Episode 3: Story Lab: Taking Steps to Find Community
March 2025
In this Story Lab episode of the Break Away Podcast, Sally Mo shares her experiences and some of the challenges she faced in finding community at the University of Michigan. After Sally shares her story, she discusses the origins of her story and how she navigated the storytelling process with Story Lab program manager Nick Viviano.
Story Lab is powered by the Sanger Leadership Center. Story Lab develops executive-level presence and communication skills through storytelling workshops and events. For more information, visit sanger.umich.edu/experience/story-lab.
Episode Competencies (coming soon!)
Episode Resources
Reflection Questions:
- How can you use storytelling to build trust and rapport with your team or audience?
- In what ways can I use stories to inspire and motivate others to take action?
Speaker Bio
Sally Mo
Student
Sally Mo (she/her) is a student in the Residential College and the Ross Leaders Academy, majoring in Cognitive Science and Data Science. She is actively developing a connected leadership style, committed to designing human-centered technology that drives positive change. Sally envisions creating empowering tools that inspire and support others in pursuing
their dreams.
Nick Viviano
Program Specialist at the Sanger Leadership Center
Nick Viviano (he/him/his) is a program specialist at the Sanger Leadership Center at Michigan Ross. He oversees a variety of leadership development programs, including Story Lab and the Leadership Crisis Challenge.
