First Look into: The A-State Advantage

A blizzard couldn’t stop more than 600 people from showing up to Catalyst Northeast Arkansas, and that tells you something important: Northeast Arkansas is hungry for a bigger story about growth, jobs, and what’s possible next. From Arkansas State University’s new recording studio, we talk with Heather Nelson, Vice Chancellor for External Affairs and Strategic Initiatives, about how momentum like that gets created and how it gets sustained.

Heather shares the behind-the-scenes origin story, starting with a long lunch conversation with Chancellor Shields that quickly became a mission to improve strategic storytelling and external communications for A-State. We dig into why the region is “at the precipice” of real change, why the headlines can’t just be about steel, and how the university can serve as the connector for industry, talent, and opportunity across Northeast Arkansas.

We also get practical about format. Events generate a rush, but time limits cut conversations short. A long-form podcast expands the room, bringing back leaders from panels like infrastructure so we can drill down, follow the threads, and make the information usable for students, alumni, employers, and anyone watching Arkansas economic development. Heather puts it plainly: information is power, and when people hear a clear vision, they become ambassadors for it.

If you care about higher education, workforce development, and the future of Northeast Arkansas, hit subscribe, share this with someone who needs a shot of optimism, and leave a review with the one question you want us to ask next.

Transcript

Welcome To The New Studio

SPEAKER_00 0:09

Hey everyone, thank you so much for joining us. This is Parker Dodson with podcastvideos.com. We are at the new recording studios here at Arkansas State inside the student union. We're super excited to be joined by Miss Heather Nelson. She is the Vice Chancellor for Strategic Initiatives and External Affairs. I actually got that backwards. It's actually External Affairs and Strategic Initiatives. So even though I messed that up, Heather, tell us a little bit more about who you are, a little bit of your background, a little bit about yourself and the role that you now hold here with Arkansas State.

A Lunch That Sparked A Vision

Catalyst Event And Regional Momentum

Podcasting To Keep Energy Alive

SPEAKER_01 0:39

Well, it's great to be with you today. And actually, this is I'm I'm honored to be here. I've known Chancellor Shields for approximately 34 years since he and his wife Karen moved to Arkansas and just uh known them professionally and personally. And about 18, 19 months ago, uh we had lunch together right here in Jonesboro, and we're just catching up. And I like to say that he didn't take a breath for about 90 minutes. And uh when he finally did, um after you know, telling me all the amazing things that were happening at Arkansas State University, the team that he was working with here, and all the things that he envisioned uh for the future and over the on the horizon, I just, you know, looked at him in awe and said, you know, uh probably talked about like I wasn't sure that anybody, you know, really across the state really understood what was happening on this campus. And um and then we we talked about storytelling and all sorts of things. And that ended up leading to him giving me an opportunity to lecture here at Arkansas State University, and um, which kind of led to um me working on some strategy and some external communications and around storytelling um to help uh Arkansas State University get the word out about all the things that we're doing. And then as part of that, I had an idea about an event they could do around economic development and workforce development because they're so passionate and there's so much happening up here, and we called it Catalyst, Northeast Arkansas, and I kind of recruited friends and people across the state to help. And we ended up um having the first one a year, I guess it's been about 15 months ago, uh, in January 2025, and had over 600 people show up in the middle of an ice storm and a blizzard. Wow. And we were blown away, and so we did a second one last fall, and um, so I I guess I say all that to say is it's just kind of been layered. It's happened very organically. Um, I'm a very curious person. Um, I have a lot of trust in Chancellor Shields, and um, I'd like to believe that he has a lot of trust in me. And so I think that my responsibilities and roles and things that I've been able to help with have just kind of grown over the last, you know, 18, 19 months. And so I'm just really honored. I'm a big believer in everything that's happening up here, and that Northeast Arkansas, the region as a whole, is um is you know just at the precipice of so much tremendous growth. But it's not just about like one area, which I think that people hear about steel a lot, um, because this is now the the headquarters for steel across the nation right here in Northeast Arkansas. But the truth is there's a lot of amazing things happening in a lot of various industries here, and A State really is kind of at the center of that and and needs to be at the center of that. And so that's really the heart of Catalyst, and uh and really what I hope to be, um I'm getting a little ahead of you, but uh, what I hope to be a a part of this this show and the episodes is to whatever magic that we've captured with Catalyst, Northeast Arkansas, I'd really like to bring to the show and that this just gives us more time with individuals or with a panel of people to talk about more in-depth and have more time with them to talk about the amazing things that they're doing in this region, why they want to work here, why they want to build businesses here, why they want to, you know, relocate businesses here, and how A State is helping with that. And so I think that's that's really my passion for this show is can we can we take put magic in a bottle from Catalyst because it's been really a magical experience, and can we bring that and then just expound on it, you know, episode after episode.

Going Deeper With Future Guests

SPEAKER_00 4:38

Yeah. And that's the thing that I love about podcasting is it gives you that ability to go deep. And one of the things that I've learned, you know, in the few months that we've known each other and we've kind of began these discussions of wanting to create content like this is there really is a lot happening, you know, and it's obvious when you come on campus and you know, you see the student activity and the student life here is fantastic, and then you know, you see things like the vet school being done and the wingate building that just got completed, you know, things like that, and then you meet the chancellor and you hear the enthusiasm and the excitement and the passion that he has for it, it's like there's not really a choice for it to fail because when you get somebody in charge like that that has a vision to move forward, you're allowed to get things in place that can actually allow that to happen. And so I know Eric, the owner of podcast videos, attended the catalyst event. Um, and he came back talking about what a great event it was. And, you know, kind of with what you were saying, an event is always a fantastic and you leave feeling so energized. That's right. But how long can we continue that energy on? That's right. And so being able to actually come in and have these deeper conversations, right? Let's keep it going, let's turn it into a year-long event through these conversations, and then let's come back together, maybe not in January when there's a chance of an ice storm and everything else, but maybe another time, you know, we can all get together and do it again, and who knows if that doubles and triples it. But what's great about it is, and I love about podcasting, is there's so much great information shared at an event like that. That's right. And then we can sit down in here and talk about it every other week throughout the rest of the year. And then not only was that three-hour event great, but we have 25 other hours of long-form conversation with all these different people around what's happening in this and how Arkansas State is the catalyst for a lot of how these things can happen and progress. So with the A State Advantage that will be hosted by yourself, um, you know, kind of turning that one-time event or that hopefully recurring event into more of a longer conversation. Um, tell us a little bit more about maybe some of the people, not specifically, but some of the conversations that you're wanting to have throughout this show and what people can expect from it whenever it starts to come out.

Information Is Power For Students

SPEAKER_01 6:48

Um I think that the the main thing is, you know, at the event, you are you have time constraints. And so you have four amazing panelists and a moderator, but you know, if you want to hold attention spans in that format, you need to really hold that to 45 minutes and maybe you have time for some QA afterwards. So with this, what I really hope to do is, you know, if we go and look at, let's just say um of any of our, we had a fantastic uh panel in November on infrastructure. And we had uh someone from Rdot there, we had someone from Garver there, we had uh one of the highway commissioners there, um, and then we had the CEO of Entergy Arkansas there. And so we could have spent that 45 minutes just drilling into, you know, one small piece of any of the topics that came up in that 45 minutes. And we could have done that, we could have drilled down with any one of those four panelists. They were all amazing, they all have so much experience. And um, and they they all have um a lot of historic legacy knowledge, but they also are part of organizations that have real vision for not only the state of Arkansas, but specifically for Northeast Arkansas. And so I'm I'm imagining I bring in those, though, any one of them, and they sit down and have a conversation. So now we can have a much longer conversation. We can drill down into specific topics and really, to use your word, really go deep on some of these things because information is power. And I think that's the beauty of podcasting, that's the beauty of storytelling, is it's not that amazing things aren't happening on this campus and in this region every day. It's just that we have got to find the mechanisms with which to broadcast out those stories. Because if we get that out there, then people are going to buy into the vision, they're gonna want to be a part of the vision, and they're, you know, and they're gonna want to help. And so, and they're gonna become ambassadors for us and help spread the word of what's happening on this campus and what's happening in this region. And so that's what I'm looking forward to is just having really drilling down into these conversations and giving people a ton of information that's relevant, that's funny, that's educational, that's informational, but also shows them a vision for this campus, the state, this region that maybe they haven't thought of before. We had some one of those panelists that I'm thinking about from the infrastructure panel came and spoke to the chancellor and I teach a class, a special uh leadership and entrepreneurship lecture series this semester. And one of them came and spoke to our class. And the students were overwhelmed afterwards. You know what they said? They said, no, we've never heard anybody talk about Arkansas State University or its place in this region or talk about Northeast Arkansas, this region like that. We've never heard anybody shoot a vision for what the what's the possibility for this and what's the possibility for us in our adult lives uh post-graduation and for our children and our grandchildren. And they were blown away. And it's just a reminder not to, you know, get emotional, but it is such a reminder that information is power. Yeah. And we are not taking advantage of that fact by getting information to the masses. And the truth is how people receive information has changed. And so what we hope is that this is a format that latches on and that we can get information into people's hands that matters to them and that makes them feel great about their school, their town, their region, their state.

What Comes Next And Thanks

SPEAKER_00 10:39

Yeah. Well, Heather, thank you so much for taking the time to talk with us, talk a little bit about what the show is going to be. I know there's a lot more gonna be happening across the network and a lot of great things coming. So we're excited. Excited for the conversations that are to be had. You'll be a great host. I have no doubt about that at all. Thank you. Uh fingers crossed. It's all talking about things you already know, which is why we enjoy doing these things. It's not putting you in a place where you're having to figure out what I am even talking about. I don't understand the subject. And it's more of just like, hey, uh, this is what I'm doing every day in your role at the university. Let's just record it and have conversations so that more people hear what's happening.

SPEAKER_01 11:14

That is such a great way to look at it because I I'm the luckiest woman in the world. I do get to have these type of conversations every day. Um, thank you again to the chancellor for that. And I do look at it that way is some of those conversations, and hopefully, you know, all as many of those as we can, bringing those into the studio and getting people to hear them. Because I think that if you if you hear all of those, you're going to be as excited as as I am, actually. So that's a great, that's a great way to put it.

SPEAKER_00 11:43

Awesome. Well, thank you, man. We looking forward to it coming out, and we'll talk again soon. All right. Thanks.