HHS Students Turn Student Life Into a Podcast

Two Hopkinton High School (HHS) students saw a gap in the way student life was covered.

So They Started a Podcast

Dylan Hatherley and Gabe Cafazzo launched “After the Bell” earlier this year. The podcast focuses on school life, student activities, and school events.

The idea began in January. Hatherley said he initially considered starting a podcast club where students could learn to create podcasts. Then he realized there was no school podcast focused on student life.

“We didn’t have a school-sanctioned podcast that really covered activities at school,” Hatherley said. “I thought it was a built-in audience, given just the fact that there’s 1,300 students in the school, and they all have parents.”

Hatherley was taking journalism at the time. He brought the idea to Mr. Haas, the journalism teacher. Haas encouraged him to pursue it.

Hatherley then brought the idea to Cafazzo. The two began working together to decide what the podcast would look like.

“That was the base idea,” Hatherley said. “But then Gabe and I worked together to figure out what it was going to look like.”

A Podcast for HHS

The podcast is listed as “After the Bell: A Hillers Podcast.” It is available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

The podcast’s final interview of the school year included video. It was filmed at the HCAM studio with Superintendent Evan Bishop.

The students also use Instagram to share clips and promote new episodes. The account is @afterthebell.podcast. New episodes also are shared through the student memo.

The Response Has Been Positive

“Everyone’s been pretty supportive and positive about it,” Hatherley said. “People have asked us about it.”

Cafazzo said many students want to be part of the podcast. “Definitely a lot of people want to be on the podcast,” he said.

At the time of the interview, Hatherley said the podcast’s social media account had about 650 followers.

Hatherley said the podcast also has helped him see how many opportunities already exist at the high school. “More people should take advantage of what is available to us,” he said.

Each episode gives them a chance to highlight student activities. It also shows how much is happening at HHS, explained Hatherley. “It kind of blows my mind when we see some of this stuff,” Hatherley said. “There are some really cool opportunities for different demographics and niches.”

Support from teachers and HCAM

Both students said support from adults has helped the podcast get started.

Hatherley credited Haas with helping him think through the idea. He said the journalism teacher helped him develop ideas and move the project forward.

Cafazzo said Jim Cozzens at HCAM also played an important role. Cozzens helped the students with equipment and logistics. “Mr. Cozzens is a huge help for us, getting going,” Cafazzo said.

Cafazzo said the students often recorded during flex blocks. That gave them limited time to set up and record. Cozzens helped by getting equipment ready for them.

The students said HCAM’s support made a big difference. Without that access, the project would have been expensive.

Cafazzo said he and Hatherley first looked into buying their own equipment. They soon realized they did not need to make a major purchase.

“I think the only thing we needed to buy was an adapter for the microphone to plug into our MacBooks,” Cafazzo said. “Other than that, it was pretty much free, and there were really no startup costs.”

Hatherley said the equipment they were able to use would have cost much more if they had to buy it themselves.

“I don’t know the exact number, but I would say probably four figures deep,” he said.

Hatherley said being in high school also helped. The students had a built-in audience. They also had access to teachers, mentors and local resources.

“When you have a TV station that is not only willing to help you but actually wants to help you, I can’t stress enough how helpful that is,” Hatherley said.

Learning by listening

The podcast is still new. Hatherley said it already has been a valuable experience.

He said it has helped him learn more about communication, interviewing and talking with people.

Hatherley said he does not know where the project will take him. But he said it has been “an awesome experience regardless.” He said a good podcast starts with a good conversation.

According to Hatherley, “A podcast is just a good conversation. It’s a conversation where you’re taking interest in a subject or a person.”

Hatherley has learned that the best interviews come from listening closely. “You’re going to get the best interview by just listening and taking interest,” he said.

The students also have connected their podcast work to other media opportunities in town. Hatherley has called several baseball games with HCAM. He said his familiarity with the players, coaches and team culture helped him in that role.

Cafazzo plays baseball at HHS. That gave him a different connection to the same school community.

The students said the podcast has given them practice with interviews, production and communication. They plan to continue using it to highlight people and activities at HHS.