Please Note that this interview took place before the start of the 2024 National Women’s Soccer League Season.

Kennedy Wesley is a Professional Soccer Player for the San Diego Wave of the National Women’s Soccer League. This is her first year as a Professional Soccer Player after five years at Stanford University where she is the all-time leader in matches played with 104.

Soccer was not the only activity Kennedy grew up doing. In addition, she used to be a violinist and a gymnast before deciding to spend more time with soccer. Kennedy grew up in a small yet close-knit community where she knew almost everyone. When first attending Stanford, because it was a new place with few people that she knew, it was overwhelming. However, with time she was able to have a more enjoyable experience in college. Some of Kennedy’s achievements at Stanford University include becoming an NCAA Champion during her freshman year. Recently, she was selected 12th overall in the 2024 National Women’s Soccer League Draft by the San Diego Wave.

In this episode, you will hear:

If you want to follow the “Oh My Curry Goodness” podcast, be sure to subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can follow the podcast on YouTube as well. Be sure to follow the podcast on Instagram @theomcgpodcast for more information on guests, preview clips, and more!

If you want to follow Kennedy Wesley, be sure to follow her on Instagram @kennedywesleyy as well as her soccer team San Diego Wave FC @sandiegowavefc.

Sara Abou Rashed is a poet and speaker whose poems often center around home, women and immigrant communities. At the age of 13, when she first moved to the US and learned the language, Sara was called an inspiration. Since then she has continued to pursue her passion. One of Sara’s biggest accomplishments was her debut one-woman show called A Map of Myself where her show has been performed many times across the United States.

Originally Palestinian, Sara was born and raised in Syria until she and her family moved to the United States at the age of 13. Her love for poetry started when she was young and would listen to her grandmother’s stories. She would later recite old poems her grandmother memorized which sparked Sara’s interest in storytelling. Two years after moving to the United States and residing in Ohio, Sara won the Ohio Poetry Association High School Content. Since coming to the United States and pursuing her love for poetry, Sara’s work has appeared in many publications. She hopes to use poetry and art as a tool to engage with politics and bring people together.

In this conversation, you will learn:

If you want to follow “Oh My Curry Goodness,” subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also follow the podcast on YouTube as well. Be sure to also follow the podcast on Instagram @theomcgpodcast for more information on guests, preview clips, and more! 

If you want to follow Sara Rashed, be sure to follow her on Instagram @saraabourashed.

You can also check out her website as well:

Personal: https://saraabourashed.com

Catherine Delgado is a mental health advocate. In high school, she and her friends created the Student Wellness, Education, and Resources Committee (SWEAR for short) after having limited resources and support to look after their mental health. Now, Catherine is a Public Health student at George Washington University who is passionate not only about mental health but global health as well. She wants to examine how health is defined across different environments knowing that not every culture follows the same practice.

Catherine is the daughter of parents who immigrated to the United States from The Philippines. Countries in Asia are known for having a Collectivist culture, which inspired Catherine to fuel her passion for helping people and listening to them when needed. This was shown especially after the creation of the Student Wellness, Education, and Resources Committee (SWEAR). While there is always the concern of making mistakes when helping people, that did not stop Catherine from giving people resources students need to look after their mental health. Originally from California, Catherine is a student at George Washington University and wants to get involved in public health and how other countries define health. For example, she went to Uganda to understand people’s way of living over there and how different it is. Throughout her life, Catherine has credited her family and friends who have shaped her into the person she wants to be.

In this conversation, you will learn:

If you want to follow “Oh My Curry Goodness,” subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also follow the podcast on YouTube as well. Be sure to also follow the podcast on Instagram @theomcgpodcast for more information on guests, preview clips, and more! 

If you want to follow Catherine, be sure to follow her on Instagram @cath.delgado!

You can also check out her personal website:

Personal: https://www.cathdelgado.com/

Please note that this episode contains discussions of suicide.

Ramya Chunduri is a psychotherapist who has professional experience working with patients who are victims of domestic violence. She uses listening and observations in order to help her patients as they deal with their negative experiences. She is also the Founder & CEO of Saurya Media which is a health start up that aims to help survivors during their recovery process.

Ramya was always interested in helping people. After seeing how often her parents would help others, she knew this was something she wanted to do. Like many guests who have been on the podcast, Ramya was also drawn into people and their stories. By combining these two passions, it has led her to do what she is doing today as a Psychotherapist. She has also worked with people in South Asian and BIPOC communities who have been victims of domestic violence. Throughout her education journey, Ramya attended schools such as Columbia & Harvard University in order to receiver her Master’s. As impressive as it is, Ramya had to work hard and bounced back from multiple failures. Ramya’s personal journey to get to where she is today was not easy and went through very difficult times. Fortunately, she was able to overcome difficult moments to now pursue areas that she is passionate about. While Ramya continues her career in Psychotherapy, she is also starting her company Saurya Media which is a media platform that was born as a capstone project while at Harvard. This platform uses new and traditional modalities to create pathways of individual and community healing/understanding. Ramya hopes to continue inspiring people who are going through difficult times because she knows that every one is a human being with unique stories.

In this episode, you will learn:

If you want to follow “Oh My Curry Goodness,” subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also follow the podcast on YouTube as well. Be sure to also follow the podcast on Instagram @theomcgpodcast for more information on guests, preview clips, and more! 

If you want to follow Ramya, be sure to follow her on Instagram @ramyasai28 as well as Saurya Media @sauryahealth!

You can also check out her personal website as well as Saurya Media's website:

Personal: https://www.ramyachunduri.com

Saurya Media: https://www.sauryamedia.com/

Noor Abukaram is the Founder of Let Noor Run - A nonprofit that aims to raise awareness about discrimination based on religious beliefs in sports. In 2019, she made news after being disqualified from a high school cross country race for wearing a hijab (head covering worn by Muslim women). This happened despite achieving her personal best. This led her to work with state legislators in Ohio to work on Senate Bill 181, which would prevent the state’s athletic governing body OSHAA (Ohio High School Athletic Association) from creating rules that are discriminatory to religious groups. This was signed into law by Ohio Governor Mike DeWine in 2022.

Noor first started to wear the hijab as a teenager and has since been proud to wear it. When her disqualification story happened, it inspired her to become involved in advocacy. At first, Noor was hesitant to share her story with others, but was later convinced that this was the right thing to do after a conversation with her sister. She shared her story with Ohio State Senator Theresa Gavarone and together they worked on a bill to address the issue of discrimination in sports. While this seemed like an issue that would be easy to solve, this took several years before it was signed into law. Those years were frustrating, but Noor credits her faith and having the right support system for supporting her throughout her athletic and advocacy journey. In the future, Noor wants to continue working on Let Noor Run as there are still parts of the country where there is discrimination in sports. She also wants to use her story as a way to inspire others to make change when they see something that is wrong. From a runner’s perspective, Noor wants to compete in more marathons and she is already getting ready for a few as of this recording (find out which ones in this conversation). In addition to running, Noor loves to play soccer. In fact, she used cross country as a way to get ready for soccer due to the amount of running and stamina that is required. Academically, Noor is a student at Ohio State who is currently studying Fashion and Retail.

In this conversation, you will hear:

If you want to follow “Oh My Curry Goodness,” subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also follow the podcast on YouTube as well. Be sure to also follow the podcast on Instagram @theomcgpodcast for more information on guests, preview clips, and more! 

If you want to follow Noor, be sure to follow her on Instagram @nooralexandria!

You can also check out her personal website:

Personal: https://letnoorrun.com

Madison Hammond is a professional soccer player for Angel City FC of the National Women’s Soccer League. Before playing professionally, Madison played four years at Wake Forest University. In 2020, while as a member of OL Reign (now known as Seattle Reign FC), Madison became the first Native American player to play in the NWSL. Off the field, Madison has been an advocate for women’s soccer and for Black and Native American communities. What makes this conversation exciting is that Madison wears my favorite jersey (99). Check this episode to see why 99 is my favorite jersey number. Some of it is not soccer-related!

Madison was raised by a family who emphasized hard work and resiliency. She, along with her older sister, were raised by their single mother who was a military veteran. Her uncle, Notah Begay III was among the first Native Americans to compete on the PGA Tour. Whether it was in sports or in education, Madison was raised to be the best. Madison graduated from Wake Forest with honors before making the decision to pursue a career playing professional soccer. After graduating from Wake Forest she declared for the 2020 NWSL College Draft but was not selected. She would later receive an invite from OL Reign to tryout for the team. After trying out, she signed her first professional contract with the team. Now that she has had multiple years of being a professional athlete, Madison has learned about resiliency and leadership and has applied these two skills when it comes to her advocacy work. Growing up in a small reservation in San Felipe Pueblo, New Mexico, she was surrounded by people who looked like her. As she moved to Virginia later on, it was the opposite. Madison aims to use her platform to educate others about what it means to be Native American and Black. She also hopes to see more people who are Native American pursuing a career in professional sports.

In this conversation, you will learn:

If you want to follow “Oh My Curry Goodness,” subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also follow the podcast on YouTube as well. Be sure to also follow the podcast on Instagram @theomcgpodcast for more information on guests, preview clips, and more! 

If you want to follow Madison Hammond, be sure to follow her on Instagram @gohaamm as well as her soccer team Angel City FC @weareangelcity.

Melati Wijsen is an activist and a change-maker who is the Founder of YOUTHTOPIA, an organization that focuses on providing the tools needed for young people to be change-makers. Before YOUTHTOPIA, Melati Co-Founded Bye Bye Plastic Bags with her sister Isabel. Since starting Bye Bye Plastic Bags, both have started using their voice to inspire young people to find their voice and speak to older generations about the ideas that future generations can implement in this world.

Melati was born in Indonesia and grew up with the concept of there is something bigger than oneself. This inspired her to find ways to give back and help out communities. Melati started her change-making  journey when she was 12 years old. She founded Bye Bye Plastic Bags where the goal was to ban plastic bags in Bali. She worked on this with her younger sister Isabel and with the support of other people, were able to accomplish this goal. Her work with Bye Bye Plastic Bags allowed her to speak in events such as TED & The United Nations. She also had her film Bigger Than Us which was released in 2021 which documents her journey meeting other young activists around the world. A year before her film, Melati founded YOUTHTOPIA in order to inspire young people to create change in their communities. Now at 23, Melati continues to educate young people about the power they have regardless of who they are or where they come from. While Melati has had challenges in activism for the past 11 years, she has also had to overcome personal challenges such as burnouts due to the amount of work being put in. Looking after her well-being first is critical to Melati in order to continue on in the change-making journey.

In this conversation, you will learn:

If you want to follow “Oh My Curry Goodness,” subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also follow the podcast on YouTube as well. Be sure to also follow the podcast on Instagram @theomcgpodcast for more information on guests, preview clips, and more! 

If you want to follow Melati Wijsen, be sure to follow her on Instagram @melatiwijsen as well as YOUTHTOPIA @youthtopia.world.

You can also check out Melati’s and YOUTHTOPIA’s website as well:

Personal: https://melatiwijsen.com

YOUTHTOPIA: https://www.youthtopia.world/

Alexandra Chaves is an actress and dancer who is best known for her role as Piper on the Canadian series “The Next Step” where she joined the series in its fourth season. She has also been involved in advocacy where she has met and worked with children to talk about issues that are common around young people.

Alexandra is an actress but comes from a dance background. Early on, she tried many sports/activities but decided on pursuing dance. After realizing that it could be a career of hers, she continued pursuing dance as she felt it was a form of storytelling. At some point in the future, however, Alexandra would like to get involved in science as this is another field that she is passionate about. With her acting career, she has been on many TV shows with “The Next Step” being the show she is best known for. While Alexandra enjoys acting and dancing, she had obstacles in her way. When it comes to acting and dancing for example, she struggled with perfection and was often hard on herself when making a mistake. Another challenge was when Alexandra was diagnosed with heart arrhythmia at the age of 12 which prevented her for dancing for 8 months. While she is still able to do the two things she enjoys, she is careful to not to do too much in order to look after herself. In addition to acting and dancing, she has also been passionate about mental health and the fight against bullying. Her goal when it comes to her advocacy is to make sure everyone is celebrated regardless of a person’s background.

In this episode, you will hear:

If you want to follow “Oh My Curry Goodness” be sure to subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also follow the podcast on YouTube as well. Be sure to also follow the podcast on Instagram @theomcgpodcast for more information on guests, preview clips, and more!

If you want to follow Alexandra Chaves, be sure to follow her on Instagram @alexandrachaves.

You can also check out her website:

Personal: https://www.alexandrachaves.com

Samuel Rubin is the one of the Founding Convening Team Members of Entertainment & Culture for Climate Action (ECCA). This is a UNFCCC sectoral initiative to mobilize the creative industries and cultural sector to find solutions for climate change and mitigate its own environmental impacts. Originally from Barcelona, Samuel is based in Los Angeles but has traveled back and forth for different events and workshops around the world. Samuel is one of the many activists who are involved in the fight to address climate change. While there will be people who will disagree, Samuel has learned the importance of bringing in people from different generations and listening to perspectives that are different from his.

When Samuel was a child, he was an actor and started doing theater after being identified by a couple of young rising directors in Spain. His experience as an actor allowed him to understand the importance of storytelling as well as being in front of an audience. After a few years as an actor, Samuel elected to pursue other areas while still being involved in the entertainment industry. Samuel has a passion for storytelling and grassroots activism and in 2019, co-founded YEA! Impact. This organization focuses on the power of the two things Samuel is passionate about. He also co-founded the Hollywood Climate Summit (HCS) in order to inspire people of all ages to share resources and ideas to help drive action in tackling climate change. He worked at YEA! Impact and HCS until the end of 2022, and currently, he is working as a Director of Impact and Partnerships at the Entertainment + Culture Pavilion that he co-founded.

In this episode, you will hear:

If you want to follow “Oh My Curry Goodness,” subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also follow the podcast on YouTube as well. Be sure to also follow the podcast on Instagram @theomcgpodcast for more information on guests, preview clips, and more!

If you want to follow Samuel Rubin, be sure to follow him on Instagram @samuelrubinv.

You can also check out his website:

Personal: https://www.samuelrubin.net

Sam Weinberg is the Founder & Executive Director of Path to Progress - a “progressive think tank that is run by and for Gen-Z” (description of organization came from forward.com). Sam co-founded Path to Progress in 2021 and has since used his platform to discuss what young people want and inspiring them to get more involved in political advocacy. In addition to being interested in public policy, when Sam enrolled in college, he was taking classes mainly related to art history. Prior to his time in college, Sam co-founded the organization Path to Progress. While he was able to start something he was passionate about, there were obstacles. To continue on with Path to Progress, Sam would spend 30 to 40 hours a week with the organization and would later have to leave college early in order to do this full-time. Working with Path to Progress has given him many opportunities to put himself out there and advocate for candidates who align with the organization’s values. Since doing media appearances starting in 2020, it has been a unique journey for him. Path to Progress has helped Sam become better at teamwork and decision-making which was something that had to come with time. As of now, Path to Progress is already working with a few Gen-Z candidates and helping them get into Congress. Its goal for the 2024 election is to have more young people getting involved in the election cycle and continuing to have conversations on policy issues. Being in the political landscape is always going to be difficult. However, that will not stop Sam from continuing to speak up for what he believes is right.

In this episode, you will hear:

If you want to follow “Oh My Curry Goodness,” subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also follow the podcast on YouTube as well. Be sure to also follow the podcast on Instagram @theomcgpodcast for more information on guests, preview clips, and more!

If you want to follow Sam Weinberg, be sure to follow him on Instagram @samweinberg and Path to Progress @path2progress.