Gator Bites
‘Gator Bites’ gives an authentic, inside look into Lamar State College Orange, dedicated to elevating Gator voices, spotlighting campus life, and fostering meaningful conversations that connect, inform, and inspire the Gator community. Through engaging interviews, behind-the-scenes stories, and real talk about college life, we aim to build a stronger, more connected campus culture.
Gator Bites
S1: E25 | Inside Gatorama: LSCO’s Biggest Campus Event
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In this special episode of Gator Bites, hosts Zoey Royer and Reid Burman take the podcast on the move at Gatorama, one of Lamar State College Orange’s most exciting campus events. From student organizations and ambassadors to community partners like DuGood Credit Union, this episode captures real conversations happening across campus. Hear firsthand what students love about being a Gator, why getting involved matters, and how events like Gatorama bring the LSCO community together.
About Lamar State College Orange:
Lamar State College Orange (LSCO) is a two-year, state-supported institution located on the banks of the Sabine River in Orange, Texas. As part of the Texas State University System, LSCO is committed to transforming lives and communities through the continual pursuit of academic, professional, and personal excellence. Serving more than 5,500 students, the College offers associate degrees and certificates in academic, technical, and workforce fields, providing new and unique opportunities for growth and success. With a focus on accessibility, affordability, and innovation, LSCO serves a diverse student population, including a high percentage of first-generation college students. Through strong community partnerships, dedicated faculty and staff, and innovative student support services, LSCO is the bridge connecting those it serves to a bright, Orange future.
Hello everyone and welcome back to Gator Bites, the official podcast of Lamar State College Orange. I'm Zoe Rower and I'm joined with Reed Berman. Today we will be interviewing faculty, staff, and students to give the community an inside look into life here at LSCO. In this episode, we will be going around one of our most engaging campus events, Gatorama. You'll get to hear from multiple gators and community members about their time at this event on campus. Let's jump in and get the first hand look at all the fun.
SPEAKER_02The first table we're going to ask is going to be student government, and they are very involved on campus and are always involved in many events at Lamar Orange. So the first person we're going to ask a question for is Lucia Liu. Can you tell us your name, major, and where you are in LSEO?
SPEAKER_05Hi, my name is Lucia Liu. I'm majoring in pre-professional health science and I'm a sophomore at LSEO.
SPEAKER_02What would you say your favorite part about being a gator is?
SPEAKER_05I think the community feeling and how sweet everybody is.
SPEAKER_02That's always such a good thing to hear. I voted. We're gonna ask is a very lovely, sweet girl. Let's let her introduce herself today.
SPEAKER_03Hi, my name's Heavenly Hears.
SPEAKER_02And what do you do here at Lamore Orange?
SPEAKER_03I am a student ambassador, I'm an SGA public relations officer, and I also am in PTK. Awesome.
SPEAKER_02And what brought you to this organ what brought brought you to your own organization today at Gatorama? A lot of volunteer work. Get them hours, get them hours. Get them hours, Queen. Thank y'all so much. We'll see y'all later.
SPEAKER_09Thank you, SGA. So now we will be going to one of our community partners, Do Good Credit Union, and they are actually sponsoring this event today.
SPEAKER_07Today we will be joined with Rebecca Sheck Snyder with Doo Good.
SPEAKER_09Awesome. Okay, Rebecca. What brought your organization to Gatorama today?
SPEAKER_07So at DoGood, uh one of our core values is community. We have a branch here in Orange, and we feel very responsible and very passionate about giving back. And what better place to be than Gatorama and Lamar State College Orange?
SPEAKER_09Awesome. We really appreciate you being here. Do you have any words of encouragement for our students?
SPEAKER_07Sure. One, um, you know, college can be a long game sometimes, so don't give up. Just uh be persistent, keep going at it. But um, for students that are, you know, entering working for the first time or um just having to deal with money really for the first time, like please come stop by the credit union, ask us any question. No question is off limits. Uh, I teach financial education about budgeting. So we would love to be able to help students kind of relieve some stress and answer some of those unanswered questions.
SPEAKER_09Well, thank you, Rebecca, for joining us on this podcast. We really appreciate it. Thank y'all so much.
SPEAKER_02So, the next table we're gonna be going to are going to be the student ambassadors who I'm very familiar with. As a fellow ambassador, we also do a lot of community work and any important events on Lamar Orange, we are there greeting people, opening doors, and also making community connections with important people at Lamar State College Orange campus. And the first person we're going to ask is a very sweet person, and then we're gonna have you introduce yourself today.
SPEAKER_06Hi, my name is Zoe.
SPEAKER_02Zoe here is one of the best people I know on Lamar State College Orange. And what made you stop by Gatorama today?
SPEAKER_06Because I am an ambassador and we're running an amazing booth. Yes.
SPEAKER_02Yes, it's always good to hear. Another person we have here is also very, very sweet. And um, we're also going to ask you um, what is your favorite thing about being a part of Lamar State College Orange?
SPEAKER_06I just love the community. I feel like everyone's super welcoming, and it feels like my second home. And what is your name? Darien Sandlin.
SPEAKER_02Also, another really, really sweet girl. Thank y'all so much for y'all's time. Y'all have a lovely time. Thank you, ambassadors. The next table we're gonna go to is Tots, which sounds like a delicious snack, but it's not. It's Teachers of Tomorrow. They are a lovely organization here, and they are also super, super welcoming and nice as well. We're gonna ask them a few questions real quick. Hello, y'all. How are y'all doing? Let me ask. We have a very lovely sweet student here. We have some gardening over here. What are y'all doing? What do you want to tell us about a little bit about what you're doing today?
SPEAKER_08Okay, so we are raising awareness for Earth Day because Earth Day is April 22nd, so coming up soon. What motivates you most when thinking about your future career as a teacher? Um I just want to see my students happy. Like just thinking about that in general is like what keeps me going. Awesome. Well, we really appreciate you. Yes, of course.
SPEAKER_02Hello, y'all. Hello, how are we doing today? Okay, what do you want to introduce yourself today? I'm Shelby. And what is your major here at Lamar Orange? Vacational nursing. Oh, then that's a hard course. What is your favorite part of being a gator right here at Lamar Orange?
SPEAKER_00Um, meeting new people. And I would say the little activities we have on campus, they are pretty fun sometimes.
SPEAKER_02Those are always really, really fun. Well, thank you so much for your time. How funny that they give in today. And then I'm here with another student. Who are you gonna introduce yourself for us? I'm Jada. Jada, nice to meet you, Jada. My name is Reed. We want to tell us a few things about yourself. Uh, I'm a vocational nursing student here at Lamar, and I just transferred from Lamar University actually after I graduated with my bachelor, so it's a really cool school. Yeah, it's always really cool over here. It's really cool. Anything else you want to tell us about today? Like, what event are you here with? And like what are you volunteering for today? Uh, we're volunteering for a cakewalk with the nursing students. It's a lot of fun. We're all walking in circles. Haven't bought a honey bun yet, but we're working on it. Get that honey bun, girl. Well, thank y'all so much. Y'all have a lovely time.
SPEAKER_09Thank y'all. Y'all have a good day.
unknownAll right.
SPEAKER_04Who are we joined with today? Sabrina with the dental assisting program. Yes, I am Sabrina. Um, what motivates you most when thinking about your future career? What motivates me the most? Um, motivation as a whole is pretty much my children, pushing me to be better and creating a great future for them. Sabrina. Um have you gotten any freebies today? That you enjoyed. Um, I did. I got the Gatorama shirt.
SPEAKER_09You went to the SJA booth for that? Yes, ma'am. Cool deal. Um, if you could describe your time at Gatorama in three words today, what would they be?
SPEAKER_04Nursing fun, interesting, and full of ambition.
SPEAKER_02Awesome. Thank you, Sabrina. Thank y'all so much. Y'all have a lovely time.
SPEAKER_04Thank you all.
unknownThank you.
SPEAKER_02Alright, we are also here with Tan Healthcare, another very important thing in the community in Orange here. Um, so what is your favorite thing that Tan Healthcare does for the community?
SPEAKER_01My favorite thing is that we um broken down barriers and we provide care to pretty much everybody. Um we have women's health, we have pediatrics, behavioral health. So any services that you're looking for, um nine times out of ten, we'll be able to service you and give you a good um experience with our office.
SPEAKER_02Well, it's just so so good to hear. And then what brings you to Gatorama today?
SPEAKER_01We're here today to get our word out, um let people know about our office. Um, we also have a lot of cold and flu medicines, pamphlets based on our office. And we're just here to let people know who Tan is and what um services we offer.
SPEAKER_02That's so so good. Well, thank you so much for your time today. Thank you, Tan Healthcare. And I think that is all the boost we have for today. Yes, it is. Um I want to give a shout out to Tan Healthcare, the nursing program, the dental assistants, and the in the Honor Society, as well as the ambassadors and SGA and the teachers of tomorrow.
SPEAKER_09Everyone who has made this event possible, thank you so much. It's been so much fun walking around Gatorama and getting to chat with you all today. We've gotten to hear from many students and community partners who truly make events like this possible for our campus. Events like this are typically set up solely by our gators. Without our amazing students there, there would be no Gatorama. Thank you all for your hard work and efforts, and we'd like to encourage you to finish this spring semester strong. You've got this gators.
SPEAKER_02And don't forget Be sure to keep up with the later Gator Spights podcast episode on the LSEO website, Spotify, or Apple Podcast. Thank you for tuning in, and we look forward to bringing another you another conversation soon.