Iowa Life Episode 205

[Charity Nebbe] Coming up on this episode of Iowa Life —

We'll talk with retired national TV reporter Harry Smith.

[Harry Smith] It's just these are the things I think you need in your toolkit when you walk out the door. And first among them is curiosity.

[Nebbe] We'll meet a dedicated group of young ballet dancers.

[Man 1] We're not just dancing. We're becoming better people.

[Nebbe] And we'll check out an accessible treehouse at the Iowa Arboretum.

[Man 2] The mobility issues aren't really a big issue here because of how adaptable this playground is.

[Nebbe] It's all coming up next on Iowa Life.

Hi, I'm Charity Nebbe and this is Iowa Life. Rich in Dutch culture, Pella is an Iowa gem waiting to be discovered. I'm standing in Molengracht Plaza, which is a replica of a Dutch square featuring shops, restaurants and other small businesses and, of course, a Dutch-style canal. Just a few blocks from here is Central College, an institution among whose notable alumni is journalist Harry Smith. Following a career in national broadcast television, Harry has come back to his alma mater. He is an executive in residence teaching a course in curiosity.

[Hoda Kotb] After 12 years at NBC News, this man down here at the end of the couch, Harry Smith, is moving on.

[Woman 1] Ah, Harry.

[Man 3] What's next, Harry?

[Harry Smith] So, I am going back to my alma mater, Central College in Pella, Iowa and I'm going to teach a course this fall.

[Woman 1] Can I sign up?

[Smith] On curiosity.

[All] Oh!

[Nebbe] For nearly 40 years, journalist Harry Smith was a mainstay on American network television telling stories across the world for CBS and NBC. But before that, he was a theatre and communications major at Central College.

What brought you to Central College? Because you grew up in Illinois. And you have said that you were not particularly an engaged student in high school.

[Harry Smith, Retired TV Journalist] I'm the youngest of eight children, but I was that kid who sat in the front of the classroom like this (rests his face on his hand) falling asleep and found questions on tests ambiguous and I didn't do homework much. I wanted to be a cross country truck driver. That was what I thought, because I knew I wanted to see America. Senior year comes along, I had a very good senior year playing football and they said, you need to get straight A's, so I got straight A's and did whatever I needed to do to get into college.

[Nebbe] So you could keep playing football.

[Smith] Yeah, yeah.

[Nebbe] You talk about how you were basically just a Roman candle waiting to be lit. What happened when you got to college that set you on fire?

[Smith] Professors and coaches. I got the idea when I was in college that I could write a little bit. I couldn't, but I had the idea that I could. And my senior year I lived off campus in a really bad trailer in a really nasty part of Pella. I know, it's kind of, that's an oxymoron. But it was just out there somewhere. And there was a brand new English professor who lived next door and for reasons I don't understand to this day, I would write all this stuff on a legal pad and say, would you look this over? And he said, sure. And I would get it back a couple of days later and it was filled with red ink, just seas of red ink. And that was really instructional. And I just kept thinking, I have some... I bet I can do this.

[Nebbe] After college, Harry moved to Denver where he worked for more than a decade in local news before joining CBS and later NBC News as a reporter and anchor. Throughout those jobs, Harry recognized the importance of being curious and made it his mission to teach others to keep their eyes open to the world around them.

[Smith] So, at NBC we had a writing class that met a couple of times a year. There was a waiting list to get in. And one day, if I were in town, they would bring me in for one day and I'd make a list and above the things it said, unless you're curious, you're in the wrong business. You need to be insatiable in that regard. Over the last 20 years, as we've seen at all in secondary education this notion, it's more and more narrow. I want to study this thing so I can get this job so I can do blank so I can make this money. It's very transactional now. Back in the day, we came and sort of discovered stuff. Half of the kids who go to college now will never work in the field they studied. Half. So, you better — in the immortal words of Ron Burgundy in the documentary Anchorman, he said what, you better have your head on a swivel. So, going out into the world you had better have that. So, the title of this class is Commencement. And the whole idea, it's the beginning, it's not the end. So, it's just these are the things I think you need in your toolkit when you walk out the door and first among them is curiosity because you've got to be aware of the world if you're going to succeed at all. Resiliency, listening skills, curiosity. That is the stuff, there are building blocks of that, that you can use to walk out the door with that will not only make you a better employee, will make you a more interesting person, but in order to be interesting, you need to be interested.

[Smith] Hands of people who read the David books. Everybody read the David books. Awesome. I love that.

There's a line in the book where he talks about people can be married forever and not actually see or know each other. We're going to do something really, really, really, really radical. So, when I was here, I took an acting class and in the acting class we used to do sensitivity exercises. So, in the sensitivity exercises we did this, we held hands and we looked each other in the eye. So, this is going to happen in this classroom now.

Actually look. Actually look. There's things happening here. That's great. Everybody sit down.

What was it like? I'm really curious. No joke.

[Student 1] I felt like it opened you up a lot more. I've had gauge in other classes but we've never held hands and looked each other in the eye before.

(laughter)

[Nebbe] You have this really amazing opportunity to connect with young people and tell them all the things you really, really want them to know.

[Smith] Right. My life has been a gift, let's be honest about it. I am unbelievably grateful for all of the opportunities I've had. I have been so ridiculously fortunate. I am in the classroom, students already exceeding expectations, exceeding expectations. Last Thursday, I almost cried five times in the classroom, seriously, because I had given this kind of ridiculously hard, almost throw away assignment. And it was find a stanza from a Walt Whitman poem, bring it to class, read it out loud and then tell everyone in the class why and how you connect with it. And then on and on and on through the classroom and I could barely contain my emotions. And when the class was over I said, my heart feels like it's this big. And I shook all their hands when they walked out the door. Like who...? I get to come back here and do that.

(Smith walks into a coffee shop.)

[Smith] Let's do a cold brew, okay?

(Smith walking through the college campus.)

One of the great things about coming here is no 20-year-old in America has ever watched one minute of network news. So, I can come here and I'm like this, I'm like a space alien almost.

Howdy.

And when I explain to the class why I'm here and then I ask them to explain why they were in the class and they all said, because our parents told us if I were teaching a class, they'd have to take it.

(Smith speaks to a student in a common area.)

[Smith] I'm big with grandmas. No, it's a thing. You want to do it?

[Student 2] Yes.

[Smith] Okay.

(Smith and the student pose for a selfie.)

[Nebbe] You don't live in Pella now. But you've been back to teach this course. You've been spending a lot of time.

[Smith] I live above a garage.

(laughter)

[Nebbe] For eight weeks.

[Smith] Probably going to be nine or ten all together.

[Nebbe] So, what do you enjoy about being here now, being a part of the community in a way that is different from flying in and out?

[Smith] When I came here first as a student in 1969, I felt like I was home. That home is where your heart is sort of thing. This has never not been home for me in some way. Whenever I come back here there's a whole community of people who's here to say we love you, we're glad you're back. So yeah, I'm still living that. I'm still very much living that sense of this is home to me.

(music)

[Instructor] Reverse. Demi. Around.

[Man 4] Swan is not your typical ballet dance group at all.

[Woman 2] It offers access to the arts, to ballet, a form of dance that you don't see very many of our black and brown girls participate in.

[Woman 3] The patterns that Sarah offers with Swans, it helps Zoe just be more confident in her body.

[Instructor] And back. Beautiful.

[Man 5] There is a sense of belonging there. It's their environment. It's not just a place that they're going. We're not just dancing. We're becoming better people.

[Instructor] Pas de Bourree.

[Woman 4] You enter a space Swan where they bring their Afro puffs and their braids and their music and their style and flow of being and it's not only celebrated, it's invited.

(music)

[Woman 5] Here's your shoes. You can try them on and we'll check them out and see if they fit.

[Sarah Jae, Artistic Director] Swan is a dance method. It incorporates jazz, modern, ballet and other styles of dance. We create dance accessibility through initiatives for youth programs as well as adults.

(Sarah Jae stands at the front of the class.)

We're going to go with some classical.

I would love to see a black and brown professional dance company in Des Moines that has access to ballet.

From here is where the movement is coming from.

That initiative has taken place in Des Moines through Gateway Dance Theatre. So, we're here to continue their legacy and provide that same energy.

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven.

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight.

Ballet is very expensive. Dance is very expensive. And a lot of our underrepresented youth don't have access to a lot of extracurricular activities. So, I think providing a space specifically to create that access is so important. I know a lot of kids who want to do this professionally. They just need, they need the space, they need the opportunity. They have the gift. They have the talent. They just need, they need the community supporting them.

I'd like everybody to walk on the stage like they're about to walk on a yacht. And we are having a yacht party.

[Student 3] What about a Disney cruise?

[Deshara Bohanna, Parent] We live in Ankeny, Iowa. Iowa is very white and Ankeny is even more white. I have looked for opportunities for their identities to be affirmed and that is rare here.

[Student 4] My circle, then we just jump into line right here and do this.

[Bohanna] They deal with a lot of challenges with esteem, with being picked on, isolated, left out, so many things.

[Instructor] Yes, that was so good!

[Bohanna] And so having this space created that celebrates all the pieces of them unapologetically and to have leadership that loves and that values these girls ...

[Instructor] Yes, yes, yes, yes!

[Deshara Bohanna] ... they look forward to it every week.

[LeMar Yeager, Parent] There's just an overall desire to have diversity and to have everyone welcome to see each other, different walks of life and I think that's important to be able to at an early age see someone who looks like you or someone who talks like you or just somebody in the same age group, things of that matter.

[Cynthia Hunafa, Gateway Dance Theatre] If you don't see people looking like you, you don't think that it's possible. But the more we have that kind of exposure and showing the possibilities and opportunities, it gives young folks something else to say, they could do it, watch me.

[Jae] In ballet, everyone strives to be perfect. In the dance world there is a hyper focus on perfection. And what I learned from dance is the opposite and I like to teach that and I like to apply that into my classes because I want the students, although we focus a lot on technique, I also want them to bring their emotions to the pieces or even just to class as we're learning technique. I want them to feel the music and connect and leave feeling better and more empowered.

Who wanted to be really good?

[Students] Me!

[Jae] Okay, then we need to work on a couple of things. So, I need everyone in their spots and listening please.

Yes!

I really want to support them in finding their own voice. When it comes to production and the ins and outs of our performances, they are right there with me picking out music, creating the themes. Every piece you see has been a collaborative effort.

I've seen so many friendships being built in class and that's the most important part to me. I've seen a lot of neurodivergent kids like myself be empowered through the program.

[Jae] I am beautiful.

[Students] I am beautiful.

[Jae] I am strong.

[Students] I am strong.

[Jae] And that's because.

[Students] And that's because.

[Jae] I am a swan.

[Students] I am a swan.

[Jae] Very good.

Thank you!

[Jae] Even having access to places like Hoyt Sherman and performing in that theater is such a beautiful and amazing experience.

It's really important that they get those experiences and feel confident.

They know exactly where everything is, the backstage, they have ownership of the space.

So, before we dance, because it's almost time, we're about to start, we're going to breathe in through our nose like this — and breathe it out.

(On the stage the curtain rises)

(Applause and cheering)

(Young dancers perform a ballet to instrumental music)

[Aminah Nalani, Artistic Director] Dance is honestly probably the biggest part of who I am. It just allows me to feel so free.

[Israel Kelai, Creative Director] I like to just find different creative outlets to express myself, especially with dance, I just like movement. It just helps me release my mind, helps me just feel good. You know, when you just get that good feeling in your body and you just want to show it and embrace it, that's what dance is all about, just embracing the good moments that your body is feeling.

(Applause and cheering)

[Sanai Bohanna, Student] I think you can express your emotions and your voice and you can find out who you are.

It made me stronger in just my life. It helps me get through a lot of things.

[Jae] They have taught me so much.

As I watch them gain confidence, I too am gaining more confidence in myself.

As we continue to partner with more organizations in Des Moines, they're gaining ownership of their community and we're creating stronger community leaders through that type of initiative.

We're breaking stereotypes here. I want them to understand that they are part of a moment in history in Des Moines because we are creating this very impactful moment in history and the dance world in Iowa right now.

[Yeager] It would be nice to see something like this taking place in every community because in every community there is a lack of opportunity for some demographics. We're selling our young people short if we don't provide them with opportunities like this.

[Nebbe] Next, we're heading just north of Madrid where the Iowa Arboretum is inspiring curiosity, discovery and an appreciation for Iowa's natural landscape. It's a place where people of all ages and abilities can explore, interact and play together.

[Kim Anderson, Iowa Arboretum] The Iowa Arboretum and Gardens is a gem in Boone County. It feels like it's in the middle of nowhere and it kind of is. But that's part of its charm. And I really like that about it because you kind of feel like you're traveling to this place and when you get here it really is a magical place. And to see the smiles and the aha moments on people's faces, especially children, is really satisfying to me.

We offer exceptional experiences for people of all ages and abilities outdoors in nature. And we take that very seriously as one of our goals. We have gardens, we have tree groves, we have a wetland, we have a children's garden, we have butterfly gardens. We have a treehouse village, which has just been erected and just opened recently. That offers woodland trails and prairie trails, accessible playground area and some other opportunities in the forest to be out in nature and be creative and just be one with nature.

We have a program here, a philosophy really, that the Arboretum should be for all. And so, we call it the Arboretum for All and we have spent a lot of time, gotten grants and donations to make all aspects of the Arboretum as accessible as possible.

Woodward Academy is a special needs school in the Woodward-Granger School District. And they reached out and wanted to come to the Treehouse Village and they have a lot of children that have cognitive and behavioral disabilities.

[Kelle Miller, Teacher, Grandwood Education Center] The opportunity that it provides our students, they don't necessarily get a whole lot of opportunity at enjoying these types of places because of their abilities or their disabilities. So, this allows all of our students to get to come and enjoy it and have fun.

Are you having fun?

[Student 5] Yeah.

[Miller] What's your favorite thing you've done so far?

[Student 5] Doing that.

[Miller] Walking across the web? That was tough, wasn't it? Should we start calling you spider Danny?

[Student 5] Spiderman.

[Miller] Spiderman?

[Student 5] Yeah.

[Miller] All right, man. You've got lots of nicknames.

[Miller] They should have the opportunity like everybody. If you were to have a conversation with most of those children, they would tell you and express that they want to be like everybody else. And this gives them that opportunity, which is phenomenal.

[Anderson] The Treehouse Village being as an accessible area allows them to walk up ramps instead of having to climb if they are afraid of doing that or if they are not ready to do that. There's a lot of options for kids of all abilities to choose from to get up to the top, go down the slides.

[Miller] There's nothing they can't do. They can be wheelchair bound and still go in the swing in their wheelchair and it's safe, it's secure. And they can get that kind of funny feeling in their tummy from swinging.

(Young girl rides in a green chair attached by two chains to a wire above)

[Woman 6] Whoa! Woo hoo!

[Miller] And the zipline, it's a seat that they're sitting in that they are seat belted in so they can experience life like they probably haven't before.

Just feeling that connection with Mother Nature is so important. Getting the sun shining on you and the wind blowing in your face and the smells that you get, but then also the sounds and being connected with the birds and whatever animals you might be crossing paths with.

[Eric Pagel, Teacher, Grandwood Education Center] We actually do a lot in nature because a lot of our kids honestly perform a lot of screen time. So, any time we can get out in nature and just realize the benefits that nature offers such as massage therapy from the wind, aroma therapy from all of the plants around, all of the different therapeutic elements that nature provides that our kids honestly don't get an opportunity to be out here very much. I love the difference that we make as a school.

[Anderson] I think connecting to nature is just a very important aspect of people's health and mental health and really being out in nature is so important in helping them develop new skills, ask new questions, learn new things, interact with different people in different settings and can really pull kids out of their shells a little bit.

[Miller] There is really a lot for individuals with disabilities to do in this state. And this is probably the coolest thing that we've done. The mobility issues aren't really a big issue here because of how adaptable this playground is.

[Nebbe] That's all for this week. Thank you for joining me as we learn more about people who create opportunities for others to learn, explore and grow. I'm Charity Nebbe. See you next time for more Iowa Life.

[Announcer] Funding for Iowa Life is provided by

The Pella Rolscreen Foundation is a proud supporter of Iowa PBS. Pella Windows and Doors strives to better our communities and build a better tomorrow.

And by, the Lainie Grimm Fund for inclusive programming at the Iowa PBS Foundation.