whole LIA. If there's notes, those are mine. I need to take the notes and if there's money involved, I need to take care of the money. I just kinda help everyone else. So if the person needs help, I'm there. If the Vice-President needs help, I'm there. You know, I really just, I'm here as a support.

Anthony Godfrey:
It sounds like everyone has that perspective. If something needs to be down, I'm going to jump in and do it.

Student:
Hello. I'm Daniella Custello, and I am the Historian. I help make the memories in this club. I am in charge of the Instagram account. I take pictures of any social, any activities that we're doing, which helps let people know what we're doing in these classes, and also let people have the memories that we're doing in here. We've been previously doing birthdays, which helps. People know that we care about them.

Anthony Godfrey:
I just pulled this up. Let's pull up your Instagram account or let me find you on the ground as the kids say. All right, let's pull up your account here. Talk me through this. What's this picture right here?

Student:
So at our school, we do a culture assembly recently, what day was it? Just last week, March 2nd. We did like five different dances. There's a video here.

Anthony Godfrey:
Where were the dances from?

Student:
We do the dances from there was we did a Merengue that was just all girls. And then we did a Kombia that we had with couples. And then we did a Caborita that would also couples. And then we did Salsa as well with a couple too.

Student:
This is this year's peanut butter jelly sandwich that we made. These are just the ones that we did in class. So we usually just do groups and then we just make them and we do different ones. So we'll do all peanut butter. We'll just do all jelly and then we'll do a mix of both. And then this is a group of us that we went to downtown. A lot of us drove there. We take a truck together and it's really fun because we get to see a lot of like different people.

Anthony Godfrey:
I'm impressed with all the things that you have going on. You live up to the name, Latinos in Action.

Student:
Yeah, we do. We, we do whatever we can do to help out anybody around us. We can, we want to support our custodians. So we helped by cleaning the school for a couple of months.

Anthony Godfrey:
And Daniella, tell me about the service that Latinos in Action has been doing.

Student:
This year, what we've been doing recently has been a lot of the homeless activities, especially because of the whole COVID situations. Last week we did a whole homeless feeding. We made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. It was over 150 or so and we all went downtown. We walked around and we gave them out to the homeless. We gave them water bottles. It came with chips or granola bar, sweets snacks, plus the peanut butter and jelly. Other activities that we've done are homeless hygiene kits that have face lotion, tissues, shampoo masks, and just like things that will help them. If they can't get to sanitary places, that way they can keep clean. For the last month we did a Thanksgiving situation. We would give them kind of like a small meal that they could enjoy Thanksgiving by themselves. We've done car washing, just for the communities that they can get the car wash without having to pay them the money that they're supposed to. And most of them are just community guidelines. We've done some where we do snow shoveling. That only lasted a day because all the snow melted away. And then there was no snow. We have also done fleece blankets and stuff that would tie them together. And we'll donate them to either the homeless, to animal shelter, because animal shelters do need some for the animals to keep them warm too.

Anthony Godfrey:
It sounds like you haven't just done service from a distance, but that you have actually delivered the product that you've put together and delivered it right to the homeless. How does that feel?

Student:
It feels nice knowing that they have someone, so that they know that we care, that they're heard and it feels nice seeing the brightness on their face. They'll give us a little blessings. I can I give a blessing toward real? And it's just like saying that we are just so, so thankful for what we're doing for them.

Anthony Godfrey:
Sounds like this changes students' focus and they may be service-minded long after they're no longer part of Latinos in Action.

Student:
I'm actually friends with some of the other graduates that were in Latinos in Action. And they tell me how they're dong in college. They're doing other service-based activities, whether it's for a club or for an organization or for themselves with their own ideas. Oh, you can put that into LIA and make it bigger than what it is.

Anthony Godfrey:
Congratulations on the great work you're doing. It's awesome. What would you say to someone who's considering being part of Latinos in Action or starting Latinos in Action at their school?

Student:
I would say totally do it. It's something to get you to try a lot of things. This club is very good. You don't even have to be Latino. If we're being honest, it's just a club for everyone to get involved, to get to know people and really break out of your shell and help your community.

Anthony Godfrey:
What are the benefits for someone who decides to be part of Latinos in Action?

Student:
Latinos in Action really like opens you up. At least for me, last year I was super shy. I didn't talk to anyone. I had like one friend and now it seems like it's a second home to me. I really just loved being with Latinos in Action because it just helped me meet a lot of new people in different cultures and just opens up a different world for me.

Anthony Godfrey:
I think you've described it really well. What a lot of people are worried about coming into high school is who am I going to know? How am I going to make friends? Latinos in Action is an instant connection. It sounds like.

Student:
Yeah. It helped me a lot because I wasn't in it last year. But I had a friend that was a leader and I love to help a lot. She knew that I loved it, so I would help out. And they noticed that I was helping a lot. So when I applied, they saw me as as a person that actually is willing to do stuff in this class, which made me really happy because I just love helping people. And I didn't think I was even going to get this position because I wasn't even in the class last year and it's helped me open up a lot more and find more friends that are willing to invite me to places. A lot of times I was never really invited to anything other than this year, when I got into this class. I made a lot more friends that are willing to talk to me, invite me to things. So it's helped me a lot.

Anthony Godfrey:
Other thoughts?

Student:
I feel Latinos in Action is also a well-known organization and it's not just here in Utah, it's all over the country. Because we're based in Florida and California, it's very national. And so I feel that Latino in Action does bring the opportunity to many students. lFor our LIA Conference at the end of the year, they have different competitions in which tLIA students can go and compete and they can win scholarships and they can win money for submitting an art project or submitting a short film. And so they have so many different categories in so many ways that we can put ourselves out there and really be involved in the community.

Anthony Godfrey:
You guys are so impressive. This is awesome. Thanks for spending time with me. This is fantastic. What a great celebrity class. Thanks for joining us on the Supercast. Remember, education is the most important thing you'll do today. We'll see you out there.

Anthony Godfrey:
Welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. You could say she's an assistant principal with great taste. When Adrian Yancey isn't in schools, helping educate students, she's educating perfect strangers, reviewing restaurants as a Level 7 Local Google Guide. On this episode of the Supercast, I find out what it takes to be a Local Google Guide and why it is a passion for this assistant principal. We visit a local restaurant, which is all the rage right now, to do a taste test, and I give the food my own Google review. I love to highlight some of the interesting people that we have working in our district. And we have many of them today. I have the good fortune to talk with Adrian Yancey here at Eastlake Elementary School. Thanks for taking the time to talk with me.

Andrian:
I'm so happy to be here.

Anthony Godfrey:
You're a foodie.

Andrian:
Yes, I'm a foodie.

Anthony Godfrey:
I wish I were a foodie. I just love food. And I want to find out all about what got you here. Let's talk about you and Google and food. How does all of that connect?

Adrian:
I love to do reviews on Google and it just started as a hobby, just pictures here and there of different restaurants that I've visited with my family, and I would add what I liked about that place and include a few pictures and it just built from there. My family, they're pretty into this hobby that I've developed as well.

I've really tried to stay positive, especially with local businesses. I don't want to ruin someone's business or give a negative vibe about a place. I always try to look for something positive. I had an experience just recently where I went to a donut shop. My family and I have been on a doughnut kick for the last couple of years. If you want to know where the best apple fritter is or the best buttermilk bar, you just need to ask me.

Anthony Godfrey:
I want to know where both of those are, so go ahead.

Adrian:
We tried a new as a fairly new establishment and went in with high hopes because they have other businesses that have done very well. So unfortunately, a few of the doughnuts we got were raw inside, so there were some raw dough. That was one that I got some beautiful pictures, but the product wasn't necessarily one that I'd want to review yet. I contacted the business and I told them about my experience. I was kind and I was well received because, obviously, that isn't to standard and they wouldn't want a review on Google highlighting a mistake. So I don't ever want to throw a business under the bus, especially with my reviews. Because I've done so many, sometimes they'll stay at the top of a business, it might not just be based on timeline. So for that I did contact the business. They refunded the amount that I paid for the mixed dozen and I'm going to give them another try.

Anthony Godfrey:
Now that you've mentioned donuts, I do have to know, where are the best apple fritters?

Adrian:
Okay, so you have to go to Mirror Lake Gas Station, it's in Kamas and the apple fritters are as big as your face. They're huge.

Anthony Godfrey:
As big as my face? That's an accomplishment.

Adrian:
They're worth the drive. So that is an amazing place.

Anthony Godfrey:
Where's the best buttermilk bar? My wife loves buttermilk bars.

Adrian Yancey:
The two best places I feel like in the valley are Banbury Cross, and then Lehi Bakery. The Lehi Bakery ones are enormous.

Anthony Godfrey:
I love all of those places. The Lehi Bakery has the square donuts, right?

Adrian:
Yes.

Anthony Godfrey:
Thank they do melt in your mouth. They just run down the back of your throat. There's no chewing involved.

Andrian:
Exactly.

Anthony Godfrey:
I could talk donuts all day with you. Tell me about what it means to be a Google reviewer.

Adrian:
Okay. So anybody can review businesses on Google. If you go to Google Maps to find a restaurant or a bakery, whatever you're looking for, you can even review locations of, parks, anything. So you go on Google Maps to that place, and then if you scroll down, it gives you the option to add a review.

Anthony Godfrey:
And I've added a review or two, I think.

Adrian Yancey:
Yeah, so it's based on a five star rating and you can decide how many stars do you think that establishment or place merits, and then you can write a detailed review or a simple review. You also have the option to add pictures.

Anthony Godfrey:
And is it the pictures that got the drew attention to your reviews? What do you think made your reviews take off?

Adrian:
I don't know. Maybe. I do think that the pictures have helped. I think that you get more views on your reviews if you're willing to take the time to add photos. So I would say that that has been helpful based on how many reviews I've done and the number of pictures I've posted. I've hit a Level 7 Local Guide status.

Anthony Godfrey:
A Level 7 Local Guide. That sounds like something from Dungeons and Dragons. You roll the dice and you're a Level 7 Local Guide who helps people find the best pie in the castle or wherever.

Adrian:
Exactly. I have almost a thousand pictures posted.

Anthony Godfrey:
And review every time you travel as well?

Adrian:
Yes.  So, like you, I'm a destination foodie as well. I do a lot of research. I know where we're going to eat. I don't have a spreadsheet itinerary, but I definitely have a spreadsheet with different places that I want to try when we travel.

Anthony Godfrey:
Destination Foodie. I've not heard that term. Can I be a Destination Fast Foodie? Is there such a thing as that?

Adrian:
Yeah. You definitely could be a  Destination Fast Foodie, but I do like to look for unique places as well. So whether it's donuts or the best Mexican food in the area, I always try to find l something that's unique when we travel.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me about your background that got you interested.

Adrian:
I started cooking as a little kid and I was always encouraged by my parents. My mom was a really laid back mom, so it was okay if I made a big mess in the kitchen and we always had flour, sugar, and eggs on hand so I could bake anything that I wanted to. And so when I got to high school, I had the opportunity, I went to Bingham. Through Salt Lake Community College, there was a Culinary Program. So at the end of my day, I got to go over to Salt Lake Community College, either on the UTA bus or if I had a car, I drove. I started expanding there and I worked my senior year downtown at The Roof and The Garden. And then I expanded into the Lion House. So that'd Beehive Group, and I learned a lot there. And I decided I wanted to go to culinary school.

So I moved to Denver right after high school and finished an Associates Degree. During that time, I worked for an Italian bakery and for the Hyatt Regency Hotel. And I moved with my job to the Hyatt in Houston when I was 20 years old.

Anthony Godfrey:
Wow.

Adrian:
So I was really a go getter and I wanted to be a master chef. The thing is about that though, when sometimes when you take your favorite hobby and make it your career, it kind of takes the passion out of it. I felt like I needed a little more variety and I knew that I wanted to extend my education and do something that or I wouldn't be doing necessarily the same thing every day.

Anthony Godfrey:
Right.

Adrian:
And I found it in education.

Anthony Godfrey:
Being an assistant principal at East Lake elementary, I'm sure affords you a new adventure every day, like you were looking for.

Adrian:
It does. It does my, there isn't one day that is the same. I get to deal with, you know, different kid personalities and teachers and administration and the district. And I've learned a lot, even in this short time.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, we're very glad to have you, and I'm very glad to be here with you today to try some pie from Flake Pie Company. Now I told my wife I was doing this today and she was quite excited at the idea that I would get to be trying some Flake Pie. Let's just start the review right now. I really liked the packaging. Is that a seafoam green there? Tiffany blue. Maybe that's a tiffany blue box.

Andrian:
Their logo. Yeah. It's inviting.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, I just opened it and I can smell the crust and it smells really good.

Adrian Yancey:
I know what these are. This one is key lime.

Anthony Godfrey:
Is that banana cream right there?

Adrian Yancey:
This one is the banana, but that has a meringue instead of whipped cream.

Anthony Godfrey:
What was this called? It's something clever. You Lime Up in My Life or what is it?

Andrian:
Yep.

Anthony Godfrey:
Let me look at the, let's see. Oh, Sweet Child of Lime.

Andrian:
Okay. Is it raspberry fields?

Anthony Godfrey:
Raspberry Fields Forever.

Adrian Yancey:
And then this one is like B -A-N-A-N-A.

Anthony Godfrey:
So is it  like bananas, like Gwen Stefani would spell it out?

Adrian Yancey:
Yes. But something that's unique about this one, in Utah we're generally used to banana cream pie having a whipped cream topping. And this one is meringue, which is more common in the South.

Anthony Godfrey:
Wow. Oh, to admit that I don't normally eat things with bananas in them. I don't trust those phantom seeds that they have in them, but I'm all in today. I'm going to go for it.

Adriane:
Okay. What do you want to start with?

Anthony Godfrey:
A Sweet Child of Lime.

Adrian Yancey:
So this one has the graham cracker crust. Yeah. This one has the graham crust.

Anthony Godfrey:
I'm going to dive right in there on that one slice.

Adrian:
Okay.

Anthony Godfrey:
I lost a little bit of crust.

Andrian:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Talk me through what's coming to mind here as we scoop this out.

Adrian Yancey:
Okay. So if this is an authentic key lime. Generally it's probably just regular lime juice that they made this with. Now a key lime, they are tiny and they really do come from.

Anthony Godfrey:
Does that look like a little key lime slice on time?

Andrian:
Yes. It looks like a real key lime. Well, it could be, or it could just be a regular lime, but regardless key limes are really tiny and they're hard to juice. If they bought key lime juice that's totally possible to. So it's usually condensed milk and lime juice and not much else. So let's see how it let's see how it is. I think the filling, the texture is really good. It's sweet. I don't think I could eat, well maybe I could eat the whole pie.

Anthony Godfrey:
The texture is pretty fantastic.

Adrian:
It is really smooth and creamy.

Anthony Godfrey:
But the crust really is moist, overly moist. These are all individual pies. These are maybe the size of, I don't know. What's that the size of?

Adrian Yancey:
I want to say they're 4" tins. The size of the tin is. based on the bottom. It might even be 3" tin, but they're individually sized.

Anthony Godfrey:
But perfect for sharing. Wow. I am going to have another slice of that despite the overly moist crust.

Andrian:
Okay.

Anthony Godfrey:
But after we tried the others.  Do you cleanse the palate in between, do I need some European spring water or anything to cleanse in between?

Adrien:
That would have been nice.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, I'm sorry we don't have that.

Adrian:
Yeah, me too.

Anthony Godfrey:
All right. So now we're going for Raspberry Fields Forever, right?

Andrian:
Yes. Raspberry Fields Forever.

Adrian:
Okay. If I remember correctly, it's supposed to be Strawberry Fields Forever, right?

Anthony Godfrey:
It is. Yes, John Lennon would object, I'm sure.

Adrian:
Oh, this one's a little bit softer.

Anthony Godfrey:
It is softer. Do you view that as a negative or is that okay?

Adrian:
It might just be. We'll have to see if you think it's just because it's warm, you know, like maybe it's been out of the fridge for a few minutes.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, that might be so in fairness, perhaps we aren't getting it right from fridge.

Adrian:
The crust isn't quite as wet.

Anthony Godfrey:
I'm tasting the crust more on this. It's a dryer crust and it's really, really good.

Adrian Yancey:
It's so good. The flavor is so good.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah, the flavor jumps out at me on this one. What's something I could say that would make me sound like a foodie? I detect notes of graham cracker. Would that be kind of a foodie thing to say?

Adrian:
I would say buttery. The tartness of the berries cut the richness of the cream. I think this one would taste delicious together with the lime, the raspberry lime. I think that would be delicious.

Anthony Godfrey:
Sweet Child Raspberry. Hmm.

Andrian:
That one's good. That is good.

Anthony Godfrey:
Wow. Yeah. I see a repeat performance on both of these. All right. Okay. I have not had anything with banana in it for a very long time. So I figured this is probably the right time with some southern meringue on top. Let's have a little B-A-N-A-N-A Cream Pie.

Adrian Yancey:
I think banana is hard because you don't get it fresh, then the bananas discolor and they could be too soft.

Anthony Godfrey:
Wow. This is not bad. I'm having a second bite already. What do you think?

Adrian Yancey:
I like it.

Anthony:
And I do like you like the crust?

Adrian:
I like the crust. I think it's a good thickness. It's cooked all the way through.

Anthony Godfrey:
That meringue seems to have a nice texture to it and gives a little bit, but it holds up.

When we come back, it's time for lunch, Ms. Yancey and I had to a local hotspot for a taco taste test.

Break:
If you're ready to start your child on the path to personalized learning, we are ready to help. The Jordan Virtual Learning Academy is coming to Jordan School District in the 2021 year. Three new schools will be opening as part of the Academy, Rocky Peak Virtual Elementary School, Kelsey Peak Virtual Middle School and Kings Peak High School. Each school will have their own principal and teachers and each will give students a choice in their own learning. The schools will offer synchronous learning, which is teachers providing real time, live online instruction and asynchronous learning where teachers provide videotaped instruction for learning on a student's schedule. To register your student in the Jordan Virtual Learning Academy, visit http://connect.jordandistrict.org

Anthony Godfrey:
All right. We're now here on location in a restaurant. And Adrian's going to tell us a little bit about this restaurant, what it's called and why we're here.

Adrian:
Okay. So it's called the La Casa Del Tamale and we're in West Valley. And I found this place on Instagram. One of my friends that did a review and took some really great pictures. I've been excited to try the Birria Tacos with consomme for awhile because they've been popping up at different restaurants all over the valley. This little place, I don't think it's been open very long. That's a great ambience in here. And I think it'll be really fun.

Anthony Godfrey:
Chips and salsa or a win already. And I'm looking forward to trying this dip taco. Actually a former student of mine, on his Instagram story showed that he'd made this at home and it looks like you cooked the meat and then use the sauce and blend some vegetables. Do you know the process for creating it?

Andrian:
Yeah, I think the meat is stewed, so it's in a pot of cooking liquid, and then they take the meat out and shred it and then use the broth with the vegetables and use that as your dipping sauce.

Anthony Godfrey:
And then the stewed meat goes into the taco and then you dunk it, right?

Adrian:
Yes. We want to try the Tacos Birria with consomme.

Anthony Godfrey:
Let's make it three orders. These chips and salsa actually are really good. If the salsa, I can't put my finger on it. You probably can, but it's a little bit different from what I'd normally expect.

Adrian:
It is. I think the texture is like tomato soup, but then it has really good flavor.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah. It's about 11:15. We tried to beat the crowd and the restaurants already mostly full. They do have some spaces left, but I bet it's going to fill up quickly and we have a table of construction workers over there, and that says to me, this is going to be a great place.

Adrian:
There were people waiting outside for the doors to open, so that's a good sign to follow.

Anthony Godfrey:
I liked being an insider here on the early end of a trend. So that is a deep, rich sauce and there's a lot of taco and we both get four tacos each. All right. Should we get a picture of this?

Adrian:
Oh yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
This is a really deep, rich looking sauce. What would you call it? Is it a consomme?

Adrian:
Okay, so the cooking liquid in a crisp shell on the taco piping hot, this looks fantastic. Oh, so good.

Adrian:
So good. Nice crunch on the shell. The meat is so tender.

Anthony Godfrey:
Very tender, but a chunk dropped in. I'll get it when the consomme gets consumed. Somehow my shell is still crispy, even after I've dumped it in the consomme.

Adrian:
Did you try it with the lime?

Anthony Godfrey:
I didn't put any lime on it.

Adrian:
Oh, this is, it's really good. I think that it is meeting my expectation. So I think one of the things they do as well, they dip the shell into the consomme before they crisp them up on the grill and that's why they have that beautiful reddish yellow color.

.Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah, it does look great. Let's kind of summarize. We started with pies and started with dessert. What's your recommendation?

Adrian:
I really enjoyed Flake. I thought that the pies that we tried were good. I think the banana was my least favorite, but it wasn't bad. I loved the raspberry. I loved the key lime.

Anthony Godfrey:
I thought the crust was good. It was a little bit different on all of them. And I would definitely go there.

Adrian:
I would go there again and I would recommend it.

Anthony Godfrey:
Now let's talk tacos. Let's talk tamales. What do you say about this restaurant?

Adrian:
So the tacos are phenomenal. The consomme is so flavorful and delicious. You literally could drink it when you're done dunking your tacos. The texture of the shells were perfect. They weren't too crunchy, but just crisp enough that had a great texture and it held the texture the whole time that we were eating. The tamales, I think were good, but I was so full from the tacos that I didn't give them very much attention.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yes. The tacos are the star of the show and I've had a lot of Mexican food, but this is unlike anything I've had before. The consomme taste is fantastic and the texture and flavor was just fantastic, out of this world.

Adrian:
The beef is so tender. This was a delicious meal, so I would highly recommend this place.

Anthony Godfrey:
Casa Del Tamale and Flake, both highly recommended.

Adrian:
Thumbs up, both thumbs up.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well thanks for joining us on another episode of the Supercast. I'm going to clean my plate. Remember, education is the most important thing you will do today. You'll see out there.

Anthony Godfrey:
Hello and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. They are considered pioneers in their sport, making history throughout the State of Utah. Girls' high school wrestling became a sanctioned sport for the first time this year, and at Copper Hills High School, it was an exciting season filled with success. On this episode of the Supercast, we stopped by the wrestling room at Copper Hills High, where the girls wrestling team is still talking about their first ever State Tournament. Several of the girls walked away with State Championships and the team placed second overall. They are girls in a league of their own, literally making history during Women's History Month.

We're here at Copper Hills High School with the girls wrestling team coaches. I'm going to let them introduce themselves, and we're going to talk about this sport that was just sanctioned this year by UHSAA.

Coach:
Hi, my name is Coach Hatch. I've been a coach in here at Copper Hills for 12 years. This is my first year with the girls, as expected, because it's the first year they've been sanctioned. It's been a lot of fun and a great learning experience.

Coach
Hi, I'm Cheryl Flowers. I'm the Assistant Coach here at the girls wrestling team and I've coached other sports here a couple of years. My daughter wrestles, so I joined this team.

Coach
Hi, I'm Scott Post, Head Coach here at Copper Hills High School. I'm excited to be here and to share our excitement for the sport with our girl wrestlers.

Anthony Godfrey:
Cheryl, tell me, what other sports do you coach?

Coach:
I coached basketball a couple of years back, but I stopped doing that because I was a mom first. Now my kids have all grown more and I've got my last two in the high school here. So I decided to help with the wrestling team when my daughter decided to wrestle.

Anthony Godfrey:
How does it feel to coach your daughter in wrestling the first year that it's sanctioned?

Coach:
Oh, it's an amazing experience. These girls are amazing. And to have my girl on the team, it's been fun. She's watched her brother. She's had four older brothers that have wrestled here at Copper Hills and to watch them, she kind of came in with a little bit of an advantage, you know, watching her brothers wrestle.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's exciting. What were some of the hesitations you had going into it and how do you feel about those now?

Coach:
Well, in the past, it's been a real male dominant sport, right? And watching these girls start to go up the lines in the State of Utah, some of these girls that have been amazing throughout the State. She's watched them do it, because we've gone to all these tournaments, watching these girls wrestle and she's like, mom, I just want to try it. And I said, okay, let's try it and see where it goes. And she actually is pretty good at it. So we thought, okay, why not? You know, but it's a hard sport to be against boys with. And now that it's sanctioned for girls, it's opened it up for these girls that wouldn't want to wrestle boys.

Anthony Godfrey:
Her older brothers are big fans .

Coach:
Very much so, very much. They love her and they support her one hundred percent.

Anthony Godfrey:
What would you say to parents who are thinking about encouraging their daughters to be part of this or whose daughters have asked to be part of it?

Coach:
Just come try a practice, right? Let them roll around on the mat, see how they like it. See if it's something that they'd be interested in. It's been really interesting to watch the different kinds of girls that are coming out. Like they said earlier, they'd come from all walks of life, different sports, dancers and everything. I would encourage any girl that wants to even try it to just to come try it, roll around on the mat. We're welcomed. They're welcome at Copper Hills at any time. We'll take anybody just to show them. We want to build a sport statewide.

Coach:
Of course, up until this year, my oldest daughter, who's a senior on the team. She wrestled on the boys team and was competitive, did a really good job wrestling on the boys team. But  with that being sanctioned, they gave them a whole new opportunity to share their love for a sport with a bunch of girls that weren't used to it yet. So that's been fun. Let's start running fireman's, so hit that lead leg, right? Heavy hand as you're coming in on that, and let's start running four or five fireman's in a row and then switched back over. And I don't care if we're dumping it or launching it, but I want to go fireman after fireman, after fireman and we'll come around and help you guys out as well as we're running through those.

Anthony Godfrey:
Will you describe a fireman now as you've told them to do that?

Coach:

Yes, they run in and grab them. So traditionally, if you think about a fireman and there's a fire, that poor fireman has to put your listless body over his back and carry you down a couple flights of stairs and save you from that burning building. And so essentially that's what it is. You get a good tie up, and we shoot the opposite hand underneath, grab those legs, pull down on the other side, just like you're carrying them. But as opposed to pick them up and running around, you throw them to their back. The reason we're working this focused on today is girls actually in college and in the Olympics wrestle was called freestyle, a slightly different version of what's wrestled in high school, which is called folk style. And so we're actually now going into our freestyle season. There are a handful of girls here that have had some opportunities and offers from colleges to go wrestle. And and so as we're going into freestyle season, we want to focus on moves like this in folk style. If you hit this move, it's worth two points. If we do this in freestyle, because you take them from their feet to their back, it's worth four points.

Coach:
Go for the hip. Yeah, no, it's fine here. Right? We've captured the arm here on this other side. We always want to make sure we keep that arm and never let that go.

Student:
Fireman's my least favorite moves.

And why is, Fireman's your least favorite?

Student:
Love fireman. Love them, but I don't like putting people over my shoulders.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. So yeah, I could see that at first it's a little uncomfortable, but then you - I just don't even know how I would start to do that. That's impressive that you guys can even do that. Tell me your name. I

Student:
I'm TT.

Anthony:
And you are Kara. How have you enjoyed wrestling? Did you just start or how long have you been wrestling?

Student:
My first year, so it's all new to me. I think it's pretty fun. It's amazing.

Student:
This is my first year too. I joined because I thought I needed to do a high school sport. Can't get into high school, not doing anything. And I love it so much. It's just phenomenal, such a fun year.

Anthony Godfrey:
It's fun to be involved. And you've got to find something to connect with school. I've heard that there's a real family feel and that happens really fast. Tell me about that.

Student:
I love to talk, but I don't get like sister close with people. But when I met these girls, the first day I walked in, our coach's youngest daughter was like, mom, and she starts whispering to Mrs. Pace. And then Mrs. Bass comes over. She's like, your hair looks one of our Barbies. And that moment I was like, this is family. Like, I love you girls so much. They're all funny. They're all protective. You know, they'll make good choices. They're great girls.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's awesome. Have you guys had a good support from the school? From the student body?

Student:
Oh yeah. All those things. I think most everybody knows who we are.

Anthony Godfrey:
It is Women's History Month and you ladies have made history. How does that feel?

Student:
Every day I walk into the high school, well, every other day, and I look at the trophy case and I'm picking out which trophy case should be ours because we, this is our first year and we've done so much. Like it's the practices, it's the new varsity jackets that are going to be passed down forever and ever. It's going to tournaments and walking out First Place. It's standing up to other people who are like, oh, girls wrestling is weird. And you know, it's big, it's a lot of pressure on our shoulders. And I think we've made a lot. We've made too much history, like too much for us to handle. So we need more girls to come. So they can help us blaze the trail.

Anthony Godfrey:
You are blazing a trail. There's no doubt about it.

Coach:
However, if we have one more circle on that, that angle is going to be there. And what that hand up with, pull on, pull that right. Create that angle. Half the body, attack the weak side. Let's go High C and then let's leave it in that low leg lace. And if you want to walk them through what we're doing out here and we'll get after it. That's what's unique and different about it is in folk style. There's a lot of stalling. You're staying in that position. Nothing's happening. There's no scoring. It kind of comes a little bit slower.

Anthony:
I've observed that.

Coach:
Whereas in freestyle, there's a lot more action. It's a lot more consistent. And that's why we only wrestled folk style down in the United States.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah.

Coach:
Everything in the Olympics has Greco or freestyle. And free style really benefits those that are being aggressive and that's what's made Copper Hills actually really unique this year is all of our girls learned from the moment they walked in the door is we're going to attack. And everything that we are going to do is going to be through the whole idea of attacking you. Look at some of their wrestling gear. We put attack on everything because we're going to be aggressive. We're going to dictate the match. And we want our opponent responding to us. Someone's got to react to someone who's reacting to who? We want to make sure the word dictates that action.

Anthony Godfrey:
So with certain athletes, some muscle groups may be better developed than others. And with wrestling, you pretty much have to have it all working for you, don't you?

Coach:
Absolutely. And I can attest that my daughter's on the team and she's a competitive volleyball player and she also does track. And after about the first week of wrestling, she said dad I am using muscles I didn't even know I had.

Anthony Godfrey:
So among many other good reasons for being a part of the wrestling program, it prepares you well conditioning and and toughness and all of that  for any other competition you might be involved in.

Coach:
Oh, absolutely. And I'll be honest with you, and this is going to sound funny, but girls are more willing to learn. I think boys come in with, Hey, we already know what we're doing. And these girls have been like sponges. I mean, you teach them or show them things and they literally just soak it right up. They've actually been easier to teach and coach than the boys now, they don't have that pride side, right? There's a mental difference, right? When we're guys, you teach a move.

Yeah. Coach, I'm doing that, you go over to the corner and try to just fake it. Whereas girls ask questions that, they are different. Why, what angle? And at first, when we first started coaching girls, years ago it was, are they stalling? Why are you asking all these questions make jokes? You know? And then I started realizing they really want to know the exact points to what really makes that move unique.

Anthony Godfrey:
It's a genuine desire to know, not just what to do, but why am I doing it? And how can I do it?

Coach:
Exactly.

Anthony Godfrey:
Stay with us. When we come back with the team, find out how wrestling is having a positive impact outside of the sport for the successful.

Break:
If you're ready to start your child on the path to personalized learning, we are ready to help. The Jordan Virtual Learning Academy is coming to Jordan School District in the 2021-22 school year. Three new schools will be opening as part of the Academy. Rocky Peak Virtual Elementary School, Kelsey Peak Virtual Middle School and Kings Peak High School. Each school will have their own principal and teachers and each will give students a choice in their own learning. The schools will offer synchronous learning, which is teachers providing real time, live online instruction and asynchronous learning where teachers provide videotaped instruction for learning on a student's schedule to your student. In the Jordan Virtual Learning Academy, visit http://connect.jordandistrict.org.

Students:
I'm Brooklyn Face. I'm Emma Williams. I'm Anya Hat, I'm Meridian Grand Prix, Bradley Graham, PT Onsot, I'm Karen LLloyd, Kimberly Flours. I'm Alyssa Pace.

Anthony Godfrey:
I am so impressed with what I've seen and I just think it's awesome. And maybe people picture girls wrestling and they wonder what that's like. Well, I can tell you is it's a lot of toughness and a lot of learning and man, a lot of hard work and you guys are doing great. Let me ask you this right off. Have you had some injuries this year? Tell me about some of the injuries you've had right here.

Student:
I started off the season kind of with an injured hip and throughout the year it kinda got worse. And then there was this one move that Brooklyn really, really likes and it messed up my shoulder. So that was fun.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. That's good. Tell me about competing in State. The first year that girls wrestling was sanctioned at the high school level. I know this isn't the first year wrestling for all of you, but tell me how that felt, being part of that.

Student:
Pretty weird going from knowing every single girl wrestler in the entire State of Utah to showing up to State and just seeing so many like new girls, so many girls I'd never seen before. It was just as big as the boys tournament. And it was awesome. I was so excited to be there.

Anthony Godfrey:
So you were surprised to see so many from around the State participating, right?

Student:
It was a lot different than it had been in the other years. So it was different, but I wasn't surprised. I love wrestling so much. So why wouldn't every other girl love it so much?

Anthony Godfrey:
How many years have you been wrestling?

Student:
Six, I think. I don't know, a long time.

Anthony Godfrey:
You all seem to be having a great time at this. Tell me, what you love most about wrestling.

Student:
Honestly, it's the confidence boost. I walked in here and I thought I was pretty confident. And then you start doing the practices and learning new things and you're like, oh, this is really hard. But then you get the hang of it and you start getting in the mentality, I can do hard things and it just completely changes how you see yourself, I guess.

Student:
I really liked making friends with season. I talk a lot. And so when we got to go meet other teams. I was like, okay, well we'll have two options. Be rude or go make friends. And I made a lot of friends this season. I know there was probably a girl on every team laughing. That's a really good thing that when we were on like a big family, we're like cousins, even though we're all different teams and we all like our competition, but we're all playing for the same goal.

Student:
Before there weren't as many girl wrestlers, until this year, and so they put a little side tournament of three or four girls wrestling. And so this year it's really fun to see lots more girls joining the sport. There's just more people to wrestle and so it's really fun.

Anthony Godfrey:
Do you think it will continue to grow?

Student:
Yeah, for sure. I think this year was a good jumpstart and it was a little tricky with COVID and some parents were like, Oh, I don't know what are girls wrestling?  What's that? But now that it's kind of a real thing. I think next year everyone will be like, Oh yeah, girls wrestling is a thing. That's awesome. I want my girls to be a part of that. So I think it will just keep jumping and growing as it goes on.

Anthony Godfrey:
Can I ask you if that's a wrestling black eye?

It is. It happened last weekend at my tournament.

Anthony Godfrey:
That looks like it was a little bit gruesome. Tell me what happened at your tournament.

Student:
So I went up to Logan for Showcase Qualifiers Tournament and I got the take down and it was freestyle. So I was working for the gut. The girl tried to defend it and hit her head up super hard and right into my eyebrow. And it like instantly blew up. I won the match though.

Anthony Godfrey:
So I'm just going to say, you kind of had an Incredible Hulk kind of thing happen after that. And she got to the mat pretty quickly, I'll bet.

Students:
I didn't get the points that I wanted to, I was a little flustered, but I did end up winning, like 16 to 6.

Anthony Godfrey:
Watching the practice that does not surprise me. Tell me, what do you love about wrestling?

Student:
The competition and the confidence boost I got. It really helps with softball and wrestling.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah. So you play softball as well?

Student:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
What's harder?

Student:
Wrestling.

Anthony Godfrey:
What else are you involved in?

Student:
So my last two years of high school, I'm a senior this year, my last two years I was on Dance Company so I did studio dance. I was on dance club and then this year I just quit dance and I was like, well, I gotta do something else. So then on the side I do dance and then wrestling is my main thing.

Anthony Godfrey:
And this is kind of improvised, full contact dancing, right? What other sports have you guys played?

Student:
Volleyball.

Anthony Godfrey:
And what's tougher, wrestling?

Student:
Wrestling, the toughest stuff.

Anthony Godfrey:
Does wrestling prepare you for track and volleyball?

Student:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. How about you?

Student:
Like Emma, I grew up dancing. I danced for 13 years. And I'm actually still doing it at the same time I was doing wrestling. So I would miss one practice a week just to go dance.

Anthony Godfrey:
What kind of dance do you study?

Student:
I do everything. Ballet, Jazz, Hip Hop, Contemporary Tap, anything you can think of.

Anthony Godfrey:
Does your brain ever switched to the wrong sport and you do a take down instead of a pada beret and now suddenly you're in real trouble?

Student:
There's been a couple of times. I mean, let me say splits really do help in wrestling.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. Fair enough. I could see that maybe balance as well? Besides sanctioned high school wrestling, there's also a lot of other wrestling, even preparing for scholarships. And it's a different type of wrestling as we've talked about with your coaches. How many of you are talking to colleges or preparing for wrestling in college perhaps?

Student:
Yeah, I've had a few different offers and I've been talking to a couple of different colleges, just trying to figure out where I want to go. I love the sport and so I want to continue wrestling in college for five years and then coach and just keep it a part of my life.

Anthony Godfrey:
Congratulations on having scholarship offers. The black eye can't hurt with that.

Student:
Yeah, for sure.

Student:
We have Women's Nationals coming up in a week and a half. So we've just been working hard for that to prepare. They didn't do Women's Nationals in 2020 because of COVID. So this is going to be really big. And then if you do make it onto the World Team, you wrestle all around the world. Not only do you wrestle with Olympians, you get to travel and represent America through freestyle wrestling.

Anthony Godfrey:
There are a lot of opportunities and I don't think everyone would realize that necessarily. That's new to girls wrestling, so that's really exciting. What would you say to girls who are thinking about participating or have wondered about doing it now that COVID is not going to be an obstacle next year?

Student:
For the wrestling, I've done karate and boxing  and a lot of theater. And I saw this and I thought, I'm not doing this. When you don't know what it is and you don't understand it, it looks weird. It looks like, why are they wearing Tyson Gluts? Why are they doing that? And you're just like, okay, maybe not. But I think a lot of girls like, okay, well this may seem really rude. Everybody is so nice. On the mat, we're very mean, but that's because on the mat, we don't see faces. It's just competition. You want to win because there's only one person coming off of that mat a winner. Right. And so I think for a lot of girls, think about it. Come look at our pictures, come look at our videos. They're pretty cool. And not just our team, but every other team, you know? So just do it. Like you were kind of saying earlier, you have this image of your mind image in your mind of wrestling, where it's like spitting and super buff kids. You don't have to be the super buff kid. You could be the 108 who's as big as a pinkie and still take State. You could be a 124 who is really 120 and you somehow manage to not only surpass your goals, but everyone's ideas of you. So you could take a look at me and you go, Oh, I could see that she dances, but you wouldn't picture me as a wrestler.

Coach:
When the season was starting and I convinced you guys to come in the door and try and practice one time. How many of you girls were a little bit embarrassed to tell your friends and family that you were wrestlers?

Anthony Godfrey:
A few of you? Yeah. How's it feel now? Yeah.

Coach:
How many of you girls are still embarrassed about it? I think she's going to do a few more firemen now.

Coach:
I think that shows, you know, kind of that difference in that confidence, and that perception and how the sport was at first, even this year. It being sanctioned almost looked at are they really doing this or, yeah, I'm a girl wrestler. Right? And now, from what they've accomplished, from the family that we've built within this room, everyone's proud of it. And they've accomplished great things. These girls are very unique. They've worked incredibly hard. They've given their heart and soul to it, as you can see. And through that confidence, through that attack and through the efforts that these guys have put in. They've been very, very successful. We won almost every tournament we went to, as they get off the bus and walk into the gym, all the other girls take notice. And we're be able to do that with these girls, being that family, taking care of one another and truly caring and loving and helping one another out. And so it is something that they're proud of now and they're excited about, and they want to represent the sport and they've absolutely done it in the right way.

Student:
I wear my varsity jacket every day to school. And I go to a charter school, which means that's not dress code and I should not be wearing that. But I wear it every day to school because it's not only just like a confidence boost for me, but I love it. There's big boys that I go to school with, you know, football players. And I look at them and I'll go, I'll wrestle you. And they're like, I'm a 190 and I'll go, I'll wrestle you. I'm a 145.

Anthony Godfrey:
You're learning how far skills can get you.

Student:
Exactly. And like coach was saying, talking is such a big thing. Not only like wrestling, I do that, but in my entire life now. I'd work hard and go and get what I want now.

Anthony Godfrey:
Love that. Don't get what you want. Go get what you want.

Student:
Depending on what you have, you can use it. If you're stronger, you can use your strength. If you're longer, you can use your length. Wrestling is literally for everybody. And I think it's such an important skill to have to know that you don't have to adapt to the social norms or you don't have to adapt to an ideal body. You just have to use what you have and succeed with it.

Student:
Yeah. Kind of to go with Brooklyn. Wrestling is such an individual sport.  There's a high crotch, but there's a million different ways to do a high crotch, depending on your length, your strengths. However you wrestle, you can turn a simple high crotch into your move and make it your your top dog, your exact perfect move for you. You don't even have to be an athlete to wrestle because you'll become an athlete and you'll gain those strengths.

Anthony Godfrey:
Skills. I love that I don't have to be an athlete. You'll become an athlete. That's right, right. You guys are super impressive. I can't tell you how excited I am to see your enthusiasm and to see what a positive thing this has been for you. So thanks for letting me spend time with you. I'm going to keep watching this sport and I know great things are ahead for you guys. So congratulations.

Thanks for joining us for another episode of the Supercast. Remember education is the most important thing you'll do today. We'll see out there.

Anthony Godfrey:
Welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey.  Students in Julie Feyereisen's third grade classroom are growing in a very healthy way this school year. It's thanks in part to something called the tower garden in the classroom. The tower garden is a six foot pillar which this aeroponic technology to grow plants indoors using water and no soil. On this episode of the Supercast, we head inside Ms. Feyereisen's classroom to see the tower garden. There we celebrate a successful harvest and taste some of the healthy produce students planted as part of their lesson on sustainable garden. Let's start by visiting with some students.

Teacher:
So would you like some carrots by themselves?

Anthony Godfrey:
What is your name?

Student:
Hattie

Anthony Godfrey:
So you've got your high. You're next at the table here. Do you know what you want to put on your salad?

Student:
Olives.

Anthony Godfrey:
I put olives on my pizza. You put it on your salad. What do you like on your pizza? Cheese? We're talking about salad, not pizza, so I shouldn't go down that road. All right. Did you grow some of these?

Student:
Lettuce.

Anthony Godfrey:
There are Apple bits. Do you normally put apples on your salad? What do you have your eye?

Students:
The tomatoes.

Anthony Godfrey:
They look good.

Student:
I brought them.

Anthony Godfrey:
Did you? ?o were you each assigned to different salad ingredients?

Student:
No, you could just bring whatever you wanted.

Anthony Godrey:
Oh, I see.

Student:
Or you didn't have to bring anything if you didn't want to.

Teacher:
What else would you like?

Anthony Godfrey:
You got some sugar snap peas there. Three varieties of carrots, several varieties of carrots It looks like.

Teacher:
Okay, there you go.

Anthony Godfrey:
So were the kids assigned to bring something?

Teacher:
They just brought their favorite salad topping.

Anthony Godfrey:
Favorite salad topping.

Teacher:
It's always interesting to see what they brought.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah.

Teacher:
Like, oh yes, I tried this, the Asian Sesame and some brought dressing. They just kind of brought a variety of things and it worked out.

Anthony Godfrey:
What is your name?

Student:
Hayley.

Anthony Godfrey:
I see from your shirt that you believe in unicorns. Do you also believe in salads? You eat salads at home?

Student:
Yes.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me what you've decided to put on your salad.

Student:
I decided to put some carrots, cucumbers and apples.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah. And what type of lettuce has this? Did you grow this yourself?

Student:
Yes.

Anthony Godfrey:
Does make it look better to you to eat since you grew it?

Student:
Yes.

Anthony Godfrey:
Do you normally grow vegetables at your house?

Student:
No.

Anthony Godfrey:
So you got to do something in class you've never done before.

Student:
I did.

Anthony Godfrey:
I see that you have chosen to eat your olives.

Student:
Yeah. I chose that because I like olives.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah. So I saw you put your salad together. Put the olives on top, came to your desk and went right for the olives. And now the rest of the salads on its own. I saw you like croutons too. I was talking to a classmate of yours and they're not a big fan. You like them though.

Student:
I like to eat plan just straight out of the bag, because then they feel taste fresh.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's a good idea. Do you put any dressing into the bag or just straight up?

Student:
Just straight out.

Anthony Godfrey:
Did you grow the lettuce?

Student:
I grew the kale.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, you drew the kale. And you told me your sister's name is Kale?

Student:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Is she named after the vegetable or is the vegetable named after her?

Student:
The vegetable was named after her.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, that's a nice honor for her. Is it good? Is it kind of bitter or did it taste yummy?

Student:
Yummy.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. I'm going to try the kale. I don't eat a lot of kale, but you've convinced me. That looks like quite a salad. Does it tastes pretty good? You look like someone who's eaten a salad before.

Student:
Yeah, I have.

Anthony Godfrey:
And you love salad? What type of a dressing do you normally prefer?

Student:
Italian, but there wasn't any.

Anthony Godfrey:
So did you go with the Ranch, it looks like?

Student:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Have you ever tried green goddess?

Student:
No.

Anthony Godfrey:
The go for it. If only for the name you should try it. Green Goddess dressing if you're a salad fan. Okay. So talk me through your salad here. What have you got on here?

Student:
I have apples, lettuce, peas, tomatoes, carrots, croutons, avocado, and um.

Anthony Godfrey:
It's so much it's hard to keep track of. You really put together a nice salad.

Student:
And then cucumbers.

Anthony Godfrey:
It's a very good variety for someone your age. I know lots of kids in third grade who would eat fewer vegetables rather than more, so that's really good work.

Student:
Now, if we had any pickles, I'd go for the pickles.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, I love pickles. Do you put pickles on a salad?

Student:
No.

Anthony Godfrey:
Just on the side.

Student:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
I love a good pickle. Do you eat like a big whole pickle or slices or what?

Student:
Well, my dad normally makes pickles.

Anthony Godfrey:
He makes them? Oh, wow. No wonder you like them. Homemade pickles.

Student:
Well, we have like, I don't know how much in each jar, but maybe like 20 in each jar.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh wow, that's awesome.

Student:
We have circle ones. We have like slice ones. We have a lot of them. And then we have a lot of salsa. We have a lot of jam.

Anthony Godfrey:
So it sounds like you guys grow alot.

Student:
Oh yeah. We have a big yard. We grow a lot of fruits and vegetables.

Anthony Godfrey:
Wow. That's very impressive. Well, when you grow them, you tend to appreciate them and like eating them,I guess.

Student:
My brother is in class with me.  He is my twin. He's right here.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, your brother is in class with you? Your twin? Oh, and you know what, he's not back at his desk yet. He's probably piling his plate high with a wide variety of vegetables, just like you did. That is impressive work I have to say. That's really awesome. And I keep interrupting your salad so you don't even have a chance to eat it. Oh, and you've got some good croutons. Do you guys grow croutons at home?

Student:
No, but we make them.

Anthony Godfrey:
You do make them, really? Wow. Do you make the bread that they come from or do you buy the bread?

Student:
My mom makes.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh my gosh. You make the bread and then you make the croutons to put on all the stuff you've grown. Megan, you are quite impressive as is your family. It's very nice talking with you. Did you grow this lettuce here?

Student:
Well I did get this. I think this is my lettuce. Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
It's the light green light. Where is it on the tower there? I'd like to try some Megan lettuce.

Student:
On the back.

Anthony Godfrey:
All right. I'll give it a try. I'll let you get back to your salad.

Student:
Okay.

Anthony Godfrey:
Thank you, Megan. Okay. I'm going to try my salad here. This is as fresh as a salad gets. I picked it right off of the tower. Oh my goodness. It is very tender. Crisp. It tastes great.

Teacher:
Good!

Anthony Godfrey:
Yes. Stay with us. When we come back, Ms. Feyereisen talks about how she has incorporated the tower garden into all her lessons and why students love it.

Break:
It is one of the most prestigious academic achievement programs available for high school students. And we're proud to say it's coming back to Jordan School District. We're talking about the International Baccalaureate (IB) Program, which will be located at West Jordan High School. The IB Program supports personal and academic achievement for students at the very highest level. IB diploma courses take place during a student's junior and senior year in high school. All sophomores are invited to consider the IB program for next year. There are no pre-requisites for IB and interested middle school students can start preparing now. Students with the IB diploma have a better at getting into some of the most prestigious universities in the world. For more information, or to find out if your teen is a good candidate for IB, visit http://ib.jordandistrict.org.

Anthony Godfrey:
I'm here with Julie Feyereisen third grade teacher at Monte Vista Elementary, who has had kids growing the elements of a salad on a tower garden, and it is really stunning when you walk in. It's obvious learning is happening constantly in this classroom and this is just one element of learning. And it's a delicious element. I'm eating a salad that was prepared by the kids. A salad picked right off of the tower that they grew. It's fantastic. Tell me about this project and what made you want to start this and what it's been like for the kids?

Teacher:
Oh, good question. By the way. Thank you for coming.

Anthony Godfrey:
Thank you. My pleasure.

Teacher:
I am a firm believer in active learning and also in the mind-body connection and that what we feed our bodies affects how we learn and what we just move forward in our daily lives. So when the kids see things growing, they see green things growing, where things are actually how they're supposed to look and the color that is living. And it just makes such a difference when they can actually see it happening and then put it into their bodies and see the correlation between the mind and the body and knowing that that's what makes such a difference. Like we move a lot in my classroom, we do a lot of active learning, but it's also like what goes into help them, their minds really take in all of their learning

Anthony Godfrey:
When they grow something that they have probably just expected to have placed on their table previously, Do you think it changes their perspective about the world around them and where food comes from, and how hard people have to work to provide everything that they have?

Teacher:
Absolutely. Yes, it does create a different perspective. I've had students who do not eat salads, do not eat green things, actually eat things off of the tower garden because they have been in that process. They've partnered with that process of growing something and knowing that they're eating that they grew. So yes. And yes, seeing what it does do have a difference of where they actually get their food. I mean, they just grew something and they just ate it and it makes me so happy to see so many kids eating a salad.

Anthony Godfrey:
I talked to a number of kids in line waiting for their salad. They don't normally eat salad, but they were piling their plate high. And not only that, but it gives them the sense efficacy. I put in effort, I'm patient. I do what I know works, and I feel the sense of accomplishment. There's a connection between my effort and results.

Teacher:
And they'll eat it. I've had parents actually thank me saying now my child eats more vegetables because they have had experience with it. So they have experienced growing their own vegetables and eating them straight from the tower, just fresh.

Anthony Godfrey:
Describe that tower for those who are listening. It's a white tower. There are spots where you can grow plants from. And is it aeroponic, is that right?

Teacher:
It is. It's aeroponic. It's a tower garden that does not need soil, it doesn't need need ground. It just needs a vertical space. And so it's an aeroponic vertical growing garden. And so the students. about five weeks ago, that's the cool thing about five weeks ago, they planted, and now that that's what they have. And there are different slots where you can put everything. Se grew basil. We grew thyme and we grew three different types of lettuces. We grew kale, we grew chard. And I even saw some students had kale and chard on their plate.

Anthony Godfrey:
I did see kids with that. Having kale on your plate in third grade is an accomplishment all its own.

Teacher:
Yeah, I know it was. Oh, it just makes me happy. I love it.

Anthony Godfrey:
I'm sorry to be eating and talking at the same time, but I cannot resist this tender, crisp lettuce. It really is delicious. So it's also lit up their lights. Those lights stay on 24/7?

Teacher:
No, they stay on for about 14 hours a day. They're on a timer and their water is also on a timer. So there's a base for the tower garden that you fill up with water and you put the tower tonic in for the nutrients for the plants. So there's a pump at the bottom of the base for the water and it actually just pulled the water up and then rains the water down on the roots. So if we were to pull some of those plants out, we just pull for a long time and see these roots, just come out of this tower garden, because they've been, they've been growing for so long and it's really neat to see how, how they've grown and that's how it works.

Anthony Godfrey:
What are some of the things that kids learn from this experiment?

Teacher:
We do math and of course it's science. And we also do a lot of writing with it. So they have been tracking their plant and measuring their plant. It was planted as a seedling and then they've also been writing about it. And it's just neat for them to see this transformation that has happened using all of that curriculum, all of those different pieces, bringing it into one thing and also help of course, with their bodies and their minds. So it's really an all-inclusive experience or for them. And it's been fun.

Anthony Godfrey:
There are so many layers to it, so much to learn and great connections that you're able to make through this activity. I can't tell you how impressed I was that these kids. obviously. are super engaged. They're loving it. And it was a great salad on top of that. So keep up the great work. I love the experience you're giving these kids. I'm sure that they're going to say many years from now, remember Ms. Feyereisen and how we grew lettuce and salads. And that's why I'm here at the Sizzler Salad Bar today.

Teacher:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Thank you so much for your time. It's really been nice getting to know you and your class and enjoy the rest of the year.

Teacher:
Thank you so much. I appreciate it. What a treat for you to come. Thank you.

Anthony Godfrey:
Thanks for joining us. On another episode of the Supercast. Remember, education is the most important thing that you will do today. We'll see out there.

Anthony Godfrey:
Hello and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. He rose to the top of his game as a 6'6" forward in basketball for the West Jordan High School Jaguars and was named 2012 5A Player of the Year leading the state in scoring and rebounding. Jordan Loveridge, better known as "J-Love" to some, also made a name for himself in the basketball program at the University of Utah, where he became one of the top scorers in school history. Today at the age of 27, the West Jordan High grad is still making a name for himself playing professional basketball overseas. On this episode of the Supercast, we catch up with Jordan Loveridge who is currently playing pro ball in Finland. Find out how his time at West Jordan High helped him reach his goals and how his life has changed with his superstar status abroad.

Anthony Godfrey:
We are with former Jordan School District student Jordan Loveridge. Jordan, thanks for joining us.

Jordan:
Yeah, thanks for having me all the way from Finland.

Anthony Godfrey:
What time is it there in Finland right now?

Jordan:
It's about 6:30 at night.

Anthony Godfrey:
So it's been dark for about four hours now, right?

Jordan:
Yep.

Anthony Godfrey:
I'm really excited to talk with you. I watched you play when you were here at West Jordan High School. When did you graduate?

Jordan:
I graduated in 2012.

Anthony Godfrey:
2012, the time flies. It was really fun to watch you. I was just talking with a couple of colleagues telling them that I had the chance to interview you and they were pretty excited about that. They have a lot of respect for how you held yourself off the court in addition to your game play. They just reminded me how fun you are to watch play basketball and what a great, humble, approachable person you've always been, even through all of your success.

Jordan:
I appreciate that.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell us, what are your memories of playing at West Jordan High School? We are going to talk about all the places you've been and the great career that you have, but tell me about your memories of West Jordan. What stands out to you?

Jordan:
Just a great group of guys I got to play with and, you know, the coaching staff, Scott Briggs, and then Damron, it was just great atmosphere. It really prepared me for going in play in Utah. They really knew basketball and I was a young, naive guy coming in and thought I knew everything, but they taught me a lot. And it just was fun to play with those teammates. I still have good connections with the coaches and my teammates from high school. So it was a great experience all around.

Anthony Godfrey:
When did you first realize, hey, I'm kind of better than everybody else? When you were a kid, when did you realize that you had a gift for playing basketball?

Jordan:
I think when my dad actually let me play with his friends. I used to go to the gym with him and they would just let me shoot on the side. I always wanted to get in their games, but he never would let me play. And then eventually, when I got a little stronger, he let me play and I started beating them and dominating in those games. So I figured, if I can do these things versus strong men, I might have it to enter the high school level.

Anthony Godfrey:
Beating your dad's friends at basketball must have been its own kind of satisfaction.

Jordan:
Yeah, for sure. I mean, those guys to me were like the NBA. Oh, I can wait to play against these guys. You know, I knew these guys. They've got all those stats and what they were doing things like that. So it was fun to get to jump in those games.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah. Sure. And then after West Jordan, you played at the U. You may not know this, but I have a poster signed by you. I can't remember from which year I got that through your mom, and I'm actually a huge fan of your mom as well. It comprehends, she's always so nice. She always ask before I can ask how are you doing. You always asks how I'm doing and checking in on me. So she's a great support, but tell us about being at the U.

Jordan:
Definitely grown up and got to be away from home, you know. Had a great coaching staff up there as well, which helped me and helps me be prepared to play professionally. And you know, we did some great things. Went to the Sweet 16, had some great players come through there, got to play with some great players on my team. It was just a fun experience to get to be there four years, get to graduate and just get to play at the highest level.

Anthony Godfrey:
Who were some of the people that you remember playing against when you were at the U?

Jordan:
I think just in the PAC 12, there's so many great players. For me, it was more of the places we got to play. You know, you get to play at UCLA, USC with the schools, people in the basketball world and even just in the college world. People dream to go to those schools or play at those schools. So I got to go play in front of UCLA, Arizona, Oregon, got to be at those places and got to play for some of those top ranked guys that play that either in a queue or you just have seen play on TV. So I think just experience of getting to go and play high level players every single night.

Anthony Godfrey:
And playing in the Sweet 16. I mean, that's really something special.

Jordan:
Yeah, for sure. I mean, growing up, I always would fill out brackets for March madness. I tried to watch during school and stuff and never was able to because a lot of the early games started when I was in class. But I always was checking scores just to see. But then to make it to be a part of it was, you know, it's amazing.

Anthony Godfrey:
And now you're a professional basketball player. How many years have you been playing professional basketball?

Jordan Loveridge:
This is my fifth year. Yeah,

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah, yeah. And you're with the Cobra. Is that right? How do I say that? The Cobras. Is that right?

Jordan:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Very nice. Tell me, let's first talk about all the places that you've played. It's quite a list. You played in Switzerland, Austria, I think. Tell us about your journey there, first of all. How did you get to start playing in Europe?

Jordan:
So I signed with an agent out of college and he just had some great connections. I started my career off in Hungary in a little village called Carmen. It was definitely different from college to Carmen, a little small town by myself. But I had basketball to focus on, which was great. And then from there I went to Switzerland to a lot bigger city, which was nice and Switzerland's a beautiful country. And then the next year I went to Germany. The German league is one of the top basketball leagues in Europe. So that was a great experience. And then I went to Austria. And then now this year in Finland.

Anthony Godfrey:
The European leagues, how does that work? I know in soccer, based on how well a team does, they may be moved up or down, out of a league. And I know the team that you played for plays in the highest European league right now. So how does all of that work?

Jordan:
So usually each country has their own league. They have top league and then it goes, the second league, third league, or how many other leagues they have. And so everyone's trying to play in the top league in whatever country they're in. And then there's also European competitions where you get to go and travel and play. For example, if my team was in one of those, we would go play in France or in Germany for some of their top teams. And that's a whole different tournament. But for the most part, teams are trying to make it in the top league in their country.

Anthony Godfrey:
Because the top league mean that you're going to end up playing in other countries more frequently.

Jordan:
Yeah. I mean, you definitely have a better chance to be seen and sign a better contract in a country that you want to go, or that wants you to come and play for their team.

Anthony Godfrey:
What does your current team look like in terms of where the players are from?

Jordan:
We have a guy that played on North Carolina. His name is Justin Pierce. A guy from Fresno State, Nate Grimes, he's a rookie. And then a guy that played in the Canadian League for three or four years that did really good. His name is Anthony Gangs. So we have four Americans and then the rest are Finnish guys.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, so dude, all the Finnish guys speak English? Or are you now speaking French?

Jordan:
No. Everybody around the team usually speaks English. I haven't been to a concert where I had to learn the language too much.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah. So how do you like Finland? What's Finland like?

Jordan:
I definitely dark and cold, but with my family here, it's been great. I get to see my son and my wife every day. It's tough being away from family back home, but we have FaceTime, things like that. And they're very supportive of me playing and they want me to continue to play so it's not bad at all.

Anthony Godfrey:
Is there time in the summer when you can come home or when's the off season?

Jordan:
Yeah. So usually I get around four months at home and I try and make it back to Utah. I spend a lot of time with family and we try to do as much stuff as we can within that four months. It's tough, but still we try to fit in trips and, make sure we're always eating dinner at either my wife's parents or my parents.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's really great. And your family watch these games? Are they streamed so they can follow your career from here?

Jordan:
They've been able to watch pretty much all of my games anywhere I've played. Each country usually has some type of TV deal, as we do at home, where the NBA is on ESPN or TNC, but over here they have their own streaming service so it's been pretty easy for them to watch off the gangs.

Anthony Godfrey:
You mentioned your family. How old is your son now?

Jordan:
18 months.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, congratulations. That's exciting. What's his name?

Jordan:
Kingston.

Anthony Godfrey:
Very cool. And how did you meet your wife? When did you get married?

Jordan:
So I got married three years ago. I met my wife were just out in downtown Salt Lake. One of my friends actually went to school to Southern Utah with her. She was a volleyball player in Southern Utah. He's a football player and he actually went to West High School and he introduced me to her. From there we just kept talking and hanging out and the rest is history.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's great. Tell me about your parents. Like I said, I'm a huge fan of your mom. It's odd. It's obvious that she's one of the people in this district that really stands out to me as someone who takes care of other people, looks out for them. Tell me about the lessons that your parents taught you and the way they provided opportunities for you to get you to where you are now.

Jordan:
They're just very selfless people. They just want to do everything for everyone else.  I tease them sometimes that they need to look out for themselves once in a while, just because they are always running around doing things for other people. They didn't want to help from people either. But if it's moving, if  you need this, you need us to coach, you know you can come to our house. They always are very selfless. So just seeing that, I try to strive to be like them and try to help everyone be friends with everyone. Especially traveling and meeting new people in different cultures and try to see what their culture is about. Talking to new people, you know, I try to be just like them. Just be selfless and be friendly with pretty much everyone.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well that those lessons serve you well as you play on various teams and in various countries. We're going to take a quick break and when we come back, find out what's next for Jordan Loveridge and what advice he has for other young athletes.

Break:
If you're ready to start your child on the path to personalized learning, we are ready to help. The Jordan Virtual Learning Academy is coming to Jordan School District in the 2021-22 school year. Three new schools will be opening as part of the Academy, Rocky Peak Virtual Elementary School, Kelsey Peak Virtual Middle School, and Kings Peak High School. Each school will have their own principal and teachers and each will give students a choice in their own learning. The schools will offer synchronous learning, which is teachers providing real time, live online instruction and asynchronous learning where teachers provide videotaped instruction for learning on a student's schedule. To register your student in the Jordan Virtual Learning Academy, visit http://connect.jordandistrict.org.

Jordan:
Jordan, do you ever get the chance to go in and talk with students about basketball or do some school programs where you teach them some drills or anything like that?

Jordan:
So there's usually a school program that we do and I've done it almost every country. We go and talk with the kids, teach them some drills, teach them some stuff that they can do at home that if they do like basketball or if they just want to stay active. We'll go to schools and a couple of times a month and teach a basketball class and then just talk with them a little bit. They get to ask questions and see where we're from and get to learn a little bit from us. So we definitely get to do that and that's always fun to go to the different schools.

Anthony Godfrey:
How has living around the world in these different countries under these different circumstances changed?

Jordan:
It's opened my eyes to different ways of living, different ways to do things. Just traveling and living in smaller places, some bigger places, different cultures, just learning day to day what other people go through and do. It's really helped me grow and helped me realize how fortunate we are for the things that we have. Just simple things like dishwashers or dryers or things like that, you know, that we all have. We take them for granted sometimes, and not everyone has those here and they live just fine and happy. And you know, it's really just opened my eyes to things like that.

Anthony Godfrey:
What's the food like in Finland? Do you like to fish? I think probably.

Jordan:
Yeah, for sure. A lot of fish. They actually have reindeer here, which I never ate before I came here. So I tried reindeer for the first time. It was pretty good. They have a lot of they eat, a lot of moose here.

Anthony Godfrey:
So can you drive through McDonald's and you can get like a moose combo. I'll have the number two reindeer burger and a large fry.

Jordan:
But you can t=go to pizza places and things like that. You can order a reindeer on pizza. You can order moose on pizza and things like that. You can have pasta with moose or reindeer, which is a little different, but you know.

Anthony Godfrey:
I'll have the Blitzen number three, I guess, is what you can order. Well, that's really interesting. That's fascinating. Tell me, what advice would you give to students who aspire to a career in professional sports?

Jordan:
I think just making sure you work hard every day. I mean, it sounds so simple, but you know, not a lot of guys go to the gym every day and stay really consistent. As long as you're consistent and it's something that you love to do. You shouldn't be forced to do it if you don't love it. Maybe there's something else out for you. But if you really do love the play and it's something that you wanted to, there's thousands of leagues in the world that guys are playing professionals. So it's not easy, but if you put in the work, you'll definitely be able to get something out of it.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's great advice. Obviously your love for basketball has not diminished. Who are some of the basketball players that you look up to?

Jordan:
First it was probably just my dad. You know, that's why I wanted to play. He actually was going to play overseas and then my parents were about to have me, so he made the decision to actually stay home and get a job and kind of go away from that dream. And so I felt like I always owed it to him a little bit to pursue basketball. And then I fell in love with it and kind of ran with it. I would probably say after him, Kobe Bryant was a big one for me growing up. Just the way he approached the game and how he just always wanted to compete in every game and every aspect of life. Really, that's how he was. So those two probably were really big for me.

Anthony Godfrey:
When you mentioned Koby, I think about the Black Mamba. Do you have any nicknames?

Jordan Loveridge:
No, mine kind of just stuck from high school. People shortened my name to "J-Love". So that one kind of stuck all the way through college. And then some of my teammates will, if they search me or if they hear stuff or see people post stuff overseas sometimes use that same nickname.

Anthony Godfrey:
J-Love, =that is a good nickname. That really good.

Jordan Loveridge:
It's kind of stuck.

Anthony Godfrey:
How tall are you Jordan?

Jordan:
Six foot six.

Anthony Godfrey:
So I would suspect you stand out a little bit as you walk around Finland.

Jordan Loveridge:
Yeah, for sure.

Anthony Godfrey:
Do they recognize you as a basketball player in that league.

Jordan:
Yeah. I mean, at the stores people will come up and definitely want to shake my hand and just wanna talk, with me. And they definitely want to practice their English. I feel like sometimes they want to come and just say a few words or a few sentences just to have a conversation, because they don't see people from America too much, especially in the town I'm living in. It's a pretty small town. So, I think they love to have people from different cultures and different backgrounds. So it's been fun.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's really exciting. Tell me about the town itself. How big is the town what's comparable here? Would you say?

Jordan:
I couldn't really compare it to anything back home. Maybe a small town like Delta or something like that would be a good comparison. But other than that, I couldn't really compare this because we're very fortunate at home to have a Walmart, every other corporate on every other street. But like here, there's two grocery stores, a couple of gas stations, one gym, there's just not as many things available here.

Anthony Godfrey:
I joked earlier about how much it is dark. How much daylight do you have this time of year?

Jordan:
It just varies. It's been a lot better the past couple of days, but before that, I don't know, it was probably I'd have to say four hours light maybe.

Anthony Godfrey:
Wow. Well, I'm sure this is an unforgettable experience for you to be living in these different countries. Well, you've accomplished so much, Jordan. What's next? What are you looking for now?

Jordan:
For me, I think just winning a European championship would be the icing on the cake. It just would kind of validate, that I was working towards a goal and I want to make a team a champion. I want to be a champion. I've won championships at every level and have a chance to win a championship at the European level. So I think that would be the next great goal I could accomplish.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, I wish you the very best in pursuit of that goal. Go Cobras.

Jordan:
Thank you. Thank you.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, thanks again for joining us. Like I said earlier, guys I work with are envious that I got to interview you today. Everyone who knows you just has such respect for you and not just the way you play, but who you are. And so I really appreciate your taking the time, all the way from Finland. When's your next game?

Jordan:
Tomorrow actually.

Anthony Godfrey:
Who do you play?

Jordan:
The team name is Fire-Ando.

Anthony Godfrey:
Luck against the Fire-Ando and take care of best of luck to you and your family.

Jordan:
Yeah, thanks.

Anthony Godfrey:
Thanks for joining us on another episode of the Supercast. Remember, education is the most important thing you will do today. We'll see ya.