Latest / The Recess-An Inside Look at the Auburn School District / Episode #15: Rory Murry, Auburn Riverside High School Senior

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Episode #15: Rory Murry, Auburn Riverside High School Senior · The Recess-An Inside Look at the Auburn School District

• 0:15
  SPEAKER_01: Hello and welcome to the Recess Podcast.
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_01: I'm your host, Dr.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_01: Alan Speciati, the proud superintendent of the Auburn School District.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_01: The recess is a way that we feature some of the people and programs that make Auburn such a special place to be.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_01: Along the way this year, a few of those people have been students, and we're going to finish up strong by featuring some of our class of 2024 graduates.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_01: I'm so excited for this class.
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_01: I've gotten to meet quite a number of really inspirational, amazing seniors who are going to do great things in the world, whether they they go to a college, a two or four-year school, a trade school, go straight into the workforce, go to the military.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_01: We know that they're going to make a big difference in the world, and we just can't wait to follow their success.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_01: We want to bring you some of those students on the recess podcast as we uh ramp up to graduation and kind of pull into summer vacation.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_01: So uh we're excited today to do that with a great, amazing graduate, uh almost graduate from Auburn Riverside High School.
• 1:23
  SPEAKER_01: You have to finish the year.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_01: I don't want to breed any senioritis here.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but I'm really happy to be joined on the recess today by Auburn Riverside High School senior Rory Murray.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_01: Rory, welcome to the podcast.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_00: Hi, welcome.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_01: It's great to have you here.
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_01: Uh Rory actually, straight out of the out of the shoot, I'm gonna say we're excited to have her here because she's gone all the way through the Auburn School District.
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_01: So uh could you tell our audience which schools you've attended?
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_00: Um I started kindergarten in Lakeland Hills.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_00: I made it all the way through fifth grade.
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_00: Um, then I went to Mount Baker Middle School, and now I'm at Riverside.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_01: And perfect.
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_01: And like I said, Rory's a senior.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_01: Uh she has a lot of great accolades that you're gonna hear about and activities and just things that she's been involved in.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so I'm excited for you to get to know her story a little bit.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, but we're gonna start with the question that I ask all of my guests right at the beginning of the show.
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_01: Uh tell us who was your favorite teacher and why?
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_01: And if you want to pick more than one, you you can go for it.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_00: Um my favorite teacher would definitely be Mr.
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_00: Peterson.
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_00: He's at Auburn Riverside, he teaches graphic design and drawing.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_00: I've had him as my teacher every single year I've been in high school.
• 2:51
  SPEAKER_00: I love him so much.
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_00: Uh he kind of just like lets you have whatever creativity, like he just gives you really like he lets you just he kind of just lets you be as creative as as you want to be, and he is just really inspirational, always like is there at your side and he's there for everyone.
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_00: I feel like most students can kind of vouch and say that he's a really great teacher.
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_01: That's awesome.
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_01: You know, it's been interesting over the course of the year during this podcast.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_01: I ask every guest this question, and um it's amazing, as as important as core academics are.
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_01: We have some great core academic teachers, um, but the difference that some of our electives teachers make is amazing.
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_01: And it really taps into I think the creativity and soul of the students.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_01: So really excited to hear that.
• 3:49
  SPEAKER_01: Uh do you remember back to elementary middle school since you've been in Auburn this whole time?
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 3:55
  SPEAKER_01: Do you have any other favorites?
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_00: I would definitely have to say Mrs.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_00: Makillo.
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_00: She definitely has left a mark on my life, and I can just remember her like favorite quote was always, eat dessert first, and that is like lives in my household.
• 4:11
  SPEAKER_00: My brother, he also had her as a teacher, and it's that's always something that I will never forget.
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_01: Was that for kindergarten?
• 4:20
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, yeah.
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, what a great memory.
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, and uh yeah, that's great.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_01: Ms.
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_01: McKee has made a big impact on so many people.
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_01: Good.
• 4:29
  SPEAKER_01: Well, uh, we're excited to get to know you a little bit, and I'm gonna start with um asking about something that I think is near and dear to your heart, and it's actually how I first uh was introduced to Rory Murray uh through extracurricular activities.
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_01: So can you talk about uh what you've done through your school career?
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_00: If we're gonna go back to middle school, I was definitely into like everything.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_00: I wanted to be doing something at all times.
• 4:57
  SPEAKER_00: So in middle school I did basketball, I did soccer, I did fast pitch, and I also did volleyball.
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_00: So my eighth grade year, I did one sport every four seasons because I just I feel like I just wanted to be able to do everything.
• 5:12
  SPEAKER_00: Um and then my main sport is soccer.
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_00: So in high school I've four-year varsity lettered on the soccer team.
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_00: Um and then also this year I participated in the first year of girls' flag football, which was amazing and super cool experience.
• 5:32
  SPEAKER_01: That's cool.
• 5:33
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and then now I'm doing track and field.
• 5:37
  SPEAKER_01: Uh I really enjoyed getting to go out.
• 5:40
  SPEAKER_01: I went out one Saturday to see the the uh inaugural season of flag football, and I was just really struck by kind of the passion of the players.
• 5:50
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, people were really into it for a new sport, uh, and it's not something that everybody's played their whole life.
• 5:57
  SPEAKER_01: Like probably a lot of your soccer teammates have played for years and years.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, I think it was just there was something pure about it that it was just like just the love of sport and competition and being with your friends.
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_01: Uh so you enjoyed flag football.
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, I really did, and I met a lot of new people.
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_00: It wasn't just like one whole sports team decided they were gonna come out and play.
• 6:17
  SPEAKER_00: It was a big mixture of like a bunch of people I didn't even know.
• 6:20
  SPEAKER_00: And so I met so many new people that I would have never met if I was just doing what I normally did.
• 6:25
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm really glad that I just like tried it.
• 6:28
  SPEAKER_00: A lot of people wanted to and then just were like, oh, I don't know, but I I'm just really happy that I stuck with it and it was super fun.
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_01: That's that's really great.
• 6:37
  SPEAKER_01: And I've been around a lot of high school sports, and you know, kids appropriately take it seriously.
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but it's as a as a person with life experience, it's a magical time in your life to have those high school friends and do things and meet new people, and so I'm glad you've been able to do that.
• 6:56
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, I do know that your uh primary sport is soccer.
• 7:00
  SPEAKER_01: Do you have a particular memory uh about your time at Auburn Riverside on the pitch?
• 7:06
  SPEAKER_00: Senior night this year was definitely one of the best nights I've ever had on a on the soccer field at Riverside.
• 7:13
  SPEAKER_00: It was it was crazy.
• 7:15
  SPEAKER_00: So I made a really close friend on the soccer team, and she's also a senior, so it was kind of a very special moment just to like be together and like kind of celebrate both of ourselves like ending the season off with that, and it was just that would that would definitely be my favorite thing that happened on the field.
• 7:32
  SPEAKER_01: That's fantastic, and you know, and I think that goes along with life too, right?
• 7:37
  SPEAKER_01: I mean you remember some of the games, but you really remember the relationships and the people, and uh hopefully uh a lot of times those those friendships will hold up over time and you'll have that that experience in common, good.
• 7:51
  SPEAKER_01: And I can't remember if we mentioned this, but I know you play a specific position on the soccer field.
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_01: What is that?
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I play goalkeeper.
• 7:58
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and have you always been a goalie?
• 8:00
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, ever since I was like five, I've always been a goalkeeper.
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_00: Um my dad was a goalkeeper, so he'd always tried to convince me and all my siblings to be goalkeepers, but I was the only one who kind of stuck with it.
• 8:12
  SPEAKER_01: Good for you.
• 8:13
  SPEAKER_01: And it it seems, you know, I've never played goalie, but it seems like it takes a certain uh mind frame to be comfortable, be in the last line of defense, and you know, I think a lot of weight falls on your shoulders.
• 8:25
  SPEAKER_01: Uh maybe not on the Ravens, because uh I've seen some games where you don't get a lot of action.
• 8:30
  SPEAKER_01: But yeah, when when you're facing those shots, like are you nervous?
• 8:35
  SPEAKER_01: Or how how's that experience?
• 8:37
  SPEAKER_00: I feel like doing it for as long as I have definitely helps like the nerves.
• 8:41
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not a super nervous person, but I would definitely say you gotta be a little bit crazy.
• 8:46
  SPEAKER_00: Um it's it it gets a little scary when they're really close and they're shooting a ball right at your face.
• 8:52
  SPEAKER_00: It's definitely not just the normal thing.
• 8:55
  SPEAKER_00: It's you gotta get used to it.
• 8:57
  SPEAKER_01: Good.
• 8:57
  SPEAKER_01: Well, uh you do it very well.
• 8:59
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
• 9:00
  SPEAKER_01: Let's let's kind of move into just your senior experience.
• 9:04
  SPEAKER_01: So uh we're actually recording this uh short time after spring break, and we have a couple of months left in the school year.
• 9:10
  SPEAKER_01: What are you looking forward to the rest of your senior year?
• 9:14
  SPEAKER_00: Obviously, graduations coming up.
• 9:16
  SPEAKER_00: I'm definitely looking forward to school being close to over.
• 9:21
  SPEAKER_00: Um we're being honest.
• 9:23
  SPEAKER_01: But you're hurting our feelings, you know.
• 9:27
  SPEAKER_01: No, we understand.
• 9:29
  SPEAKER_00: Um Camp Auburn is next week, and I'm participating in that for the first time.
• 9:33
  SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna be a rover.
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_00: So I have haven't gone back since fifth grade, so that'll be a new experience to like kind of see it from like a different angle, and I'm definitely that would be the thing I'm most looking forward to.
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_01: That is really cool.
• 9:45
  SPEAKER_01: Uh what memories do you have of going to Camp Auburn as a fifth grader at Lakeland Hills?
• 9:50
  SPEAKER_00: I remember that it was raining the whole week that we were there, so I had no outdoor campfires, and we had like all the skits.
• 9:59
  SPEAKER_00: I do remember like every single skit, and it's kind of crazy because I was looking over the skits that we were um gonna be doing this um next week, and spoiler alert, they're the same as the ones that we did when I was there, which is crazy to just be like, oh my gosh, I watched all of those, but as like a little kid.
• 10:16
  SPEAKER_00: It was crazy.
• 10:17
  SPEAKER_01: Awesome.
• 10:18
  SPEAKER_01: I love going up to camp.
• 10:19
  SPEAKER_01: I try to get up there uh at least once every year and uh be there either for campfire or some of the activities, and it's always amazing to me to see you know the the maturity of the high school counselors, but also their kind of youth and exuberance.
• 10:37
  SPEAKER_01: Uh so it's a really cool thing.
• 10:39
  SPEAKER_01: I'm glad that you're taking advantage of that opportunity.
• 10:43
  SPEAKER_01: Uh while we're talking about kind of being in a mentor position for younger students, what advice would you give for middle school students who are about to go to high school?
• 10:52
  SPEAKER_00: I would have to say it gets better.
• 10:55
  SPEAKER_00: For me, I know that um seventh, eighth, and ninth grade were definitely difficult times for me, like school-wise.
• 11:02
  SPEAKER_00: So I would just say like keep like looking forward, keep going, because then you'll get to senior year when you have four electives, two classes that you gotta pay attention in.
• 11:12
  SPEAKER_00: It's great, it's really nice.
• 11:14
  SPEAKER_00: And just it's that would be what I have to say.
• 11:17
  SPEAKER_00: It's just it it it'll get better and you're doing great.
• 11:21
  SPEAKER_01: Good advice.
• 11:22
  SPEAKER_01: Uh I think that's true for a lot of things.
• 11:24
  SPEAKER_01: If you hang in there, if you take care of business up front, uh actually life gets better, and and that certainly applies.
• 11:31
  SPEAKER_01: I think in high school, I always tell kids if you get off to a good start, you're gonna have a lot of fun uh in your junior and senior year.
• 11:40
  SPEAKER_01: How about when you're not at school?
• 11:42
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, sometimes we as educators tend to forget people, uh kit students or real people.
• 11:48
  SPEAKER_01: What do you do when you're not at school?
• 11:50
  SPEAKER_00: I really enjoy reading.
• 11:52
  SPEAKER_00: I love being outside, so I in the winter I like to snowboard.
• 11:58
  SPEAKER_00: Um right now I like hiking, obviously in the summer hiking.
• 12:03
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and I do like to wake surf a lot.
• 12:06
  SPEAKER_00: That's super fun.
• 12:07
  SPEAKER_00: And I love hanging out with my friends.
• 12:09
  SPEAKER_00: We have a friend group and we have this thing, it's been going on for about two years, and we have game nights, so we kind of just like hang out and play card games, board games, whatever games we can find, and that's been something that's really like fun for me to do kind of on my off time when soccer isn't an option.
• 12:28
  SPEAKER_01: That sounds really fun, actually.
• 12:30
  SPEAKER_01: I think uh you you do a good job with I don't know, as adults we call it work life balance, uh school life balance, or what have you, because uh you're not slacking on the school side, but it sounds like you're really having a good time and good relationships and getting outside and doing all the healthy things.
• 12:49
  SPEAKER_01: So uh we're really happy for you.
• 12:52
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
• 12:53
  SPEAKER_01: That just sounds awesome.
• 12:54
  SPEAKER_01: Uh okay, so we're gonna get to graduation.
• 12:58
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 12:59
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, and that that bittersweet time and the summer after senior years, you know, fun and uh whatever you're doing with your time.
• 13:08
  SPEAKER_01: Some people work, some people, you know, play sports or just just pack in the memories with their high school friends.
• 13:15
  SPEAKER_01: Uh what are your plans after you graduate and for next year?
• 13:20
  SPEAKER_00: I plan to attend the University of Wyoming to play Division I soccer.
• 13:25
  SPEAKER_00: And it's crazy because I actually my uh next year plans start pretty quick.
• 13:31
  SPEAKER_00: I leave the day after I graduate for Wyoming.
• 13:34
  SPEAKER_00: So I'll be gone.
• 13:35
  SPEAKER_01: Wow, I didn't know that.
• 13:37
  SPEAKER_01: And is that because of the soccer commitment?
• 13:39
  SPEAKER_00: Um yes, it is.
• 13:40
  SPEAKER_00: We're going to play soccer, and actually, two days after I leave to be in Wyoming, we're going to Iceland to continue and play, get some more exposure around other teams.
• 13:50
  SPEAKER_00: So that's a super cool experience.
• 13:51
  SPEAKER_00: So I guess I'm going to Iceland this summer, which is crazy.
• 13:54
  SPEAKER_00: And I've never been anywhere kind of that far.
• 13:57
  SPEAKER_00: So it'll be a crazy experience.
• 13:59
  SPEAKER_00: But then I'll just be in Wyoming pretty much the whole summer.
• 14:01
  SPEAKER_01: So just to be transparent, I'm having my first moment as podcast host, and my thought bubble is like, is she putting me on?
• 14:09
  SPEAKER_01: So you're the University of Wyoming, it's the Cowboys, right?
• 14:13
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, yes.
• 14:14
  SPEAKER_01: The Cowboys soccer team is going to Iceland to play soccer.
• 14:19
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 14:20
  SPEAKER_00: We're playing like a local team, I think two local teams and then one bigger team.
• 14:27
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not exactly sure the name, but we're de we're doing it.
• 14:30
  SPEAKER_00: We're leaving like two days after I get in Wyoming, so it'll be crazy.
• 14:35
  SPEAKER_01: That is amazing.
• 14:36
  SPEAKER_01: What an incredible experience.
• 14:38
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 14:39
  SPEAKER_01: Uh I actually have a lot of envy.
• 14:42
  SPEAKER_01: Some of my uh friends in the last few years have gone to Iceland and it just looks spectacular.
• 14:49
  SPEAKER_01: And uh to get to do it at your age and also get to probably meet some uh some other, I would guess, university students uh who share the sport in common.
• 15:01
  SPEAKER_01: That's just gonna be an amazing experience.
• 15:03
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it's gonna be it it'll be crazy.
• 15:06
  SPEAKER_00: And I do know that we are kind of like they've it's more than just soccer, we're going hiking, we're doing everything, so I'm just really looking forward to it.
• 15:13
  SPEAKER_01: That is amazing.
• 15:14
  SPEAKER_01: So you're going to the University of Wyoming, and uh at this point, do you know what you're planning to study, or are you gonna figure that out when you get there?
• 15:23
  SPEAKER_00: I think I'm gonna figure it out when I get there.
• 15:26
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not really decided.
• 15:27
  SPEAKER_00: I'm definitely interested in like being outside and hiking, like I've said a few times, but I I just I w like being on my feet, so I was kind of thinking about going into like environmental science, see if that could take me into like something in the outdoors.
• 15:43
  SPEAKER_00: I love studying the nature, so I just I feel like that would be what I would go into.
• 15:47
  SPEAKER_01: Well, you'll be in a great place to do that.
• 15:50
  SPEAKER_01: Um it might be too early to ask.
• 15:53
  SPEAKER_01: Do you do you have a dream job in mind?
• 15:55
  SPEAKER_00: I wouldn't say I have an exact dream job.
• 15:57
  SPEAKER_00: I'm pretty open.
• 15:58
  SPEAKER_00: I have a lot of things kind of like going through my mind.
• 16:01
  SPEAKER_00: I wouldn't be a I'm not set on anything particularly be like maybe a park range or something that like I could just be up and out and just in the wilderness just with myself.
• 16:13
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
• 16:13
  SPEAKER_00: I feel like that would be a super cool experience, just to be like outside all the time.
• 16:17
  SPEAKER_01: A great answer, and you know, there's really no right answer to that.
• 16:22
  SPEAKER_01: I actually give a lot of advice to high school seniors that it's okay.
• 16:27
  SPEAKER_01: There you're gonna have I'm sure you have friends who are like, you know, I've always wanted to be a nurse, I've always wanted to be a teacher, or uh I want to be a lawyer or whatever.
• 16:36
  SPEAKER_01: Um but you're only exposed to so much in high school.
• 16:42
  SPEAKER_01: We offer as much as we can, but we can't rival a university.
• 16:46
  SPEAKER_01: You'll have so many experiences.
• 16:48
  SPEAKER_01: You might see something in Iceland that you didn't even know existed uh that would lead to, you know, gosh, that's my dream job now.
• 16:56
  SPEAKER_01: Or maybe it's an elective you take at they call it UW, right?
• 17:01
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, they do.
• 17:02
  SPEAKER_00: It's a little hard because actual UWs here, but that's okay.
• 17:07
  SPEAKER_01: Uh so anyway, you have time to to find that passion and aspiration, and um you just have such a solid foundation that you're gonna grow into, I'm sure, some amazing opportunity.
• 17:20
  SPEAKER_01: Um it's been really great getting to know you a little bit.
• 17:25
  SPEAKER_01: Is there anything else you want to share about yourself before we we wrap up?
• 17:30
  SPEAKER_00: Uh I don't think so.
• 17:31
  SPEAKER_00: I think that's I feel like we've covered most things about me.
• 17:34
  SPEAKER_01: Very good.
• 17:35
  SPEAKER_01: Uh well, we're gonna go back into your kind of way back memory um and ask, what was your favorite thing to do at recess, Rory?
• 17:45
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, I don't think I could um make this a one-answer question.
• 17:50
  SPEAKER_00: I uh definitely have a few answers to this.
• 17:53
  SPEAKER_00: Um it would really depend on like the year we're talking about, because I would say that there was almost always, at least every year I was in elementary school where we would there'd be a big group of us and we'd either play kickball, um, foursquare, or tetherball.
• 18:13
  SPEAKER_00: And it was like a bunch of us, and we just all decided one day that we were just gonna do either kickball, or the next day we'd all do four square, and it was crazy.
• 18:23
  SPEAKER_00: It was always like the same group of kids every single time.
• 18:25
  SPEAKER_00: And it's just like super interesting because even today, like I'm still with almost all those kids all the time.
• 18:32
  SPEAKER_00: I see them in the halls, I see them on the field, I play sports with them, I see them just around, and it's just crazy to kind of like see people I've grown up with like in real life, just and I was hanging out playing kickball with them all elementary school.
• 18:46
  SPEAKER_00: So that would definitely be top three things I did at recess.
• 18:51
  SPEAKER_01: I I I've really enjoyed hearing people's passion for what they did in recess, and I'm amazed how something about what they did in elementary school recess has carried with them uh like creative types, you know, or doing drawing and things like that.
• 19:09
  SPEAKER_01: Uh but the friendships and and that development is really important and uh you're just a uh a great example of that, and it's neat that you kind of have this cohort of friends who's uh uh stayed with you throughout school and um you've really accomplished a lot.
• 19:27
  SPEAKER_01: Uh congratulations, Rory.
• 19:29
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
• 19:29
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
• 19:30
  SPEAKER_01: Well it's been great having my guest Rory Murray with us uh for the podcast today.
• 19:35
  SPEAKER_01: She's a senior at Auburn Riverside.
• 19:38
  SPEAKER_01: Uh she is a great soccer player, uh, but as you've heard over the last 20 minutes or so, just a really well-rounded, uh, well-spoken kid who's gonna do great things.
• 19:50
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, and we're really proud of you.
• 19:52
  SPEAKER_01: Congratulations.
• 19:54
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for having me.
• 19:55
  SPEAKER_01: This has been the Recess Podcast, uh production of the Auburn School District, and it's produced by Vicky Alonzo.
• 20:01
  SPEAKER_01: We tell the stories of the district, and we really want you to help spread the word.
• 20:05
  SPEAKER_01: So if you know somebody who would enjoy hearing this episode or maybe one of the previous ones, uh, please send them a note and have them subscribe.
• 20:14
  SPEAKER_01: We look forward to telling more student stories, more senior stories, and more stories of the Auburn School District on the Recess Podcast.
• 20:22
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you for joining.
• 20:23
  SPEAKER_01: See you next time.