You Can Grow Here If You Show Up

The last day of class hits differently when you can name what a place gave you and what you helped build while you were there. We’re joined by Rockhurst seniors Langston Humphrey and Davis Long, two student leaders who’ve helped strengthen the Black Student Union while balancing speech and debate, mock trial, and athletics. They walk us through the real texture of senior spring, from finals and AP tests to the emotional shift of realizing the “lasts” are piling up fast. 

Next, we zoom out to what comes after Rockhurst High School. Davis shares why Howard University fits his goals in finance, political science, and pre law, and Langston talks about reporting to the United States Naval Academy and preparing for basic training and a demanding first year. Their college decisions connect directly to Jesuit college prep values: discipline, service, and learning how to lead when it’s uncomfortable. If you’re a student making your own college plan or a parent searching for Kansas City private school outcomes, their reflections land with clarity. 

We also dig into what belonging takes, especially for African American students adjusting to a new environment. The conversation includes the BSU visit to KC Pickle Club, the importance of alumni support, and why representation in the classroom can change a student’s confidence sooner than we realize. Add in stories from senior service projects, from a week in Guatemala to witnessing food insecurity at Lee’s Summit Social Services, and you get an honest look at how service learning shapes perspective. 

If this resonates, subscribe to Rock Talk, share the episode with a student or family considering Rockhurst, and leave a review with the lesson you want every teenager to hear.

Transcript

Welcome To Rock Talk

SPEAKER_00 0:30

Welcome to Rock Talk, the official podcast of Rockhurst High School in Kansas City, Missouri, where we explore the voices, values, and vibrant life of our Jesuit college prep community. Hosted by the Admissions and Marketing Team, each episode features conversations with students, faculty, alumni, and special guests as we share stories of academic excellence, faith formation, brotherhood, and service. Whether you're a prospective family, a proud alumnus, or simply curious about what makes Rockhurst unique, this is your inside look at Life at the Rock. And I'm your host, Steve Redman. I am the director of Admissions and Marketing. One of the directors of Admissions and Marketing, excuse me. Back with some more seniors. We got uh the last ride happening for our guys in the building right now. We've been running a series of seniors through here. We'll try to get some more before it's all said and done, and they're gone, gone. But I got two seniors with me. I'm gonna let them introduce themselves and then we're gonna jump into the interview. So go ahead, introduce yourself to the audience, tell them your name, and you know, we'll go from there.

SPEAKER_03 1:45

Yeah, I'm Langston Humphrey. Obviously, like he said, I'm a senior up here. I'm a part of a couple different activities, black student union, speech and debate team tracking cross-country.

SPEAKER_02 1:57

And yeah, I'm joined uh here with Mr. Redman and Langston. My name is Davis Long, a part of Speech and Debate Mock Trial, Black Student Union Finance Club, and baseball as well. Excited to be here, Mr. Redmond.

SPEAKER_00 2:11

Yeah, I'm glad you guys uh I know we tried to set this up earlier in the year and the schedule got crazy, but I'm glad we're here at this moment because we got a lot to talk about, man. You guys are getting ready to head on out. This is the last official day of class for these boys. And then what we got, like finals next week, is that it?

SPEAKER_02 2:31

I don't got any final.

SPEAKER_00 2:32

Okay, so he's out.

SPEAKER_02 2:34

I got one final next week.

SPEAKER_00 2:36

Okay, when's your final?

SPEAKER_03 2:37

I got a math final Tuesday.

SPEAKER_00 2:39

Okay, okay.

SPEAKER_03 2:40

So I got one AP test on Friday, but no final. So I only got one.

SPEAKER_00 2:46

Wait, when you say Friday, you mean tomorrow?

SPEAKER_03 2:48

No, next Friday.

SPEAKER_00 2:49

Okay. All right, so what do you gotta do to not uh because that was not my experience when I was here. So what do you gotta do to not have finals? Like, how does that work?

SPEAKER_03 2:58

Well, so it varies for some teachers, but the baseline is really just like a 90 average third and fourth quarter for a second semester. And if you have that, you're exempt.

SPEAKER_00 3:08

I see. So I wasn't uh performing up to standard to qualify for the no final thing. Got it. Okay, cool. And then what uh what math are you in?

SPEAKER_02 3:17

Oh, I'm in uh pre-calculus right now, just the prerequisite before I go off to college next year.

Finals And College Plans Ahead

SPEAKER_00 3:23

Okay, okay. So let's talk about college next year. Where are you guys going, or have you decided yet, or where are you at in that process?

SPEAKER_02 3:31

I'm going Howard University, studying finance and a minor in political science on the pre-law track as well.

SPEAKER_03 3:39

Going to the United States Naval Academy in Napolis, Maryland. I don't quite know what I'm majoring in. I'm debating between economics and political science.

SPEAKER_00 3:48

Okay. The Naval Academy. How where is Howard at? Oh, D.C. It's in DC. Okay, so be right next to each other. Like I said, I gotta get that's cool, man. I I love that for y'all, man. I gotta get my geography together. Which one is in Atlanta? Oh, that's Morehouse. Morehouse. Okay, got you. So, all right. I mean, kind of not really close at all, but either way, that's cool that y'all are gonna be uh close, man. That's one thing that I think I was thankful for. So, like when I way back when I left The Rock, I went to school with my cousin, which was just uh one less discomfort or one less thing to worry about. It's like at least I'm going with somebody that I know. Yeah. Um, you know, versus you know, being out there on your own. So that hour will be, you know, hopefully, boys, stay connected and tight. Cause I don't know if this is a secret or not, but do you have you gotta do anything when you go to the Naval Academy? You gonna be like in training in the trenches for the first six months, or what you gonna be doing?

SPEAKER_03 4:46

It's it's the first six weeks is basic training. I report June 25th, but like the whole year is gonna be tough for the whole first year.

SPEAKER_00 4:54

For sure, for sure. What's uh so will you do basic there or will you be somewhere at one of the other bases?

SPEAKER_03 5:03

It's so for for the Naval Academy, it's all at the academy is where the basic training is.

SPEAKER_00 5:08

Okay. Yeah. That's cool. So you'll be able to get get acclimated and yeah, you check in, you do some welfare checks on you, man.

SPEAKER_02 5:15

Oh man, I don't even know if they'll let me in.

SPEAKER_00 5:17

Yeah, that's gonna be uh that's gonna be wild, man. But that's cool, man. Congratulations on that.

SPEAKER_03 5:22

Thank you.

BSU Leadership And KC Pickle Club

SPEAKER_00 5:23

It's good to hear, you know, that you guys are, you know, continuing to move forward and do your thing. So let's talk about this, because you know, this per this particular episode, we just yesterday we got to do something that was pretty cool with the black student union, which was, you know, go visit KC Pickle Club, which is owned and operated by Emir Pearson Jr., which is an alum of the great class of 1984, as they always say. But you guys have been at the helm of trying to really grow and connect, you know, our African American brothers in the school. So on. Appreciate that and kudos to that. I think it's probably as strong as it's ever been just with you know what we were, you know, working through this year. So yesterday, we got to go do that event. Kind of now that we had a little few hours, if you will, to kind of reflect and digest on that, what do you what do you think about you know that event yesterday?

SPEAKER_02 6:19

Given the fact that, you know, us as seniors, the most capstony thing that we get is our senior service project to reflect on how much service we're doing in the community. I would say that in-house work that we do is very important to like remark and like uh look back on. And that was a good experience to like look back at all the good things that we've done for the Black Student Union this year, me and Langston, and uh have a time to, you know, I guess celebrate all that greatness that we brought back into the building and the greatness in the community that we brought back as well within you know how we all interact with each other as well.

SPEAKER_01 6:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 6:58

For me, I would say just looking at where kind of like what you said, how the strongest that the black kind of community's been at rockers, looking at when I first came into the school on like all the things we didn't have, especially within the black community, and like there were definitely black kids that just we weren't as connected and as tight, and looking at what we built throughout the years and like it's just been really special. And pickleball, like yesterday, I feel like was a great way to cap it off, kind of a final event. I know we had been planning that kind of throughout the year and it like finally actually happened. I think that's amazing.

Senior Year Highlights And Service

SPEAKER_00 7:35

Yeah, for sure, man. And kudos to you guys, because that's that's the one thing that we were thinking about as we were all sitting over there, is just hoping that not just the guys that reap the benefit of it, but you as the leaders see the vision of how important that is, you know, in this interesting full circle moment of you know, current students being at an alumni's and dev uh establishment, you know, kind of putting a a pin in a year of like, oh like how do we keep momentum on this and make sure that we continue to stay connected and support each other and help each other be successful, which is really cool because that's the overtone of this whole operation, which is Rockers High School, is you know, a bunch of guys in the building moving forward and pursuing excellence and you know, being connected in this brotherhood. So I thought it was wonderful. I thought it was one one for the listeners. If you've never been to KC Pickle Club, which is literally across the highway from where the stadiums currently are, beautiful facility. I don't I don't want to say I was surprised, you know, knowing Emmett, but you know, never been in there. So being able to see how wonderfully that building was transformed and for to be at the essence of it, a concept that comes from this idea of being a man for others and the community was really cool too. So along that same line, though, you guys were talking yesterday about a lot of different things, and you know, some of it is tied to the questions I'm gonna ask you, but with this being the last formal day of a four-year tenure at Rockhurst High School, what is one of your favorite moments this year as a senior?

SPEAKER_01 9:26

For me, I would there's definitely a lot, it's hard to choose from.

SPEAKER_03 9:33

I would say I might have to go with two.

SPEAKER_01 9:35

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 9:36

It was one, my senior service project to Guatemala.

SPEAKER_01 9:41

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 9:41

I know I'm all I I tend to have like not negative attitude, but like a oh like do I really want to do this when I I'm kind of trying new things. But when I got to Guatemala, like I loved it. Like it was it was hard work, it was definitely wasn't easy. We kind of disconnected from the typical world, but that experience of just being able to like be there with other people, not just like serving them, but being there with them and learning so much about that culture and just understanding life in a different way and a different perspective, I feel like was it was one fun. It was a great it was fun to just be with people and just talk to people. But it was it was a great experience. And then the second one I would say was probably just going to like state for debate with just like the debate team and all those kids. It was a great experience, even though like we didn't do as well as we wanted. We were all like so like tied together and just like the brotherhoods.

SPEAKER_00 10:37

That's cool. And real quick, coach me up on a couple things you just said. So, how long were you in Guatemala?

SPEAKER_03 10:43

It was a week.

Mock Trial Vs Speech And Debate

SPEAKER_00 10:44

It was a week long trip. Okay, that's cool. I've heard a I've heard a lot of great things. I've never been on one of those service trips. I hope to go in the future. But um, and then so it's debate. So you went to state and debate and mock trial?

SPEAKER_03 10:58

Yeah, I went to state and this is my first year doing mock trial, but the state for mock trial and debate are like two different things.

SPEAKER_00 11:06

So how are they different as a as somebody who does not know? Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 11:10

So I have pretty so mock trial is like its own like thing, whereas speech and debate is rant the state competition is ran by Misha. Okay. So they have like like the same medals that you get for sports, like you get that same thing for sure.

SPEAKER_00 11:23

And that's what I saw, because I I know we got a you know, just FYI, because we care about excellence here. Yeah. Speech and debate has their own trophy case that I've seen. So that's where like my mind, so when we talk about mock trial, is it a overlap? Like a lot of guys that do speech and debate do mock trial?

SPEAKER_03 11:40

Yeah. Okay. And like mock trial is really just like the court aspect of it. Like the like I used to think they're like the same thing too, but mock trial is like you're in court kind of doing that, and then speech and debate's kind of like honing your skills, kind of or whatever.

SPEAKER_00 11:53

Like, so when you say in court, because I'm intrigued. Yeah, because you're seeing a lot of guys move around, and there's you know, quite a few guys that I'm familiar with that are in both, uh, or it seems to be. So like it's literally like there's a case, and you're the prosecutor, I'm a the the defendant or whatever.

SPEAKER_03 12:13

You get there's witness, I was a witness this year, it's my first year. So there's witnesses, attorneys, all of that, and you guys all kind of score like points on like how good your performances were, how well you did, okay, cross-examinations, objections, all of that, and then like that's how you get points from Octra. It's more of like a team aspect, I would say.

SPEAKER_00 12:31

So I think that sidebar, guys, you're you're getting to hear a real combo. So, but so when you say team, like prosecutor, defendant, judge, witness, we're all on a team.

SPEAKER_03 12:44

Oh, no, no, no, no.

SPEAKER_00 12:45

Or or am I going against you?

SPEAKER_03 12:47

Three witnesses for each. So there's the plaintiff and the defense. So the plaintiff, for example, if we were on the plaintiff, there'd be three witnesses, there'd be like two turnt attorneys, and then like they get points for their opening, closing, objections, cross-examinations, correct. And then like the witnesses also get points for their performance on direct examination and cross-examination.

SPEAKER_00 13:09

Gotcha. Okay. I gotta see. Can people watch this? Oh, yeah. You can, yes. Like you can show up. Okay, I'm gonna put it on the calendar next year. Go go to a mock trial event. That's that's pretty cool, man. Yeah, that's cool. So, uh, what uh what about you, Davis?

SPEAKER_02 13:23

Yeah, uh, for me, my senior year, I've had a pretty uh interesting senior year, but I would say my uh senior service project was probably my most impactful moment for my senior year. Getting to spend time at least summit social services and getting to be hands-on within like the community that I personally live in, and seeing how so many people are affected by food insecurity, even in Lee Summit. I wouldn't expect it because I don't see like a lot of homeless people on the streets, but there's a lot of people who came in day in and day out, you know, getting their orders and stuff. But the the main thing that I notice every day when going to Lee Summit social is how like these people are no different from like any of the people that I know today going to Rockers or like some of the students I interact with. Like they're just like regular human beings that like we all come across by and come across no matter like the economic status that they're at. And like that was something that was like amazing to see because like that was some of the I would say enjoyable days that I've had, like my senior year, just being able to be so free and uh just like help out and be so hands-on. You know, a funny moment while I was there is we had this uh one lady, her name was Mary, and she would be overseeing us every single day. And I I was with uh two other kids within my grade, and some mornings, like we were just like, Man, I don't really know, like I really want to stay the whole day. I mean, they send us here, they said they they bring us in for uh you know the morning, then like they at lunchtime, like, you know, some days, like uh some some days, you know, we we we uh we might not came back.

SPEAKER_01 15:02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 15:02

Because uh because sometimes we would have all of our work done in the morning, and uh, you know, that was like something weird, but I don't know. Uh senior service was just like a fun time. Also, I enjoyed all going to all the basketball games. Our basketball team was so good this year. Yeah, they were. They were amazing. And yeah, I enjoyed uh I enjoyed the basketball team a lot.

SPEAKER_00 15:22

Okay. What when you look back at your whole time here at Rockhurst High School, what would you say, you know, and and I mean it could be any year, any grade, it doesn't matter, but like what was you know one of your fond memories over the four years, you know, that kind of shaped your experience here?

SPEAKER_02 15:45

I would have to say me and Langston talked about this yesterday, but it was at that uh our Northtown debate tournament, uh first tournament we ever competed in. We had uh I wouldn't say we had low ex we had low expectations, but we got a high result as we won the tournament for the first time, and it was just kind of just showed how well we bounced off each other and worked together as a team. But you know, I was telling the story during the pickleball club, how like second round came, we're going against two students from Lee Summon North. You know, this isn't their first year, and they're kind of like they got a name in this debate thing. You know, we we step into the round, they got all the uh the formations uh proper. They, you know, they're they're giving the right speeches. And you know, me and Lacey, we had to get through a hell marry, you know. We we were in the huddle during our prep time and we were like, hey, I'm not gonna lie, man, we might be down on points right now, but hey, I'm I'm I'm gonna throw out this ad hominem attack, okay? Yeah, and we we just gonna see what the judge thinks about that tomorrow morning. So we get we get we get into the round, and I say, Yeah, they they they were personally attacking us, you know, had hominid throughout this debate. You know, they were attacking our character and not even our case. And the judge was shaking his head like, uh, he might they might have been doing that, they might have been doing that. Next morning, we we come in and bang, we're 2-0. We were going into the tournament and we have a little momentum going, but that was a fun uh moment because it just like shaped how like even when like the odds were stacked against us, we found a way to like persevere and and work through that. And that's how we address a lot of our school work as well. Here it's just like you never really know when you're gonna reach like a stump in the road, but are you gonna give up and quit and then just like throw in the white towel? Are you gonna like figure out a way to fight through and find and like get the result that you that you possibly need? So that'd be like the most like ground-shaping way that I saw my sophomore year.

SPEAKER_00 17:35

That was that's something too, you know, that you never wanna because I tell all the folks that are on this podcast, like we're not just talking to the folks in the building. Like there's thousands of people that listen to this, and there's a young man out there or family, or just a person in general that you know might learn or take some wisdom from it. Because what you're talking about is a skill set for life. You know, stuff gets hard and people I think by default try to find a way out. You know, what I mean is like it's the natural inclination to look for a way out of a tough situation versus persevere and press through it. You know, and talking to a lot of families that are interested in their sons coming here. I love when our guys, unprompted, can articulate the same thing I tell the families. It's like every dude that's made it through Rockhurst is a grinder. Because you have to be. Like the culture, the environment, like no matter if you think you are or not, like you have to be that because the demand is so high. The expectations are so high, and it's not always gonna feel good. You're gonna get behind. Sometimes life happens, and next thing you know, it's like I either can press forward or I can make an excuse or find a way out and try to duck the responsibility. So a hundred percent that's uh that's a real thing, and I hope you boys carry that with you. What about you, Langston?

SPEAKER_03 18:57

I would say the same experience. I would the lesson I took from it might have been slightly different though. Just because I I I didn't want to do debate, kind of like I was saying yesterday. Like I was I was cross-country basketball track, like me and my brother. That's like that was it. In basketball season, I wasn't the best. I was like, I'm gonna still try out I'm gonna make sophomore team. I'm I'm I'm gonna make a I'm gonna be varcy one day. And then like my mom's like, no, you're done. You're gonna try speech and debate. I'm like, I don't I don't know if that's for me. I don't like I don't I don't really know any of the kids in it. I don't really know if I I wanna do that, but I never realized like the amount of like lessons that you gain from it and the amount of like you can there's a lot of success in speech and debate, like there's a lot of opportunity to be successful, and then so just doing that first tournament, like I was so like I didn't do any like speech events. I only did debate at the time. It was public forum, and I was just over the top nervous. I remember the first round, like we go in and I was still nervous, but like we I knew we won. I was like, okay, okay. And I'm like, okay, maybe I'm kind of in that second round, I'm like, I don't know. And then like the rest of the tournament starts getting harder and harder, you get to the semifinals, finals, and then we win. I'm just like at the end of it, I'm like, wow, like two black kids, speaking the bait partners, just one at rock from rockers. I'm like, wow. And like it changed my mindset because I'm like, so I can really do this. Like the stuff my mom was telling me, like, you have talents and other things. I was like, wow.

SPEAKER_00 20:32

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 20:32

And then it was just so like transformative for me because like I realized that like I love sports, but I don't need sports. I have other things, I have other skill sets.

Hopes For Rockhurst And Representation

SPEAKER_00 20:42

And they uh and I mean, and this is the thing I've always told anybody that I've ever mentored in the sports space, is like it it ends, man. You know, like the reality is you I'm a big proponent of folks maximizing their opportunities, right? So sport for me, I was a three-sport guy when I was here. That opened opportunities up for me to get a college education. Yeah, but it ended, it ended for me, you know, abruptly, and you know, in storybook fashion, career ending injury, but nonetheless, like it doesn't matter. One one day that jersey is getting hung up, right? And the the perspective to be able to understand that, like, yeah, man, like you're gonna have a lot of fun playing baseball or basketball, running cross-country and all of that. But you're going to put that up at some point, take with you what you can from those experiences, right? Like, if you love running, don't ever stop running. Because when you get into the real game of life, you need this body to work and move as best it can as long as it can, right? So just being able to orient your mind around, you know, oh, there is more out there. And it doesn't mean that, and this is just a common thing that I I hear from guys and girls that I talk to, like you it doesn't mean that you're less than because you're not on a team, a basketball team, a football, baseball team. It's like, yeah, and again, no matter how great they are, all of them are gonna end up in the same spot at some point with oh, I gotta what else now? And you know, it's it's cool that you got to experience that early because it is, man, like you don't love it, like it, enjoy it. I don't need it. It's just a thing that I do, right? So that's that's cool, man. I'm I'm glad that y'all had that experience, which is you know, again, an an Our in our culture a little bit different sometimes, you know, from you know playing football or basketball or whatever the the the typical things are. So let me ask you this, and this is just something that I'm always curious about anytime I get to talk to a student. What would you say is something that you hope to see in the future from Rockhurst High School or at Rockhurst High School? And it doesn't have to be anything deep. You know, I know yesterday it was a similar question to ask, and somebody said, I gotta walk like across the whole building to get to a water fountain from one side. Like it could be whatever, man. But like I'm I'm just curious about this because you know, I was here 20 years ago. A lot has changed in 20 years. We've stayed the same in the right ways, but we've also changed in the right ways. And looking forward into the future, like what's something that you would like to see, you know, at Rockhurst High School?

SPEAKER_03 23:25

So for me, I was when I was asked this question yesterday, it was probably the hardest question I was asked. Because I would say, like, I used to probably like, oh, Rockers doesn't this, this, that, but like during my time, like, like I start to realize like we really have like gotten a lot better from freshman to senior year. So I don't know if I can think of anything like super deep off the top of my head that I want like fixed. I I could think of like the little things, like, oh, like the bathrooms, I want some dividers in between them. Like, I can I can think of little stuff, but like I would say the biggest thing that I want to like continue to happen is the black student union. Because I feel like when I was and and this is somewhat kind of still an issue, even though we have a black student union, is that I feel like a lot of the younger kids, especially that are African American, have a hard time adjusting when they get to Rockers. And I feel like especially like when I like the kids when I was a senior that are African American, when we were like freshmen, a lot of them aren't here anymore because I don't feel like we had that like brotherhood. And like we might have had it, but it wasn't like organized and no one was keeping us together. And I feel like because of the Black Student Union, it's like help so many of those kids out. Like they're tight, they know each other. Like I was saying yesterday, we have such a strong freshman and sophomore class, just with brotherhood in general. So I feel like I ri I really do hope the Black Student Union and just all types of clubs that like keep people together continue and continue that success and just like having kids branch out, like those sophomores and freshmen that are super good at sports, have them try different things. Like I I want them to get that same feeling of like I don't need sports that I got for him, and just that. That's what I would say. But I feel like Rockers have done a really good job of addressing the problem when I look back.

SPEAKER_02 25:13

And I'm with Langston on this. This was the hardest question that Mr. Roberson had asked us. But I would say that the one thing I heard from one of the sophomores, Tristan Johnson, he brought it to my attention and I would and I had to agree with him. He was like, I if I could have said something, I would have been like, I wish we had a little bit more black representation in the classroom as well. Especially as like a young like student, those freshmen, sophomore your classes, you know, not only are you walking into an experience that you might not be familiar with, like my other classmate said, he came from majority black school and then he comes to a majority white school, and now all of a sudden he feels out of place. But in reality, he's not. But he doesn't, he doesn't know where he like where to step into place and where he can find himself best integrated in, which is why you know the black student union as links and said would be the greatest thing to leave a lasting mark for us. But that representation in the classroom, knowing that we have resources like you, Mr. Redman, or Mr. Roberson or Mr. Thomas, that like are people that we can rely on and speak to as well, outside of our counselors, those are some of like the core things that I feel like the school is like lacking upon, at least from that perspective, because every uh one thing my coach says right now is like your perception is your reality, and what you see is what you tend to believe. But that might not be true. So when I think about like knowing and seeing how a lot of us have grown, I just wish that you know we had more black representation in the classroom through teachers, especially when we did the panel for Black History Month. We had five teachers up there, and one of them no, none of the students even knew he was African American. They all thought that he he was he was white, but all but his whole family background, he was an African-American student growing up in Sedelia, Missouri, and that story isn't highlighted for him, and nobody understands his background and where he comes from and where he gets all of his like his, I would say, his personality from and why he acts, why he acts. But that was something interesting for me, and something that the school had all learned at the same time, which was kind of empowerful because like now they all know, like, oh yeah, Mr. Larson, yeah, that's a that's a black teacher, and uh he he and he and he is like a very nice person to you know talk to and get information from as a legal mind. But that type of representation I just feel like would help out a lot, unless at least for those younger students who feel like they might not have anyone to talk to. Because I I know me personally, my mom told me first day go speak to Mr. Roberson, but I didn't speak to him until my junior year. So it's like I I wish that I had a teacher or something like that, you know, those early years to speak to and uh get information from.

Advice For The Next Class

SPEAKER_00 28:04

Yeah, and I think it's um it's always a challenge when you look at some of those factors too, because you know that's an issue in a lot of places. You know, when you have that conversation with educators, you know, the black representation, the male representation now we we have the opposite, at least with the male part, because a lot of our teachers are males. But like how do you you know, and I'd encourage you guys to think about this too, because it's like how do you get the needle moved in that area? You kind of highlighted a nuance of it, you know, when so many people in our community come up, what are they geared towards? Sports and doing this and doing that, and and so trying to get people to understand no man, like your impact in the classroom means something a lot, way more than your ability to shoot that basketball. Not to say that you can't go be the basketball player, but being able to have your presence in a classroom matters and is it more impactful in a way to a group of young men, whether we're talking about here or another place, that says, Oh, I can identify differently with this, you know, which is why I gave y'all my number to yesterday. Like, dude, don't ever there there's no reason for y'all to think like you can't talk to me or come find me or whatever the case is for anything. Right. You know, and and that is definitely something that, you know, is not it's not oblivious in the in the building in terms of wanting the wanting the same thing, truthfully. I always look at the perspective of like, okay, you know, my wife, for instance, who's in education, she has the same issue at her school. And trying to get people to understand the importance of that, and trying to get candidates to understand the importance of that. Like, do you realize you just being here is doing something that you don't even know? And it is, it's a it's a it's a big it's a bigger issue for sure, but it it matters, you know, for sure. It it it means a lot to the young man in the building to be able to say, even if you don't talk to them for two years, you know somebody's over there, you know, type thing. But uh either way, man, the bell just rung. Last question for y'all. Okay. What is one piece of advice that you would give a young Langston, a young Davis, or just a kid behind you? Doesn't matter what year, freshman, senior, whatever it might be, or freshman junior, whatever, what's a piece of advice that you want to leave behind for somebody?

SPEAKER_01 30:44

I would say just enjoy it overall.

SPEAKER_03 30:49

Enjoy the experience at Rockers because like I know young me coming in, you often think like oh, like I don't know if like oh private school, like it's gonna be hard. You it's easy to think of all the hard things that you're gonna have to do, but there's so many lessons and there's so much good within all of that that I feel like if you just enjoy it, if you reach out, try new things. I would say one of the biggest things at Rockers is like you're gonna get what you put in. Like there's if if you spend your whole four years and you don't try new things or you don't try anything at all, you don't branch out and do that type of stuff, it's it's not gonna be as enjoyable. The more stuff you do, the more people you meet, the more perspective you see. I've I feel like one of my strengths being at Rockers is I know so many different people from so many different backgrounds. And being able to reach out and do that is probably one of the biggest things that's gonna make it the most enjoyable experience.

unknown 31:46

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 31:47

For sure.

Closing Thoughts And Farewell

SPEAKER_02 31:47

And I would say just block out all the noise. You know, there's a lot of people that like want to see Rockhurst men fail. And there's a lot of people that want to beat Rockhurst men, and unfortunately, there's a lot of people who wish that they could be a part of what we are a part of. And I would say that you just have to block out the negative noise that will be thrown at you your way, you know, your freshman year, your friends might, you know, joke with you, be like, Oh, you're going to all boys' school, man. How could you ever do that? But realistically, it's like you're going to a Jesuit private school that's going to prepare you for your life. And, you know, that this is just the four-year investment you have to make for the greatest return on investment that you'll receive. So as long as you can block out that early noise and really be grounded in like either your faith or whatever you're you're grounded in, you're going to like find the best success here because you're not going to worry about what people think about you or what people might have to say about what you're doing because you're just on your own walk. And as long as you embrace your walk and stay true to it, then you're going to have the best four years of your life here.

SPEAKER_00 32:51

Yeah. Well, that's well said, gentlemen. Just like two guys from Speech and Debate Mock Trial would leave us on. So I appreciate you boys' time for real, man. And I'm I'm proud of you. I'm excited for your future. And, you know, just glad that we got to meet before it was all said and done. So gang, this is the whole episode. This is uh again your host, Steve, closing it out with Langston and Davis. And we'll talk soon.