TFB 013 - They Saw Me w/ Mary Shannon

TFB 013 - They Saw Me w/ Mary Shannon

In this episode of The Fort Builders, I sit down with Mary Shannon, President and CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters Kansas, for a conversation about mentorship, resilience, leadership, and the life-changing power of relationships. Mary’s story starts long before her leadership career. Born in South Korea and adopted into Wichita at the age of five, she spent years in an abusive environment before eventually being removed from the home and placed in the Wichita Children’s Home. Then, around age 13, something changed. A couple entered her life and simply began showing up. They mentored her, invited her into their home, took her out for burgers, and gave her what she describes as “a seat at the table.” Most importantly, as Mary says: > “They SAW me.” That investment changed the trajectory of her life. Eventually, she found a forever family, gained U.S. citizenship, attended college, and built a nearly 30-year career in nonprofit leadership focused on helping others experience the same kind of transformation. But what makes this conversation powerful isn’t just the story itself. It’s how Mary has chosen to use it. We talk about leadership, culture, mentorship, accountability, gratitude, and the responsibility that comes with helping people feel seen and valued. She shares lessons learned through both personal hardship and professional leadership — including why passion alone isn’t enough, why failure should be treated as courage, and why hope still matters even when it’s not a plan. There’s also a strong thread throughout this conversation around people. Building teams. Building trust. Building cultures where honesty and growth are possible. And helping others realize they don’t have to walk through life alone. Sometimes the people who impact us most aren’t the ones with all the answers. They’re the ones who show up. Mary’s story is a reminder that relationships truly can change lives — and sometimes all it takes to alter someone’s future is for one person to see them.

TFB 012 - Part 2 - The Process of Becoming w/ Stephanie Bessent

In Part 2 of this conversation on The Fort Builders, Stephanie and I continue unpacking the experiences, responsibilities, and transitions that shaped who she’s become. And what stands out in this part of the conversation is the honesty. We talk more deeply about confidence — not as something that suddenly appears, but something built gradually through experiences, setbacks, responsibilities, and learning to trust yourself over time. Stephanie reflects on the pressure many people feel to hold everything together while simultaneously trying to grow personally, professionally, and relationally. There’s a tension there that a lot of people will recognize: trying to meet expectations while still figuring yourself out in real time. This conversation also explores identity in a deeper way. How life changes you. How priorities evolve. How certain seasons stretch you in ways you don’t fully appreciate until later. And through all of it, there’s an important realization that surfaces repeatedly: You don’t become who you are all at once. It happens slowly. Through experiences. Through challenges. Through moments that force growth whether you feel ready or not. What makes Stephanie’s story compelling isn’t perfection or a dramatic turning point. It’s the reality of continuing to move forward while carrying responsibility, uncertainty, ambition, and growth all at the same time. As we often talk about on The Fort Builders, most of the important building in life happens gradually — layer by layer, season by season. This conversation is a reminder that becoming isn’t a destination. It’s a process.

TFB 011 - Part 1 - The Process of Becoming w/ Stephanie Bessent

In this episode of The Fort Builders, I sit down with Stephanie Bessent for Part 1 of a conversation that covers far more than career paths or accomplishments. This is really a conversation about growth. Stephanie shares the experiences, transitions, and challenges that shaped her — from early influences and expectations to navigating adulthood, leadership, motherhood, and the constant tension of trying to balance multiple roles at once. What stood out to me throughout this conversation is that her story isn’t built around one defining moment. It’s built through layers. Through adapting to change. Through learning confidence over time. Through continuing to move forward even when things weren’t fully clear. There’s an honesty in this conversation that I think a lot of people will relate to — especially the idea that growth often happens while you’re in motion, not after everything is figured out. We also talk about identity and expectations. How people evolve. How priorities shift over time. And how the version of yourself you become later in life often looks different than the version you originally imagined. Stephanie talks openly about navigating responsibilities, leadership, family, and personal growth — and how those experiences gradually shaped the way she sees herself and the world around her. This episode doesn’t feel like a conversation about arriving somewhere. It feels like a conversation about becoming. As we talk about often on The Fort Builders, most of us are built gradually — through seasons, transitions, and experiences we don’t always recognize in the moment. Stephanie’s story is a reminder that growth rarely happens all at once. It happens layer by layer. And sometimes the process itself is the story.

TFB 010 - Mindset is Everything with Ezra Vedral

In this episode of The Fort Builders, I sit down with Ezra Vedral — linebacker for the Kansas Jayhawks and a civil engineering student — to talk about what it really takes to pursue two demanding paths at the same time. From the beginning, Ezra made a decision: he wasn’t going to choose between football and engineering. He wanted both. And more importantly — he believed he could do both at a high level. We talk about what that actually looks like on a daily basis. Early mornings, long days, constant demands — and the reality that balancing both requires more than just time management. It requires a mindset. Ezra shares how that mindset shows up in both environments. On the field, as a linebacker, he’s responsible for reading the offense, communicating, and making decisions in real time. In engineering, he’s working through complex problems, learning to push through when things don’t make sense, and finding solutions when there isn’t an obvious answer. And while those worlds may seem completely different, Ezra sees the connection clearly. The same approach applies to both: Stay disciplined. Keep working. Don’t quit when it gets hard. We also talk about the sacrifices that come with it — the time, the missed social opportunities — and why he doesn’t really see them as sacrifices. Because for him, the payoff is worth it. There’s also a leadership component to his story. Whether it’s on the field or in group engineering projects, Ezra has learned how to communicate, hold people accountable, and help move a team forward. What stands out about Ezra isn’t just his ability to manage both. It’s that he’s chosen not to compromise either. As we talk about often on The Fort Builders, we’re all building something — through the choices we make and the standards we hold. Ezra’s story is a reminder that sometimes the biggest decision isn’t what you choose. It’s deciding that you’re not going to choose at all.

TFB 009 - Character Won First with Coach Bryant Wright

In this episode of The Fort Builders, I sit down with Coach Bryant Wright — a longtime cross country coach who built one of the most successful programs in Missouri. But this conversation isn’t really about running. It’s about what he built through it. Coach Wright didn’t start with championships. In fact, early in his career, he stepped away from coaching altogether before eventually returning and taking over a program with a simple goal — see what could be built over time. What followed wasn’t instant success. It was a deliberate process of building culture. We talk about how he approached leadership — starting with a question most people don’t ask: Why would anyone listen to me? From there, he built a system centered on character, effort, and accountability. Every athlete mattered — not just the fastest ones. In fact, one of the most telling moments came when a college coach visited practice and wasn’t impressed by the top runners… but by how hard the slowest runners were working. That didn’t happen by accident. Coach Wright built a culture where: * Belonging came before performance * Effort was the standard for everyone * And accountability traveled sideways — from teammate to teammate We also talk about the idea of 100% — not just in performance, but in how athletes showed up as teammates, students, and people. And how those lessons didn’t always click until years later, when former athletes realized what they had actually been taught. There’s also a deeper layer to his story. Coach Wright shares how his upbringing — including watching his father go through a major life transformation — shaped his understanding of leadership, character, and what it really means to be a man. And toward the end, we talk about what comes next. After retiring, he’s now focused on how to take what he built locally and share it more broadly — helping other coaches and leaders impact more people beyond just one program. As we talk about often on The Fort Builders, building something meaningful isn’t always about what you produce. Sometimes it’s about who you shape along the way. Coach Wright built champions. But more importantly… he built people.