Barrett students connect through storytelling at inaugural event

Barrett, The Honors College at Arizona State University, hosted its inaugural Life Stories event this fall, uniting students and faculty for an evening of storytelling, reflection and community.

The program featured three faculty members — Joe Foy, Emy Takada and Rob Mack — who shared personal experiences that shaped their lives, values and approach to teaching. More than 210 students across ASU nominated faculty members to take the stage, underscoring the strong connections between students and their mentors.

Assistant Dean and Teaching Professor Laura Jakubczak created the Life Stories event to help students see the people behind their professors and to connect the experience to the character-driven approach of Principled Innovation, ASU's newest design aspiration.

“My inspiration behind creating the Life Stories lecture was that I wanted to find a way to blend together the moral and the civic pillars of Principled Innovation and to give students some agency to decide who they wanted to hear from,” Jakubczak said. “They could vote for any faculty or staff member at ASU, and it was exciting to see the speakers they chose.”

The high level of interest, she added, showed that students were eager for more opportunities to learn from the lived experiences of the faculty who support them.

“The excitement we saw told us this is something students wanted,” she said.

When Foy learned he had been selected, he said he was both surprised and deeply honored.

“When I found out that I had been selected for this, I was just chuffed to bits,” Foy said. “It was such an honor to have the students choose me as one of the people they wanted to hear from and they wanted to hear my life story.”

Foy used his talk to reflect on the unexpected turns in his own academic journey, which began in astrophysics and eventually led him to Barrett. He encouraged students to remain open to possibility while staying grounded in thoughtful reflection.

Takada centered her story on identity, family and purpose.

“If students could take one thing with them from my presentation today, I would hope that they do not forget where they come from,” Takada said. “They do not forget their roots, and they use that as a starting point for their journey into fulfilling their desires, ambitions and dreams.”

Jakubczak said the event was designed not only to highlight faculty stories but also to help students recognize the support systems around them.

“What I hope students take away is that they are at the very beginning of their journey, and the life journey never really ends,” she said. “Other people have been through the same challenges. They have mentors all around them who can help them. Faculty and staff have struggled just like them and succeeded.”

Following the talks, students had the chance to attend a reception where they could speak with the presenters and reflect on the themes of the evening.

“This event was about community and about learning from one another,” Jakubczak said. “Seeing students so engaged confirmed that this is a meaningful part of the honors experience.”