Episodes

It seems the dream for so many high schoolers today is to become social media famous. With over 30 million videos posted daily to TikTok, the odds of more than just your friends seeing your latest creation is fairly slim.But what happens when a post beats the algorithm odds and breaks through? In February 2023, the members of the band visionblur had their viral moment as their cover of Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" in their first-ever live performance exploded on the social media app. ...

In this special episode recorded live from the Pennsylvania Convention Center at the end of June 2023, we sat down with 37 attendees of the 2023 ISTE Conference, including educators, industry experts, and students, to gather their best tech tips, time management hacks and other strategies to assist with a successful 9th grade experience. The guests on today's episode come from diverse perspectives from all over the world offering quick, innovative approaches and personal anecdotes about what the...

It has been almost six months since his last appearance, so we could not close out the 2022-2023 school year without having Cole Stuchko appear one more time on the podcast to reflect on his 9th grade campaign. Cole has been busy since December finishing up the basketball season, taking midterm exams, trying out and making the varsity tennis team and completing the year with final exam preparation. In this episode he talks about the importance of starting the year off strong to make the end of y...

Rosemary Lamparella, the current S.T.E.P. teacher at Emmaus High School, sees in her daily work the importance of helping students adapt, grow, and change to build the skills necessary to become members of a school and local community. Even though May was Mental Health Awareness Month, she knows the social and emotional challenges high school students face can present throughout the year, even as we approach the summer vacation and strives to provide students the knowledge and support to assist ...

As the Executive Director of the Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center, Ashley Coleman is one of the lead advocates and activists for the LGBTQ+ community in the Lehigh Valley. But the work that has taken her all over the United States began as a member of the Emmaus High School graduating class of 2003. As one of the only black and openly gay members of her class, Coleman didn’t have the option of being quiet, but rather leaned into the role of fighting for herself and others like her at EHS....

In the first of our senior rewind episodes, we catch up with Emmaus High School basketball players Dylan Darville and Chase Muckey, two guests from one of our most popular episodes (Season 2, Episode 16). In February 2020, Darville and Muckey were members of a freshman team that finished with a 25-1 record and promise to restore Emmaus Boys Basketball tradition. Through many ups and downs, their high school careers culminated this year with a regular season league championship, a trip to the PPL...

For the first time since 2020, the EHS World Language Department hosted the EPSD International Fair on Saturday, February 25, 2023. A celebration of culture, food, music, and traditions, this event highlighted many of the unique backgrounds of EHS students and community members in a celebration of our school's diverse population. In this episode, we talked to the students that created presentations to represent their chosen countries as well as Mrs. Babbitt and Mrs. Kalb, who organized the event...

Chris Singleton’s personal story has a 9th grade year that isn’t much different than your typical student. He wanted to play varsity sports, found an interest in books, got a low grade in a class for the first time, and had a first relationship. The years that followed sent Chris on many different paths, eventually winding up at Kalahari Resorts on February 14, 2023, to give a Keynote speech at the PETE&C technology conference. He then stuck around for a brief chat recorded for the podcast. Chri...

This episode is a wrap-up for the 9th Grade Experience Podcast’s appearance at the Pennsylvania Education Technology Expo and Conference (PETE&C) Kalahari Resorts in Pocono Mountain, Pennsylvania, on Monday, February 13, 2023. This is the third time the podcast has been invited to present at the conference. The conversation featured on this episode were taken from the session titled “Taking the Podcasting Plunge to Tell Your Story” which was held on the first day of the 4-day event “that provide...

Midterms exams can be a stressful time for students. For all Emmaus High School students except for seniors, this year will be the first time they have taken a traditional middle of the year assessment while in high school. In this episode, we hope to ease that anxiety with helpful tips and strategies to overcome the challenge. First, we hear from school counselor Mrs. Demchak about the importance of coming up with a plan of preparation, the importance of scheduling breaks and self care time dur...

It took until the first snow day of the 2022-2023 school year on December 15, 2022, but we are finally back with the latest edition of the Cole Cast, featuring Cole Stuchko. It has been several months since we last spoke and a lot has happened during that time. Topics we covered in the episode include the need to stay on top of classwork as the academic rigor increases, how to work back when you don't get the grades that you want in a certain class, highlights of the beginning of the school yea...

As we approach the Thanksgiving holiday, it's a great time to look back and reflect on the many positives in our lives for the fourth annual Attitude of Gratitude special episode. Members of the Emmaus High School community took time during this busy period of the school year to share a little bit about what makes them #EastPennProud and thankful. So before you fill your plate food, once again fill yourself with an attitude of gratitude with the students and staff at EHS. Previous Attitude of Gr...

When students have been asked what topics they want to hear more about on the 9th Grade Experience, mental-health related conversation is at the top of the list. Zoe Gaumer hopes her story about overcoming her own mental health battles can allow students to feel that they are not alone in dealing with their own struggle. Some of the topics Zoe covers in this conversation include The Reality of 9th grade versus what you see in the movies Her role and participation in Aevidum and her goal of pres...

As part of their on-going mission as an organization that allows students to facilitate diversity awareness and devise anti-bullying projects that affect the entire student body., the No Place for Hate club welcomed Dr. Mykee Fowlin to EHS on Friday, September 16, to perform his one-man show “You Don't Know Me Until You Know Me.” Dr. Mykee mixes psychology, performance, and poetry to, in his own words, “create an atmosphere of worldwide inclusion, not just tolerance, towards all people.” In this...

The first day of school presents challenges to all high school students, but especially to the newest members of the school community. To get the instant reaction to the first day of the 2022-23 school year for the Class of 2026, we catch up with Cole Stuchko for the August edition of the Cole Cast. We spoke about the benefit of walking through his schedule before the first day, what the lunch experience was like, and overall impressions of Emmaus High School. Stay tuned all the way through the ...

New school years often bring change, but the 2022-2023 school year begins with a new principal leading Emmaus High School. Beth Guarriello, previously the principal at Southern Lehigh HS and Saucon Valley HS, will look to create a safe, welcome and challenging environment for all EHS students. She is focused on helping students find their niche, create community, and have fun! In this episode, we cover: Her freshman experience at Freedom High School The goals she has for students during their fi...

Welcome to Season 5 of the 9th Grade Experience! In the summer kickoff of new episodes to gear up for the 2022-2023 school year and new season, the podcast is debuting a new feature: a regular interview segment with my son, Cole Stuchko, who will be entering 9th grade. He has agreed to come at least monthly to give us a first-hand account of the what life is like as an Emmaus High School freshmen. On this episode, we talk about his summer preparations for the new school year, seeing his prelimin...