The McElroys’ live podcasting will serve as the 30th anniversary annual symposium for the Yeager society. Each year, the senior students in the Yeager program organize a symposium to educate and enlighten the Marshall and Huntington communities on a particular topic of their choosing.
This year, the senior class chose to feature the McElroy family, who are best known for the podcast My Brother, My Brother and Me, which has consistently been ranked among the top ten podcasts in the nation and was recently integrated into a television series on Seeso.
Brooke Estep, a senior Yeager Scholar helping to coordinate the McElroys’ visit, said bringing the McElroys to perform in their hometown of Huntington presents a unique opportunity to showcase the talent that can come out of the West Virginia community.
“Whenever they’re in the spotlight, they find a way to tie it into Huntington,” Estep said. “That’s something beneficial to the Yeager program, to show us that we don’t have to leave to do great things and influence change.”
Estep said the podcasts were an especially innovative topic choice for this symposium, as the Yeager program has never before featured a live podcast recording for the annual event.
Shmanners shares Travis and Teresa McElroy’s humorous ideas for improving one’s etiquette, while Sawbones offers a discussion between Dr. Sydnee and Justin McElroy of unique medical history. Dr. Sydnee McElroy graduated from Marshall University as a Yeager Scholar in 2005.
Yeager Coordinator Cara Bailey said she believes the podcasts, while both comedic in nature, will inspire a serious reflection of how Marshall students might be able to use their own platforms to give back to their communities.
“The McElroys are incredibly tuned in to today’s world and will be an exceptional resource for Marshall students,” Bailey said. “Their podcasts have been downloaded millions of times over the years; people want to hear from them. I hope our students take advantage of the opportunity in such an intimate setting to ask their own questions.”
Tickets are free for the first 1,000 students to visit the Yeager Society’s booth on the Memorial Student Plaza from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., today through Friday.
The public can pick up the remaining tickets Oct. 23 through 27 in Old Main 230G. Tickets will not be available at the door the day of the event.
This year’s symposium is sponsored by Dr. Ken and Margaret Wolfe and St. Mary’s Medical Center.