Inspire 2 Aspire

This week's episode features Alisa Sadikova, an 18-year-old prodigy harpist and international musician. At just 8 years old, she played in Carnegie Hall and at 14 years old, she represented Russia at the World Harp Congress. She has inspired hundreds of people around the world through her beautiful harp playing and has played with numerous symphonies, including with world-renowned conductor Maestro Vladimir Spivakov. Tune in to hear more about how she started playing the harp and the behind-the-scenes of her various concerts!

Season 2 is here! The season premiere features Joshua Kim, Womenswear fashion designer at Versace. He has worked on countless red carpet looks and collections. Two notable projects Joshua has worked on are Jennifer Lopez’s 2020 Superbowl outfit and Angelina Jolie’s Maleficent premiere outfit. Tune in to hear about Joshua’s fashion background, a day-in-the-life of working at Versace, and behind-the-scenes of various looks/collections. Follow him on Instagram @kim_joshy!

Hello everyone! Big changes are coming to Inspire 2 Aspire! Inspire 2 Aspire is now going to be a multimedia platform where we produce audio and visual projects. For example, we will be producing podcast episodes, but we will also be accepting submissions (journalistic and prose) for our online magazine. Tune in to hear more about these exciting changes! To be a part of the team, apply for Director, Editor, and Writer positions through the respective links in the Instagram (@inspire2aspirepodcast) bio.

This week, I got to talk with Ella Greenwood, a 19-year-old filmmaker and founder of Broken Flames Production. Ella is a passionate advocate for a healthy representation of teenage mental health in the media; all her films center around a certain topic of mental health, such as depression or anxiety. Her upcoming projects include "Self-Charm," with Bukky Bakray taking on the lead actress and "Smudged Smile" with Mia Mckenna-Bruce. Tune in to hear Ella's filmmaking journey and the importance of advocating for better mental health representation in the film industry. Follow Ella on Instagram @popsella to stay updated on all her latest projects!

This week’s episode features Estella Struck, founder of Ethica! Ethica is a brand that aims to promote circular fashion by selling second-hand clothes that are both trendy and timeless. Ethica has released more than 10 collections and sold 2,000 pieces worldwide! Tune in to this episode to hear about how Estella started Ethica, how Ethica is promoting slow fashion, and how we can be more sustainable in our fashion choices. Follow Ethica on Instagram @ethicanyc to stay up to date on all the latest collections!

This week's episode features Christina Xing, an award-winning Asian American film director! Christina has shot commercials for brands including Yves Saint-Laurent, Snapchat, Tinder, and more! In addition, she has directed multiple music videos for artists such as Kenzie, Fiji Blue, and Frances Forever. Tune in to the episode to hear about her experiences directing commercials for well-known companies, the differences of directing music videos and commercials, and things she wished she would've known before going into the film industry. Follow her on Instagram @christinaxing to stay updated on all her latest projects!

Episode 10 features Sade Ndya, an award-winning cinematographer who has shot commercials for various companies including Apple and Microsoft! She entered the world of cinematography when she was just in high school, shooting films at home with her family and friends. Now, her career has grown exponentially to shooting professionally for major companies and brands. Sade is also the founder of The Red Futon, a company that aims to uplift voices in the community through films and commercials. Tune in to her about her experiences filming commercials for these major brands and advice she has for aspiring cinematographers. Follow her on Instagram @sadendya for more!

This week's episode features Miri Choi! Despite her struggles of coming to America at a young age, she has graduated from MIT and is now a Technical Program Manager at Amazon. In addition, her experiences as an MIT interviewer and passion for education inspired her to start My College Consulting, a college admissions consulting company dedicated to helping high schoolers reach their full potential in the college admissions process. Tune in to hear about her experiences working at Amazon and advice she has for high schoolers applying to college. You can find Miri on Instagram @miric121 where you can also find her YouTube channel linked in her bio. Be sure to visit My College Consulting on Instagram @mycollegecounsulting and at www.mycollegecs.com. 

This week's episode features Hannah Bullion, Social Media Editor at Refinery29. Hannah manages the Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest pages for Refinery29, where she works with a team of editors and writers to post content daily. Tune in to hear about her experiences working at Refinery 29, her views on social media from a social media strategist perspective, and advice for youth on how they can use social media professionally. Visit her on Instagram @hannahbullion. You can find her work on Refinery29's Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/refinery29/), Twitter (https://twitter.com/Refinery29), and Pinterest (https://www.pinterest.com/refinery29/) pages. 

This week, I got to talk with Megan Wesseln, a registered nurse (RN) at an academic hospital in L.A. Megan has spent her first year of nursing fighting Covid-19 in the heart of L.A., an epicenter for new Covid-19 cases. Tune in to hear her journey of becoming a nurse, how she is taking care of patients during this time, and advice she has for students who are looking to go into the medical field. Let's not forget how much work nurses are doing to keep us all safe and let's do our part by wearing a mask and staying home! Listed below is Megan's email address and Instagram handle, which she has kindly provided to help students who have questions about being an RN and about the medical field in general. Contact her if you have any questions!

Email: [email protected]

Instagram: @megwesseln