This week on the text.soul.culture podcast, Dr. Derek McNeil, Senior Vice President of Academics, sits down with Shauna Gauthier, MA in Counseling Psychology ‘10 and Alumni Outreach Coordinator, to introduce her and welcome her as his new co-host, and to talk about the transformative art of listening.
Joining text.soul.culture is a natural outgrowth of Shauna’s work with alumni, an opportunity to share the stories of those who extend the mission of The Seattle School in their vocations and callings. “I love the idea of allowing our alumni to lead us as an institution,” says Shauna, “allowing them and what they’re doing in the world to continue to inform us.”
Derek and Shauna also reflect on how the intimate format of a podcast invites us to slow down, pause, and engage in the sort of listening that fosters transformation. The deep, thoughtful conversations Derek and Shauna will continue hosting on text.soul.culture invite us to hear in a way that opens us to the tragedy, beauty, hope, and pain in the stories of others.
Shauna: “I love to hear stories, I love to be part of sharing stories.”
Derek: “And you’re not simply talking about people telling stories, but people listening to stories. My sense of you is that you’re a deep listener of stories.”
Shauna: “I appreciate that generative listening—it’s listening that really offers life back.”
Stay tuned as Shauna joins Derek in listening to and telling stories on text.soul.culture. In our next episode, we’ll feature a conversation between Shauna and one of our alumni—a conversation that embodies much of what Shauna and Derek talk about today.
Resources to Go Deeper
On Being with Krista Tippett
Derek and Shauna share a deep respect for how Krista Tippett models deep listening.
How Tragedy Shaped My Calling
Before moving back to Seattle, Shauna wrote this blog about how her intimate connection to the Columbine shooting impacted her calling and vocation.
The Healing Art of Making Meaning
At Symposia 2015, Shauna pulled from psychological theory, contemporary research, and her own experience as she offered this talk about how writing can shape the movement of healing from trauma.