Voices of Western

In today's episode, Hossein is joined by Tareq Tayeh, a Western University alumnus currently working as a Senior Machine Learning Engineer at ModiFace.

We dive into Tareq’s immigration journey from Kuwait to Canada, his Western education, Co-op experiences, and considerations for pursuing a Master’s degree. The conversation also explores real-life applications of AI and ML in skin health analysis primarily through a selfie picture, delivering surprisingly accurate results!

🚀 Don't miss our 'Hot Takes' section, where Tareq and Hossein share their thoughts on whether AI will take our jobs in the future 🚀

Timestamps:

0:00 - Introduction to Tareq’s journey

2:00 - Pursuing an Undergraduate degree abroad

5:55 - Transition from Kuwait to Canada

12:50 - Co-op experience with IBM during Undergraduate

20:40 - Returning to pursue a Master’s degree

24:56 - Introduction to Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML)

34:04 - Hot Takes: Will AI take our jobs in the future?

40:50 - Day-to-day responsibilities of a Senior Machine Learning Engineer

44:02 - Real-life application of ML for skin analysis

46:19 - Mystery Question: What do you want to do more of in 2024?

Have you ever wondered about the barriers that come between confirming a deadly disease in resource-constrained areas? In today’s episode, William and Gregory (our co-hosts) are joined by Justin Yang, a first year Schulich Medical Student. We discuss Justin’s work and experience on initiatives designed to improve healthcare access in underserved and remote regions! We also explore Justin’s hobbies as he talks about his violin experience and his other interests.

From studying at a professional school of dance in Toronto to advancing London’s Game Development scene, third year computer science student Cole Sweet has done it  all! In today’s episode, Cole walks Emmanuel through all the exciting stops he’s made on his journey through Western and his education journey at large!

In today's episode, Hossein (our host) is joined by Geoff Seeman, a 2018 Western University alumnus currently working as a Senior Product Manager at PartnerStack. 

Today, we discuss Geoff's journey from doing a semester abroad in France to pursuing a fellowship program at Venture for Canada, landing a role in a Tech startup, and pivoting from Customer Success to Product Management. You will also learn how to stand out in your career and find growth opportunities.

🚀 Don't miss our 'Hot Takes' section, where Geoff and Hossein discuss their hot takes on whether a university degree is a requirement to advance someone's career or not 🚀

Timestamps:

0:00 - Introduction to Geoff’s journey

4:31 - Pursuing a semester abroad in France

8:03 - Joining the Venture for Canada (VFC) Fellowship Program

14:59 - Working at an early-stage startup

17:55 - Culture change in a rapidly growing startup

23:01 - Day in the life of a Product Manager

25:39 - Product bugs and their impact on the customer journey

36:34 - Hot Takes: Is a university degree a requirement to advance someone’s career?

43:32 - Career development strategies Geoff used to get to where he is today

50:38 - Advice for Western community members

In today’s episode, William and Gregory (our co-hosts) are joined by Kieran Porter, a 2nd-year BMSc student and residence staff. We discuss Kieran’s many exciting hobbies—including rescue scuba diving, outdoor rock climbing, camping, and getting his pilot’s license! Kieran shares his thoughts on flying and what alternative career choices he’s considered. Kieran also shares his mindset for exploring the outdoors and the takeaways that he’s gained from these experiences for the future. We additionally chat briefly about the role of scientific experts in politics and government.

Timestamps:

00:31 - Rescue Scuba Diving

12:48 - Outdoor Rock Climbing

15:48 - Ice Climbing

18:31 - Camping

27:11 - Bungee Jumping?

29:31 - Walking Trails

31:31 - Bears

35:31 - Pilot’s License

39:28 - Air Force?

42:59 - William’s Workouts

43:36 - Flight Simulators

51:51 - Coral Reefs

54:02 - Discussion: Politics

On the hunt for creative motivation? In today’s episode, Emmanuel (today’s host) talks to Miles Obilio (3rd year Western student)  about exploring the London creative scene! From struggling to figure out what to do at Western to producing his own zine project, Miles has lots of experience navigating his creative endeavours. Find out how you can break into London’s creative scene and listen today!

Here a few ways to catch up with Miles:

• Instagram: @milesmolasses

• POC are Punks Too zine project @pocarepunkstoo

In the season 3 finale of Voices of Western, Hossein is joined by Juanita Lee-Garcia, a Western alumnus passionate about lifelong learning. She pursued two Fine and Studio Arts degrees at Queens and Western and an Adult Education and Community Development degree at UofT. 

Juanita started her career in retail sales and eventually transitioned to leadership roles within impact-driven organizations like @Venture4Canada and @upsidefoundation, two organizations transforming the Canadian entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Today we discuss Juanita's journey with pursuing multiple degrees, her career experience as a Partnerships professional, and finally, her personal & professional development tips that could benefit you whether you are a student or a working professional.

🚀 Don't miss our 'Hot Takes' section, where Juanita and Hossein discuss their hot takes on whether it is a good idea for people early in their careers to job hop or not🚀

Timestamps:

0:00 - Introduction to Juanita’s journey

6:10 - Pursuing Higher Education Degrees at Western and UofT

16:15 - Joining Impact driven organizations like Venture for Canada

19:19 - Personal & Professional Development investments that are worth it

22:45 - Hustle Culture in North America

28:31 - University Exchange experience in Spain (and cultural differences between Spain and Canada)

32:44 - Advice for young professionals who want to bring up ideas to their managers

38:43 - *NEW* Hot Takes: Is it a good idea for people early in their careers to job hop?

48:22 - Persona of today’s founders that work with the Upside Foundation of Canada

51:33 - A career in Partnerships and how it works

1:01:19 - Advice for Western community members

The sun’s shining, the birds are chirping, and the school year’s coming to an end. On today’s episode, Ria and Milan walk us through some highlights from the year, with a special round of responses from our followers. There’s something in today’s talk for everyone, so be sure to give it a listen! 

Sending over a whole lotta great energy for any exams or future plans you have coming up, Mustangs! 

✌🏽Ria and Milan, signing out for a last time 

In today’s episode, Emmanuel and Rose talk to two lovely guests: Kim Solga and Rakshana Ramesh. Kim is a professor at Western, while Rakshana is one of her students. Together, they talk about the importance of creativity and how to implement it in courses even in quite rigid disciplines. Enjoy today’s episode by learning about the different projects they are taking part in and the importance of putting aside time for creative play.

Timestamps:

0:00 - Intro 

1:02 - Guest Intros 

7:19 - Rakshana’s Project - Something From Everywhere

10:46 - Creative projects Rakshana participated in

9:29 - Co-hosts’ experience with creative play

34:36 - Western’s Creative Outlets

42:29 - Something From Everywhere (revisited)

49:54 - Creativity can be grounding

52:00 - Doom and gloom does not sell

56:01 - Banana Kingdom!

1:00 - Outro

In today's episode, Hossein is joined by Nathan Kennedy, a Western alumnus and a content creator with over half a million social media followers. You may have come across @natenewmoney’s Personal Finance videos on Instagram, Tiktok, or Youtube and learnt something new about money management and investing from his educational videos.

Today, we discuss Nate’s journey with Personal Finance, how he made the decision to leave his Full-time stable job for his side hustle during the pandemic, and his take on topics like risk-taking and salary negotiations. You will also learn about a creator's day-to-day life and how to position yourself for success.

🚀 NEW! Don't miss our new 'Hot Takes' section, where Nate and Hossein discuss their hot takes on whether you should negotiate your first salary out of school or not 🚀

Timestamps:

0:00 - Introduction to Nate’s journey

4:14 - Changes that Nate made to his daily finances early on

6:28 - Starting the ‘New Money’ Podcast

9:24 - Day-to-Day Life of a Content Creator

17:35 - Going Full Time on his side hustle

22:51 - Building up your own Opportunity Fund

30:56 - *NEW* Hot Takes: Should you negotiate your first salary out of school or not?

36:53 - Income Streams for Content Creators

41:57 - Risk-taking (and what if it doesn’t work out)

47:37 - Advice for Western community members

Want an exclusive sneak peek into what it takes to run as the USC president? Well, you’re in luck! Today’s episode gives us all a chance to better know someone you’ve seen around campus a lot these past few months, and will surely be seeing more of next year. It’s none other than Sunday Ajak, the University Student Council (or USC)’s incoming president for the 2023-2024 school year. 

From learning about his journey, experiences, and presidential bucket list to testing his ability to guess how many geese would fit in the Mustang Lounge, today’s episode will leave you purple and proud! What better way to congratulate Sunday on his big win than give our episode a quick listen?? (And be sure to stay tuned until the end for a special president scoop!)

**TW: Eating disorders**

Time Stamps: 

1:28 - Journey and inspiration to run as the USC’s president

5:04 - Overview of platform’s foundations, pillars, and goals

14:26 - Feelings behind becoming a USC president

16:37 - Looking forward to the most 

18:53 - Who inspired Sunday?

23:54 - Three words to describe a USC president

24:53 - Best memory 

30:00 - Letter to past self 

31:00 - Presidential bucket list 

40:43 - Purple and proud trivia

As tax season rolls around, Emmanuel and Rose are reminded that adulting is not easy. In this episode, the two co-hosts talk about how they navigated adulting throughout their undergraduate degree. Topics like moving out and budgeting were discussed. Hopefully this short podcast episode feels relatable and convinces you that the Grad Club is the best place to eat on campus!

Happy listening

Timestamps:

0:00 - Intro

1:20 - Taxes!

4:00 - Transitioning from Rez to Off-Campus living

8:50 - Budgeting

12:04 - Food is taking our money!

19:30 - Best On-Campus Eats

22:40 - Outro

In today's episode, Hossein is joined by Susy Martins, an adventurous Western alumnus who enjoys being part of the Western community and giving back even years after graduation.

Susy’s journey includes a lot of early career international work across Europe and Latin America and working for big corporate companies across multiple functions. That journey came in handy once she transitioned to Chief People Officer roles in Tech unicorns and had to manage global teams. After spending time in both the Corporate and Tech sectors, she embarked on the founder journey and is now running her own business - Advise2Rise.

Tune in to learn more about Susy’s experiences with living abroad, leading global teams, and more importantly how she successfully transitioned across different functions in different companies.

🚀 NEW! Don’t miss our new ‘Hot Takes’ section, where Susy and Hossein discuss their hot takes on the 4-day work week concept 🚀

Timestamps:

0:00 - Introduction to Susy’s journey and her international experiences

9:18 - Managing large global teams

13:51 - Working on high-value tasks and figuring out what’s important

19:10 - Working in totally different functions across different industries and companies

21:54 - New adventures and self-advocacy

28:15 - Corporate -> Tech Unicorns -> Founding Advise2Rise

30:35 - Mass Layoffs and how to deal with them

35:25 - HR function in an organisation

38:51 - *NEW* Hot Takes: Should we switch to a 4-day work week?

43:48 - How to stay part of Western beyond graduation?

46:30 - Extracurricular activities during university

48:48 - Advice for Western community members

Career choices, rescue dogs, teaching philosophies, boxing; we cover it all on today’s episode, where we are joined by Dr. Sarah McLean. Among her many roles, Dr. McLean is one of four faculty members leading the Interdisciplinary Medical Sciences (IMS) module at Western, and is deeply involved in various co-curricular and curricular community outreach programs across London.

Learn more about what it takes to weather the twists and turns associated with figuring out an academic career, how traditional learning can be challenged and improved, and how you can give back to the community outside of Western. And be sure to stay tuned for a special segment featuring Dr. McLean’s dogs!

There’s so much to learn and be inspired by in today’s talk, we really hope this episode will speak to you (haha, get it??)

In today’s episode, Emmanuel and Rose are joined by Nourhan Ali,  a proud small-business owner and third year biology student at Western. Nourhan runs her own crochet business where she sells all sorts of things, from smaller accessories and trinkets to full on tote bags.

We discuss her crochet business origin story, as well as how she developed her own crochet community on campus, through crochet circles and running crochet events in London. Nourhan shares her takes on how to form meaningful friendships whilst exploring hobbies and staying in touch with your creative side! We also explore the difficulties of running a small business, especially while maintaining an academic life. Learn friendship, business, and more!

Make sure to checkout @crochetbynourhan on Instagram and TikTok.

Timestamps:

0:00 - Intro

1:20 - Crochet business origin story

2:40 - Losing her account (twice)

4:18 - Business booming

9:10 - Crochet products and time frames

13:35 - Crochet circles and Crochet friends

17:00 - Artistic Expression in Academia

18:10 - Making Friends in Senior Year

29:56 - Business Trends and Profits

37:05 - Future projects

42:45 Outro

In today's episode, Hossein is joined by Tim Lade, a Western alumnus who graduated with a B.A Honours degree in Film Studies in 2006.

During his time at Western, Tim was greatly involved with initiatives that made student life more fun. He was a Residence Council member, a soph, a Residence Advisor at Saugeen Maitland and Essex Hall, and a volunteer with Foot Patrol. These experiences served him well when he decided to start his career as a Residence Life Coordinator and he has been on that journey ever since.

Tune in to learn about Tim’s various experiences in Residence Life at multiple universities across Canada. his plans for the future, and thoughts on pursuing higher education.

🚀 NEW! Don’t miss our new ‘Hot Takes’ section, where Tim and Hossein discuss their hot takes on pineapple on a pizza 🚀

Timestamps:

0:00 - Introduction

3:55 - Undergraduate Residence Experience and becoming a Residence Advisor at Saugeen

9:10 - Starting a career in Residence Life and noticeable differences across countries

16:55 - Pursuing Graduate studies and higher-level credentials

23:01 - Adaptability - Relocating to different cities to pursue new opportunities

27:40 - *NEW* Hot Takes: Does pineapple belong on a pizza?

33:49 - Filling your own cup

37:43 - Advice for Western community members

In today’s episode, Emmanuel and Rose are joined by Rachel Macaulay who is a proud Western alumna. She graduated with an English literature degree in 2012 and now works as the director of communications and external relations at Brescia. They discuss the different job positions Rachel had over the years, and how liberal art degrees are in fact not useless. You will learn that your degree is what you make of it, no degree is pointless. Each one has tangible skills that can be learned and can be implemented in many different career paths. We hope that this episode will give you a new appreciation of liberal arts degrees and perhaps encourage you to even take them!

Timestamps:

0:00 - Intro

1:52 - Western alumna

5:45 - How to navigate what to pursue after grad

14:40 - Career history

20:45 - Freelancing

28:50 - Working at Huron & Brescia

33:30 - Co-hosts Western experience

42:10 - Liberal art careers in 1 min!

48:10 - Future goals

1:00:24 - Outro

Secret study spots, ITR, modules. If I was to guess which 3 words uni students say the most (especially during second semester), those would definitely make the list.

On today’s episode, two of our co-hosts (Milan and Ria) share what university life is like, from the perspective of a second-year and fourth-year student. From daily schedules, suggestions for choosing your program for next year, to stress-relieving activities, you’ll be sure to find something that’ll come in handy for second semester.

Happy listening, Mustangs! :)

Ever wonder why engineers wear an iron ring? Or whether Ivey students are really as competitive as they seem? Stay tuned for today’s episode, where we unpack the perks of pursuing a combined degree in Engineering and Ivey with Chris Mohan. Nearing the final home stretch of his combined degree, Chris offers a fresh perspective on how he’s navigated the best of both (seemingly polar opposite) worlds.

Later on, Chris spills the tea on how to leave a memorable impact in any extracurricular role, and debunks widespread myths about Engineering and Ivey. After learning about Chris’s extensive experience with student advocacy (at the provincial, federal, and university-level!), you’ll be left with a whole lot to think about how you can shape your community.

Join Milan and Ria on this mind-gearing episode!

Happy listening, Mustangs!: :)

In today's episode, Hossein is joined by Nathan Ho, a Western alumnus who graduated from Western in 2008 with a degree in Kinesiology.

Soon after graduation, Nathan decided to relocate to Hong Kong to start his Sales career and learn a new language. The overseas adventure allowed him to thrive in a new environment and stay there for over a decade before returning to his hometown, Toronto, to pursue more impact-driven opportunities. This experience also proved to be a successful differentiator when he was accepted to the Executive MBA (EMBA) Program at Ivey in 2014.

Nathan currently focuses on empowering the next generation of leaders by introducing the power of coaching to organizations. Outside work, he stays connected with Western by being a Board Member of Western Alumni. Tune in to learn about Nathan's learnings over the years and how he views failure, comparison, and growth.

🚀 NEW! Don’t miss our new ‘Hot Takes’ section, where Nathan and Hossein discuss their hot takes on Elon Musk’s Twitter acquisition and the challenges they are currently facing. 🚀

Timestamps:

0:00 - Introduction

02:50 - Journey from Western to Hong Kong and beyond

17:43 - Traits of a coachable person

24:31 - Failures and learning lessons along the way

35:23 - Talking about international experiences with others

44:45 - *NEW* Hot Takes: Elon Musk and the challenges he is facing at Twitter

49:29 - How to stay part of Western even after graduation?

52:44 - Advice for Western community members

In today’s episode, Emmanuel and Rose talk about the realities of the dreaded exam season. As upper-year Western students, they discuss their personal experiences with exams and how they deal with the stress of it all.  This is a short and sweet podcast episode that hopefully feels relatable and sparks joy or perhaps motivation to do well in your exams.

Happy Holidays Mustangs!

Timestamps:

0:00 - Intro

0:55 - Our exam schedule

3:03 - Mental health during exams

4:28 - Are we crammers?

9:29 - Exams vs Final Projects

11:06 - Favorite Study Places

16:45 - Outro

In today's episode, Hossein is joined by Emily Nguyen and Cathy Chen, co-founders of Humans of Western, who started this club back in the 2013-14 school year.

They initially met through the Shad Program as high school students and a few years later became roommates in Elgin hall during their first year at Western University. While living in residence, Emily and Cathy were so inspired by 'Humans of New York' that they created their own 'Humans of Western (HoW)' version back in the 2013-14 school year. And as you can see, it's something that has been going on to this day.

For those who don't know, HoW is an entirely student-run initiative devoted to exploring the small, inspirational moments happening every day at Western University. We do this by interviewing students, staff, faculty, alumni, and affiliates about their hopes, dreams, hardships, funny moments, and more.

Tune in to learn about the early days of HoW on campus and the traction it got, the entrepreneurial skills that were used to make it a success, and life post-graduation as Emily is pursuing her medical residency at UBC and Cathy is working in a Product role at a Tech Startup in the UK.

Timestamps:

0:00 - Introduction

2:42 - How Emily and Cathy met for the first time and eventually co-founded HoW

7:37 - Early days of the project

13:28 - Marketing HoW to Western community

15:24 - Big interview hits

19:05 - Learnings and lessons

22:12 - Community support

25:32 - Favourite memories of HoW

28:08 - Life post-graduation

31:59 - Living abroad and in different cultures

37:51 - Advice for Western community members

In today’s episode, Milan and Ria are joined by Dr. Danny Bednar, a professor at Western University who teaches Geography 2090 - Space Exploration. As a published author, advocate for climate change and mental health, and space exploration enthusiast, Danny is a wearer of many different hats.

The episode takes us on a journey through Danny’s unique experiences and how they shaped his academic career. Danny balances a number of different roles, from being a professor at Western to working at the Canadian Space Agency, to working on his next book release. Adding to that already impressive list, he shares his experience learning about climate change and how his journey with mental health influenced his teaching style. As the cherry on top, Danny also touches on top-secret menu items from Western’s Eateries and shares invaluable advice on the best places to grab a bite on campus.

So if you are interested in learning more about advocating for student mental health, space exploration, climate change, and unveiling what it means to be a professor at Western, this episode is for you!

Stay updated with Danny on Twitter @DannyBednar

In today’s episode, Emmanuel and Rose are joined by Cat Tang, a 4th year English student working for Western Gazette as a culture editor. Her latest recurring columns have been Cat’s Chronicle’s where she discusses her first experiences in the London dating scene through online dating apps.

We discuss how Cat’s chronicles developed and her dating experiences that came with them. Topics from the creation of her dating profile to the swiping of people holding fish, to friends finding joy and living vicariously through her. This episode takes a whirlwind of turns; light-hearted and entertaining, allow this episode to bring you more insight into Cat’s chronicles and leave you smiling for more.

Stay updated with Cat on Twitter @catrinatang

Timestamps:

0:00 - Intro

1:30 - Experience with writing Cat’s Chronicles

4:30 - Being on dating apps

13:20 - Asian Fever

17:12 - Experience being a serial dater

23:39 - Success in second dates?

26:27 - Their a 10 but…segment

40:22 - Profile likes and dislikes

43:34 - Outro

In today's episode, our co-hosts Hossein Raeisi Nafchi and Madison Crooks are joined by Brandon Sewell. During his time at Western, Brandon quickly realized that Medical Sciences wasn't for him, and he switched to BMOS, the program he graduated with.

We also talk about Brandon's various experiences in the Tech industry and how he initially got involved in sales. As he built up more experience, he was able to take on roles with key companies like Linkedin, Salesforce, and Shopify. Today, Brandon works as a Senior Account Executive at Shopify and is very passionate about community projects that help uplift others from marginalized communities.

In today's episode, co-hosts Medha and Milan are joined by Ates, a fourth-year Computer Science student!

Ates has a great interest in Slacklining and even moderates a social group on Facebook for it! He has a strong passion for Artificial Intelligence and learning everything about the brain.

Ates joins us today to discuss how he got into slacklining and the skills he was able to acquire from the sport!

[Trigger Warning: Sensitive topics being discussed from minutes 3:45 - 4:50]

In today's episode, our co-hosts Hossein and Madison are joined by Gabriella Teixeira, a Western graduate from FIMS in Media and Public Interest.

After a series of events, Gabriella, who initially had set plans to study Business at Queen's, changed her mind to pursue the MIT (and later MPI) program at Western. And that was enough for her to realize the importance of intentions in decision making. These days, she works in a startup named #paid that connects creators with brands.

Join us to learn how Gabriella was able to make those transitions and the opportunities (e.g. Venture for Canada) she used along the way. If you are a Western student or recent grad, those opportunities could benefit you too!

We are joined by the lovely squirrel care-taker, and harry potter election sign maker Dr. Wes Kinghorn. Outside of saving animals and exposing the magic world to muggles Dr. Kinghorn is the founder of a 3D digital imaging company based in London. He holds a Ph.D. in Urban Geography from Western and is a PostDoctoral Scholar in Public History. Outside of that, he makes the time to give back to the community from leading workout workshops to being the president of the Urban League of London.

In today's episode, our co-hosts Hossein Nafchi and Madison Crooks are joined by Jonathan Panigas, a proud Western graduate. Jonathan has been on an exciting journey in the Tech Sales industry and worked for big companies like Oracle, Linkedin, and DocuSign.

Join us today to learn more about why you should connect with Alumni and learn from them. We also talk about the value of building relationships, dealing with customers, and gaining interesting insights into a Sales career (including the misconceptions that come with it)!

In today’s episode, Zainab and Kevin are joined by Jan Cami, a professor and researcher in the Department of Physics & Astronomy here at Western University. His research involves using astronomical observations to study the surroundings of dying stars and the interstellar medium, and is part of large international collaborations, including researchers from NASA. He has also taught and is teaching multiple undergraduate and graduate courses at Western like physics 1202B this semester.

Professor Cami’s journey to where he is now is one that we loved listening to and gained much wisdom from. From deciding his route with a coin flip, chasing his passion, and to working towards making an impact through his students and research. Our talk with Professor Cami left us inspired, we hope you enjoy it!

In today's episode, co-hosts Medha and Milan are joined by Maddie Osborne, the VP of Student Support & Programming of the USC Executive team.

As the VP of Student Support & Programming for the USC team, Maddie's responsibilities include managing student-run services and programs that help contribute positive experiences to the Western Community.

Maddie joins us today to discuss how she entered the role as a VP with the USC team and all the projects she's passionate about (e.g. The Free the Dot Initiative).

In today’s episode, Zainab and Kevin are joined by Cashmeira-Dove Tyson, who is a 2nd-year Neuroscience Masters student as well as a TA here at Western. She did her Bachelors of Science at Ontario Tech University. Now you can find her in the lab researching the relationship between Propionic Acid (PPA), a naturally occurring gut metabolite, and the onset of Autism, through… rats!

We had a great time hearing about Cashmeira’s many experiences in TAing, graduate studies, and research! We hope you enjoy it!

In today's episode, our co-hosts Hossein Raeisi and Madison Crooks are joined by Devesh Tilokani, a recent graduate of Western University and Ivey Business School.

Devesh was born in Dubai, UAE and immigrated to Canada to attend Western. During his time, he was able to talk to so many people and build relationships. Those relationships helped him start a club at Ivey, start his own podcast, and even land a job in the Tech Industry.

Join us today to learn more about the value of being an international student and the opportunities that could come your way through networking.

In today’s episode, co-hosts Kevin and Zainab are joined by David Feeney, who works as a career coach in the career education unit department of Western.

David is a seasoned career development practitioner, assisting students in navigating a path to help them fulfill their career goals. Changing paths himself, after leaving Graduate School, David has a unique perspective on change and career design.  Whether through the facilitation of workshops or one-on-one appointments, David is committed to creative career development and sees the career path as a multi-forked road.

In his current role David helps support graduate students and postdoctoral fellows in their journey toward a meaningful life and career.

Discussions about the process of finding meaningful work, life design, and the many questions that tend to be at the top of student’s minds can be found in this episode!

In today's episode, co-hosts Medha and Milan are joined by Abby Jiang, a first-year Masters student studying Business Analytics at Ivey.

Abby is an international student who joined the Western community in August of 2021, starting in person but shifting to online near the end of the semester. While adapting to the new community, Abby was able to explore around and build many friendships in the past couple of months.

Abby joins us today to discuss her experience with moving to London during the COVID-19 pandemic and her tips for future Western international students.

In today's episode, our co-hosts Hossein and Madison are joined by Sean Hashimoto, a recent graduate of Western University with Honours Specialization in Politics, Philosophy & Economics (PPE).

Sean was born in Calgary and decided to attend Western for his undergraduate degree. He was able to step into roles and impact people around him by being a Soph, facilitating sessions for the Leadership Education Program, and even becoming a 'Humans of Western' interviewer. We talk about the various takeaways he gathered through this adventure.

Join us today as we reflect on this not too long ago journey and Sean's plans for the future, including aspirations of going to Law school.

In today's episode, co-hosts Medha and Milan are joined by Kofi Brako, a third-year Medical Sciences student here at Western.

Kofi joined the Western community in 2019, starting in-person but shifting to online in March of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. To adapt to the situation, he spent his past two years as a Science Faculty Soph, where he assists incoming Western students and builds a bond with the rest of this Soph team.

Kofi joins us today to discuss his experience and challenges with online school, and his Soph-ing experience during the pandemic.

In today’s episode, Kevin and Zainab (our co-hosts) are joined by Dr. Joanna (Jo) Devereux, a professor in the Department of English and Writing Studies here at Western.

Dr. Devereux did her undergraduate and master's degree here at Western and completed her PhD at the University of Toronto. Her research interests lie in the relationship between nineteenth-century visual arts, theatre, performance and poetry. She is especially interested in the work of Victorian women artists. She teaches drama, including 2041F, the practical drama course, directs the Western Summer Shakespeare program, and also taught “Shakespeare in Performance” at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Stratford, Ontario.

Dr. Devereux joins us to discuss renaissance plays, how the fare against modern works and what we can take away from studying old forms of literature.

In today’s episode, Hossein and Madison (our co-hosts) are joined by Nicole Baranowski, the founder of Hairstrong and a current Ivey MSc student.

Nicole did her undergraduate studies in Kinesiology. We discuss how taking a 4th-year kinesiology course called ‘Entrepreneurship in Kinesiology’ changed her career trajectory and allowed her to turn a daily hair challenge from being in the rowing team into a business she is currently running. She will also share the importance of being resourceful and the tools she used to gain the business knowledge needed.

Also, note that Nicole had no previous experience in running a business when starting Hairstrong.

Here a few ways to learn more about Hairstrong:

• Website: https://hairstrong.ca/
  
• Instagram: @hairstrongband
  

In today's episode, Yash and Rushil are joined by Callista Ryan, a final year International Relations student. In this episode, we discuss personal growth and self-development in university. We also discuss Callista's experiences running in the 2021 USC presidential race.

In today's episode, Hossein and Madison (our co-hosts) are joined by Lesley D'Souza, Director of Strategic Storytelling & Digital Engagement at Western University.

We discuss Lesley's personal story and her time as a graduate student in the US, including the challenges she faced as a student in a different country. Then, we dive into the five factors of thriving and what they mean to students and how they can take advantage of them. Finally, we talk about the initiative called 'Thrive online', an interactive space for students to voice what matters to them and share them as blog posts.

[Trigger warning: This episode discusses gender-based sexual violence]

In this episode Yash and Rushil are joined by Allison Preyde, the Public Education Coordinator at Anova London. Anova London provides safe places, shelter, support, counselling, and resources for all abused/oppressed individuals and their children, hoping to find a new start. In this episode, we discuss how Anova works to eliminate patriarchal patterns that result in gender-based sexual violence/inequality, Allison's role at Anova, and how the Western or London community can help.