Alumnae Launch Podcast to Provide Insight, Perspective on “Twenty-Something” Life
Two UCF alumnae are using their voice to highlight the successes and struggles of being in your 20s with their podcast, “Twenty & Trying.”
Charlotte Trattner ’20 came up with the idea of creating a podcast when the pandemic first started. Inspired by the book “Defining Decade: Why Your Twenties Matter And How To Make The Most Of Them” by Meg Jay, Trattner took the words of the author and created her own podcast to demonstrate “that not everyone has their life figured out.”
“Working on this podcast during the pandemic gave me a sense of purpose. I was able to channel a lot of creative energy into producing a show and utilize my degree while searching for a job in my chosen field,” Trattner said, who has a fellowship with UCF’s Office of Global Perspectives.
Trattner met her cohost Peyton Maciejewski ’20 while studying journalism in the Nicholson School of Communication and Media. During their senior capstone, they were put into a group chat together and their friendship grew from there. Trattner knew Maciejewski would be the perfect cohost as they would spend hours talking and laughing on the phone.
They “clicked professionally” according to Maciejewski, who joined the podcast in January 2020. Maciejewski had no experience of podcasting until she met Trattner, who has some experience in creating podcasts.
“Peyton is the blonde to my brunette, literally. There are days I just can’t do something, and she is there for me. I can bounce ideas off her and she’s my sounding board. We are both friends and co-hosts,” Trattner said about her relationship with Maciejewski.
Maciejewski and Trattner truly are a teamwork as each one focuses on specific tasks that get the job done. Maciejewski handles the social media side of the podcast while Trattner works on editing the podcast. They both work on reaching out to individuals to be interviewed and both come up with ideas as to what should the next podcast be about.
“A lot of people in our twenties feel like we have to have some measure of success and they need advice to show that it’s ok to not have everything figured out,” Maciejewski said. “That’s what our show offers, advice and experiences that people can resonate with.”
With two seasons being out, the show has built quite a name for itself as each episode has a specific guest that discusses a certain topic. The topics range from mental illness to LGBTQ issues. Each episode begins with a “weekly optimism” that asks, “What’s something you look forward to in the next week?”
Maciejewski says that the question sets a positive way to start the podcast as it eases people into the conversation.
As for the episodes, many individuals can relate to the experiences of other twenty-somethings as they offer their own piece of advice on how to handle the successes and struggles of being in your 20s
“For anyone who’s interested in doing a podcast, I suggest doing it. Know that there’s a lot of work involved (but) it’s still so rewarding,” Trattner said.
For future projects, the two alumnae are working to build up Twenty & Trying’s correlated sites and will continue to post weekly on Wednesdays.