‘I Am WT’ Podcast Returns for Season 2

Copy by Chip Chandler, 806-651-2124, cchandler@wtamu.edu

‘I Am WT’ Podcast Returns for Season 2

CANYON, Texas — West Texas A&M University’s student-run podcast returns for a second season Oct. 19 with a special episode focusing on a WT alumna from a historic family.

New “I Am WT” hosts Myka Bailey, a junior PR/advertising/applied communication major from Abernathy, and Thomas Rodriguez, a junior digital media and communication major from Katy, interview Delores Neal Thompson, who recently was honored at the WT Office for Engaged Citizenship’s Celebration of Color during Homecoming Week.

The episode is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and SoundCloud, as well as at wtamu.edu/IAmWTPodcast.

Thompson is an Amarillo native and daughter of Helen and Nathaniel Neal; her mother was the first Black graduate of WT, and her father was the first Black faculty member.

Thompson, who earned her master of science in nursing from WT in 1994, began her teaching career at the Northwest Texas Hospital School of Nursing. She later served as an assistant professor of nursing at Amarillo College after working at St. Anthony’s Hospital for several years. She was named professor emeritus in 2016.

She is an active community volunteer, serving on boards of directors for Olivia’s Angels, Bi-City County Health Department, Panhandle Breast Health, League of Women Voters and Friends of the Library. She volunteers at BSA Hospice of the Southwest and is a member of Johnson Chapel A.M.E. Church and Amarillo Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta sorority. She is a past Educator of the Year from the Amarillo chapter of NAACP and was selected as a Woman of Distinction in 2010 by Girl Scouts of Texas Oklahoma Plains.

The “I Am WT” podcast embodies WT’s commitment to people first, one of the key principles of the University’s long-range plan, WT 125: From the Panhandle to the World.

That plan is fueled by the historic, $125 million One West comprehensive fundraising campaign. To date, the campaign — which publicly launched in September 2021— has raised more than $125 million and will continue through 2025.

In the biweekly episodes of “I Am WT,” student hosts interview WT faculty, staff, students and alumni about what WT means to them.

Audiences hear stories about how attending or working at WT changed the lives of the guests, and how they’re making a difference in their community.

About West Texas A&M University

WT is located in Canyon, Texas, on a 342-acre residential campus. Established in 1910, the University has been part of The Texas A&M University System since 1990. WT, a Hispanic Serving Institution since 2016, boasts an enrollment of about 10,000 and offers 59 undergraduate degree programs and more than 40 graduate degrees, including two doctoral degrees. The University is also home to the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum, the largest history museum in the state and the home of one of the Southwest’s finest art collections. The Buffaloes are a member of the NCAA Division II Lone Star Conference and offers 14 men’s and women’s athletics programs.

Photo: "I Am WT" podcast hosts Myka Bailey and Thomas Rodriguez interview West Texas A&M University alumna Delores Neal Thompson for the Season 2 premiere of the student-run show. 

—WT—