When the road takes an unexpected turn, it's the grit and grace of individuals like Nathan Witt that remind us of our capacity to evolve. Join us as we unravel Nathan's remarkable transformation from a college dropout to an esteemed leader at UT Tyler. His journey is not just a tale of personal triumph but a testament to the power of community engagement and the fortitude required to influence change. Embarking on various roles, from editor-in-chief to radio show producer, while maintaining his status as a full-time student, Nathan exemplifies what it means to stretch oneself like Ivy, reaching out for new opportunities to learn and lead.
Have you ever pondered what drives a person to rebuild their life from the ground up? This episode peeks into the pivotal moments of Nathan's life that sparked a fire within him—a fire for purpose, patience, and a relentless quest for growth. We examine the influence of family, the birth of a business-minded approach, and the heartwarming commitment to rejuvenate a local skate park through a nonprofit venture. Nathan's narrative paints a vivid picture of how passions can be channeled into purposeful actions, elevating not just oneself but the entire community.
As we close our rich and enlightening conversation, we're left reflecting on the essence of growth and the beauty of being 'pulled' by passion. Nathan's insights set the stage for future episodes of 'Roots to Branches,' where we will continue to offer our listeners authentic and vulnerable discussions that delve into the very core of our being. Stay tuned to 99.7 KVUT – UT Tyler Radio and Talon Student Media for more episodes that promise to share, inspire, and connect us all on a deeper level.
When the road takes an unexpected turn, it's the grit and grace of individuals like Nathan Witt that remind us of our capacity to evolve. Join us as we unravel Nathan's remarkable transformation from a college dropout to an esteemed leader at UT Tyler. His journey is not just a tale of personal triumph but a testament to the power of community engagement and the fortitude required to influence change. Embarking on various roles, from editor-in-chief to radio show producer, while maintaining his status as a full-time student, Nathan exemplifies what it means to stretch oneself like Ivy, reaching out for new opportunities to learn and lead.
Have you ever pondered what drives a person to rebuild their life from the ground up? This episode peeks into the pivotal moments of Nathan's life that sparked a fire within him—a fire for purpose, patience, and a relentless quest for growth. We examine the influence of family, the birth of a business-minded approach, and the heartwarming commitment to rejuvenate a local skate park through a nonprofit venture. Nathan's narrative paints a vivid picture of how passions can be channeled into purposeful actions, elevating not just oneself but the entire community.
As we close our rich and enlightening conversation, we're left reflecting on the essence of growth and the beauty of being 'pulled' by passion. Nathan's insights set the stage for future episodes of 'Roots to Branches,' where we will continue to offer our listeners authentic and vulnerable discussions that delve into the very core of our being. Stay tuned to 99.7 KVUT – UT Tyler Radio and Talon Student Media for more episodes that promise to share, inspire, and connect us all on a deeper level.
Speaker 1:
We all start somewhere our roots. What defines us, shapes us and prepares us for the journey ahead. How we got there is just as important as where we are. What did it take to make it? What tools are needed on the path to success? What keeps us reaching further, like branches on a tree? Roots to Branches is a conversational podcast about the different paths that people take through life. Our goal is to find notes of wisdom and inspirational people.
Speaker 2:
I'm currently sitting here with Nathan Witt, the current editor-in-chief of the Talent Student Media at UT Tyler and a content creator or Show producer. Show producer Show producer at 99.7 KVUT, ut Tyler Radio Board member and founder of the Flint and Steel Coalition and full-time student Studying PR and economics. Yeah, nathan is also a friend, more than anything, and the co-host of this podcast. Welcome, nathan. What's up, man?
Speaker 1:
Welcome to your show, our show man. This is awesome, excited to get it going.
Speaker 2:
The previous episode was Nathan interviewing me talking about roots. I consider Nathan to be a little further along in the journey because Nathan is a leader a lot on campus. Nathan is a strong figure in the UT Tyler community, Having podcasts, multiple podcasts available for listening, with this being added to the roster. As well as heading the Talent Student Media Group. He's got a lot on his plate. He's a very admirable guy who's just always busy, working hard. Nathan, I'm really happy to have you here. I've got a few questions for you. I'm going to start with the staple question that we've decided we want to ask in every single episode, which is if you were a plant, what plant would you be?
Speaker 1:
Well, first I want to respond to I don't think that I'm farther ahead than you, so I want to clear that up right now. I I. It's definitely not a race and there's not positions, but if there were, I definitely wouldn't be any farther ahead. I can guarantee that much.
Speaker 1:
He's a full-time humble guy, but uh, goodness, but uh, just trying to be a full-time honest guy. But, um, I think and I've been thinking about the question a lot because I didn't expect to have to answer it and then when we were like, oh, we should ask that every time, I was like oh, yeah, and then you walked out of the room and I was like oh no.
Speaker 1:
I have to answer that. So I think I'm gonna go with Ivy because of how it is always reaching and it tries to be expansive, and that's something that I really prioritize in my life is to always be reaching, always be growing, to be expansive. With my knowledge, with my care, with my experiences, I'm always trying to behave the way that Ivy behaves, so it's also it's, it's pretty. So I hope that you know he's a handsome guy.
Speaker 2:
Um, I think that plays well into branches, which is what this podcast would be considered. Uh, it would be me interviewing someone who's who's got a few accomplishments to talk about and, going over your resume, I've definitely seen some very impactful things that you've done. Everything you do, or everything that I see you do, seems to be very outwardly focused. You don't seem to be a very selfish individual, which is a great quality and a very admirable quality in you, thank you. Got another question for you how would other people in your circle describe you to someone who has never met you?
Speaker 1:
Right and that's so hard to know. You know you can. You can only hope you know, and you can only guess how someone else would describe you. You can only hope you know and you can only guess how someone else would describe you. Um, I hope that people would describe me as patient. You know, um, especially as most of my friends, if not all of my friends, um, I am close to them because of some kind of business relationship or something like that. Um, you know, all my staff here on campus are, you know, that's a close friend circle for me. Um, I I hope that patient is somewhere in there, um, especially if it's business related.
Speaker 1:
I I try very hard, um to be slow to act, um and quick to think, and so, um, I I'm sure that intense is going to be one of the words that are in there somewhere, sometimes to a fault, hopefully, most of the time positive. But yeah, I'm very extreme when it comes to my ideas, when it comes to my feelings, and I'm someone who believes that you put all that out there be as transparent as possible. So there's a lot of intensity to me. Um, I'm not much of a small talker. Um, I don't know.
Speaker 1:
I wish I was better at it, but for some reason, like my mind, it's like I said, the intensity I'm just not on. You know, I don't want to talk too much about the weather unless the weather is going to ruin an event we have planned, you know. So that's that's kind of um, not to be one of those guys who's like I only want to talk about the socioeconomic state of it. It's not that, but it's um. Yeah, I'm a, I like momentum, I like movement and so, um, hopefully that's kind of along the line someone used to describe me.
Speaker 2:
I definitely feel that I could agree that, knowing you, I would definitely describe you as a very business guy. You mean business in a friendly and very, very passionate way.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, that comes from my family man. It's weird. We are a business family like since my, my grandpa, yeah.
Speaker 2:
Really yeah. Can you talk about your journey from becoming an incoming student to an on-campus leader?
Speaker 1:
Yeah. So, um, the journey starts with me dropping out. The journey starts with me, um, like taking two and a half or not two and a half a year and a half, um, failing multiple classes. I was in a fraternity, living the movie college life, where you know I just wasn't taking things seriously. I wasn't there for me, you know I I was there because, like you mentioned in last episode, the checklist, you know I was following the checklist and the checklist, after graduate high school, was go to college and that's all I was doing. And so the journey to be a campus leader became, or came from, first understanding the purpose of a college.
Speaker 1:
You know, dropped out was trying to kind of find myself, um and uh, in a very similar vein as you is like I needed, I need to work on myself. You know I needed to water that plant and, um, along the way I found this um, you know kind of phrase that I use a lot. You know, talking to myself was just follow care, you know just what do you care about, and then just follow that and it takes you to great the best places, and so, um, that's what it did for me. It started the whole non-profit and and it was only through that that I realized I needed to go back to college, because I was running a business that I didn't know how to do.
Speaker 1:
And then, when I got here back on campus, I realized how valuable everything around me was and I started to care a lot about it. And so, when I joined the talent, I joined just because I cared. And then, um, I didn't want to apply for editor in chief, but the outgoing editor chief talked me into it, cause he's like dude, all you do is talk about ideas, about how to make this thing better. You know, you obviously care about this thing. You should take it on. And so, um, the journey has literally just been following care.
Speaker 2:
That's very inspiring. I think that speaks to a lot of people who are confused about direction. A lot of people go to college to like the checklist thing. It's just another thing, it's just what you do, but there are so many opportunities in college to follow your care. It definitely took a lot of seeing that. Yeah, you know so. Yeah, it definitely took. It took a lot of seeing that, uh yeah, the answers aren't outside, yeah. Yeah, can you speak a little bit more about your nonprofit? Yeah?
Speaker 1:
Um, so it, it came from selfishness, um, which, yeah, I know you viewers can't see. You rose your eyebrows like and and I love telling it in this way um, because now I mean, it's this very community-focused thing and it's been awesome for Mineola and I love sharing. I can share so many success stories. But it started from pure selfishness of I was at a campus in Dallas, got shut down because of the pandemic, you know, shut down all campus, and moved back to Mineola and I had found skateboarding was like this huge kind of like what running is to you. Skateboarding was my moment to be active but to be in thought. You know, and we had this in Mineola, this, I mean very run down, dilapidated skate park. It was all wooden ramps. You couldn't skate any of them because they were falling over and had holes in them and stuff. And so, um, for my own self, I just reached out to the owner of the park, um, which was this church, who said, um, you know, they're mostly, um, as far as like, staff, wise, mostly older people. And they said you know, we would love for this, we've got some money to to renovate the park. And they said you know, we would love for this. We've got some money to renovate the park, but, um, we don't have anybody who can, you know, do the labor of building the ramp. So we've got a thousand dollars sitting here if you want to go buy some wood and build some ramps. And so, um, that's where it started was just me doing that for me?
Speaker 1:
And, um, when I was growing up, I was in the wrong crowds. I was the kid your parents would not let you hang out with, and you know my friend group. Most of them didn't go off to college, and so, when I came back to Mineola, simultaneously as a skate park, I'm building these little ramps. Day in and day out, I'm hearing stories of these kids that I've lived in Mineola my whole life, so stories of these kids who were, you know, we learned to write our names together are dead because they overdosed or they killed themselves or they're in prison, and maybe I should phrase that differently because of what this podcast is. A lot of them weren't with us anymore, and day in and day out, it was hearing these very painful stories of these people I love and have known my entire life going to a place of no return. And so, simultaneously as all this is happening. I'm building these ramps and these group of high schoolers come out and start skating. And man, how I wish that they would build the ramps with me. They never would. They would skate the ramps I had already built. But I was out there building ramps and just kind of listening to their dynamic, you know, just kind of being in their presence and around them, just kind of being in their presence and around them.
Speaker 1:
Different characters in that friend group started to remind me of characters in my friend group when I was in high school. Then they started to talk to me and stuff and I would butt in. Then they started to tell me things like hey, we found a guy who sells weed. We're going to try weed for the first time this weekend. Or you know, you know, my cousin bought us a wine bottle from the gas station and we got drunk and I realized this is my friend group of the next generation and they are headed down the exact same path that we walked down.
Speaker 1:
And you know, there are a lot of people that I love and grew up with that I'll never be able to save, but I might be able to save the next one, and so, um, that's where the whole nonprofit formed around is we realized, okay, places like the skate park draw these disenfranchised characters. I know me too, man, me too, the skate park draws these disenfranchised characters. And so the other thing that I have realized is, with my friends who I have lost and am losing to this day, um, you know, I, I, I just had another friend very tragically, um, uh, accidentally, take someone else's life because they were under the influence, and so that's another friend. You know that I've lost and, and so I'm still losing friends, and though I have tried to help the ones who are down that far, down that path, what I've realized is that you, you can't fix anybody. You can't fix anybody, people can only fix themselves. And you can give them every type of fire starter and a mountain of wood. The only person that can light a fire under their rear end is themselves. And so that's what the nonprofit is, is we give you fire resources and then we try to encourage you to light the fire for yourself.
Speaker 1:
And so it's, it's grown into. We have this skate park. Right now, we're building this community studio for all these different avenues of art, whether it's graphic design or music or painting, and even some weird like barbers, like we're counting that as art. You know, you're sculpting people's hair, and so that's kind of the heart behind it is. It came from selfishness. The heart behind it is, um, it came from selfishness and then it came from realizing, you know, these kids who become monsters don't start as monsters. That's what I kept hearing and it was. It was devastating to hear these stories. Coming back to Mineola, of my friends, who I, you know, we used to laugh at the color blue type stuff. You know super innocent kids and now they're described as as monsters, you know, as demons, and and me knowing that they didn't start that way and so something must've gone wrong and so, um, that's the whole nonprofit. It's, it's sorry, a tangent way too long, but it's all about trying to stop people from taking too many steps in the wrong direction.
Speaker 2:
So that is beautiful man, that's really beautiful. Thank you for sharing that. You know. I think you've talked a little bit about what inspired you to start that nonprofit, but what inspired you to take care of yourself.
Speaker 1:
Um, well, um. So, like I mentioned, I, I was one of those kids on the path. You know, um, I was not like the good, you know, among the sinners, like I was. I was right there with it and had a lot of problems and was handling them in every wrong way. And, um, I tried to to put a stop to it, to the whole thing. And um, you know it was, I had tried multiple times and I hope he doesn't mind me sharing this story Um, but I had gone to behavioral health clinics.
Speaker 1:
I mean, I must've tried 60 different medications. Um, I mean, we tried everything. I, I moved and I moved and um, I had put my parents through years of so much turmoil and stress and, um, I had a breakdown and I texted my dad and I was like dude. I, I had a breakdown and I texted my dad and I was like dude. I don't know if I can do this. I think I'm ready to give up and I think I'm just going to call it quits. And he called me and he'll understand if this is not a war that you can win.
Speaker 1:
I do not want you to suffer forever and, as much as it hurts me, I give you permission to let go, and it was devastating and I thought, for sure I was going to go home and be done. And that was the first moment I ever started living for myself is when he allowed me to not live for them, and it was through that that I found the very similar feeling that you have now of no one else is going to do it. No one else is going to do it, no one else is going to do it. If you're going to live, you have one thing and one thing only to be responsible for, and it's you and no one else is responsible for it.
Speaker 2:
And and that's what woke me up, man, I, I cannot thank you enough for for opening up and and being being vulnerable, that's what this podcast is about right. It is, and it's what people need to hear is that it's not always a straight path. Never, in fact. You're right, man, it's never a straight path. What advice would?
Speaker 1:
you give to someone who is in a similar situation as yourself. Sorry for my sniffles. Yeah, here one sec. We can just take a sec.
Speaker 2:
Okay, what advice would you give to someone who is in a similar boat as you were?
Speaker 1:
Give up, and what I mean by that is start over, because if it's not working, then it's wrong. If life is not working for you, obviously it works, so that must mean something in the way you've got it figured out has to be corrected. And that's what it was for me. I gave up on everything. I gave up on a hope. I, I, I found a hope for the future by giving up hope, all hope in any future. You know, I, it was only through like pure selfishness that I ever discovered a hope for changing lives of my community.
Speaker 1:
You know like it sounds so counterintuitive, but like start from scratch, like scrap it all, like, even if that means like like. For me it was dropping out of college, quitting my job Like the lowest of the low is super broke. It was miserable, but I rebuilt from the ground up, and sometimes, as much as it sucks, like you got to do that. You just got to rebuild from the ground up and learn forgiveness to yourself and pursue failure. You know, um, the only difference between a loss and a lesson is what you do after it, and so, um, that's that would be my advice.
Speaker 2:
And so, um that's, that would be my advice In a time where we're just passing is the goal.
Speaker 1:
What is pushing you to strive for more Care? You know, um, it brings me back to to, um, follow care. And you say in your question, you say push. And especially this year, I've been really trying to get away from feeling pushed. I want to feel pulled. You know, I want to be pulled because chasing I used to be obsessed with the word chase like chase your dreams, right, so it's so intense. Like chase is a is a reckless pursuit. But reckless pursuits are dangerous and exhausting, Um, and for me, like I'm, I'm led by faith and so, like the Bible says that God leads the way, so I, I, I don't, I'm not pushed. God doesn't push us, he leads us, and so I follow, I follow care, and it pulls. And so I really really suggest to anybody who is looking to like, especially like, just stay on top of things is like, stop being pushed and start being pulled.
Speaker 1:
You know, pulled by your love for something you know um the uh, if you're, if you're familiar with um, the religion, taoism. Um the Tao talks about um, this concept of um. Don't do Find a way to be still enough to hear what's pulling you. I don't know what it'll be pulling. Everyone is pulled by something different, but we're all there, you know. The Christians will call it the Holy Spirit. Right, it's something at your very core is pulling you in a direction. Most of the time, our life is so busy and chaotic and important air quotes important that we don't give enough pause to listen to where that pull is taking us. Or we're too stubborn and attached to okay, you're pulling me left, but I have built the past three years of my life to go right, so I can't possibly go left, and so we ignore the pull.
Speaker 2:
Are there any particular resources or support systems at the university that you have found especially helpful in achieving your goals?
Speaker 1:
The professors, a hundred percent. The professors is why I'm obsessed with higher ed. You know. It's what the ADR podcast is really all about. Um, because this is the only place in the world where experts of like every field you can think of are here for one reason and one reason only, and that's to sharpen you, like they exist in this space to sharpen you. Every expert of every like these are especially a four-year university. These are cutting edge. You know professionals in their field. If you're a college student thinking about college, take every advantage. Anybody who is going to say something about you being some kind of teacher's pet or kind of, give you a hard time, dude it does not matter.
Speaker 1:
It does not matter because these professors are so valuable. I mean, I pursue relationships with professors because of the well of knowledge that they are, so absolutely professors.
Speaker 2:
How do you navigate networking and building connections within your field while still a student? Any advice for students looking forward? Any advice for students looking to expand their professional network?
Speaker 1:
Yeah, um, the first thing is freelancing. You know, freelancing for super cheap. You're not going to pick, like abandon the going rate. Do flyers, as for me, it's graphic design, but you know, do it. For me it started with doing flyers for favors, you know, for free. Like, you know, um, I've got a friend who's a DJ. Like, I make him flyers in exchange for free entry into the bar. You know, like that's the, that kind of starts, and that guy's got a friend and when someone asks him, it's that word of mouth thing. You know, if you've been good to him, he'll suggest you.
Speaker 1:
Um, a lot of patience has to happen to to build that network. It does not happen overnight or over month, you know, um, another big thing is like I do these things. I used to do them every Friday. I don't do them as frequently anymore because too many of them have been caught, but I do these things called Hail Mary emails. It's what got the nonprofit off the ground. And so every Friday I would sit down and I would ask myself whatever project we're working on right, for example, like the skate park, right, when we wanted to make the skate park concrete, I made a list. I made a list 20 of the 30 Of the best Skate park designers, the coolest people in that field, who I would just Love to work with, it would just be amazing to work with and I just send them emails, hail Mary emails. There's no way that this person is ever going to respond.
Speaker 1:
When we started on the music studio, I've sent like 3 emails to Rick Rubin. There's no way he's ever going to respond. You know, when we started on the music studio, I've sent like three emails to Rick Rubin. There's no way he's ever going to respond. Love Rick Rubin, I do too, but sometimes they respond and then, when they do, it's a Hail Mary pass in the end zone. It's a legendary thing. And so like, our skate park is designed by a guy who worked for he's worked for the X games, he's worked for street league. When we got in contact from him, he had just come back from China designing their Olympic skate park. Like this guy way out of our range, tiny little miniola, Texas, you know, less than 10,000 people, um, so like, do that? Pursue failure? You know, pursue failure. And and um, those Hail Mary emails. If you're trying to start out, I'm a huge advocate for that, super cool.
Speaker 2:
Finally, looking back on your journey, what do you consider to be the most important lesson or insight you've gained during your time at university?
Speaker 1:
There's a million, there's a million Um and I I hope I haven't learned it yet. You know, cause I've got I've still got a year, but um, so far it's just been like don't wait till you feel ready. You know, um, just just go, just go, just jump, just leap Um. You know, I think every opportunity I've taken since I've been here, in the back of my head I'm like I don't know if I can and I don't know if I'm good enough for this, I don't know if I'm ready for this, I don't know if I'm whatever Um, and you just jump and you're not, and you're not ready for it and you're not skilled enough for it. But you develop that along the way and so by far that's been the best lesson.
Speaker 2:
Nathan, I'm really thankful for your time and your words. I'm really excited for our future with this podcast in the compelling discussions that we get to have. I've really appreciated everything you've had to say and I'm thankful for you being here and being vulnerable with me.
Speaker 1:
Thank you, it's been a great experience. I'm excited as well. All right, well, thank you. Thanks, garrett. Roots to Branches is brought to you by 99.7 KVUT. Ut Tyler Radio, a public service of the College of Arts and Sciences from the University of Texas at Tyler. This podcast is also made in partnership with Talon Student Media. You can stream this podcast and follow the episodes on your favorite podcast streaming platforms. You can also follow our social media for news on upcoming episodes and highlights. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are not direct reflections of the views and opinions of UT Tyler or the UT System.