childhood trauma – Greek University

Darnell Hardy: Perseverance Despite Unimaginable Loss

By admin on November 18, 2025

Perseverance despite unimaginable loss is something our next guest knows very well. Darnell Hardy is a highly respected fitness coach and the founder of Optimize VO2 (OVOO), a metabolic fitness company dedicated to helping individuals achieve peak performance. With over a decade of experience in the fitness industry, Darnell has worked with a diverse clientele, ranging from everyday individuals seeking to improve their health and fitness to elite athletes competing at the highest levels of CrossFit and Hyrox. Darnell’s expertise lies in optimizing metabolic function and aerobic capacity, enabling clients to achieve significant improvements in their pursuits. A sought-after speaker and seminar host, Darnell travels the country sharing his knowledge and insights on metabolic fitness. Darnell is also Aerobic Capacity certified and serves as a subject matter expert at the prestigious Power Monkey Camp, further solidifying their reputation as a leader in the field.

In episode 621 of the Fraternity Foodie Podcast, we find out what it was like for Darnell to grow up in St. Louis, why he had to say no to drugs, violence, and peer pressure, how he was able to process his trauma as he got older, how he ended up at Missouri State, why he chose Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc., and how the unimaginable loss of his brother, best friend, and grandparents changed how he sees conflict, pain, and perseverance.

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gWWzC2aB1k

Fraternity/Sorority

Avonley Lightstone: Healing from Childhood Traumas

By admin on November 12, 2025

Healing from childhood traumas is possible! Avonley Lightstone is the author of Strength of Scars, Letting Go, It’s Just Temporary, and Going From Old to Gold. Her mission is to bring healing in to a world that often feels broken. She believes trauma and trials, when faced with courage, can become powerful challenges that strengthen us and create a ripple of hope and resilience. Through her own story, she inspires others to say, “I got this — we’re doing this together.” Avonley holds a deep personal hope of reconnecting with her family in India, where her journey began, and offering her father forgiveness and peace. She currently resides in Utah with her husband, Christian, and their three daughters. Together they enjoy the outdoors, baking, and cheering on their girls in sports.

In episode 619 of the Fraternity Foodie Podcast, we find out how Avonley was able to save her mom from a house fire at just three years old, how an abusive environment in a foster home affected her sense of identity and belonging, how she help others recognize when they’re masking pain instead of healing it, how to heal from childhood traumas before it starts to impact your growth, what are some physical or emotional signs that someone’s body might be holding onto unresolved trauma, why she dreams of reconnecting with her family in India to offer forgiveness and peace, how her scars — physical and emotional — became a source of strength for others, how we can create a culture that prioritizes mental health and emotional safety, and what she hopes readers of “Strength of Scars” will take with them into their own lives. Enjoy!

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8j7E4iqoxrM

Fraternity/Sorority

Dr. Kiana Dancie: Building Stronger Relationships in College

By admin on June 30, 2025

Building stronger relationships in college – and more authentic relationships – can happen with the 3Rs Framework: Recognize, Release, and Realign. To tell us more about that, it’s time to introduce Dr. Kiana Dancie. She is a one-woman revolution at the intersection of laughter, healing, and empowerment. She is an award-winning comedian, transformational speaker, celebrated actress, best-selling author, certified emotional intelligence coach, and serial entrepreneur. With over 15 years of experience in entertainment and personal development, she has masterfully turned her pain into purpose and her voice into a vessel for global healing. Whether through her best-selling books, her captivating keynotes, her unapologetic comedy, or her movement-making platforms, Dr. Kiana Dancie is not just someone to watch—she’s someone to work with, learn from, and never forget.

In episode 582 of the Fraternity Foodie Podcast, we find out about Kiana’s biggest struggles and Georgia Southern, what inspired her to merge comedy with emotional healing and empowerment, how group laughter exercises and storytelling can break down emotional barriers, how the “Sisterhood Reset” program uses her 3Rs Framework to Recognize, Release, and Realign, what “baggage” college students carry the most, one take away from her book “Bye Bye Bags: Laughing to Lighten the Load”, what students who feel stuck in their trauma or are afraid to be vulnerable should do, what is the lasting change she brings in the Baggage Claim Worldwide Collegiate Tour, what is the Campus Comedy Corner and what can students do if they are not comfortable in front of a group. Enjoy!

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRjBf63_0W8