Welcome KUOW's Spring 2017 After-School RadioActive youth producers

KUOW's RadioActive Youth Media is proud to offer our afterschool Introduction to Radio Journalism workshop at the New Holly Family Center in southeast Seattle, in partnership with the Seattle Housing Authority. Eleven teens, aged 16-18, will spend 14 weeks learning what it means to be a journalist.

During that time, they'll gain the skills to create radio stories. They'll do all of the research, interviews, writing, voicing and editing to produce their own feature stories and podcasts on topics of their choice.

Meet our newest youth producers:

Emiliano Alarcon, Senior, Big Picture High School

I am a huge nerd. I love playing Pokemon games and watching anime. I'm shy at first but eventually I'll warm up to people. I love DragonBall Z and I can connect with people very easily. I'm a down-to earth kind of person that wants to live life in peace.

Zuheera Ali, Junior, Kent-Meridian High School

I’ve always had an interest in social justice and reform. I love film and spend most of my free time watching films. As of late, I’ve been watching tons of Chinese martial arts films. I love how in most of the films the characters are fighting for people who can’t do it for themselves. I think what attracts me to these films the most is that the savior is always a person who has been oppressed, but overcame the obstacles in their way.

Riley Collins, Junior, Roosevelt High School

I’ve always been intrigued by revolutions and the parallels and intersections that define who we are and want to be. The complexity of oppression as a spectrum isn’t explored enough, and I want myself and the community to take wholehearted steps to achieve an intersectional union. I attend International Socialist Organization (ISO) meetings, and I often participate in marches pertaining to the justice of people in the margins. To amplify my activism, I wrote articles for my school paper about the advancement of queer and non-white people, and now as the arts/entertainment editor, I’m excited to meet new peers in my community who see journalism as an outlet for unheard voices, as I do.

Milla Espinoza, Junior, The Center School

I am a poet, an introvert, and a hard worker in school. I read as much as I can in my spare time, and write more when I can. I’ve been published through a poetry competition, with over three poems. I am a natural optimist and keep a close eye on people’s emotions and how I can help them. I love to learn and have big dreams of becoming a movie screenwriter. I’m hoping this program will get me one step closer to that dream.

Hanni Hassan, Sophomore, Cleveland High School

I’m a writer and a reader. I’ve always had a passion for writing. I found it to be my way to vent, when there was no one to listen. I’ve been infatuated with reading since I was a fourth grader. Reading to me was like an average kid’s television. It always kept me at the edge of my seat. Growing up I never had anything come easy to me. I always had to work 10 times harder in school than the average student. I want to make something amazing out of my life to be successful for me, my family, and all the people who have supported and believed in me.

Mimi Hubbard, Junior, Nova High School

I’m an astrology aficionado and an artist with a great enthusiasm for music, photography, painting and poetry. Although I might at times seem a bit timid upon meeting people, I love making friends and connecting with others as well as using my voice and art to express my feelings and ideas. I strive to use my creations to make an impact, however much of an impact that may be. Through vocalizing my own experiences in the form of writing and visuals, I believe that I am able to help spread the truth of what it means to be a mentally ill and queer youth. In my free time, some of my favorite things are skateboarding, collecting vinyl and studying languages.

Soraya Marashi, Senior, Liberty High School

I have been listening to NPR since I was six years old and I am so thrilled to have been given the opportunity to give back to a program that has given so much to me. I am super passionate about everything I do, whether it be writing for my school’s newspaper, discussing politics and arguing for my stance at debate club, or binge watching Pretty Little Liars. I love Shakespeare, Jane Austen and "Hamilton the Musical." I also love to sing and play guitar as well as listen to music and go on adventures with my friends. I am a very outgoing, big-hearted, goofy person that loves getting to know people and hearing their stories. In short, I love the world, and I am especially passionate about planting the seeds for change by sharing my stories with the public.

Nate Martin, Senior, Interagency Southwest

I’d like to think that I am very much my own person. I’m introspective and analytical to a fault. The person I was a few years ago has changed and become much more goal-oriented – and more importantly – realistically so. This has included reshaping all aspects of my life, such as the way I spent my free time, the people I associated myself with, and the way I perceived myself and life in general. Regardless of this change, I have always loved storytelling. I’m specifically passionate about film and have a personal love for old Samurai and Kung Fu movies. I have an interest in all different forms of art of personal/artistic expression and perspectives. I also have an avid love for earth; the beauty and complexity of this planet is captivating. Now, at this point, you might be thinking that I’m some “artsy fartsy weirdo” or some kind of millennial hippie. However, I see my personality as one between that of a “hippie” and the personalities of those who are strictly realistic and perhaps cynical. I feel my personality is balanced by many contrasting – and even sometimes contradicting – ideas, feelings, and beliefs, and I’ve worked arduously to become this way.

Tran Phung, Senior, Franklin High School

Poetry. Music. Nature. Psychology. Although a bit shy, I like to express myself through the rhythms of music and beautifully constructed words. I’m curious to learn more about how sharing stories through media can help influence and inspire individuals and society.

Livi Thrift, Junior, Renton High School

I have attended art schools for most of my life and from those I have learned dance and acting. I love these things because they are mediums from which to tell a story and journalism is another which I haven’t had much experience with yet. I’ve always loved to read (even over movies – weird, I know), explore, and talk to new people. I have a bit of an obsession with skinny jeans, combat boots and loose sweatshirts. Oh, and caffeine, love caffeine.

Ayub Weheliye, Junior, Cleveland High School

I am an athlete that currently attends CHS. I want to go to college and take school very seriously. I like helping people and putting smiles on their faces. I am the only boy in my family but I have three sisters.