My name is LaSandra Barnhill. I grew up in central Florida in the 80s and 90s, when the transition from big hair, jelly shoes, scrunch socks, and plastic t-shirt clips slowly transitioned into JNCOs, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, and grunge. The Magic Kingdom was overrated and lousy traffic on I-4 was the bane of most of central Florida’s existence, and likely still is. I wouldn’t change any of it for the world, which is why I’m one of the author Carl Hiaasen’s biggest fans. He’s a Florida-based author and most of his stories take place here. If you’re not familiar, please check him out. His writing style is hilarious and loved by Floridians and non-Floridians alike.
I moved to Tallahassee, Florida in the Summer of 1999 to attend Florida State University. It turned out that my college career path was a long and winding one, finally bringing me to pursue a Master in Information Science (MSI). I still live in Tallahassee, Florida near the university’s campus. I work for the Florida Department of Education in the Student Services department. We are mental health-focused and school-based social services driven.
Both my work and personal life are centered on youth-focused servitude. I am highly motivated to enrich students’ and young people’s lives. I am a Scout Leader with Scouts BSA, formerly the Boy Scouts of America. I’ve been active in scouting for over 10 years. My oldest son is an Eagle Scout and my youngest is working on his project. The Scout slogan is “Do a Good Turn Daily,” and we try to commit to at least one community service project a month.
In other hobby news, I foster a deep fondness for retro role-playing games (RPGs), of course, my generation pioneered them.
Less common, my family practices Native American Dance and we sometimes travel for my oldest son to participate in Grass Dance at Powwow.
We also love roller skating, weekend trips, and museums!
I started listening to podcasts when I discovered Serial, a spin-off of the “This American Life” production, which was originally released in 2014 and was hosted and produced by Sarah Koenig. I was hooked and have remained an avid podcast listener ever since. When I learned in the first lecture that we were going to learn to produce a podcast, I was stoked! I’m really looking forward to this class.
Love the variety and breadth of your experiences and YES to podcasts! YES!
Hi LaSandra,
What immediately stood out to me in your blog post was the amount of personality and detail you included right away. Because of the flavorful writing, I felt I could grasp your character very early in your post. I saw you posted the Triforce as one of your pictures. What is your favorite Zelda game? Mine is Majoras Mask.
I’m currently replaying Majora’s Mask, though I’m at somewhat of a standstill in the sidequests before the Zora temple. I do think that Breath of the Wild has taken the game to an entirely new level!
Hello LaSandra! Your post was very informative and really gave readers a sense of your personality. I enjoyed how detailed you were. Your tone of voice felt friendly and relatable. That is a beautiful photo of your son dancing and feel honored to get a glimpse of your family’s culture. Thank you for sharing!