Golden Guest Podcast

This episode I chat with my college best friend Sameha Hasan who I met on the second day of college! We talk about our first impressions of each other, funny moments, comparing stem versus business work, share takeaways from college and our favorite Marvel movies/characters, and discuss our differing music tastes. 

00:00-00:56 intro

00:57-04:22 how we met

04:23-09:42 first impressions

09:43-19:05 our funniest moments

19:06-29:53 stem vs business

29:54-46:57 takeaways from college so far 

46:58-53:30 marvel cinematic universe talk

53:31-56:27 our differing music tastes

56:28-1:08:29 testing sameha's knowledge on my favorite artists

1:08:30-1:09:47 sameha's artist recommendations

1:09:48-1:11:05 last regards from sameha

00:00-01:00 what KicksbySammy is 

01:01-03:54 how the idea of KicksbySammy came to be

03:55-05:48 whether Sammy had art experience?

05:49-07:28 asking for advice to launch the business

07:29-09:40 second guessing before launching

09:41-11:27 customer feedback during uprise

11:28-13:07 connecting with customers 

13:08-14:44 finding manufacturers

14:45-17:05 initial feelings to getting LLC and income

17:06-19:28 marketing

19:29-21:10 how did you find your pr team, Electrify PR?

21:11-24:24 the message to consumers and what makes KicksbySammy innovative

24:25-25:22 where customer feedback comes from

25:23-27:48 an idea to expand her customer profiles, babies and pets!

27:49-30:20 a memorable KicksbySammy college project vs recently

30:21-32:38 examples of some of her products

32:39-37:17 how do you think your business minor contributed to your business?

37:18-39:28 importance of customer base to a business

39:29-41:13 where Sammy sees KicksbySammy 5 years from now

41:14-43:18 how you can donate to the Lustgarten Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer Research

43:19-44:09 (cont.) partnering with foundations

44:10-44:34 KicksbySammy in three words

44:35-45:24 mission statement from KicksbySammy

45:25-46:27 promo and conclusion

Fortunately for me, I've had a best friend nearly my entire life. Lauren and I just finished our first semesters in our first years in college, so we talked about our growth over time and lessons we've learned. We shared a little about ourselves and did a LOT of reflecting!

00:00-00:37 intro

00:38-03:49 how we met/know each other

03:40-18:00 how sports have impacted us

18:01-21:29 going to the gym 

21:30-29:57 our unconventional paths to college (gap year/gap semester)

29:58-35:53 our freshman high school selves versus our freshman college selves

35:54-47:56 lessons we've learned in college

47:57-51:08 how we stay in touch

51:09-55:32 what is the biggest growth we've seen in each other?

55:33-1:00:53 what makes a best friend, a best friend?

1:00:54-1:10:28 what is a funny story that we've shared?

1:10:29-1:12:43 what are our pet peeves about each other? 

1:12:44-1:16:00 height comparisons lol

1:16:01-1:21:50 what people misunderstand about us/what we like in people

1:21:51-1:24:22 conclusion

Have you ever wanted college advice from someone's who graduated? Well here it is! I got to catch up with my friend Camilla who just graduated from Brown University. She was a high school senior when I was a high school freshman, and it's been nice to hear how much she's grown and learned! 

TW: discussion about depressive episodes, anxiety, panic attacks, self-harm

In this episode, I talk with Ursula about her first impressions of UWCCSC, expressions to audiences without words, and the importance mental health (especially in education systems). We both had different experiences from between January 2020 to now, but we focus on why mental health in institutions should matter. Please look at the link and for Ursula and my dear friend Sofia's GoFundMe for the mental health center in her city:

https://www.gofundme.com/f/aydanos-a-trabajar-por-la-salud-mental?utm_campaign=p_lico+share-sheet+spider2v&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_source=customer

Surprise! A new song recommendation Aftertaste by Nicole Han! In this episode, I talk with Nicole about the release of her first single, music, women in the industry, and college. Nicole is a singer-songwriter at LMU, and I actually saw her on my TikTok for you page before I knew we were attending the same college! Small world, right? Enjoy!

0:00-0:26 intro

0:27-1:21 release of Aftertaste

1:22-2:44 production process for Aftertaste

2:45-5:34 how Nicole got into music, music as an outlet

5:35-6:05 how I met Nicole, tiktok fyp

6:06-7:25 artist association with Olivia Rodrigo, Nicole being her own artist

7:26-8:54 song inspiration ideas

8:55-9:58 the first thing Nicole does with song inspiration

9:59-12:00 women in the music industry

12:01-13:42 Nicole's favorite upcoming artists

13:43-14:14 the power of tiktok

14:15-15:54 Nicole's piano lessons

15:55-16:29 my take on my violin lessons

16:30-17:20 instruments Nicole wants to try

17:21-18:03 Billie Eilish Happier Than Ever drums

18:04-19:55 why Nicole and I chose LMU

19:56-22:54 Nicole's COVID songwriting/school balance

22:55-24:40 what made Nicole want to chose her major/minor

24:58-27:14 Nicole's future place in the music industry/message Nicole wants to give her music audience

27:15-28:20 Nicole's response to her fans

28:21-33:30 olivia (rodrigo) trivia!

33:31-35:19 what Nicole is looking forward to

35:20-38:00 Nicole's red flags in relationships/friends

38:01-38:54 Nicole's message to listeners and conclusion!

In this episode, I talk with Janis about her international school experiences, us meeting at UWCCSC, and the growth we've had from 2018 or 2019 to 2021. It was very interesting to hear how Janis has been able to reflect on her growth and see how parts of her international experiences changed her life, making her the person she is today. 

In this episode, I catch up with Sara on her thoughts of Mauritius, UWCCSC, and Denmark life. We met in August 2019 because we were in the same residential floor (aka house Bandele) at UWCCSC and shared 3 classes as well as one zhixing (aka extracurricular). After being in an IB school in Mauritius, Sara transferred to United World College Changshu China on-campus for four months then had the opportunity to live in a Ranum Denmark bubble. Tune in to hear her stories!

0:00-2:10 introduction

2:11-4:03 finding out about UWC, why Sara wanted to go

4:04-7:31 life in Mauritius, IB in Mauritius vs CSC

7:32-11:47 first thoughts on-campus at UWCCSC

11:48-14:28 Sara's favorite class/extracurricular

14:29-19:25 Sara's UWCCSC highlights

19:26-22:15 little but significant CSC moments

22:16-34:10 Sara's deportation from China (the infamous COVID email)

34:11-34:56 time between UWCCSC and Mauritius

34:57-36:05 school year/weather degrees US vs Mauritius

36:06-41:24 differences between CSC vs Denmark

41:25-48:47 Sara's life in Ranum Bubble

48:48-58:07 Sara's Denmark highlights

58:08-1:00:43 little but significant Denmark moments

1:00:44-1:04:14 Sara's takeaways from international schools, independence and approaching people

1:04:15-1:05:34 not having pictures :0 and traveling to Mauritius/LA

1:05:35-1:07:18 what Sara is looking forward to in college (UBC) Vancouver

1:07:19-1:11:02 conclusion

In this episode, I catch up with Sara on her thoughts of Mauritius, UWCCSC, and Denmark life. We met in August 2019 because we were in the same residential floor (aka house Bandele) at UWCCSC and shared 3 classes as well as one zhixing (aka extracurricular). After being in an IB school in Mauritius, Sara transferred to United World College Changshu China on-campus for four months then had the opportunity to live in a Ranum Denmark bubble. Tune in to hear her stories! 

0:00-2:10 introduction

2:11-4:03 finding out about UWC, why Sara wanted to go

4:04-7:31 life in Mauritius, IB in Mauritius vs CSC

7:32-11:47 first thoughts on-campus at UWCCSC

11:48-14:28 Sara's favorite class/extracurricular

14:29-19:25 Sara's UWCCSC highlights

19:26-22:15 little but significant CSC moments

22:16-34:10 Sara's deportation from China (the infamous COVID email)

34:11-34:56 time between UWCCSC and Mauritius

34:57-36:05 school year/weather degrees US vs Mauritius

36:06-41:24 differences between CSC vs Denmark

41:25-48:47 Sara's life in Ranum Bubble

48:48-58:07 Sara's Denmark highlights 

58:08-1:00:43 little but significant Denmark moments

1:00:44-1:04:14 Sara's takeaways from international schools, independence and approaching people

1:04:15-1:05:34 not having pictures :0 and traveling to Mauritius/LA

1:05:35-1:07:18 what Sara is looking forward to in college (UBC) Vancouver

1:07:19-1:11:02 conclusion

In this episode, I talk about Heein's triple threat hobbies (hapkido, dance, and singing). Heein is a third degree black belt from San Marino, CA who teaches kids hapkido and will be attending NYU in-person this fall as class of 2024. This past summer she maintained her hapkido studio responsibilities as well as had an internship. We touched on her experiences in her passionate hobbies, as well as international perspectives, internalized racism, and mental health. Enjoy!

00:00-01:24 intro/how we met

01:25-05:14 history behind her hapkido

05:15-08:25 Heein as a role model for her younger brothers

08:26-10:02 Heein wanting to pursue choir

10:03-11:03 siblings!

11:04-12:19 motivation for hapkido in high school, superficial(ness?) of hapkido

12:20-13:25 when Heein started teaching

13:26-15:09 advice for teaching younger kids

15:10-18:12 my teaching story time

18:13-19:24 Heein's passion for choir

19:25-21:01 dance involvement

21:02-23:02 advice for being healthy

23:03-24:05 tips for time management

24:06-25:35 highlights from choir

25:36-31:37 tourists as celebrities

31:38-33:55 little moments from Heein's choir

33:56-38:12 looking at international perspective

38:13-41:40 going from a small town to NYU

41:41-48:43 growth as Asian-Americans, internalized racism

48:44-50:53 maintaining mental health, college online

50:54-55:01 1 second everyday, Q&A a day

55:02-56:59 mentality behind breaking a board

57:00-1:03:11 being a woman in martial arts

1:03:12-1:06:07 Heein's youtube channel (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_kB365SatT9bMeZ_-ufBJg)

1:06:08-1:07:59 things Heein is looking forward to

1:08:00-1:10:02 anything else for the listeners!

1:10:03-1:11:56 conclusion!