Joel Ying transforms when he spins a yarn: the measured cadence of a doctor gives way to high, eager tones and the wide gestures of a child. A professional storyteller for nearly a decade, Joel channels his experience as an integrative physician and professor at Florida Gulf Coast University into stories that spark connection, deepen self-understanding and mirror the arcs of our lives. To him, storytelling is central to the human condition, sustaining our drive to turn experience into meaning.
Joel co-founded FGCU’s Storytelling Series in 2019. The seasonal lineup of intimate, on-campus performances runs multiple times monthly from September through November and February through April. Each session has a theme, like the Halloween-fueled Spooky Stories on October 29 or Origami Tales, a November 4 event centered on Japanese folklore. Some spotlight storytellers Joel has met through his travels, others showcase student talent or open the mic for community voices. On October 22, Joel takes the mic with Folk Tales and Braided Stories, weaving characters, places and ideas from his personal life with folklore.
Though technology connects us constantly, Joel argues that nothing replaces face-to-face storytelling. He encourages people to practice shaping lived experience into narrative as a way to reflect, grow and relate to others. “There’s a vulnerability involved in storytelling, and if a person can empathize or relate, it lets us know we’re not alone,” Joel says.
Before he started performing, vulnerability was a hurdle for Joel. Around 2015, he wanted to expand the reach of alternative medicine in Naples through community talks, but he lacked the confidence and stage presence to hold an audience. He turned to the local chapter of Toastmasters, the nonprofit dedicated to public speaking development. At first, it was mostly people practicing professional speeches and wedding toasts. Then one day, a storyteller took the stage. Joel was riveted. “I knew I wanted to be able to do that,” he says.
Photography by Anna Nguyen
joel ying fgcu storytelling
Joel Ying’s layered life forms the baseline for his storytelling career—from his heritage as the child of Jamaican immigrants to his integrative medicine practice to his dedication as a professor and love of folklore.
The more he stood up and shared, the more natural it became. Within a year, Joel was performing on stages across the country. These early experiences paved the way for the Storytelling Series’ launch.
While he doesn’t perform at every session, Joel holds at least one slot on the seasonal lineup. His approach to storytelling is twofold: Some stories pull from his childhood traveling back and forth to Jamaica, where his parents migrated from before his birth; others adapt classic myths with humor and modern references. In his reimagined story of Pandora—who was gifted intelligence, beauty and curiosity by the gods—Joel explores the mythic bringer of hardship’s resourcefulness through her ability to create instruments and fabrics with found materials. She also, Joel jokes, created a famous music streaming platform. “She was an excellent programmer,” he says with a sly grin.
Joel’s journey has also helped him better appreciate the stories and storytellers from his own past. He remembers the uncle who’d drive him around Jamaica, pointing out old family dwellings and reciting memories. “He would keep our history alive that way,” Joel says. Learning about his family’s journey and the culture of his parents’ home shaped the storyteller he would become, though he didn’t realize it at the time.
Through FGCU’s Storytelling Series, Joel builds on those roots, weaving his family stories alongside others’ personal narratives. A Japanese folktale might follow an Appalachian ballad, each story adding another stitch to a larger tapestry of shared humanity. “It’s easier to see yourself in a story,” Joel says.
Photography by Anna Nguyen
joel ying fgcu storytelling
“If a person can empathize or relate, it lets us know we’re not alone,” Joel says.