“In Focus” hosts Julio Avila and JD Allen have been discussing with their guests ways for students to focus their talents and hone their skills so that when they graduate, they are prepared for the real world. This week’s guests, Pocket Theatre performers Liam Wallace and Tim Frenzel, explain that confidence is a necessity.

Confidence is something many young adults have trouble showing. Anxiety has now surpassed depression as the most common mental health diagnosis among college students, though depression, too, is on the rise. More than half of students visiting campus clinics cite anxiety as a health concern, according to a recent study of more than 100,000 students nationwide by the Center for Collegiate Mental Health at Penn State. Nearly one in six college students has been diagnosed with or treated for anxiety within the last 12 months, the Annual National Survey by the American College Health Association says.

Some of it is related to the anxiety with meeting new people or applying for jobs, as it terrifies people and destroys their confidence. Listen as Wallace and Frenzel discuss how they put aside their nerves and overwhelming thoughts on and off stage. 

Special thanks to Julio Avila, a.k.a. the deep voice you hear, but don’t see, echoing through the Union basement, WUSB Music Director Mike Gusev, our eager new engineer Dave Donovan, JD Allen for production, our Executive Producer Lauren Fetter and our guests: thespian talents Liam Wallace and Tim Frenzel.