Meet The Team
Drew Maglio
Editor-in-chief
Drew Maglio is a freelance writer hailing from West Palm Beach, Florida, where he earned a BA in history at Palm Beach Atlantic University. Drew currently resides in Annapolis, MD where he completed his masters degree at St. John's College in 2021. Since graduating, Drew has owned and operated his own business, Capital Boat Works.
In 2020, Drew and his fellow Supper Honors alum, Daniel Grasso, decided to co-found The Great Conversation in response to the devolving state of discourse and affairs in the public arena.
Elsewhere, Drew has been published in the Imaginative Conservative and has worked as a staff writer for State of the U, in addition to contributing frequently to Practical Boat Owner, among other publications. In his free time, Drew enjoys a wide gamut of sports including golf, basketball, football, and boating.
Daniel Grasso
Editor
Daniel Grasso is originally from Bradenton, FL, but earned his BA in marketing in West Palm Beach from Palm Beach Atlantic University. After three years working in operations for a sub-defense contractor he decided to pursue a more contemplative and academic career. He currently lives in St. Louis, MO with his wife where he is earning his master's degree in Philosophy at the University of Missouri St. Louis.
Daniel is well versed in the history of philosophy and loves making The Great Conversation accessible and applicable to today. His major interests in philosophy include: ethics, existentialism, political philosophy, and metaphysics. Daniel has finished several larger projects including a short book on Hannah Arendt's Origins of Totalitarianism, a feature length screenplay about The Gulag Archipelago, and a larger book - a collection of maxims from the Great Tradition, ranging from Plato to today.
In his free time Daniel enjoys reading Dostoevsky and John Steinbeck, disc golf, drawing, and listening to Kanye West. He can often be found haunting the parks and coffee shops of St. Louis.
Aaron Mejias
Academy Podcast
Aaron Mejias lives in West Palm Beach, Florida where he received his B.A in both history and political science at Palm Beach Atlantic University in 2017.
In 2019, Aaron co-founded The Academy Podcast for which he writes, researches, and co-hosts. The Academy Podcast examines and aims to teach philosophical works in both great detail and clarity.
Aaron is currently working as an admissions counselor at his alma mater, in addition to serving in the Air Force part-time and working towards his M.A in Political Science at Florida Atlantic University.
Aaron may be reached at:
Kelsey Maglio
Austin Parenti
Rachel Green
Assistant Editor
Multimedia Producer
Contributor
Kelsey Maglio graduated from Stetson University in DeLand, FL in 2019 with a BA in philosophy and is particularly interested in issues relating to political philosophy, ethics, theology, and education.
At Stetson, she participated in the Bonner Program (a four-year community engagement scholarship program) and, after graduating, completed a year of work as an AmeriCorps VISTA, gaining extensive experience in issues related to K-12 education and university-school partnerships. In the future, Kelsey plans to attend graduate school to further her liberal arts education and expand opportunities for public philosophy, especially through pre-college philosophy initiatives.
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In 2021, Kelsey began work on her PhD in philosophy at Baylor University.
When not deep in thought, she can be found snuggling her two cats, Gave and Chidi (yes, from The Good Place), or learning to rock climb.​
Austin Parenti earned his film degree from Palm Beach Atlantic University, where he was recognized as the outstanding graduate of the Cinema/Television program. At PBA, Austin was also a member of the Supper Honors Program, which inculcated in him a passion for the Great Books.
Since 2018, Austin has worked at The Kings Academy as a Technology Specialist and Broadcasting Teacher. In addition to having crewed many award-winning videos and commercials, Austin also directed several short films which garnered awards from prestigious, respected award programs (Videographer, AVA, Telly Awards, etc.). Austin loves film, technology, 1940’s big band jazz, and reading.
Rachel Green is a graduate student at Fuller Theological Seminary, where she is pursuing a PsyD in Clinical Psychology and an MA in theology. She was introduced to the Great Books during her undergraduate studies, where she received a liberal arts education.
On the Sabbath, she enjoys hobbies of hiking, sewing, reading, writing, and painting. Her favorite authors are Wendell Berry, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Victor Frankl, J.R.R. Tolkien, and C.S. Lewis.