My awesome project is my passion: Sharing and celebrating the history of South Bend and Mishawaka. I do this through my podcast, Round the Bend Now and Then, and a variety of social media channels. On the podcast, I talk with local leaders, historians, and community members to tell our area’s story. On social media, I share short stories that pair historic images with present-day photos to bring local history to life.

My awesome goal for 2026 is to have a podcast released consistently every two weeks. Round the Bend Now and Then will still be a long-form, interview-based podcast, with conversations featuring people connected to South Bend and Mishawaka. Alongside those episodes, my awesome goal is to also share Round the Bend: A Short Story - Shorter, narrated episodes where I tell a local story myself, focused on a single moment, place, or person from our past. Same focus, just another way of telling it. The goal is to keep the episodes around 10 minutes.

A South Bend Awesome Fund grant will directly support community history content and outreach that makes our city even more awesome, strengthening civic connection, elevating local voices, and preserving our shared cultural memory.