This episode is with my college mentor, my amazing friend, and educator Mellissa Jessen-Hiser. We met when I was 19 at Fresno State, 11 years ago. We have a conversation about the power we each have to create affirming, nonjudgmental, and inclusive spaces wherever we go, especially for our youth. We also talk about the process of breaking the mold you were never meant to fit in and stepping into the freedom of who you truly are. 

Other topics we dive into are:

• The difference between listening to understand versus hearing to convince
• What the both/and life is and how to live into it to access more freedom and authenticity 
• Significant self-acceptance moments in our lives
• The fat liberation movement

Mellissa Jessen-Hiser has long been a storyteller, having written her first poem in a Hello Kitty diary in 1988. She earned an MFA in creative writing from Fresno State in 2020 where she focused on essaying about the things we inherit and the things we pass on. Mellissa is an educator, working as the Director of the Central Valley College Corps in the Jan and Bud Richter Center for Community Engagement and Service-Learning at Fresno State. Additionally, she holds an M.A. in international human rights from the University of Denver. Raised in Fresno, California, she lives there with her spouse, Darrin, and child, Samuel. 

RESOURCES

• CliftonStrengths Assessment 
• Standout Assessment 
• Activists and leaders Mellissa refers to: Sonalee (@thefatsextherapist), Sonya Renee Taylor (@sonyareneetaylor), Ericka Hart (@ihartericka)
• Connect with Mellissa on Instagram on @calimj. 
• Connect with me @lucca_petrucci on Instagram or TikTok.

This episode was produced by Lucca Petrucci and mixed and mastered by Joel Yoshonis.