Tag: #college

HOPress – Dan Rottenberg – “The Price We Paid”

by Billy Dees, posted in Books, Podcast
Front and back cover of “The Price We Paid.”

Author Dan Rottenberg 

The Price We Paid: An Oral History of Penn’s Struggle to Join the Ivy League, 1950-55 (Shorehouse Books, 2024)

Are you aware of the largely untold stories behind the transition of the University of Pennsylvania’s football program into the Ivy League? In this week’s episode of the Billy Dees Podcast for HOPress, we dive into the fascinating history shared by author Dan Rottenberg in his book, “The Price We Paid.”

Join us as Dan takes us on a journey through the struggles, pain, and ultimate triumphs of Penn players, coaches, administrators, and fans during the turbulent years of the 1950s. Discover the personal anecdotes and behind-the-scenes moments that shed light on this pivotal period in both sports and academic history.

Dan Rottenberg

If you’re a sports enthusiast, a history buff, or simply love a good story, this episode is not to be missed. Tune in now to gain a unique perspective on the intersection of academics and athletics, and explore the invaluable lessons learned from the past.

This episode was produced in partnership with HumorOutcasts.com HOPress Shorehouse Books.

You can find out more about Dan and his work on his website.

The Billy Dees Podcast is available on all major podcast networks. For your convenience, the full interview is below on Spotify.

The Webcam version is below on YouTube.

Christian Feraria – The Mediocre Student’s Guide to Graduating College

by Billy Dees, posted in Books, Media, Podcast

Christian Feraria is an author, publicist, public speaker, and YouTuber! His screen name is qtc_christian on various platforms including YouTube.

Christian’s book, “The Mediocre Student’s Guide to Graduating College,” is a book for struggling or unmotivated students who wish to navigate college successfully. Growing up, Christian’s sisters were both stellar students who went to elite colleges and medical school. Christian felt mediocre in comparison to them having been, at times, a more insecure student academically.

Shortly after graduating college, Christian was inspired by the Toni Morison quote, “Write the book you would want to read.” After hearing the quote, Christian immediately thought of a book for mediocre students because that’s the book he would have killed for!

Christian Feraria

Throughout his book, Christian elaborates on how to succeed academically and socially on a college campus. He writes about picking professors and the presence of drugs, sex, etc.

Since his book was released, Christian Feraria has been doing public speaking at schools to get struggling students to believe in themselves. He also has been doing interviews like this one, not only to promote his book but to also raise awareness that the challenges many of us face in school are not that unique.

You can find the full interview wherever you find podcasts. For your convenience you can listen below.