“When something happens, life doesn’t stop. But for me, time stood still on Friday, August 25, 2023. That’s the date Pastor Brian Hutchinson officiated my mom’s funeral,” said Meghan Bowman, a USF College of Arts and Sciences mass communications alumna.
Bowman stands between her mother and father at her wedding in 2011 in Austin, TX. (Photo courtesy of Meghan Bowman)
Bowman first recorded those words as a student in Wayne Garcia’s independent study class, processing the grief of her mother's recent passing. What began as a student project would eventually gain such powerful resonance with its audiences that it earned her several awards, including first place for student podcast in the prestigious national Edward R. Murrow Awards.
Of the awards given to journalists, the Murrow Awards are among the most respected journalism awards in the world.
The podcast, “One More Time,” is a three-part series dedicated to the life and accomplishments of Bowman’s mom, who dedicated her life to dance. But that wasn’t the initial plan for this production.
“I planned to do an independent study with Prof. Garcia in Fall 2023. I wanted to continue a podcast I began in his Radio and Podcasting class that was an exposé into the darker side of the dance world,” Bowman said.
“The week before the semester began, my mom passed away. I met [Garcia] in his office the first week of class and was a wreck, I said I couldn’t in good conscience do a piece on the dark side of dance when the art form was so incredibly important to my mom. I tried to drop the independent study that morning,” she explained.
But Garcia, an award-winning journalist himself, recognized a special talent in his student and helped her move forward.
“Meghan had the storytelling savvy to know that her mother’s life was a great story, and she had the emotional courage – while mourning – to begin working to report that story. Those two strengths are a rare combination,” Garcia said.
Bowman on stage with her mother, Gloria Jean, in the early 1990s before one of her mother’s recitals. (Photo courtesy of Meghan Bowman)
Thanks to a combination of talent and dedication, “One More Time” won three major awards within a year of its release, including a highly coveted Edward R. Murrow Award for podcasting.
“I’m still shocked and honored that the podcast won the awards it has!” Bowman said.
“I couldn’t be more proud of what we accomplished. I think the key to its success is the rawness. I wrote these episodes during a time when my mom’s death was fresh on my mind, and I think the emotion comes through. While not everyone has a relationship with their mothers – I think most everyone can relate to loss. And for me, the biggest loss I’ve ever had was that of my mom,” she added.
“The podcast works because it is so authentic,” Garcia explained. “She tells the tale as both a grieving daughter and a probing journalist, giving context to a life well lived and tragically ended too soon.”
Winning this award means so much more to Bowman than any other career achievement – to her, it’s proof that she was meant to create this podcast for her mom.
“When Mary Shedden from WUSF told me that I won the student podcast category for the National Murrow Award, I started crying on the phone. Mary congratulated me on the love letter to my mom – we never called it a podcast while I was working on it and funny enough, it was always her love letter,” Bowman said.
“At the end of the day – I think if my mom heard it, and I’m sure she has, she would’ve loved it. And she would’ve been really proud of it, and that’s more special to me than the award itself.”
Bowman’s mother (left) holds a trophy for the winning ensemble group from Hoctor’s Dance Convention in the early 1980s. (Photo courtesy of Meghan Bowman)
Meghan’s mother hugs her immediately after her first solo tap performance in the mid-1990s. (Photo courtesy of Meghan Bowman)
Bowman learned about her win just one day before the anniversary of her mother’s passing.
“This was a wonderful, healing, cathartic journey to take,” she said.
“It was meaningful to not only me, but my family, my mom’s friends, and her students as well. I hope that people will give it a listen.”
You can listen to “One More Time,” on the Zimmerman School of Advertising and Mass Communications’ website.