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Connections
Connections

Finger Lakes Thursday: Auburn

By Racquel Stephen,
Elissa Orlando, Julie Williams
Published August 14, 2025 at 2:03 PM EDT
Three smiling people wearing headphones sit by a table in a radio talk studio: a woman at left has long hair pulled back in a bun and is wearing glasses and a beige button-down shirt; a man at center has short red hair and a red beard and is wearing a blue blazer and blue button-down shirt; a woman at right has short blonde hair and is wearing a blue and red floral patterned blouse, black pants and black strappy heels.
1 of 3  — Ahna Wilson and Geoffrey Starks with host Racquel Stephen on "Connections"
Ahna Wilson and Geoffrey Starks with host Racquel Stephen on "Connections" on Thursday, August 14, 2025
Gary Pudup / WXXI News
A smiling woman with long blonde hair is wearing a black t-shirt and black jacket with gold buttons.
2 of 3  — Maria Coleman
Maria Coleman
Provided
A smiling man with short brown hair is wearing a grey button-down shirt.
3 of 3  — David Wilcox
David Wilcox
Provided
A smiling woman with short blonde hair sits at a desk in front of a microphone wearing a gold necklace and green and white patterned dress.
David Griffin
/
WXXI News
Racquel Stephen guest hosting "Connections with Evan Dawson"

Host Racquel Stephen takes us to this multi-faceted city on Owasco Lake to learn what makes Auburn unique.

Once called “Prison City,” Auburn has embraced its history and developed a rich cultural and artistic scene.

Our guests:

Connections
Racquel Stephen
Racquel Stephen is WXXI's health, equity and community reporter and producer. She holds a bachelor's degree in English literature from the University of Rochester and a master's degree in broadcasting and digital journalism from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University.
See stories by Racquel Stephen
Elissa Orlando
Elissa Orlando is a producer for “Connections with Evan Dawson.” She returns part-time to WXXI News after stepping back from a long career in public media and in translational science.
See stories by Elissa Orlando
Julie Williams
Julie Williams is an associate producer for "Connections with Evan Dawson." She started at WXXI in 2019 and has been working on Connections since 2022.
See stories by Julie Williams