Podcast appearances and mentions of maria russell

In this captivating episode of the podcast, hosts Jaina Lee Ortiz and Gabriella Ortiz invite actress Maria Russell to share her fascinating journey. Maria talks about her upbringing in Burbank and her transition into professional acting. She opens up about her background in dance and her love for teaching. The hosts and guest bond over their shared experiences as Gemini individuals, and Maria reveals her sweet and tough personality. Join the conversation to learn about Maria's experiences in the entertainment industry, her involvement in Amazon's hit show Jury Duty, and her aspirations as a director. "After We Wrap" is a podcast hosted by actresses Jaina Lee Ortiz and Gabriella Ortiz. They have candid conversations about life, love, the entertainment industry, occasionally inviting special guests to join in on the conversation. It's the end of the day, let your hair down, drink some wine, and join Jaina and Gabriella for an authentic and engaging look into their lives and the world around them. ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ Stop data brokers from exposing your personal information. Go to my sponsor https://aura.com/afterwewrap to get a 14-day free trial and see how much of yours is being sold Join our "After Party": ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://www.patreon.com/afterwewrapshow⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow Maria Russell: https://www.instagram.com/mariaannrussell/ ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ Follow the show's socials: YouTube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube.com/@afterwewrapshow⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://www.instagram.com/afterwewrapshow⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  Tik Tok: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://www.tiktok.com/@afterwewrapshow⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  Facebook: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://www.facebook.com/afterwewrapshow⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://www.twitter.com/afterwewrapshow⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow Jaina Lee Ortiz: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://ww.instagram.com/jainaleeortiz⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow Gaby Ortiz: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://www.instagram.com/gabygabs⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Produced by: Shane Hartline ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://www.instagram.com/shane_hartline⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ DP: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/kylehelf/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Sound Mixer: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://www.jakelloydbacon.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ For business inquiries contact: afterwewrapshow@gmail.com

2 of the stars of Freevee's hit Jury Duty join me to talk about the making of this ONE-OF-A-KIND show! I have watched it THREE times! Thank you Maria Russell and Cassandra Blair! True comedy queens. Follow Maria on Instagram @mariaannrussell, and check her out in Season 4 of truTV's Tacoma FD! Follow Cassandra on Instagram @cassandrablaircurlyhair, and keep an eye out for her new movie Reunion premiering soon! Follow the pod on IG and TikTok @shespeaksitallpod From the creator and host of She Speaks Bravo in partnership with Cloud10 Media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2 of the stars of Freevee's hit Jury Duty join me to talk about the making of this ONE-OF-A-KIND show! I have watched it THREE times! Thank you Maria Russell and Cassandra Blair! True comedy queens. Follow Maria on Instagram @mariaannrussell, and check her out in Season 4 of truTV's Tacoma FD! Follow Cassandra on Instagram @cassandrablaircurlyhair, and keep an eye out for her new movie Reunion premiering soon! Follow the pod on IG and TikTok @shespeaksitallpod From the creator and host of She Speaks Bravo in partnership with Cloud10 Media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Maria Russell drops by the pod to talk about her role on the current hit show, Jury Duty. Maria shares what it was like to work on a show that was essentially 90% improv, she talks about how amazing Ronald is, and she shares some of her favorite moments that did and did not make the final cut.  Also, Chris discusses the disaster that was the 1999 collaboration between Celine Dion and R Kelly. He also names one female artist as someone who should be in everyone's top-five list of all-time greats. 

Ronald Young Jr. reviews Jury Duty...from the couch RYJ discusses the feat of acting it takes to convince someone that you're bonding over the course of 17 days.4 of 5 starsFollow me on IG, Twitter, and TikTok - @ohitsbigronAvailable on Amazon Prime (or Freevee)Starring Ronald Gladden, James Marsden, Mekki Leeper, Edy Modica, Ishmel Sahid, David Brown, Cassandra Blair, Maria Russell, Rashida Olayiwola, and Kirk FoxCreated by Lee Eisenberg and Gene StupnitskyDirected by Jake SzymanskiFor more information about Jury Duty click hereSupport Leaving the Theater on Patreon using this link

TUESDAY!! If you haven't checked out my new favorite show Jury Duty run and go do that NOW! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B8JVS7Y8?ref=FREEVEE_ACQ_PSR_BRN_zzz_hd32UzYKc_c653470629796_s&gclid=CjwKCAjw0ZiiBhBKEiwA4PT9z_dfNob45A_pEh5ddYGHq9bLEXbduckVBD6qlDLiQSp7QNbBjo0FBhoCKfUQAvD_BwEWe have two of the actors from the funniest/heartwarming/Truman Show-esque shows I've seen in a long time! Trisha LaFache (@trishalafache) and Maria Russell (@mariaannrussell) are here to give us everything you need to know about this show. I'm telling you, you are going to love this show!! Plus, before that I do a mini pop culture roundup from Vanderump to RHONJ to Tucker and Don Lemon to Glen Powell and Sidney Sweeney! Hope you enjoy! Timestamps 5:20-Show Notes/Pop Culture Roundup 33:34-Jury Duty's Trisha LaFache and Maria Russell! -Go sign up for the patreon for over 250 episodes NOT on the main feed! patreon.com/sobaditsgood Also, So Bad It's Good has merch now! Go to www.sobaditsgoodmerch.com to order yours TODAY! If you're enjoying the insane amount of blood, sweat and literal tears of this pod consider telling a friend or rating us 5 stars on iTunes! Special shoutout to Maritza Lopez (Insta: @maritza.gif) for all of her insanely hard work creating these beautiful pieces of art on my instagram and patreon page!!  Instagram: @sobaditsgoodwithryanbailey, @ryanbailey25 Twitter:@ryanabailey25 TIKTOK @sobaditsgoodwithryanb Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Yoke of Kindness

Join us for another fun filled episode of the Broadway Bulletin, featuring news of upcoming shows, highlights from the Thanksgiving Parade, and other insights into the Theatre world. Plus stay tuned for a brand new Whisper in the Wings!On this new episode of Whisper in the Wings we sat down with Diana Yanez, Maria Russell, Sandra Valls, and Geoffrey Rivas who are the writers, performers and director of the hilarious and incredible show Latina Christmas Special. We chatted about the show and about their amazing experience in the theatre. In short, we laughed, we cried, and we got all the tea on this fantastic show you won't want to miss. So grab your bestie and tune in!Latina Christmas SpecialDecember 7th-11thSoHo PlayhouseTickets and more information at www.LatinaChristmastSpecial.com

Beginning Within the Blessing

This week on the Southern Fried Philosophy Podcast: After a short break we're back! Biggun sounds like Batman, Erin loses her keys with fantastic sytle and Producer Brian doesn't need therapy so stop asking. We're joined by Special Guest Maria Russell of Kannapolis Counseling Group. Southern Fried Philosophy ****************************** Become an SFP Insider Today! Click the link to join us!    Music  SFP Intro - Lenny The Band YouTube subscribers Sponsors Watchman Cigar Level Up Logo Red Hill Brewing Crave Bath and Body   How you be durrin - Crave Bath and Body   Upcoming guests/events    What Lies Between Us Zoom, Tuesday Nights 7-8:30PM CT Starting Tues, May 17th  https://youtu.be/6vvrhao97KI https://join.brownicity.com/courses/wlbu-resources-Dan-Berry Follow up/Discuss School Shootings Memorial Day   In the Pursuit of… Mental Health Maria Russell has always had a passion for helping individuals, couples, and families cope with difficulties in their lives. Her desire is to help clients experience healing and life change through faith-centered therapy. She is trained in EMDR, Restoration Therapy, and an EAGALA Trained Equine Therapist (www.willow-equine.com) as part of a Military Designated Program.   Kannapoliscounseling.com 

This is the final segment from this conversation with Katie Muir Stankiewicz & Maria Russell of Willow Equine & Soul to Soles Connection in Mooresville, North Carolina. The full version is available on our YouTube channel now. (please click the subscribe button while your watching and join the conversation). This conversation was so therapeutic for us and will hopefully be informative and encouraging for you! Mental health awareness month is always May in the USA but is something we feel needs to be normalized and encouraged every day of every month! We all struggle, but the beautiful thing about this day and age, is that we don't have to do it alone, nor in silence! If you or someone you know is struggling and needs help, we encourage you to reach out to someone today! We have included some resources talked about in this episode of Candid Conversations, and the link to both the civilian and veteran programs offered here in Mooresville North Carolina by these women. Please feel free to share these episodes and this awesome service with anyone you would like and please remember to take care of yourself, as much if not more than you are taking care of everyone and everything else!

This is the 2nd of 3 segments from this conversation with Katie Muir Stankiewicz & Maria Russell of Willow Equine & Soul to Soles Connection in Mooresville, North Carolina. The full version is available on our YouTube channel now. (please click the subscribe button while your watching and join the conversation). This conversation was so therapeutic for us and will hopefully be informative and encouraging for you! Mental health awareness month is always May in the USA but is something we feel needs to be normalized and encouraged every day of every month! We all struggle, but the beautiful thing about this day and age, is that we don't have to do it alone, nor in silence! If you or someone you know is struggling and needs help, we encourage you to reach out to someone today! We have included some resources talked about in this episode of Candid Conversations, and the link to both the civilian and veteran programs offered here in Mooresville North Carolina by these women. Please feel free to share these episodes and this awesome service with anyone you would like and please remember to take care of yourself, as much if not more than you are taking care of everyone and everything else!

We took some time to speak with Katie Muir Stankiewicz, CPC and Maria Russell, LCMHCS and clinical director of Willow Equine & Soul to Soles Connection in Mooresville, North Carolina. This conversation was so therapeutic for us and will hopefully be informative and encouraging for you! This is the 1st of 3 segments from this conversation. The full version is available on our YouTube channel now. https://www.youtube.com/CandidConversationsEq (please click the subscribe button while your watching and join the conversation) Mental health awareness month is always May in the USA but is something we feel needs to be normalized and encouraged every day of every month! We all struggle, but the beautiful thing about this day and age, is that we don't have to do it alone, nor in silence! If you or someone you know is struggling and needs help, we encourage you to reach out to someone today! We have included some resources talked about in this episode of Candid Conversations, and the link to both the civilian and veteran programs offered here in Mooresville North Carolina by these women. Katie & Maria were wonderful to speak with and their program sounds like an amazing opportunity for healing and growth, so we can't wait to check in out in person ourselves! www.Williow-Equine.com www.S2Sconnection.org https://www.betterhelp.com/ https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org 800-273-8255

In this episode Angus Russell, General Manager of Britannia Lanes of Somerset & Bristol discusses how he began his career within the industry some 34 years ago after responding to an advert in The Times for a Trainee Manager at Hoults. Although Angus wasn't born into the industry, he does believe he was born to be in this industry having spent most of his youth as an expat, relocating from country to country. In his 34 year career Angus has only worked for 3 companies, Hoults (2 years), Bishops Move (15 years) & Britannia Lanes (17 years currently). Earlier than usual in the podcast, Angus tells us that his greatest point of being in the industry was convincing his bosses at the time (Bishops Move) that they should be represented at the BAR conference, which Angus then attended. And it was at the BAR conference at The Belfry that Angus met fellow conference attendee Ms Maria Lane, who in 2006 became Mrs Maria Russell, hence Angus's move from Bishops Move to Britannia Lanes of Somerset & Bristol. Britannia Lanes started back in 1974 by Sylvia and Mike Lane after they were left some warehouses. Today they operate from 3 locations, Chacewater, Exeter & Bridgwater, with an unmanned Self Store due to open in Falmouth very soon. Britannia Lanes offer containerised storage, self storage, van hire, international, european, commercial & domestic relocation, shredding, and records management. Angus talks in depth about training and the training services he provides to the industry, and we discuss the general question of what is the return on investment? From this came one of my favourite sentences, “we move dreams and aspirations”. Angus has faced the challenges of a recession, but he finds the constant changes in legislation one of his biggest challenges, especially when the small businesses (the mum and dad business) have to upgrade on a corporate scale. Angus wouldn't change anything from his moving past, stating what you go through builds the character for who you are. Apart from the obvious highpoint (see above) another of Angus's highpoint was being made a Directly Elected Director of the BAR, which he really enjoyed. The one thing Angus would like to change within the industry is the pay and value of the operational staff, but we can only do this by making the public recognise just how highly skilled moving actually is. Angus's advice to just starting out in the industry is listen, understand, and then make your viewpoint. In the next 5 years Angus would like to continue his focus on training, maybe semi-retire (but that's too hopeful) but without leaving the industry. In the next 10 years (rather than the usual 5), Angus sees the industry becoming more eco-friendly, with hydrogen vehicles being the way to go. And that the millennials will affect the industry as they collect less, resulting in smaller moves. Outside of the industry Angus enjoys cooking, loves travelling, is into his pyrotechnics and of course spending time with his wife. And as always we end Moving Matters with 2 funny moving stories, the first involving “milk!” and the second involving a chap looking for employment. Enjoy! Links to Britannia Lanes: * Website (https://www.britannialanes.co.uk/) Special Guest: Angus Russell.

Fruits of Repentence

In this episode, Jordyn Shubrick '22 interviews Ambassador Harry Thomas '78. In their conversation, they talk about Harry's career, reflecting on some of the most memorable moments from his days serving as the US Ambassador. Their conversation showcases the enduring impact that friendships forged at Holy Cross can have on the world. Interview originally recorded on December 16, 2020.  Due to the ongoing effects of the pandemic, all interviews in season 2 are recorded remotely. --- Harry: And when you look at it representing your country, are you going to do the right thing? Easy to do the wrong thing, but are you going to do the right thing? Are you going to tell the truth? Are you going to represent our values of democracy, of free markets? Of very important freedom of speech and freedom of religion. The other thing that Jesuits I think are best at teaching us is to question authority. Don't take things for granted. Maura: Welcome to mission-driven, where we speak with alumni who are leveraging their Holy Cross education to make a meaningful difference in the world around them. I'm your host Maura Sweeney from the class of 2007, director of alumni career development at Holy Cross. I am delighted to welcome you to today's show. In this episode, we hear from Harry Thomas from the class of 1978. A member of the Holy Cross board of trustees, Harry served a long and successful career in the foreign service working in US embassies around the world before advancing through the ranks of the state department to serve as US ambassador to Bangladesh, the Philippines and Zimbabwe. A native of Harlem, Harry made his way to Holy Cross in search of a close knit community. Little did he know that his friendships from Holy Cross would continue to make an impact around the globe through his work in the foreign service. Despite all of his accomplishments, Harry is most proud of delivering the commencement address at Holy Cross in 2016. He's joined by Jordyn Shubrick from the class of 2022. In their conversation, they speak about their shared experiences as throwers on the Holy Cross track team. They also talk about Harry's career, reflecting on some of the most memorable moments from his days serving as the US ambassador. Their conversation showcases the enduring impact that friendships forged at Holy Cross can have on the world. Jordyn: Hello and welcome everyone. My name is Jordyn Shubrick, currently a junior at the college. And today I'm here with Mr. Harry Thomas class of 78. How are you, Harry? Harry: Hey, how are you Jordan? So good to see you. Jordyn: Yes. Nice seeing you too, along here on Zoom, but that's the price we pay for being in a virtual space, but all good things. Harry: Yes it is. Jordyn: Yeah. So just to kick things off, I love to hear the stories of why people chose Holy Cross. So why did you choose College of the Holy Cross? Harry: Well, I went to a large high school, 6,000 boys and two girls in New York city. And I did not thrive there. I thought it was too large so I was looking for a small college. And I visited Holy Cross during a Black Student Union weekend, met a lot of great people and felt that the environment would be perfect for me. And then I had to convince my parents. Jordyn: And how was that process of convincing your parents to go to Worcester, Massachusetts? Harry: Not easy. In fact, my father said, you know how it was, my father said, "No, you're not going. Too expensive." And that was it. And a couple of weeks later he said, "Yes, you can go." And it took many years before I found out that my mother had told him that he should let me go and they agreed. And it wasn't an easy decision because it cost them their life savings. Jordyn: Right. No, definitely. I think especially with Holy Cross being such a Jesuit school and all the values, but that price point is a lot. It is, it very much is, but I think it's so important to hear the stories of why people chose Holy Cross, because there's so many different unique experiences. But with that said, I know your time at Holy Cross you were an athlete. How was that being a student athlete on the Hill? Harry: Well, yes. I was on the track team. I threw the shot put in 35 pound weight, not as well as you, but I did have a few personal bests at Brown. It was good. A lot of people were into sports. We were very good in track and field and a lot of other sports. I also had a job working in Hogan and I look back on it and having so much time devoted to academics, athletics and working helped me focus. You couldn't afford to be too far behind. You had to keep up or you'll never catch up. And I definitely did not want to visit Father Fahey who was the Dean at that time and have to go home to my parents. That was a non-starter. Jordyn: Right, definitely. So I know you talked about having a job, but being an athlete and a student. How were you able to balance your time given that there is so much to do as a college student? You're growing into your own person, but... Harry: It was difficult. It really took, I would say into my third, fourth semesters to really learn how to do it, because as much as you say that you are disciplined, you're free for the first time. And you're interested in going to a lot of parties, hanging out with your friends and also keeping up with athletics, but also I had to work. And I had to because even though my parents paid, that meant they weren't giving me any spending money. So I wasn't on athletic scholarships so I had to work. So it was a lot and I was tired often and I did not initially utilize the weekends to study. I later learned that Saturday and Sunday mornings were a really good time to study, to write your papers and catch up, but I did not know that at the beginning. And it took time. Jordyn: Right. Definitely a big learning curve I would say. Everyone's faced with when they hit the Hill, then you got to learn how to navigate through that new space. But as you're talking, I wonder what was your biggest driver to push you both academically while you were on the Hill? Harry: Well fear. Fear of my parents, very honest. That I had to show them my transcript or whatever, I guess, report card every semester. There was no PII in those days, even if there were, I was going to have to show it to them. And they both were college graduates. In fact, my mother had a master's. So yes, my mother had a master's from NYU in social work. She had gone to Allen, HBCU undergraduate. My father went to Morris Brown after getting out of World War II. So that was extremely important in our family. And I had many members of my family I've come from a large family. My mother's one of eight, my daddy one of 10 and many in going to college and university, even grand uncles. My father's elder sister graduated from Claflin University in 1939 and a great uncle who graduated from Allen in 1916. Harry: So I was not the first. You couldn't pull a, this is so hard. So they're like, no, we did this. So that was extremely important. Luckily, even though I wasn't so fond of my high school. It was one of the three top academic high schools in New York city. So in terms of science, it was an engineering school. So sciences and math, I was really prepared. Even though I did well on the English part of the SAT and all that, in terms of learning how to write and write clearly and concisely and orally communicate, I really improved those skills through the rigors of the courses I took at the Cross. Jordyn: Right. Yeah, definitely. Holy Cross is reflection time, write papers, you have to be able to definitely be able to convey your ideas on both paper and as you speak. But as I'm starting to listen to you more and more, were there any mentors that helped you throughout your time at Holy Cross? I know you say your parents were a big influence as well. Is there any people that come to mind? Harry: So many. As they say, it takes a village and when I would go home, neighbors would give you $5, $10, a dollar and just encourage you. And that made you feel very good. Before we started at Holy Cross, Stan Grayson who is class of '72 had a bunch of us to his apartment in Manhattan. An apartment in Manhattan, I was impressed with that. How do I get one of these? But even from there on Stan was one of my closest friends and he was the groomsman in my wedding. Was able to assist me whenever I needed. There wasn't instant communications in those days. You had to call somebody which you had to pay for or writing letters as we did. But this, all we do so it was okay. But also, I remember Clarence Thomas coming to campus and talking to the Black Student Union about how we should perform. Ted Wells... Harry: So you never felt alone. Father Brooks took a great interest in all of us. Father Honore, who was the only black Jesuit, had us down every Friday to Loyola where the Jesuits lived and remember the drinking age was 18. So he taught us how to eat properly with all those forks and knives, the finger bowl, you're laughing, but those things were hard. We didn't know. But he also gave us wines, bourbon just to know. He wanted us to graduate. And there was another priest who's late now also in Campion house who would have us over. And I remember when we were about to graduate, he gave us a line book. All of this was education. There were all kinds of people there to encourage you on campus and so many programs. And we thought that in those days, just men who were graduates that those guys did it, so we could do it. We just had to figure out how they did it. Harry: They were impressive. And Eddie Jenkins also was great football player, was somebody who would come back and talk to us. And just those, whether they were formal or informal, gave you beliefs that you could do it. Of course, we were trying to change the world also. We were very activist as students are today and protest marches and things like that coming out of the civil rights move, we thought that was part of it. So yeah, and that was another great reason I chose Holy Cross because my high school was too large to have mentors and a lot of close friends. So I was able to get that at the Cross. Jordyn: Yeah, the community. Community is what it is, and I definitely think that's a very important part. And as I hear you speak, you speak about the people in part in the community which is great to hear. Switching gears a little bit, what did you major in when you were at Holy Cross? Harry: Political science. Jordyn: Oh, very nice. How was that? I'm a sociology major, so I don't take too many political science classes. Harry: I had a few Sociology courses with Dr. Imse, who's a great teacher. But political science was something I thought I wanted to go to law school and I thought that was the major that would help prepare my analytical thinking. But by the time I was a senior, I decided that I had no interest in the law. And I remember Stan Grayson telling me that the people who do best are those who love the law and I reflected, "Well, no, I don't love the law. And so let me change up." Jordyn: Right. Yeah, of course. Any favorite professors you had that sticks out in your mind? Harry: Oh yeah. Tony Kuzniewski who is later also Father Kuzniewski. He was a chaplain for athletic teams for years. But in those days he was a seminarian and he looked younger than anybody on campus. He's always mistaken for a student and I look, years later, he was prematurely gray. It was like, the hair was white, but I just remembered him looking younger than me when I was at junior or senior. But he was really good. We took a course on immigration and I was praising the Statue of Liberty and he said, "Don't you dare praise the Statue of Liberty. My ancestors were not wretched refuse." I was like, "Ooh, there are many ways to look at this." So it was one of the life lessons. You have to look at things very differently in terms of what you look. Harry: The other great professor for me was Blaise Nagy, who was in Latin and Latin literature. I took Latin for two semesters and Latin lit. I took him four times so maybe he was my favorite. He was young also. So when you're young, you want young people and he had long blonde hair and he was handsome and we used to call him Blaz Nagy, because we thought that sounded cool. And I think he retired a few years ago, but man, he was great. He was demanding, but he also explained things. If you messed up he would embarrass you in public. Has happened to some people. But I'm from New York, we can take that. We're just used to go on back at somebody. You want to go back and Blaz, but yeah, he was fantastic. Harry: And as I said, Dr. Imse, he wasn't sociology was philosophy. His course was depth. Now think about it. First thing he said is a person only dies once, but an athlete dies many times. I never forget that. An athlete dies when you pour in a meat, when you fail in a game, after you are no longer an athlete and what are you going to do with that? So those were shocking thoughts when you're 18 or 19. I wanted to go to, which I never was good enough to go to, I wanted to go to the Penn relays. You have dreams of the Olympics, no matter how unrealistic they are, but those are the dreams, right? I wasn't that good, but those things, his message on depth has helped me in so many parts of my career. Harry: You're going to fail, you're going to go up against road blocks and how do you restart? How do you get back up? And how do you get back up with thought because in my day it was like, just brush it off and get up and go. And we know mentally, we didn't even talk about mental health. That was seen as weakling, but we know that is something that's needed now. And thank goodness that we had Dr. Imse who... He was the first professor that was telling us to reflect, take time on these things. So that was important. Very important. Jordyn: Yeah, definitely. Sounds like he pushed you a lot, challenged you in different ways. I think reflecting does something, really makes you look at yourself in a different way, but also who you are becoming. And that, it sounds like what Dr. Imse and your other professors helped you do. Helped you grow throughout your years at Holy Cross. And I know you touched upon it a little bit, but as you think about your career as an ambassador, what are some of the life lessons you learned at Holy Cross that were able to transfer over in your career? Harry: Well, first of all, I wish I had taken languages wth Fr. Honore because I wouldn't have had to work so hard once I joined the foreign service, so trust me, but Honore, we only had ABCDF in those days and Honore was, a 90 was a C. Nah, not for me. So I wish I had more courage. But I think the Jesuit values is something I take very seriously and honor duty, honor country, which is West point's motto, that's important to me. We were known as the Catholic West point believe it or not. When you look at it, representing your country, are you going to do the right thing? easy to do the wrong thing, but are you going to do the right thing? Are you going to tell the truth? Are you going to represent our values of democracy, of free markets? Of very important freedom of speech and freedom of religion. The other thing that Jesuits, I think were best at teaching us is to question authority. Don't take things for granted. Harry: There were conservative and liberal Jesuits and some of the conservative ones, I really didn't like. Their opinion was different than mine, but they taught me to look at somebody else's opinion who differs with you and listen to them. Don't just try to get to change their mind because that's not going to work more often than not, but listen and try to understand where they're coming from. And instead of just jumping in and say, "Hey, you should do ABC and D." And that was part of reflection, you had to reflect and do that. But I take that the ethics and honesty, which I credit my parents for also, but from the Jesuits. They were tough. A lot of these guys were World War II veterans, like father Brooks and others. Harry: So that was extremely important. Father Markey was there. He was a Dean of men, you didn't want to see him. He was one of our greatest basketball players. But yeah, I can't undervalue the importance of ethics and honor and doing the right thing, that my parents and the Jesuits and the professors put into me. And we were honest, there were no locks on the doors in our day and no locks on anywhere. And sometimes your friends might come and take a bite of your sandwich or beer, but we just trusted people. And there was that value of trusting people and opening your eyes. Jordyn: Right. Yeah, no, definitely. And I think you hit on it perfectly, trust. I think that's so big, we talk about it nowadays. Just being able to trust in the community you're with, I think it's so important. But this question popped into my head, but the black student union. Some of the values and different things. Talk a little bit about how that was for you being on campus and like you said, you have Eddie Jenkins and Stan Grayson, you have all these wonderful people, part of the Black Student Union, and now you're being able to add to this legacy. How did you see yourself in the black student union at your time on the Hill? Harry: Well, we were young and we were advocates. We argued among ourselves a lot about different strategies, protest marches, which we did. Remember we didn't have presidents and vice, we were ministers. We were like black panthers, we were in college and that was pretend if I look back at it. But we took ourselves and those things very seriously. So we were advocating for things like more black professors, more courses that we could relate to, even food in Kimball, which I think was bad for everybody in those days. Except once a month, somebody gets steak and then once a Sunday steak and eggs, but on track team before meets you got steak. I don't think they will feed your steaks now, they look at nutrition, but everyone gets a good meal. But we really took ourselves seriously. And so many of us were involved through the Black Student Union with other things as big brothers, big sisters. And those programs that you saw are a lot of BSU members in. Several on the radio and those things, that was really important. I wish that I had joined more organizations, that I learned more things because Holy Cross offers a lot of organizations. Harry: And then one of the things I would encourage current students to do is don't listen to the thought police, follow whatever you want to do, especially things that you have never done before. My close friend, Dr. Keith Crawley from my class at position, was the first black guy I ever saw the golf club. We're like, "Oh, we don't do that." My game would have been a lot better now. But really there were clubs on economics and trade and business. I wish I had done that. One of the things I'd love to see, and at Yale where I am a senior fellow, each college has its own endowment and the students with fund managers manage it. So they learned at young age, not everybody's going to go to Wall Street, but they learn a lot of finance and nowadays with FinTech and other things being an opportunity, Holy Cross is much smaller than Yale, but some way for... We need financial literacy in minority communities first, but also about businesses. My father was a small business person and I had to work in his store all weekends and all this stuff. So I definitely want to go into business. Harry: I don't want to be a small business person, but I wish I had learned more about economics and trade, international trade those things and that was open to me, but I chose not to do it. So I encourage people to try something different. Jordyn: Yeah, definitely. I think I'm experiencing that now. Junior year you're halfway through and you're like, where's the time going? It's going by so fast. So definitely trying new things is definitely how you're going to grow, right? In those uncomfortable situations, that's when you grow the most and I think that's so important. And as we think about the Holy Cross' mission, men and women form with others, how did you see that not only at your time at Holy Cross, but throughout your career? Because I think it's such an impactful statement that it really just can carry someone throughout their challenging moments, but also in those great moments. So how did you see that mission go along with you as you grew up? Harry: Well, one of the things I learned from Father Brooks and others was don't brag when you do charity. Do it because it's the right thing or because you want to do it, but just don't tell people I'm good at this, I'm doing it. It's like me saying, I'm a good father. Well, I'm supposed to be, right? What, I want to metal for that? I signed up for this. So it's the same thing. But let me tell you Jordyn, when I was ambassador to Bangladesh and their was I visited a school for boys who had been trafficked to the middle East to be camel jockeys. And they've been rescued and brought home. Their parents didn't want them because they had been raped and these boys were five, 10 years old. And it was embarrassment to the family. There was an American woman that had an orphanage that I visited for these boys and they were overcrowded, no latrine. Harry: And I asked my classmates many of whom I met when I lived in Clark. These were all whites and dear friends of mine for funds. And they gave funds for school rooms and bathrooms. In fact, there wasn't enough initial money for the bathroom and my friend Nina Riccio on her mother built a latrine. And when I visited, they named it after her. So she still has the pictures, I think. And when I went to the Philippines, there was a place called smokey mountain where kids climb up a hill that produces gas from the refuse to get their food. The stench is unbelievable. And we work with them to have a field of dreams and baseball, softball for girls and provide tutoring. But again, I asked my friends from Holy Cross, the send baseball equipment and they did, bats, balls, gloves. Harry: And even though one of the owners of the San Francisco Giants lived in the Philippines, our outreach to him did not succeed, but my classmate who lives in San Francisco Lori Stasukelis got with the San Francisco Giants and they sent out equipment and we brought Ken Griffey Jr. there of course too to tease them. But now I moved to Zimbabwe and a Zimbabwean playwright wanted books. He wanted books on black literature, black plays. He envisioned building in a park right across my office, a theater in the park where he was using trailers. And I said, "This thing looks terrible, but let's try." And reached out to my friends most of whom this time were African-American and family and they gave the books. They gave hundreds of books that he started a library with the train playwrights. When my wife was trying to work with kids who live... There are kids will live in game parks without much clothing. Again, it was our friends from Holy Cross and along with my family who shipped clothing for these kids. So I know in so many ways I could always reach out to my school mates from Holy Cross to help people that they've never met and never will meet. Jordyn: Right. Wow. That's just amazing to hear that story. I think this is great to have this opportunity to get to know you better, but also hearing about how Holy Cross has evolved over the years, but that foundation of community and helping people will always be there. Always. Yeah, I think that's great. So as we're continue to talk about your amazing career, what is one of the most memorable moments you can think about? And I know there's a lot, because you did great things, a lot of different things. So if you could pinpoint one or a couple, I would love to hear about that. Harry: Well, I'll try to give you three briefly. One was working at the White House on 9-11. Maybe I shouldn't even be here today if that plane going into the White Houses as planned and surviving that and then going with Secretary Powell to Kabul, Afghanistan within five months and seeing that embassy maintained, reopened, and being scared on the helicopter ride from Bagram Airport to Kabul, but seeing the embassy had been maintained and Powell wanting to give people rewards and the Afghans said, "Okay, but there are no women deserving." And he goes, "Okay, that's cool. No women, no rewards." They produced all the women who had worked, so don't compromise on things like that. And that was secretary Powell, but I worked for Dr. Rice in the White House. Wonderful person. In the Philippines, our United States Agency for International Development, which is our lead humanitarian agency, their director came to me and said that there were over 4,000 women dying each year from bleeding in the uterus after they give birth. Harry: In America and the developed world they get a drip that prevents the bleeding and costs a dollar a day, but people couldn't afford it. They had a dollar, they spent it on the other things. And we know what happens to boys and girls who lose their mothers at a young age, their lives are wrecked. And most of these would not be first time parents. So we work with an American pharmaceutical company and the Philippine government and we came up with a shot, a syringe that could go in the fatty part of anybody's body, woman after she gave birth, they chose to use midwives. And now we're saving several thousand people's lives each year. A fun thing was in June, 2012 we brought the president of Philippines to meet president Obama. And the night before, we were very worried about China and the Philippines going to war. Harry: And we did something that you don't see a lot. But we were in the Mandarin Oriental hotel in DC for a meeting and we cleared out the kitchen and we met with the president of the Philippines and some of his cabinet in this kitchen. And when I was there in the kitchen, I learned that the New York Football Giants who were world champions were coming to the White House that day. And they were like, "Oh wow, that's sweet." So, went upstairs and there were two of my Filipino American friends waiting for me and we have a drink and we spied Linda Johnson Rice of the then Ebony magazine, the publisher. And one of the women with me Lloyda Lewis, her husband Reginald Lewis was the first African American billionaire. Harry: And he had been in the magazine but she had never met him. Today if you go to the African-American history museum, you will see her name right next to Oprah as a largest donor. You go to Baltimore and you see the Reginald Lewis museum African-American history that she built. So I went over to Ms. Johnson rice and said, "Hi, my name is Harry Thomas. I'm the US ambassador to Philippines." And she just goes, "That's nice." Put her book up in front of her face and totally diss me. So what could I do, but slink away. And so the next day when we were doing the pre-brief with President Obama, he said, "Harry, why are you smiling so much?" I go, "Because Mr. President, the Giants are coming." And he says, "You want to them?" And I said, "Yes, sir." He says, "Okay, after the meeting, you can meet them." Harry: Now I didn't care what they said in the meeting. I wanted to meet my Giants. And after the meeting, he said, "Come on." And he grabbed my hand. I had to run out of the oval because you can't bring electronic equipment. I had my iPad in there, so I had to run and get that and he took me out, grabbed my hand, President of the United States and took me out to the garden and were next to Attorney General Holder and General Odierno and put me in the front row. So another life lesson, somebody disses you, but the person next to you, the most powerful man in the world had time to be kind to you. So we always have time to be kind to people. Jordyn: Wow. What a remarkable... That's amazing. President Obama. Had you met him before? Was that your first time? Harry: No, I had read him several times before, but it's always intimidating when you meet any president. You're never quite calm. I remember when I worked for president Bush, you'd go into the oval office, my feet always felt they were burning. No matter how many times I went in and after 9-11, because I was working on South Asia, I was in there a lot. And Dr. Rice would always leave you in there alone, brief the president United States one-on-one. And that would be a little nervous. So I can't tell you especially the first time you going there, you're not paying attention. You're like, "I'm from Queens and I'm here. I was born in Harlem, I'm here and I'm not cooking and cleaning." So it was always special. So I truly feel blessed. Jordyn: Yeah. That's amazing. I mean, I get nervous track meets you get in the circle, you just get stomach drops, but being in the White House, I don't know how that feeling feels, but I'm assuming it's a little bit of the same. Harry: Yeah. You know the anxiety before meet even when you wake up, even when you try to go to sleep early, you wake up that day, you have anxiety, even though you're trying to pump yourself up and be calm. It doesn't matter how many practice, that first throw relaxes you, kind of, right? Jordyn: Right, exactly. Harry: When the meet's over is when you're like, "Ah, yeah. It's Miller time." So that's the same thing and that never has you just got to do it a little better as you get along, but that anxiety. When you talk to Ken Griffey Jr. And others they said big moments, they always had anxiety. They had to hold themselves back from swinging at a pitch quick because they were so anxious and amped up. And I was like, "Wow, that happened to Ken Griffey?" I couldn't compare myself but I was like, man. Jordyn: Yes, of course. That is great. Great to hear that story. So thank you for sharing that. I think you touched on it before, you said you wish you took languages at Holy Cross. So how are you able to get over those challenges? Because they say it's not easy to learn a language past a certain age, it's better to learn them be the young. So how were you able to learn three, right? Three languages. Harry: Yeah. Again, fear. Fear of failure. In the foreign service, you have to pass these exams to keep your job. And again, I wasn't going home. But of course, when you're taking a language, especially the first one was Spanish, you really have to know English. The 14 tenses, all of that helps you, small classes... Every time I took a language, Hindi, Bengali, I studied a little Tagalog. They give you a book like you have when you were in kindergarten and with a pencil and you're starting over like a kindergartener only lower really, and so you had little books, but that's where you have to start and you quickly learn. The nouns are easy, so that's what people concentrate on. But you learn to concentrate on the verbs. But you're right about age. It's hard to have a natural accent once you get past 12 and in another language, unless you're a singer or you have good ear. So that's why you can hear a lot of singers or even rappers do songs in foreign languages. Harry: They may not have the exact, they'll have a Spanish accent, they may not have a Peruvian accent or Uruguayan accent because all Spanish, just like Americans have different accents in English, right? But they can be understood. It's like this, Jordyn, if I parachute in your hometown of Springfield, spend a weekend going around talking to people, how much do I know about Springfield? I don't know jack, right? Jordyn: Right. Harry: So in my job, I really had to live in a country and learn and be able to tell people in the United States what was going on. So if I didn't speak their language, understand their culture, how was I going to do it? So, and I speak your language in Springfield, but I don't know your culture. I know New York, but Springfield a couple of hundred miles away I just don't. So imagine that when you go to a foreign country. So you've got to know their language, it's disrespect if you're unwilling to learn somebody's language, you're living in their nation. Jordyn: Yeah, wow. Harry: And culture is so different. I saw Maura had up her Christmas lights, I'm sure y'all do also. My wife's family starts celebrating Christmas September 1st. In the Philippines that's when they do it, September 1st, they start playing Christmas music. That's okay. That's just their culture. Jordyn: Right. Harry: It's cool. When I lived in Arizona and I was at Arizona State, I told the young women that, and they were like, "That's weird." I said, "It's 95 degrees and y'all are wearing boots." They go, "This is the only time we can wear boots." Well, I don't care not a big deal, but it's okay. That's what you got to do, right? Jordyn: Right. Yeah. Harry: So you have to learn what drives people and understand that you don't speak their language, you'll fail. Jordyn: Yeah. And I'm quite sure you know just learning different cultures that was probably a great experience in itself. Learning the language, but also being around the people. I would love to hear a little bit more about how you really immerse yourself in different cultures and what you got out of that. Because of course I feel like right now my view is probably a little bit one dimensional as that like you said, Springfield, Massachusetts now Holy Cross. I really haven't immersed myself in a different culture, but you've been able to do that in so many different places across the globe. Harry: Well, I was no different than you when I was your age so don't be hard on yourself. Worcester was a culture shock, Holy Cross was a culture shock, trust me. But in the State Department we have these books called culture shock and they try to teach you before you go to a country, right? Many countries you can only eat with your right hand, many countries you have to take your shoes off, different gestures. If you call somebody the way we wave at somebody like that with our hand up, that's an insult. You have to learn to call people like this. Putting your feet up can be an insults in other cultures. So those are relatively easy, it shouldn't be difficult to learn. But what they eat and what they think, eating foods that I had never eaten before or thought about initially, it doesn't bother me now, but initially that could be a challenge. And drinking water from some places that you thought weren't so clean, but I did it, but that was a challenge. And it can be very hard for women. Places where they don't want to see women in pants or short shorts or going past religious houses on Fridays and things like that, days of prayer. Harry: So you have to learn these things and also protect yourself, but understand people. So yeah, every place I go, I served, there things were very different than the United States, which is why I'm so happy I'm home from the holidays now especially, but there was always some Americans saying that was weird. And I'm like, "What do you expect? Why would you expect Zimbabwe to be like Springfield? Duh. And why did you come if you did? And why are you complaining?" That wasn't most people. When I was a junior officer, we had to visit people in jail, Americans in jail, mostly for drugs, and it was never pleasant going to jail. And one day after they threw five nuns out the building and burned one. So, in Lima, it was dangerous, but we had to learn that culture of that jail to get through those guards and everything else. So, you're constantly learning and it's easy because if you respect people as especially now, your generation wants to learn from others, everybody's equal, everybody's woke. Well, that means listening to them, right? Jordyn: Right. Harry: We had a Black Student Union, but Holy Cross by many schools has a Caribbean Students Union, African Students Union, there's Asian students and Latin X students. And they're not all the same. I have a student at Yale who was from Puerto Rico and she didn't have other students who were Puerto Ricans from Puerto Rico. It was very different. And she had never seen a Puerto Rican professor at Yale who was from Puerto Rico. So she didn't feel aligned. This year we brought some speakers to Yale, a woman, Maria Russell was a Time Magazine person of the year, lived on the same floor with Michelle Obama at Princeton and yeah, a friend of mine and she, human rights activists, but they asked us to bring her there because they said everybody you're bringing from Asia is from Japan, China, Korea. That's not all Asia. So you have to understand that. And although there's an African Students Union at Holy Cross, I hope they're United to say that Africans from 54 Sub-Saharan countries, are the same, that's folly. Harry: And I can tell you having worked in the Foreign Service and now living in Florida, Cubans, Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, Ecuadorians, Colombians are very different and they... I just got an email from a friend of mine from Bangladesh who lives in New York. And she's been shocked by some of the racism she's experienced this year after immigrating from Bangladesh. But she says, "Why do people lump us with blacks? We're not black. We weren't brought here as slaves. We came here for a better life. Y'all were brought here. People need to apologize, but we have our own identity." And you look at that. Ooh, but she's right. Jordyn: She is. Harry: She's right. So it's a challenge for people. People don't like strangers, no matter who they are, they don't like new people moving in their community no matter who they are. Jordyn: Yeah. And I think with everything going on in the world right now, what we saw in the summer, the racial injustices, I think what we're starting to also see and what's coming to the conversation is how diverse people are in different... You may identify as one way, but your culture might say something else. So it's important to see everyone and like you said, listen and hear their stories and their experiences because it could be completely different from yours. Harry: And you're right. This has been such a difficult year. Not just the Black Lives Matter protest, but COVID-19. And you combine that, I think we, as a people, not only the United States, but the globe are under more stress than we realize. And we don't have a tradition of mental health days or meditation. We have a tradition of prayer and we really need to increase that. But I think a lot of people are stressed and I know that... I was joking with my cousin and if my daughter was home... At 16... During COVID, it'd be war. I know that a rebellious teenager? Oh Lord, I'm glad I don't have to do that. But imagine there are places where... You are one of four, right? So some school districts in places only give two laptops out or three. What happens if your parents can't afford it? What happens if everybody doesn't have their own room and the parent's teleworking too? Harry: So not only a lot of kids, unfortunately losing critical year of school and that really hurts minorities. But they don't have the tools to catch up and those kids are under stress. We know in poor communities where there is gunfire, drugs, kids are under stress. But imagine now all of these kids throughout America under stress and Christmas season is coming. And so many people have lost their jobs and they're not going to be able to give Christmas presents or give what they wanted and when that happens, men feel that they're not living up to what was expected and we see domestic violence go up. And so he's under stress and his family that he's abusing are under stress. There's no excuse for ever touching a woman. No excuse and don't tell me, but this is what happens. And we're seeing that. And then the third world where abuse of women is rampant, I'm sure it's worse. I don't have the statistics, but it's just common sense. Jordyn: Yeah. I mean, like you said, combining a pandemic with everything that is going on, it's just... When you look at it, it's a lot and- Harry: And we had the election. Jordyn: Yes. Harry: And I'm happy to say that the side I supported won, I have no problem in saying that. But a lot of people who supported president Trump are angry believing they were cheated, believing he was the winner. And we saw some of these people, the proud boys, marching in black churches and burning down, taking down Black Lives Matter flag in DC and burning them. Now I give them no sympathy, but we know their stressed too. And that can lead down unfortunate situations. So that's another reason why prayer helps. Meditation, prayer does help. Jordyn: Yes. I'd definitely say throughout these times, I think prayer has helped me channel those feelings of frustration and sadness. Prayer has helped me leverage that time to find time to be a better daughter, a better friend, a better sister being in the home environment. And I can say I'm grateful to have a great place to come home to, but also figuring out how I can use this time not to be all upset and worried about the problem. It's like, okay, let's see what we can use this time to do. Harry: No, I applaud you for that. I know as much as I was just talking about my daughter, I know it would have been hell on me if I were at home with the rents when I was junior. That was such a funny year, not the anxiety of senior year where you're worried grad school and getting a job. And so I like to keep you and others grounded, but I know I would have been suffering. And my parents have been looking at me as ungrateful. So I applaud you for doing your best. Jordyn: I appreciate that. Means a lot. Switching gears, I actually was doing some research and I listened to your commencement address in 2016. Very well done, very well said, but out of curiosity say your older self were to say to maybe you were a junior in college, you're going to be giving a commencement address, what would you say? Harry: I didn't know. Let me tell you what happened. My wife and I went to a dinner in New York, a Holy Cross fundraiser. We just happened to be in New York and we went and Father Boroughs came and got us and said he wanted to talk to us. And he said, "Hey, didn't you get a letter to open?" I said, "I get a lot of letters." And Holy Cross I said, "No I didn't open this letter." And he says, "Well, we want you to be a commencement speaker. I was like, "What?" Really, I was shocked. So then I talked to Father Boroughs about what the subject. Just like you looked at me, I looked at others. I mean, governor Cuomo, my God, the late governor Cuomo gave to me the best of the commencement addresses I've seen all across and what an orator. Harry: And so I said, "What can I talk about?" Obviously service. Father Boroughs said, "What about a gift?" "What gift?" "The gift of a Holy Cross education." I said, "Okay, let me start working on that." So I had five months, I had to go back to Zimbabwe. I was ambassador of Zimbabwe and I had a day job. And we have speech writers, but I couldn't employ them for that. It would have been an ethical violation. So I did what I did so many times, I turn into my family and my Holy Cross friends. So Steve Scott, who best man in my wedding and best man in his, from Boston, turned to Steve and he gave me some language. My sister and daughter did, my wife said, "That's not a good speech. You're not writing a good speech, you can do better." Harry: And so I kept refining it and it, and I remembered that before I was sworn in as ambassador to Bangladesh, that I was coming from visiting friends in Maine, July 4th, in 2003. And I stopped at Holy Cross campus. It was empty. And I was on the side of the Hill between Hogan and Healey. And I sat there and I wrote my speech and I was just calm, and I just got back in the car. So I thought I had the speech almost done, but it didn't quite work. So the morning of the speech I put on my Holy Cross shirt and I went to a Dunkin Donuts and I didn't want to go on campus and I rewrote it. And that's what happened. I had told them earlier, thank God I didn't, you don't want to share your speech, but Father Boroughs wanted to see it. I know he was nervous, I guess, what would I say, but I told him I wanted to do a selfie and only because he asked for the speech because otherwise I wouldn't have told them, but I'm glad I did because they had a camera behind and they sent me that photo, which is one of my favorite photos of all time to be doing a selfie at Holy Cross. Harry: But I will tell you, I have been blessed with many honors, many incredible honors in the Foreign Service and the other aspects of my life but the honor of my life was being invited to be the commencement speaker at Holy Cross, the honor of my life. Jordyn: Beautiful. We talked about nerves, I could only imagine the nerves of giving a commencement address, but also the honor that comes with it. It's amazing Harry: Every time before I speak and I don't always give a good speech, I do pray. Even as I'm walking down, I'm praying. God has been busy a few times, but most times he's been there. But yeah, it was. The speech at your Alma Mater. I hope you get that opportunity. I really do. I've spoken in other colleges, I did a commencement address at Loyola, it was exciting, my whole family came for the weekend. Everybody's in a different hotel rooms and stuff, at your Alma Mater is something. Jordyn: Yeah. It's something special. And I know you said it's a gift. You talked about the gift in your speech. You said every once in a while peek inside, take it out, use it to better the globe. So how will you continue to use your gift that Holy Cross gave you? Harry: Well, luckily I still work with some Holy Cross brothers. I work with Ron Lawson who works with Care for the Homeless. I'm a member of his board. We had a board meeting last night actually. And I've learned a lot about the homeless. So many of the homeless in New York are women who are employed. Some of the mental challenges they have, but I'm proud of Ron's work and the Care for the Homeless work they do. Similarly, I'm chair of the board of Winter4Kids, Schone Malliet, another Holy Cross alum, Marine aviator, who said the reason he does things like this is nobody ever told him no. So giving kids opportunities that I didn't have, to use winter sports. And I knew how to toboggan and throw, we had a lot of snowball fights at Holy Cross between the dorms, the elevators and everything. We were crazy toboganning, Oh my God. Harry: But I didn't know how to ski, sleigh, and I had opportunities to learn. I had no interest and giving kids at a young age the opportunity to learn winter sports, as you know, you're an athlete, it's important to be outside, learn how to be, even in winter sports there are teams, individual and team. Learn that these are great athletes. And besides I got to meet Lindsey Lohan because of Schone last year. But work with those two organizations. Friday, my wife and I are going to be helping to feed the homeless down here in Tampa. When we were in DC, we went to Gonzaga High School, which is a feeder high school for Holy Cross, a Jesuit High School. They had feeding programs for the homeless that Holy Cross alumni association would run and Gonzaga's colors are purple and white. So it felt like we were right back home. And I was always meeting people there that I didn't know, they were just Holy Cross alum trying to give back, really, really good people. And you can't neglect your family, you got to give back time and effort to your family. So I still try. I still try. Jordyn: Right. Yeah, definitely. I think that's great. Great note to end on. I think this podcast has been great. Harry, I'm so happy that we had this time. I got to know you a little bit more and hear a little bit more of your story, which is always great. But truly, truly want to say thank for your time and thank you for sharing your gift. I'll say that too. Harry: Well, thank you and Maura for this. Thanks for the gift of Holy Cross. Thank you for having me. Jordyn: Yes, of course. Thank you. Harry: AMDG. Maura: That's our show. I hope you enjoy hearing about just one of the many ways that Holy Cross alumni have been inspired by the mission to be people for and with others. A special thanks to today's guests and everyone at Holy Cross who has contributed to making this podcast a reality. If you or someone you know would like to be featured on this podcast, then please send us an email at alumnicareers@holycross.edu. If you like what you hear, then please leave us a review. This podcast is brought to you by the office of alumni relations at the College of the Holy Cross. You can subscribe for future episodes wherever you find your podcast. I'm your host Maura Sweeney and this is Mission-Driven. In the words of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, "Now go forth and set the world on fire." Theme music composed by Scott Holmes, courtesy of freemusicarchive.org.

Guest Actress and Comedienne Maria Russell presently in Tru-Tv's hit comedy Tacoma FD as Lt. Salazar. Mari's credits include the movie "Lights Out", Deputy Vargas Teen Wolf, soap operas, serials the Latina Christmas Special, and more. She's full of energy and wisdom. #mariaannrussell www.imdb.me/mariarussell #lawalkerbiz #lawalker.life #upishigherthandown #motivation #selflove #selfcare #authors #playwrights

Good Neighbor

Good Neighbor

Good Neighbor

The Dialogue with Actress, Maria Russell was super cool. We talk about her childhood in her Mexican/Lithuanian household, how she became interested in acting, how she overcome obstacle in the beginning of her career, how she mantains a positive mentality in such a challenging industry and business. We discussed her role in the Blockbuster Movie: "Lights Out" as Officer Gomez and her roles in major TV Series & Movies like her recent role Lt. Salazar in Tacoma FD, Criminal Minds, Grey's Anatomy, Teen Wolf, Major Crimes, Why Women Kill and her desire to act on Broadway. Great Episode to listen! Sponsors: Amazon Link: https://www.amazon.com/?tag=luisotero-20&linkCode=ur1 Buy on Amazon & Obtain 10% Off Thoughtcloud- CBD Oils/CBD Pre-Roll Joints/CBD Cigarrettes & Capsules Link: https://thoughtcloud.net/ref/luis.otero/ Obtain 15% off on your purchase CBD Shop Canada- CBD Oils/CBD Pre-Roll Joints/CBD Cigarrettes & Capsules Link: https://cbdshopcanada.com/ref/Luis.Otero/ Obtain 15% off on your purchase Thoughtcloud Australia- CBD Oils/CBD Pre-Roll Joints/CBD Cigarrettes & Capsules Link: https://thoughtcloud.com.au/?ref=8147 Obtain 15% off on your purchase Maria Russell Social Media Links: iMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1078823/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mariaannrussell/?hl=en Social Media Links for Luis Otero & Dialogo con Luis Otero: Website: https://www.dialogoconotero.com/ Instagram: http://instagram.com/dialogoconotero Twitter: http://twitter.com/dialogoconotero Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6zvf7cAgqDENIaoqHZvqFt iTunes Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dialogo-con-luis-otero/id1475406334 Email: dialogoluisotero@gmail.com --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/luisoteropodcast/message

This episode we have a special guest who's acting credits include Tacoma F.D., Southland, Criminal Minds, Trophy Wife, Suburgatory, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, CSI, and The Riches, just to name a few.About Maria Russell:Actress, Comedian- María is reprising her recurring role as the feisty Lt. Salazar on the new season of TruTv's #1 comedy Tacoma F.D. Russell is one of the lead actresses in the off-Broadway runaway hit "Latina Christmas Special" hailed by The Los Angeles Times as a "Twist on Charles Dickens" and one of their top critic's choices of 2019. Television credits include CBS' Why Women Kill where she plays Sandy, the wealthy diva, Teen Wolf, Southland, Criminal Minds, Major Crimes, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, CSI, The Bold and the Beautiful and the box office horror hit Lights Out.Tacoma F.D. Season 2 Trailer: https://youtu.be/Ipqg61sebwkIMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1078823/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1#actresss #mariarussell #tacomaf.d. #tacomafd #itsalwayssunnyinphiladelphia #theriches #latinachristmasspecial #teenwolf #southland #criminalminds #lightsout

Join Kelli and Anne for their 100th LIVE episode! They begin this episode by talking about hitting their 100th episode of #ilovemywifepodcast  They do a very special GIVEAWAY and talk about holiday shows, their traditional Xmas tree purchase and holiday parties. Their Special Guests today are Diana Yanez, Maria Russell and Sandra Valls…the stars of Latina Christmas Special & their Director Geoffry Rivas. They are currently running in NYC at The Soho Playhouse through December 31st.  Anne & Kelli saw it on Saturday night and absolutely loved it. They laughed, cried and everything in between. Hear how the show was conceived, cast and brought to NYC. You will be inspired by these strong Latina women telling their incredible stories.  Finally they thank DNR Studios for 100 episodes and all of their fantastic and loyal listeners. They look forward to 100 more with you in the coming years!  

We celebrate one year of podcasting with a Holiday Special, the stars of The Latina Christmas Special, and a quartet of cheesy flavors from Whisps for End of Show Food! Plus, Marc resents satisfaction surveys, Elsie’s got bratwurst and movie reviews for flicks she hasn’t seen yet, an improv game with changing theater styles, and all about an incredible theater show that celebrates Latina’s everywhere! With Sandra Valls (Showtime’s "Latin Divas of Comedy”) Maria Russell (MTV’s “Teen Wolf”) and Diana Yanez (Margaret Cho’s “Sensuous Woman”).

In this episode I sit down with stand-up comedian, actress, writer and long time friend Diana Yanez. I’ve seen her at the Comedy Store, Improv, Flappers, Laugh Factory and she is absolutely hilarious.  We talk about her appearances on different tours, in Margaret Cho's SENSUOUS WOMAN SHOW as well as with Cindy Lauper, Debbie Harry and Rosie O’Donnell on the TRUE COLORS TOUR. So many great and funny stories! You can currently see her performing Off-Broadway at the Soho Playhouse in NYC with the critically acclaimed show she created and co-stars in with 2 other very funny ladies (written and performed with Sandra Valls and Maria Russell), "Latina Christmas Special". We laugh and bond over growing up with Cuban parents and all the crazy funny drama that comes along with that. You don't want to miss this episode!

Maria Russell of the PRSA discusses her experience with the Public Relations Society of America, and Syracuse University.

For God has not Given Us a Spirit of Fear

For God has not Given Us a Spirit of Fear

For God has not Given Us a Spirit of Fear

País Estados Unidos Director David F. Sandberg Guion David F. Sandberg, Eric Heisserer Música Benjamin Wallfisch Fotografía Marc Spicer Reparto Teresa Palmer, Maria Bello, Gabriel Bateman, Alexander DiPersia, Billy Burke, Alicia Vela-Bailey, Amiah Miller, Andi Osho, Maria Russell, Elizabeth Pan, Ava Cantrell, Rolando Boyce, Emily Alyn Lind, Lotta Losten Sinopsis Rebecca es una joven que es perseguida desde niña por Diana, un ser extraño que sólo puede atacar en la oscuridad. El espíritu de Diana está relacionado con la madre de Rebecca. Ahora que se está convirtiendo en adulta, Diana va a por su hermano pequeño, Martin. Adaptación del corto de 2013, "Lights Out ", del mismo David F. Sandberg.

Take a ride with Rocco and Moonlight Mike this episode while they talk about TV; new shows, big hits, current flops, and top headlines. Rocco introduces the cast and walks them into the "Hollywood Late Night Ice Box", located in the basement of "The Network Studios". It's a chilly night with plenty of comedy to warm you up, and Rocco's serving "Roc Cocoa". The guys picked up a few new Sponsors this episode, "Captain Jacks Cash for Gold", "Roccages Sausages", and "Vague Advertising". You will enjoy a ring of the "doorbell" by one of Rocco and Moonlight's favorite humans, "JoJo", and also by Special Guest Actress, who you've seen on "The Mentalist", "Major Crimes", "CSI", "Southland", and "Criminal Minds", Maria Russell. Rocco, Moonlight, and the Cast will play a game of "TV Show Theme Songs", and "Late Night Spitfire". Special Musical performance by Recording Artist, "Dave Crossland".

Jesus Figueroa, @Thisfunktional of thisfunktional.com talks with Latina Christmas Special creator, actor and co-writer Diana Yanez. The Latino Theater Company (LTC), operators of the Los Angeles Theatre Center (LATC) present The Latina Christmas Special created by Diana Yanez, written by and starring critically acclaimed Latina comediennes Diana Yanez, Sandra Valls and Maria Russell under the direction of Geoffrey Rivas, to be presented at the Los Angeles Theater Center. Follow and interact with Jesus: Twitter - @Thisfunktional Instagram - @Thisfunktional Facebook - ThisfunktionalLA Tumblr - Thisfunktional AudioBoom - Thisfunktional YouTube - Thisfunktional Get social with "The Latina Christmas Special" at: https://facebook.com/latinachristmasspecial https://twitter.com/latinachristmaspecial @latinachristmaspecial https://instagram.com/latinachristmasspecial @theLATC #theLATC #Podcast #Podcasts #Interview #Interviews #Thisfunktional #LosAngeles #LosAngelesTheater #Theater #LosAngelesTheaterCenter #Latin #Latino #Latina #Hispanic #Mexican #PuertoRican #Cuban #Lithuanian #American #Christmas

Jesus Figueroa, @Thisfunktional of thisfunktional.com talks with Latina Christmas Special actor and co-writer Sandra Valls. The Latino Theater Company (LTC), operators of the Los Angeles Theatre Center (LATC) present The Latina Christmas Special created by Diana Yanez, written by and starring critically acclaimed Latina comediennes Diana Yanez, Sandra Valls and Maria Russell under the direction of Geoffrey Rivas, to be presented at the Los Angeles Theater Center. Follow and interact with Jesus: Twitter - @thisfunktional Instagram - @thisfunktional Facebook - ThisfunktionalLA Tumblr - Thisfunktional AudioBoom - Thisfunktional YouTube - Thisfunktional Get social with "The Latina Christmas Special" at: https://facebook.com/latinachristmasspecial https://twitter.com/latinachristmaspecial @latinachristmaspecial https://instagram.com/latinachristmasspecial @thelatc #theLATC #Podcast #Podcasts #Interview #Interviews #Thisfunktional #LosAngeles #LosAngelesTheater #Theater #LosAngelesTheaterCenter #Latin #Latino #Latina #Hispanic #Mexican #PuertoRican #Cuban #Lithuanian #American #Christmas

Jesus Figueroa, @Thisfunktional of thisfunktional.com talks with Latina Christmas Special actor and co-writer Maria Russell. The Latino Theater Company (LTC), operators of the Los Angeles Theatre Center (LATC) present The Latina Christmas Special created by Diana Yanez, written by and starring critically acclaimed Latina comediennes Diana Yanez, Sandra Valls and Maria Russell under the direction of Geoffrey Rivas, to be presented at the Los Angeles Theater Center. Follow and interact with Jesus: Twitter - @thisfunktional Instagram - @thisfunktional Facebook - ThisfunktionalLA Tumblr - Thisfunktional AudioBoom - Thisfunktional YouTube - Thisfunktional Get social with "The Latina Christmas Special" at: https://facebook.com/latinachristmasspecial https://twitter.com/latinachristmaspecial @latinachristmaspecial https://instagram.com/latinachristmasspecial @thelatc #theLATC #Podcast #Podcasts #Interview #Interviews #Thisfunktional #LosAngeles #LosAngelesTheater #Theater #LosAngelesTheaterCenter #Latin #Latino #Latina #Hispanic #Mexican #PuertoRican #Cuban #Lithuanian #American #Christmas

Jesus Figueroa, @Thisfunktional of thisfunktional.com, talks with Latina Christmas Special director Geoffrey Rivas. The Latino Theater Company (LTC), operators of the Los Angeles Theatre Center (LATC) present The Latina Christmas Special created by Diana Yanez, written by and starring critically acclaimed Latina comediennes Diana Yanez, Sandra Valls and Maria Russell under the direction of Geoffrey Rivas, to be presented at the Los Angeles Theater Center. Follow and interact with Jesus: Twitter - @thisfunktional Instagram - @thisfunktional Facebook - ThisfunktionalLA Tumblr - Thisfunktional AudioBoom - Thisfunktional YouTube - Thisfunktional Get social with "The Latina Christmas Special" at: https://facebook.com/latinachristmasspecial https://twitter.com/latinachristmaspecial @latinachristmaspecial https://instagram.com/latinachristmasspecial @thelatc #theLATC #Podcast #Podcasts #Interview #Interviews #Thisfunktional #LosAngeles #LosAngelesTheater #Theater #LosAngelesTheaterCenter #Latin #Latino #Latina #Hispanic #Mexican #PuertoRican #Cuban #Lithuanian #American #Christmas