In 2013 Professor Rachael Joo faced a devastating cancer diagnosis. She survived, but isn't exactly a survivor.

It's Not What You Think

Episode 8: Extraordinary

A new original podcast from Middlebury College. Subscribe now!

Episode 7: Middleburied

At Middlebury, students and faculty are seemingly unlimited in their capacity and their potential. Except when they're not. With Professor Holly Allen and Kyle Wright '19.

Episode 6: No Superheroes

Caitlin Myers is an Associate Professor of Economics at Middlebury. In 2011 she and her two sons survived a car accident while on a family road trip. Her husband, Adam, a volunteer firefighter and doting Dad, did not.

Episode 5: All of Our Strength

Christal Brown is an Assistant Professor of Dance at Middlebury College. Growing up in Kinston South Carolina her mother, Jackie, taught Christal a thing or two about a thing or two, without really trying. This is their story.

Episode 4: Jackie’s Girl

Maya Doig-Acuna is a Middlebury Alum, class of 2017.5. A posse scholar and former VP of the Black Student Union, Maya learned the hard way how to give without sacrificing what she needed most.

Episode 3: Try a Little Tenderness

Professor Jessica Teets was an overachiever from the start, but didn't always know which achievement she was really gunning for. With no mentor and no model this is her story about finding "the thing." What's "the thing" you ask? Well, exactly.

Episode 2: Finding “The Thing”

Brandon Hawkins is a Middlebury alum, class of 2011. A high performing high schooler at the top of his class, Brandon realized early on that he wasn't the only superstar on campus. Brandon's adjustment strategy served him well when he ended up in the deep South after graduation.

Episode 1: Stay in Your Lane

It's Not What You Think explores the unexpected twists and turns that life takes—emphasizing that our lives rarely (if ever) progress as a linear series of met goals.

Teaser: It’s Not What You Think

Stories from people who make it look easy about times when it wasn't. A production of Middlebury College.

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It's Not What You Think

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