Today we’d like to introduce you to Gillian Navarro.
Hi Gillian, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I transferred to the University of Texas at Austin during my sophomore year. I came in as an English major because I thought I wanted to be a writer; as it turns out, I did, just not that kind of writing. Before applying to UT, I was advised by a friend that I should get into journalism; the first thing that came into my mind was becoming a newscaster, which is just something I did not want to do. So therefore, I chose English. The classes were exciting, and I learned a lot from them, but it didn’t feel right. I still felt like that wasn’t my path in life. I lived with two girls at the time, one of them being a journalism major, and we talked about all of my options. She told me about her outstanding professors who wrote for outlets like The New York Times, National Geographic, The Austin Chronicle, etc. I remember thinking, “wow, that’s what I want to do.” You know? Who wouldn’t want to be taught by the people that were once in a position you would like to be in? So, I wrote out my application to switch my major. I wrote my short essay in one sitting, talking about how I think journalism is an essential aspect of our society because people need to stay in the know and gather information to make informed decisions and opinions. I also remember talking about how I believe that this is the right path for me, at least, most of my peers thought so. Anyway, long story short, I became a journalism major, and it was the best decision of my entire life.
The first few courses were tailored to the foundation of journalism and how to be a good journalist, which was so interesting, and I still read those notes two years later. I admit that finding my way within journalism was not easy because it’s so broad. I couldn’t figure out what I wanted to do with my life. I saw people writing for The Daily Texan, Spark Magazine, Afterglow, etc… and I hadn’t looked into anything else. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy writing, and I’d like to think that I’m not half-bad at it, but was it something I wanted to do my entire life? I’ve always been good at talking with people and am pretty tech-savvy as I have worked with Apple as a technical advisor for the past two years.
In my final semester at UT, I finally gave myself a break from writing and decided to curate my class schedule on other skills I thought I wanted to learn regardless of whether I thought I would pass or fail the course. The two courses that changed my life were Intro Coding for Journalists and the Podcast Capstone. In the past, I failed a coding course that was focused on python, so I thought that I would never be able to understand any language as complex as that. In Intro Coding for Journalists, I learned HTML, CSS, Bootstrap, and JavaScript and knew what was happening for the first time. After that course, I passed the class with flying colors and created a website. It was a fantastic feeling, as you can imagine.
At the same time, I was taking that course. I was in a podcast capstone with none other than Robert Quigley, the associate director of the school of journalism and media and executive producer of the college of communication’s audio production house, The Drag. Last year, I listened to their podcast and couldn’t believe that students were creating such professional stories. So, when I saw the podcast capstone on the course list, I had to sign up because that was something I wanted to pursue. I thought this would be my niche, and I was right. In this class, we were divided into groups to develop a podcast. Of course, this project would be self-paced, and at the end of the semester, we just had to have made something; it could be a trailer, a social media campaign, a script, or anything.
Originally, our group of four wanted to produce a podcast that was similar to ones that already existed, and it didn’t excite us as much. I remember looking around the classroom to watch all the other groups starting their projects, talking and laughing, and we were just stuck, sitting in a puddle of stress, sweat, and silence. We had no idea what we should do. It wasn’t until we went utterly off-topic and started talking about sex (because come on, we needed to bond, and what better way than talking about our sex lives). I don’t remember who said it, but we joked about having a sex podcast for college students, and then that joke turned serious at the snap of a finger. We started to think of names and then, once again got off-topic, and we all talked about how we prefer latex-free condoms because some of us have allergies. Our eyes locked, and we said, “latex-free. That’s our name.” And just like that, Latex-Free: Students, Sex, & Stuff was born. When we pitched our idea to Quigley, he thought it was great and explained that we needed to make sure that there were no other podcasts like ours. Guess what? There isn’t. Our podcast is for college students to talk about their sexual encounters anonymously and for listeners to gain some reassurance and knowledge about sex. It shouldn’t be as taboo as it is. Throughout the semester, we talked to many students who were willing to share their stories with us and were able to develop a trailer that comes out this Friday, May 27th, and our first episode next week. Through this course, I realized that I wanted to pursue a career in audio storytelling because of the immersive experience it creates for listeners. As of right now, I am still working with that team of four on Latex-Free and am applying to jobs in audio production.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Creating the podcast was not easy, let me tell you. No one likes group projects, and if you do, good for you. The most challenging aspect of the podcast was communicating with one another which led us to be far behind schedule. It was very frustrating, but after sitting down and expressing our concerns, we agreed that we had to start talking to each other or at least just give a thumbs up to a text message. God, it was a pain in the ass. Anything that requires a team effort, let’s be honest is always going to be difficult.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am currently working at Apple as a Mac+ advisor and a podcast producer (self-proclaimed). I am responsible for engineering, mixing, and editing all episodes for the show. I am most proud of the podcast I have created with three other girls. We worked hard on it, and I think we have something unique. There are, of course, podcasts that talk about sex and relationships, but none that focus on one demographic and have real-life stories coming straight from the source.
What makes you happy?
What makes me happy is my friends. My most incredible friends can fit on the one hand, and without them, I wouldn’t have graduated from my dream college, nor would I have found my passion. These girls have stuck by me and have knocked sense into me from time to time. It is hard to find a sound support system and even harder to keep it intact.
Contact Info:
- Website: gilliannavarro.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gilliaannavarro/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/latexfreepod
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/user-163028997
- Other: https://www.instagram.com/latexfreepodcast/
