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Nate Gyore:
Welcome back to the podcast! This week, we're celebrating Saint Patrick’s Day with a story about the Phoenix Irish Cultural Center.
Abby Bessinger:
Also, a club at ASU focuses on advancing women in construction.
Nate Gyore:
I’m Nate Gyore.
Abby Bessinger:
I’m Abby Bessinger, and this is State Press Play.
Nate Gyore:
Also, this week, we recap the ASU Women’s basketball season so far under Natasha Adair, the team's new head coach.
Abby Bessinger:
But, first ...
Nate Gyore:
With St. Patrick’s Day upon us, millions of Americans are paying homage to Irish tradition by wearing green and drinking Guinness. I’m here with State Press Reporter Ginia McFarland to discuss a local library that records and elevates Irish culture all year round. Ginia, Thanks for sitting down with me today!
inia McFarland:
Thanks for having me.
Nate Gyore:
So can you tell me a little bit about the history of this library?
Ginia McFarland:
Yeah, the Irish Center and McClelland Library opened up about 25 years ago in the heart of downtown off of Central Avenue. And they are a three story library that's dedicated to Irish culture with a genealogy lab, historical artifacts, year round events, and just a lot of events and guests to really boost Irish culture here in Maricopa County.
Nate Gyore:
Genealogy lab?
Ginia McFarland:
Yeah, so it's actually really cool. And everyone that you talk to in there, they point you to the lab, even if you're not an Irish heritage. It's on the second floor and it's really cool. You walk in, and it's just as computer lab, and then there's an attendant there. And if you have a name that you want to look up, or you know about a family, or anything about history of a person in Ireland, they can pull up records from hundreds and hundreds of years ago, as long as it's been documented at some point, and you can track a lot of people's history that way.
To hear more from McFarland, please tune in to State Press Play.
READ MORE: STUDENTS ARE IN LUCK TO LEARN ABOUT IRISH CULTURE WITH LOCAL HISTORICAL HUB
Tate Daniels:
An ASU club supports women in construction and encourages them to break down barriers and enter an industry dominated by Men. I’m here with State Press Echo reporter Kasturi Tale to tell us more about the club. Thanks for coming on the podcast, Kasturi!
asturi Tale:
Thanks for having me.
Tate Daniels:
In your article, you discuss the challenges women face in construction jobs, such as feeling like they need to prove themselves and being underrepresented in meetings. How does the advancing women and construction club address these challenges and provide support to its members?
Kasturi Tale:
I talked to two members of the Advancing Women in Construction Club. And from what they told me, the club has regular meetings, they have industry contacts that they provide to these women, and they do events. They have a lot of sources that they can use to help these women out. And it's basically like a women-support-women thing. So they just bring each other up and help each other out through everything.
Tate Daniels:
The lack of female role models in the construction industry is mentioned in your article. Could you elaborate on how the club extends mentorship and support networks to help women not only strive while navigating this male dominated field, but also envision themselves succeeding in their careers?
Kasturi Tale:
So this is a really good question. From what I heard from the people that I interviewed for this story, they told me that obviously they have industry contacts within the industry. People who have graduated and are alumni are also a very active part of the club and they help the newer students out by providing them with advice and connections. This is done through events. They also have a very active Instagram page and they make sure that they appreciate and acknowledge all the members of the club. It's also very interesting that you don't have to necessarily be an engineering student or an architecture student to be a part of the club. You don't even have to be a woman: The club is open to everyone and anyone who just wants to support women in construction can be a part of it.
To hear more from Tale, please tune in to State Press Play.
READ MORE: ADVANCING WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION CLUB AT ASU ENCOURAGES WOMEN TO BREAK BARRIERS
Abby Bessinger:
ASU’s women's basketball has seen positive growth this past season with new leadership from coach Natasha Adair I sat down with state press sports reporter Aya Abdeen to recap the season. Hi Aya!
Aya Abdeen:
Hi Abby!
Abby Bessinger:
So, where this season have we seen the most growth in ASU women's basketball?
Aya Abdeen:
The Arizona State women’s basketball team had 11 more wins this season compared to eight from the 2022-23 season. Although they dealt with injuries to key players such as Maggie Besselink and Tyi Skinner, it is impressive to see the sophomores, such as Jalyn Brown and Trayanna Crisp, get the opportunity to be the next woman up. Coach Natasha Adair said, "We just finished with four sophomores and a freshman on the floor. We had one returning senior who played all year." Brown is the leading scorer for the Sun Devils this season and has averaged 17.3 points and 4.0 rebounds per game.
Abby Bessinger:
Oh my god, that's awesome! So, head coach Natasha Adair said something about getting "one percent better" could you elaborate on that?
Aya Abdeen:
When coach Adair emphasized getting "one percent better," she has implemented this mindset for the players in practices and especially in warm-ups. She said the players are competing and they just have to finish the play as a team.
To hear more from Abdeen, please tune in to State Press Play.
READ MORE: ASU WOMEN'S BASKETBALL HOPES TO BE 'ONE PERCENT BETTER' EACH DAY DESPITE STRUGGLES
Nate Gyore:
And that’s all for this week’s State Press Play. I’m Nate Gyore.
Abby Bessinger:
And I’m Abby Bessinger. State Press Play is produced by our podcast desk editor, Gabriella Fernbaugh. Original music by Ellie Willard and Jake LeRoux.
Nate Gyore:
Special thanks to our managing team, Alexis Heichman and Morgan Kubasko.
Abby Bessinger:
You can check out all these stories and more on statepress.com. See you next week, Devils!
