SALEM — Dr. Judith Josephs started a show called “History of Success” in 2019 to highlight successful people in the North Shore area who are working within the community.
Her recent guests featured numerous Salem State University (SSU) faculty, including Dr. Kenneth Reeds, the chair of world languages and world culture; Dr. Amy Everitt, chair of health care studies; Dr. Mark Libon, assistant professor, graduate program coordinator and clinical training director; Dr. Melissa Kaplowitch, assistant professor, graduate program counseling psychology; and SSU President John Keenan and his wife Kara McLaughlin, who is the executive director of The House of the Seven Gables in Salem.
During the show, which airs on Lynn Community Television (LCTV), Josephs speaks with community leaders about their journey to where they are today in their career and the steps they took to get there.
“I highlight the community leaders… then I highlight the community resources that they are leading,” Josephs said.
Josephs interviewed Keenan and his wife on their leadership roles at SSU and The House of the Seven Gables, as well as Keenan’s donation of a kidney to a friend, which Josephs said highlights the importance of donating organs.
“I based it on (the) career pathways of the community leaders and the leadership of the resource they are running,” she said. “I worked at Lynn Tech as a career counselor and a co-op director for many years, so I saw many pathways for careers.”
Josephs’ goal for “History of Success” is to show people, especially students, that the world is not all bad and that “we are surrounded by amazing leaders and people.”
She wants students to hear from successful leaders about how they got to where they are to show students that it is possible to be successful and everyone gets there in their own way.
“I’ve been doing this for the last couple of years. We all watch television, or read newspapers, and all we hear is so many sad stories… The program looks at positive stories and at a time where worldwide, positive stories are hard to come by, whether it’s the pandemic, or the climate, or inflation,” Josephs said. “Here in the community, in the North Shore, you have many positive stories… These stories are my way of telling people that good things are happening.”
“History of Success” streams through LCTV, but Josephs sends out a link to the show to career resources around the North Shore so counselors can show it to students.
“Students today, especially as they choose their careers, they’re very doubtful because of the negativity around them,” she said.
Josephs has produced about 45 shows and has many more lined up for the next few months, including one with state Sen. Brendan Crighton (D-Lynn).
All of Josephs’ shows are recorded at the LCTV studio, and one of Joseph’s former students, Pedro Diaz, is the technical director who edits and puts together the show.
Josephs said it is great to see one of her former students working with her on this, as he also trains Lynn Tech students in a media co-op, so Josephs said it has kind of come full circle.
Josephs has also spoken with many community leaders in Lynn, and her videos can be viewed online at lynntv.org by typing “History of Success” into the search bar.
