Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Donelle Boose, PhD. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Donelle, so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?
My purpose is honest storytelling and inspiring people, and I’m very lucky. I found that purpose through a beautiful process of wandering.
I love to go on meandering walks. I get my headphones and comfortable shoes, and I walk for miles. I don’t have destinations. I just walk so that I can think. And it works, I get my most brilliant ideas when I’m on a long stroll. And it was that metaphorical act of meandering that helped me find my life purpose.
Back in 2006, I graduated from college, with a degree in African-American studies and no clear sense of career. But I moved straight to Washington, DC. I felt the city held ideas and opportunities, and I needed both. As I scoured job postings, I thought carefully about myself. I knew that I was a great student, enjoyed learning, and understood college and university life well. I also knew that that I experienced great fulfillment by helping people.
Ultimately, my traits made me a natural fit for my first “real” job at a nonprofit called The Posse Foundation. I had the pleasure of helping students get scholarships and persist through their college years. It’s one of those jobs that you reap rewards from many years after you’ve done it. I’m still connected with some of the students, and they are now professionals in all walks of life. I feel honored to know them. I discovered through this job that I had strong people and facilitation skills. The experience also reinforced that I was passionate about helping and inspiring people. A surprising thing happened at that job too. I discovered that my storytelling ability was above average. I learned this very important fact through my lunchtime conversations with coworkers. I realized that could tell a long intricate story and people would listen with enthusiasm.
That first job helped me learn myself better. Ultimately, I decided to pursue a PhD in history and marry my interests in helping people with my passion for learning and storytelling. Discussing the PhD process could be a whole book. I’ll just say it was a long and significant hurdle. Many times, I questioned my commitment. But I dragged myself across the finish line. On the other side, my passions for learning, storytelling and helping remained.
By the time I landed a job as a professor, I knew that I didn’t need permission to do work I loved. I had already developed my first history-focused podcast and people shared that they were deeply affected by my work.
Today, I am working in my purpose and I know because even when I’m tired, I still desire to do public history. Even on “off” days, I catch myself telling stories. Storytelling must be in my DNA. I feel very fortunate that I wandered far enough to find myself here.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I’m Prof. D Boose, a public historian and storyteller. I create experiential podcasts, exhibits, articles, and academic lectures on history people actually want to learn from.
Some historians shy away from the label storyteller. They’re afraid people will assume their work is fictionalized, but I don’t shrink from the term. The word “history” literally has the word “story” embedded in it. I know that people understand story can be truth, so I embrace nonfiction storytelling to inspire.
I am also very aware that many people tend to associate history with boring timelines and memorizing. But in form and content, my work is changing that impression, and I have a couple of things in my favor.
I’m lucky because everybody loves a compelling story and genuine history is filled with them. In real life, we’re all some part hero and villain. Everything doesn’t necessarily work out and there is plenty of suspense. My stories run you through twists, whodunits, oh no’s, that’s beautifuls, and whys. Real lives and societal developments are messy and fascinating. I win by telling truth.
For example, my last podcast project features the story of an elder woman. She’s small-framed, kind-faced, and soft-spoken—very demure. However, over several episodes, the podcast pushes past these impressions to reveal a gun-toting, globe-trotting, and politically savvy Civil Rights & Black Power activist. Her surprising story reveals a history-changing person can be your neighbor—or you.
A second favorable thing is I have is attention to artfulness. It is entirely possible to
make an incredible history-story dry AF! I can’t let that be me. I am committed to keeping the soul in the history and using art and style.
My job is one of the most important in the world because stories can inspire transformation of people and societies. Think about it. Back in the 1770s, American colonists told themselves a story. They narrated themselves as their own people–not British subjects. And you know the rest of that story. Well-made, truthful stories are snowballs. They start small but can grow mighty.
I want all my stories—whether in podcast, lecture, or book—to grow their reach. To facilitate that process, I stay focused on 2 things. 1) Is the presented story true in all the ways? 2) Is this story powerfully conveyed? If I can hit those benchmarks, I’ve produced a worthwhile history. So I release it and put my trust in the world to help direct the snowball positively.
Check out one of my podcast episodes for yourself. “A Thousand Ruby Bridges” (on Spotify) is a story about a woman whose family helped integrate 1950s Washington, DC and how she later abandoned the whole USA.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Three qualities of character that have made my life a bold journey are curiosity, resilience, and empathy. I believe that people who nurture these characteristics set themselves up to be kind, knowledgeable human beings that others want to be around and collaborate with.
As a young person, I was unusually curious. I never grew out of that three-year old phase of wondering and asking why about everything, so I loved learning inside and outside of school. In fact, at 8, my pops put me on to the Discovery Channel, and I became hooked trying to understand the stars. Meanwhile, my grandparents had encyclopedias. This was before Google, so going down a rabbit hole meant turning literal pages over hours. Back in the 90s, a TV commercial used to run to kids that said “The More You Know…” I laugh about it now because I must have taken it as a personal challenge. But that kind of hunger to understand the world for my own satisfaction gave me an advantage. It meant that I consistently built my knowledge, and I was able to eventually harness it for work and life success. Curiosity sent me to South Africa to understand cultural differences and commonalities in the world. It sent me to radio stations to learn and study about the power of sounds. It sent me to yoga and meditation groups to understand how people find peace in the world.
I’ve come to believe that people who are curious and express that curiosity become drawn to other curious people and that new community born leads to previously unimaginable and fulfilling adventures.
On my life journey, I’ve needed resilience in great store. Many people assume I grew up middle-class, but I did not. My family was poor, mother worked all the time, and my father was a felon. And while none of this defined my parents or family’s identity, it did mean that I experienced challenges that other kids did not. Fortunately, I was irrepressible. Following my parents and grandparents’ example, I believed that the only lost cause was the one given up on. Time and again, they picked themselves up and sought another way for whatever was being pursued. Their unshakeable faith and persistence encouraged me, so when I failed, I dusted off—wiped tears—and kept going.
For example, in graduate school I ran a consulting business called Story Power History LLC. In that work I used my historical training to do research and writing for others and landed one phenomenal contract. However, I quickly realized that as I worked that contract, I needed to figure out how to win other major contracts during COVID shutdowns. Moreover, I was still writing my PhD dissertation. It was too much. After a stressful year and a half, I shut the business down. But the struggle and the embarrassment of failing was an important learning experience. I now know slow and steady development wins my business race. And I’m not yet done offering my skills and abilities to the world.
I’d tell people, when doing anything new in life, failure and obstacles are a part of the process, especially at the beginning. Resilience is that faith that if you just keep taking shots, and fine tuning after each miss, eventually you’ll get the goal. Resilience is also overcoming the inner voice that says, “you suck,” when making all those misses. The journey continues if you keep moving.
Empathy is the final quality that I’d like to raise. I happen to be a highly empathetic and compassionate being. Having empathy means that I use the “why” question to try to understand and relate to experiences and expressions of other human beings, even those that are really difficult.
When I was a kid, it meant I tried to understand why friends did or said things so I could help mediate conflicts. It made me a positive person because I truly believed that people and situations could be transformed for the better with attempts at mutual understanding.
As an adult, I still try to cultivate empathy in myself and others through storytelling because at our core we human beings are the same. We need food, clothes, shelter, genuine community, and love. In the absence of any of these things, we all can easily engage in destructive behaviors. But all are also capable of transformative good, and the first step is trying to relate to a person who is seemingly completely different.
I know that people in the world vary in their levels of empathy, but I think any person can cultivate practices of understanding. One way to do it is to read biographies of people who are different from you. It’s an effective way to discover common humanity and makes you more likely to become a bridgebuilder in your community. And bridgebuilders keep societies running, be one of these and powerful and influential people will come looking for you.
In this imperfect world with vast chasms between those who have resources and power and those who don’t, I know we are still humans all. Reinforcing this truth about humanity is my life work and comes directly from my empathetic nature.
To sum, having these three characteristics have meant that I tried new things, wasn’t defeated by failures, and have hope in human betterment. I look at my life path and I’m in awe. I have traveled places, spoken to people, and worked on projects of great meaning for me. I am excited to see what the next half of my bold journey has in store.
How can folks who want to work with you connect?
I have desired collaborators since I started developing podcasts and documentary programs. I have frequently been a one-woman show by necessity. For example, in my podcasts I have researched, conducted interviews, written narratives, developed soundscapes, edited video and audio material, and advertised. I have learned a lot from this work, and it has been rewarding. However, it’s also exhausting and limiting.
I would love to work with a sound engineer, a professional videographer, and even animator for upcoming projects. I have great stories yet to be told. I envision these podcast and film projects being enhanced by creatives who have a similar passion for powerful and truthful storytelling in an independent setting.
If that’s you, connect with me on my website (www.professorDBoose.com), and let’s make some honest History.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.professorDBoose.com
- Instagram: Histartivist
