Lift Off in Education: Donovan Livingston on Hip-Hop, Belonging, and Thriving

What happens when hip-hop, spoken word, and student support meet in higher education? In this episode, Donovan Livingston, award-winning educator, spoken word poet, and creator of the viral Harvard speech Lift Off, shares how culture and community can transform student success. Now director of College Thriving at UNC – Chapel Hill, Livingston bridges music, equity, and education to help students find their voice and their place.

Hosts Biff Maier and Nicole Coman talk with Donovan about:

• How the golden era of 90s hip-hop shaped his love of lyricism, and why the celebratory energy of the early 2000s inspired him to see music as both political and joyful.
  
• Why UNC’s new College Thriving requirement for all first-year students blends growth mindset, stress coping, and campus resources to help 4,000 students a year build resilience and belonging.
• The growth of UNC’s hip-hop program, from beat-making labs to rap ensembles to global diplomacy projects, that values MCs, DJs, graffiti, and breakdancing alongside Beethoven and Mozart.
• How community cultural wealth and storytelling help students, especially those from marginalized backgrounds, see their neighborhoods, families, and lived experiences as essential sources of knowledge.
• What it means to use hip-hop as a platform for equity, asking students to confront questions of privilege, gender, and power while carving out space for women, queer artists, and neurodivergent peers.

With warmth and conviction, Donovan highlights the power of culture, community, and creativity to help students thrive.

Watch Donovan Livingston’s Harvard Graduate School of Education Student Speech: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XGUpKITeJM

Buy Donovan Livingston’s book:
Lift Off: From the Classroom to the Stars
https://www.amazon.com/Lift-Off-Classroom-Donovan-Livingston/dp/0399591370