Welcome to the launch of the I AM FIRST podcast! It is amazing seeing this project come to life after so much hard work behind the scenes! In this introduction Maari introduces our rotational host, Lasly Torres, to provide insight for the purpose and motivation of this podcast. As you will hear, I AM FIRST focuses on conversations between first-generation individuals and their unique experiences that build them up to be who they are today. We hope listeners can relate and find inspiration from them. Please enjoy the real and raw conversations we will have on this journey.

We would like to thank our sponsors, the Chicago Youth Service Corps for supporting us on this project.