Knights HistoryCast

In the final episode of “The 2023 UCF VLP Institute Podcast Series,” we return to an “after-hours” edition as Sebastian Garcia spoke with Nicole Bennett (2nd-grade Teacher at Webster Elementary), Erika Grant (Physical Education Teacher at Webster Elementary), and Judy Lindquist (K-5 Gifted Teacher at Andover Elementary), at the hotel after the entire Day 8 program. This includes the events of Episode 6 (“meta” field trip) and Episo...

In the eighth episode of “The 2023 UCF VLP Institute Podcast Series,” we return to a sit-down conversation with K12 teachers Alecia Bryant (7th Grade Civics Teacher at Meadow Woods Middle School), Angie Hubbart (4th Grade Teacher at Orlando Gifted Academy), and Heaven Wilson (10th Grade World History Teacher). However, having gone through such a transformative morning, the “meta” field trip (Episode 6) and the subsequent roundtable...

In the seventh episode of “The 2023 UCF VLP Institute Podcast Series,” we pick back up where we left off last week: the conclusion of the “meta” field trip and into the roundtable discussion about it. At the zenith of the Institute’s pedagogical and emotional significance, this roundtable discussion was remarkably reflective, insightful, and cathartic for several reasons. First, the roundtable discussion format established a fluid ...

In the sixth episode of “The 2023 UCF VLP Institute Podcast Series,” we’ve reached the climax. At this point in the series, you have heard seven teachers, ranging from 2nd grade to 11th grade, profoundly reflect on their experience at the Institute—from their Veteran bios, to their mini-tours, to their lesson plans, to even how rewarding it has been to collaborate with other educators in the pursuit to memorialize Veterans and impr...

In the fifth episode of “The 2023 UCF VLP Institute Podcast Series,” the “after-hours” edition continued as Sebastian Garcia spoke with two other teachers, Anne Makay (11th-grade U.S. history teacher at Clearwater High School) and Sgt. Maj. Ray Fullard (JROTC Instructor at Edgewater High School) at the hotel after the Day 7 program of the Institute.

Anne Makay’s fascinating candor throughout the conversation further revealed with r...

In the fourth episode of “The 2023 UCF VLP Institute Podcast Series,” Sebastian spoke with three K12 teachers: Sharon Forand, Ryan Dane Rasmussen, and Alexis Wood. Sharon is an ELA and Social Studies teacher at Enterprise Elementary, Ryan is a high school teacher at Freedom High School, and Alexis is a fourth-grade teacher (all subjects) at Azalea Park Elementary.

In the first “after-hours” conversation of the series (recorded at t...

In the third episode of “The 2023 UCF VLP Institute Podcast Series,” Sebastian Garcia had his first conversation with the K12 teachers. The teachers he spoke with were Lisa Bostick and Kristen Reilly, both second-grade teachers at Union Park Elementary and Clay Springs Elementary, respectively. Several key themes get talked about in conversation for the first time in this episode, such as the three deliverables the teachers worked...

In the second episode of “The 2023 UCF VLP Institute Podcast Series,” Jim Stoddard, a reoccurring guest on KHC (Ep. 27 and Ep. 28), hosted the conversation with Dr. Heather P. Venable, an Associate Professor of Military and Security Studies in the Department of Airpower at the United States Air Force’s Air Command and Staff College. Given her successful career in researching and teaching military and Veterans’ history, Dr. Venable ...

In the first episode of “The 2023 UCF VLP Institute Podcast Series,” Sebastian Garcia spoke with Allison Simpson, Command Historian of the Florida National Guard, about the historic St. Francis Barracks, which hosted The 2023 UCF VLP Institute. Currently, the Florida National Guard headquarters, the characteristic coquina building, has an extensive and rich history that extends back to when the Spanish occupied St. Augustine in the...

Welcome to The 2023 UCF Veterans Legacy Program (VLP) Institute Podcast Series, a limited narrative podcast series directed, produced, written, edited, and hosted by Sebastian Garcia. The series focuses on a 10-day educational workshop created by UCF’s Veterans Legacy Program to honor and memorialize Veterans through powerful pedagogical teaching methods given to K-12 teachers across the state of Florida to ensure that the legacy o...

In the final installment of “Operación Pedro Pan: The Voices and Stories of Cuba’s Child Exodus—A Knights HistoryCast Mini-Series,” the Department of History’s Sebastian Garcia talked with Dr. Cecilia Rodríguez-Milanés, a Professor of English with a specialty in Latinx Literature at the University of Central Florida, and Dr. Lisa Nalbone, a Professor of Spanish and Coordinator of the Latin American Studies BA Program at the Univers...

In Part 3 of “Operación Pedro Pan: The Voices and Stories of Cuba’s Child Exodus—A Knights HistoryCast Mini-Series,” the Department of History’s Sebastian Garcia talked with former U.S. Senator Mel Martinez, who served in the U.S. Senate from 2005-2009. Mel Martinez was the first Cuban-American to serve in a presidential cabinet (President George W. Bush, from 2001-2003) and the first-ever Cuban-American to serve in the United Stat...

In Part 2 of “Operación Pedro Pan: The Voices and Stories of Cuba’s Child Exodus—A Knights HistoryCast Mini-Series,” the Department of History’s Sebastian Garcia talked with Barbara Palacios Wessels, a Pedro Pan, who arrived in the United States from Cuba via Operación Pedro Pan (Operation Peter Pan) on September 27, 1962, with her two younger siblings. Barbara was also a panelist from Day 1, Panel 2, which featured “community expe...

In Part 1 of “Operación Pedro Pan: The Voices and Stories of Cuba’s Child Exodus—A Knights HistoryCast Mini-Series,” the Department of History’s Sebastian Garcia talked with Alexis Castellanos, an author, illustrator, graphic novelist, and a panelist at the esteemed, conspicuous, and powerful “Operación Pedro Pan: Honoring the Cultural, Historical Legacy of Cuba’s Child Exodus” Two-Day Program that Florida Humanities, UCF’s Departm...

The Department of History’s Sebastian Garcia attended the 2023 UCF Student Scholar Symposium Event, UCF’s most prominent showcase event of the year, where students from all disciplines can present their research. Sebastian talked with all the students of this year’s program who did historical research, regardless of the student’s major/discipline. Sebastian recorded these interviews LIVE at the event, hence the ambiance in the back...

The Department of History’s Sebastian Garcia talked with Dr. Jennifer Palmer, an Associate Professor of History at the University of Georgia, about her keynote presentation at the 16th Annual Pauley Lecture Series on Global Affairs titled, “To Have and To Hold: Race, Gender, and Property in the French Atlantic World.” Given that the recording of this podcast took place before her lecture presentation, Sebastian took a holistic appr...

The Department of History’s Sebastian Garcia talked with Dr. Mwita Chacha, an Assistant Professor in International Relations at the University of Birmingham, United Kingdom. Dr. Chacha was the keynote speaker at this year’s annual Dr. John T. Washington Lecture Series hosted by the UCF Department of History’s Africana Studies Program. He discussed recent trends in regional cooperation in Africa by identifying the uniqueness of thes...

(Originally published by Sebastian Garcia on March 3rd, 2023) The Department of History’s Sebastian Garcia talked with Mr. Richard Lee Cronin, author, historian, and event coordinator of the Pine Castle Historical Society HISTORY TENT, at the Annual Pine Castle Pioneer Days Event.

This episode is dedicated to and is in honor of Professor Paul W. Wehr.

A Professor of History at UCF since the Department’s inception in 1969, Professor...

(Originally published by Sebastian Garcia on February 16th, 2023) The Department of History’s Sebastian Garcia talked with Dr. Julian Chambliss, a Professor of English with an appointment in History and the Val Berryman Curator of History at the MSU Museum at Michigan State University. He is also the Conference Curator of the 2020-2024 ZORA! Festival Academic Conference Cycle. This podcast focuses explicitly on the 2023 ZORA! Festi...