Maya McFadden Photo
Danyele McCrory performs on Crosstalk.
With a guitar in hand, Wilbur Cross junior Danyele McCrory strummed a Pearl Jam song she first heard in a video game — a musical discovery that sparked her interest in learning an instrument, and that ultimately led to her showcasing her talents on a new student-led podcast.
McCrory played that tune on CrossTalk, a podcast hosted by Wilbur Cross students, last Wednesday morning.
In the second-floor classroom of educator Laura Kosky, Cross juniors and best friends Danyele McCrory and Daniel Cardenas Novoa sat beside each other with a microphone between them.
Wednesday’s episode was an interview by Daniel with Danyele about her musical journey. This episode marks CrossTalk’s sixth episode since April.
CrossTalk came about when Wilbur Cross Principal Matt Brown talked with Kosky about finding a way to spotlight students’ talents and learning. Kosky was able to incorporate her digital media skills into the project aimed at providing a platform for youth to have real conversations and share their stories.
In an email comment provided to the Independent, Brown described CrossTalk as a powerful outlet for student voices to be amplified on topics of their choice. So far, he said, the projects’ first few episodes have been inspiring.
“They are learning a wide range of super relevant skills in terms of the technical aspects of creating good questions, interview techniques, recording and editing,” Brown said. “But more importantly they are engaging in work that is authentic and relevant to them and our Cross community — with all of us as listeners the beneficiaries.”
The podcast kicked off in April after Kosky spent March gauging student interest and building a website on which to publish the students’ work. “It’s been amazing to see students bring their different talents into the project and make it truly their own,” she said.
So far CrossTalk has featured episodes focused on Cross’ track athletes, chess and soccer teams, theatre, and students’ immigration stories. Click here to listen.
For last Wednesday’s episode, Daniel with Danyele began with a read through of Daniel’s questions and a mic check. While Daniel took a sip of water, Danyele tuned her acoustic guitar in preparation to perform live on the podcast.
Click here to listen to the newest episode.
“Take a deep breath … Remember, don’t talk too fast,” Kosky advised from behind her classroom computer, managing tech as the students prepared.
She also encouraged the students to raise their hand in the middle of recording if they misspeak or want to redo a talking point to make editing easier later. Cross student Naruna created the CrossTalk intro and outro music for episodes and does some of their audio engineering.
Daniel introduced Wednesday’s topic after hitting play on the laptop beside them. He used his acting skills to improvise follow up questions and talking points during the episode.
“I am here with someone whose talent and passion for music really stand out, my best friend Danyele, a gifted vocalist, songwriter, and all around creative force here at Cross,” he said.
Daniel Cardenas Novoa talks music and inspiration with best friend Danyele.
Daniel spoke honestly during the podcast conversation about how his deep dive into Danyele’s music journey provided him with new information about his best friend. He said he looks forward to listeners having that same experience once the episode is released.
During Wednesday’s episode recording, Danyele shared that her love for music began as a child listening to music constantly with her parents. More recently, she shared, she was inspired to pick up acoustic guitar as she played the video game, “The Last of Us: Part II.”
“One of the main characters plays guitar and I so badly wanted to be able to play that song,” she said.
She bought her first guitar on Amazon for $40 and began teaching herself to play in October 2022.
That specific song that Danyele heard in the video game, which she played live during Wednesday’s episode, was a cover of Pearl Jam’s “Future Days” played by Troy Baker.
Danyele also explained that when writing or learning new songs, she looks for a tune that inspires her. “What good music is to me is music that I can feel, and so I try to recreate that a lot,” she said.
Daniel next asked what music inspires her most. She listed off artists like Sam Cooke and Marvin Gaye.
A few months ago, Danyele wrote her first song from scratch on her own. Now she and her father are collaborating to come up with a title for the tune. She looks to inspire people who listen to her music, like the inspiration she gains when listening to a good song.
While Danyele kept her guitar in hand during Wednesday’s interview, it wasn’t until around four minutes into the interview that Daniel called out “Hit it!” and prompted her to strum inspiration into the room.
After a concluding “Cross Fire” of rapid interview questions, Daniel closed out the episode reminding listeners to “keep creating, keep dreaming, and as always, stay connected, Cross.”
After the students successfully recorded the five-minute episode, they celebrated with chocolate snacks from Kosky.
When asked why the podcast matters to them, Danyele said it offers Cross students the chance to open up more about themselves and reveal the many talents students have. “It’s easy to feel overlooked usually, so this is a good way to tell people’s stories.”
Daniel added that the podcast gives students like himself the chance to have a voice and show their true selves. “There’s big things that happen at Cross,” he said.
The duo agreed that they look forward to the many series students have been discussing to bring to CrossTalk in the future. For CrossTalk, Daniel said, “it doesn’t matter who you are. As long as you have a voice, you are included.”
Kosky pointed to potential budget cuts to arts staffers in schools across the district as underscoring the significance of CrossTalk.
“Teens should have voices and not just be overshadowed by the older generations. A lot of issues are not said because kids’ voices are not heard,” Daniel said. He said that young people should be asked by adults for their thoughts on a wide range of issues affecting schools in this day and age, from career opportunities to programming to the threat of school shootings. “There’s a lot of issues that need to be talked about and the adults are talking but never question the kids about how we feel.”
Danyele agreed, adding that school should be teaching students that their voices matter, not that they don’t. The podcast, she said, provides her peers and adults with perspectives from 16-year-olds like themselves, which matters because “in a few years we will be voting, taking jobs, and in government, and it’s important for us right now to get a grip of what it’s like to be in power as a kid.”
She concluded by describing CrossTalk as the rare chance to avoid “silencing the future.”
Kosky helps get podcast ready for students.
"There's a lot of issues that need to be talked about, and the adults are talking but never question the kids about how we feel."
