The online presence of podcasts has been steadily growing — series like Slate’s “Slow Burn,” and Sarah Koenig’s “Serial” have helped pave the way for many other creative minds to dive into the world of podcasting.

Among those minds is senior Carson Foley, who released the first episode of his podcast April 18, 2018. Foley’s series, “The Future and Young,” is a business and economics podcast aimed at creating content to inspire others his age.

“I was looking into podcasts, and I wanted to find something about student leadership,” Foley said. “There’s a lot of adult-oriented leadership. If you want to learn how to lead as a marketing director, you can find that exact content.”

Foley said his search to find content suitable to himself and other student leaders inspired him to create his own show.

“I was looking for something more applicable to me — I don’t care about how to lead in the corporate world,” Foley said. “I want to be a leader here — in high school.”

Foley’s podcast requires microphones, editing software and a considerable amount of time spent on editing.

“You get people coming back and saying, ‘Hey, I listened to this episode; I thought it was great,’ Foley said. “Those conversations are the whole reason why you do it in the first place.”

Foley said his podcast is rewarding because he gets experience marketing a product of his own.

“I want to go into business, [and] all of those things give you this experience that you won’t find in a classroom,” Foley said.

For Foley, inspiration comes from a range of sources, such as articles on LinkedIn or a word in a Twitter post.

“[One episode] I recorded was [about] keys to communication,” he said. “I was [inspired] because I listened to a TED talk, and I liked the way that [the speaker] talked. It’s finding those small things in [everyday] life [and] being able to communicate the message I’m trying to deliver.”

Foley said his main focus is to denounce the pinned mantra of his generation.

“[This generation is called] entitled, lazy — unfairly,” Foley said. “There’s a group of them that might be like that. There’s also a group of hard working, focused, motivated, driven people. I didn’t want our generation to have that exact title. I do that with myself now, but I can try to make the efforts to give our generation a completely new face.”

Foley is also the founder and creator of TeenLyfe Ministries, a faith-based online resource collection, where students can write sermons for public use.

Foley said when creating his podcast, having a completely Christian oriented channel could result in losing possible listeners.

“[In my podcast,] I will talk about my faith,” said Foley. “I will bring Bible references in and use [them] as a resource to enhance my message, but I won’t say that this is a biblical podcast because I don’t want to take away the value.”

Foley said his family is supportive of his podcast venture and often contribute to his content.

“They like to throw their ideas at me,” Foley said. “The inspiration for some episodes comes from my parents. We’ve had discussions and arguments about things that I’ve said that they didn’t agree with. It’s been great for some back and forth conversation and that’s what I hope to bring and get out of it. If people are having conversations because of the episodes, it’s all worth it.”

Foley said anyone looking to hear a different perspective should give his podcast a listen.

“If you’re looking to grow as a leader or looking to grow as a person, definitely check it out,” Foley said. “If you want to lead in the future, I recommend it.”