Audio Story No. 1: Connecting With My Jewish Roots

For this assignment, we were to produce a character-focused audio story, along with two photographs and a 100-word text story.

I interviewed Rabbi Adam Grossman from University of Florida Hillel to produce Adam Grossman: The Unconventional Rabbi. As a Jewish person, I am always interested in learning more about Jewish culture, and I was curious about the life story of a rabbi. I wanted to know about the events in a rabbi’s life that make him yearn to study religion and spread knowledge to others.

The most difficult part of this assignment was learning how to use the audio equipment, a wireless mic and zoom mic, and the editing program, Audacity. I had never recorded audio from anything other than my iPhone, and I had never used Audacity. In teaching myself how to record the audio, I used tips from my boyfriend and peers. They had the technical skills to figure out how to use both mics when I could not figure something them. To learn how to use Audacity, I watched videos, such as this one, to teach me how to use it. Through a lot of trial and error, I slowly discovered ways to work efficiently with the program.

I know I still need to become more proficient at editing audio. However, I do recognize that I started this project with zero experience in using high quality audio recorders and programs, and I already see how far I have come.

For my first time producing an audio story, I am proud of what I produced. From Digital Storytelling so far, I have realized how much I enjoy interviewing sources and hearing the stories they share. I could see myself having a career where I do these things, as it brings me a lot of joy.