Purdue Libraries and School of Information Studies News

Grab a Mic and MAKEYOURSTORY: Purdue Undergrad Wins Podcast Contest

February 17th, 2022

Meet Bridget Arnold, the winner of Libraries’ MakeYourStory narrative podcast contest. She’s blazing her own trail at Purdue University, with majors in Anthropology and Organizational Leadership and minors in Spanish and Design & Innovation. The journey to this unique program of study was not without its stumbles, surprises, or sidetracks (into camper living on a Lake Erie island!), but it led Bridget to channel her many passions and regain her sense of purpose after the COVID-19 pandemic upended her first-year college plans. Listen to the story in Bridget’s own words in her award-winning podcast episode, “How Tiny Homes Help Me Explain My Majors.” 

Of her podcasting future, Bridget says, “I do hope to make some more podcasts since it encompasses two things that I love and that I am good at: writing and speaking.” Besides exploring her podcaster potential, Bridget plans to live a life full of travel, adventure, and good stories. “I have lived in Central Indiana my entire life,” she says. “I need to branch out and do some traveling and gain some life experience. Hopefully, my work with the National Parks Service will take me to parks out west, or to areas where I can put my Spanish skills to the test.” After listening to her episode, curious listeners will undoubtedly wonder if her future plans include living in a tiny house. “ I would absolutely live in a tiny home again someday,” Bridget says, “but that is contingent on three criteria: not during the winter, not with another person, and not without a full-time job.” 

The student podcast contest is part of the MakeYourStory podcast series created by Libraries and the Brian Lamb School of Communication. Following the success of 2020-2021’s Diversity and Making podcast and video series, a collaboration between Libraries and the Asian American and Asian Resource and Cultural Center, the MakeYourStory series aims to introduce Purdue students to the beauty of oral storytelling, the craft of writing a compelling narrative, and the tools needed to effectively deliver that narrative through the popular medium of podcasting. The next episode of MakeYourStory will be released in late February 2022. 

Bonus Fact: With eight libraries on Purdue’s campus, we asked Bridget if she has any favorite Libraries spaces. “I’m a third or fourth floor of HSSE kind of gal,” she says. “There’s something particularly comforting about being surrounded by books while I’m trying to work. Sometimes, when I need a break, I go up and check out Archives, too.”