Express Yourself!

"Even when I was little, I knew that teenagers sparkled. I knew they knew something children didn't know, and adults ended up forgetting." – Lorde
 
Allison hosts a special program focused on hunger and food policy. She interviews teen Louis Rotgin, who, through volunteering, journalism, and independent research, works to raise awareness of youth food insecurity and the importance of nutrition. His goal is to encourage informed conversations that help improve food access and opportunity for students. Over the past several years, he has volunteered with Meals on Wheels West, an urban farm operated by Upward Bound House, Nourish LA, and his school's Giving Spirit program, helping support individuals and families experiencing food insecurity and housing instability. These experiences inspired him to research food policy and write about the connection between nutrition, learning, and youth development.  In segment two, Allison addresses the relationship between homelessness and substance abuse. For some, substances may trigger a chain reaction where the final link leads to an individual's loss of housing. For others, substance use only emerges as a means of fitting into street culture. However, what remains consistent is the cyclical nature of the two, each one reinforcing the other, and, in both cases, one condition often worsens the other. How can we break the cycle of substance abuse and homelessness?
 
 
Bio: Louis Rotgin is a senior at Santa Monica High School and the Editor-in-Chief of The Samohi, the school's student newspaper. His interest in food policy developed through years of volunteering with organizations including an urban farm operated by Upward Bound House, Meals on Wheels West, Nourish LA, and The Samohi Giving Spirit. Inspired by these experiences, he has pursued independent research examining food insecurity, nutrition, and youth homelessness. He has written a research article and an opinion article on these topics. Louis hopes to continue combining journalism, research, and public service to address issues affecting young people.
 
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"There is always light, if only we're brave enough to see it. If only we're brave enough to be it." – Amanda Gorman
 
Allison Lu hosts a program about sports, specifically adaptive sports. She interviews Max Liu, who is the founder of SportsForAll, a program that bridges the gap between wheelchair basketball and able-bodied players. Their motto is Protecting Athletes, Powering Performance, where they offer injury prevention, adaptive equipment, and unified support to expand collegiate and pro wheelchair basketball nationwide. In segment two, Allison continues the conversation about inclusive sports, but specifically looking at how refugee athletes are covered in sports media. She focuses on Cindy Ngamba, who won bronze in women's boxing at the 2024 Paris Olympics—the first medal ever won by the Refugee Olympic Team and Yusra Mardini, the Syrian swimmer whose story inspired the Netflix film The Swimmers. She also breaks down what media coverage is missing. 
Celebrate inclusive sports and support policies that give all athletes opportunities to participate.
 
Bio: Max Liu is a high school researcher and student leader at McLean High School (Class of 2027) working at the intersection of artificial intelligence, sports analytics, and athletic advocacy. As the founder of SportsForAll and Virginia Chapter Lead for SafeStrongSport, Max promotes inclusion and safety in youth athletics. His research and technical projects focus on developing AI tools for basketball injury prevention and expanding recruiting visibility for underrepresented athletes. At McLean, he serves as founder and president of the Sports Analytics Club and captain of the Wharton Investment Competition team.Outside of academics, Max plays varsity basketball, coaches youth camps, produces documentaries on adaptive sports, and releases original music on Soundcloud. Website: sports4all.us; Instagram: @sportsforall_org 
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Climate change is intensifying. Sea levels are rising. Droughts, extreme rainfall, heatwaves, and fires are increasing and unpredictable. Food and water insecurity cause massive human displacement. Radio host Allison Lu tackles these threats and discusses how freshwater scarcity worsens hunger and poverty, creating vulnerable refugees. In segment two, she talks about "risk multipliers" and how they apply specifically to displaced populations. She shares information about the recent horrific glacial flood in Nepal/China that has killed thousands and the flash flood at Bright Angel Creek in the Grand Canyon. In both catastrophic events, floods damage systems that carry clean water. Water is life…and in disasters, causes death. It is critical to be educated about climate change.
 
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Confidence isn't something that just happens. It must be rebuilt after being bullied, criticized, excluded, or made to feel like you're not good enough. Radio host Kirpa Gill discusses the importance of empowering girls and maintaining a healthy mind, body, and spirit. She talks about the platform she created to do that, LeadHer Up, focusing on female empowerment, mental health awareness, confidence, leadership, and building healthy relationships. The message is "Breaking stigma, building sisterhood." In segment two, Kirpa interviews the Founder and Executive Director of Be the Star You Are!® 501c3, Cynthia Brian, who shares her wisdom on the challenges facing young people and the solutions to creating confidence, leadership, and empowerment through positivity, kindness, and being your unapologetically authentic self. There is no perfection. There is no competition. Strive for excellence and be the best you every day. Know that you have everything you need to be the writer, producer, and star of your own life. You are enough. You matter.
Follow LeadHER up on Instagram at @leadher.up to see events, workshops, and opportunities to get involved.
Get Autographed First-Edition copies of any of Cynthia Brian's empowerment books or schedule a coaching session at https://www.CynthiaBrian.com/.
 
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"Sports are a great place to show that equality can happen."— Venus Williams
NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness), is the policy that allows collegiate athletes to make money through endorsements, sponsorships, and social media without losing their athletic eligibility. This has created a rippling effect throughout college sports. Host Julia Howe interviews teen George Fogarty about NIL in college sports. Julia shares her experience receiving the Billie Jean King Youth Leadership Award at the ESPYs. It was meaningful because it connected the work she started as a teen through Hitting The Wall to change sports for the better. Julia recalled, "being surrounded by athletes I had admired for years was surreal, but the most important part of the experience was meeting Billie Jean King and seeing how closely she pays attention to who is overlooked and why things are done the way they are. She reminded me that advocacy often starts by simply noticing something that feels wrong and being willing to question it. I left the ESPYs feeling grateful for everyone who helped build Hitting The Wall, but also more motivated to keep challenging the harmful expectations young female athletes face and to help make sports healthier for the girls who come next." Julia is on her way to Yale! Stay tuned for updates!
 
Bio: George Fogarty has been in love with sports since age six. He is a rising senior at Loyola High School in Los Angeles, where he plays varsity tennis and has won numerous sportsmanship awards throughout his playing career. Beyond the physicality of the sport, he is also interested in the relationships that are at play in sports. He has been scouting college football players. He is a contributor for his high school newspaper, The Loyalist.  Whether it's going to the gym, playing tennis, or studying sports in general, athletics are his passion. https://theloyalist.org/
 
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