Meet RadioActive's 2022 advanced youth producers

KUOW's RadioActive Youth Media is proud to offer our Advanced Producers Workshop. Twelve graduates of our Intro to Radio Journalism Workshop are spending the spring with KUOW, and gaining advanced communications, audio production, and journalism skills. Subscribe to the RadioActive podcast to hear what they create.

Adar Abdi (Junior, Evergreen High School, White Center)

Adar Abdi is a junior at Evergreen High School. She really likes to read books! She is super into political dramas like Scandal. She stands for the liberation of all marginalized communities and hopes to bring empathy and compassion to the journalism and creative media world. She has a passion for bringing diversity and hopes to continue to work with organizations that value youth of color.

Antonio Nevarez (Senior, Highline Big Picture High School, SeaTac)

Antonio Nevarez is a senior in high school who hopes to pursue journalism as a full-time career after high school. He likes to cover personal stories about identity and overcoming challenges related to mental health. The thing Antonio likes most about producing stories is the interview process; he loves sitting down and having deep conversations with people he's never met before.

Alayna Ly (Senior, Cleveland High School, South Beacon Hill)

Alayna Ly is a young Chinese Vietnamese woman who always strives for growth. She is very curious and brings that asset into all of her endeavors. Alayna hopes to have a career in the biological sciences and continue her journalism work well into the future. She wants to share stories that are educational, earnest, and empowering. Alayna spends her free time reading and making jewelry.

Colin Yuen (Junior, Issaquah High School, Issaquah)

Despite all of the different interests that Colin Yuen has had over the years, he has always had a strong attachment to writing and powerful storytelling. He believes that the best way to spread a message is through the stories and personal experiences of others. By learning more about journalism, he hopes to find the best way to spread these messages and ultimately become a more knowledgeable person about the world around him.

Emily Chua (Second year, University of Washington, Bellevue)

As a music student, Emily Chua works with sound on a daily basis. Through radio, she hopes to merge sound and storytelling, taking inspiration from how music and poetry were considered almost identical by the ancient Greeks. In her free time, Emily enjoys origami, creative writing, logic puzzles, and binge-reading or binge-watching fantasy/sci-fi books, comics, and shows.

Eva Solorio (Senior, Kamiak High School, Everett)

Eva Solorio is a Mexican-American teen who loves music, film, and journalism. Being with the RadioActive community, she has found her voice in an industry that is often overlooked for youth and hopes to inspire others by the stories she shares. She enjoys hiking, cuddling with her dog, Rocky, and hanging out with friends and family. Eva is excited to continue making meaningful and informational stories with KUOW once more!

Jennifer Nguyen (Junior, Franklin High School, New Holly)

Born and raised in Seattle, Washington, Jennifer Nguyen is a curious teenager surrounded by a community full of diversity and new experiences. Jennifer enjoys learning from her surroundings by learning new languages, trying new dishes, and experiencing entertainment from different cultures. Recently, some new hobbies of Jennifer’s consist of reading and cafe hunting. In her free time, you can catch Jennifer reading on the light rail in the midst of exploring what the city has to offer, or she is at home watching Disney+ on her friend’s account. Jennifer has returned to KUOW in 2022 in hopes of creating content that others can relate to — especially people like her: the youth!

Lyn Strober-Cohen (Senior, Nova High School, Leschi)

Lyn Strober-Cohen is a high school senior at Nova High School and Yellowwood Academy. Through their identities as a queer person they have continued to produce stories at RadioActive about the different facets in the queer community. As their passions in social justice, social media and especially journalism continue to grow they have learned quite a lot since the start of their time as a producer at RadioActive in 2020. When not in the recording studio they spend their time listening to music, being with friends and looking forward to attending Occidental College as a part of the class of 2026. The storytelling that Lyn hears all around them inspires them to find new ways to tell stories.

Morgen White (Junior, Washington State University, Phinney Ridge)

Morgen White is a curious and excitable college student, and she has a passion for all things that include creativity. Morgen is transferring to Washington State University this fall to pursue an education in broadcast journalism. She is hoping to continue her passion for journalism and storytelling after college.

Najuma Abadir (Junior, Nathan Hale High School, Kenwood)

Najuma Abadir is an East African teenager who has a passion for writing and social activism. She loves to engage in her communities and uplift the voices of all women. She is very social and is a total Swiftie. She loves her friends and family and cherishes the traditions and time spent with them. She hopes to write pieces that can inspire others.

Rahmah Abdulazeez (Sophomore, Kent-Meridian High School, Kent)

Rahmah Abdulazeez is a sophomore at Kent-Meridian high school striving to be a future entrepreneur and an author. She communicates through her writing, letting her thoughts be scribbled on a page and shared with the world. For her, writing is an escape, a way to say everything on her mind yet not utter a word, a way out of reality. While her love for writing overpowers anything else, she knows there’s work to be done in this world. Rahmah plans to become an entrepreneur to be able to share her voice while also gaining influence to help those overlooked by our world.

Rhea Beecher (Sophomore, Summit Sierra, Rainier Beach)

Rhea Beecher is a world traveler in the making. They have an insatiable wanderlust and a hunger for new and exciting experiences. Rhea was overjoyed to come back to KUOW after their original experience recording a story for RadioActive during the summer of 2021. They greatly enjoy the research involved, the variety of topics covered by the youth in the program, and the knowledge passed down through generations of KUOW colleagues. Rhea took to heart the words of their best friend, when offered a chance to jump into the ocean in the moonlight, “Don’t be a side character in your own story.”