Oh My Curry Goodness

Fatima AlKaabi is United Arab Emirates’ Youngest Inventor - a record she achieved at the age of 13. Her first invention was a robot that could take pictures. Later on she would create other inventions like a smart steering system that prevents people from texting and driving. Now, Fatima is 21 years old and while she continues to pursue her interest in STEM, she is also motivating other women to get involved in the field. There have been challenges that Fatima has faced as a woman in STEM but she continues to do what she loves and hopes she can be a representative for others in the future. Recently, Fatima is a graduate of Virginia Tech University where she received her Bachelors in Computer Engineering.

Fatima has been passionate about inventing and science since she was young. It also helped knowing that her parents had a background in engineering. Her family also taught her the importance of kindness and treating people with respect. These two things inspired Fatima to be able to help people when needed. It has also helped Fatima understand the importance of listening to people before taking action in order to best serve. Despite making many inventions such as the ones mentioned in the previous paragraph, Fatima received criticism from others because she was in a field that was dominated by men. This affected her confidence but with the support of family, she kept going. Eventually, she proved many of the people who doubted her wrong and will continue to so in the future. While she still holds the title of United Arab Emirates’ Youngest Inventor, Fatima is ready to pass that title to someone else. One of the most important things to Fatima is that she hopes to see more women in the Middle East become passionate about science and technology.

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 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 Fatima AlKaabi be sure to follow her on Instagram @fatimaalkaabi_1!

Safia Southey is a human rights activist and world explorer who has traveled to 110 countries (as of this recording). Throughout her time, she worked for different organizations such as the World Bank and The United Nations Refugee Agency. With the latter, she got to work with Palestinian refugees. This experience allowed her to understand more about what is happening in Palestine and other parts of the world. 

Raised by parents who prioritized travel, Safia has lived in many places around the world. This has allowed her to understand different cultures and people’s ways of living in different countries. After high school, Safia took a gap year and went to work in Jordan and Palestine. When she went to college, she decided to pursue a degree in Middle Eastern Politics and Human Rights at Columbia University. She is currently attending Columbia Law School.

In this episode, you will hear:

If you want to follow “Oh My Curry Goodness,” subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also 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 Safia Southey, be sure to follow her on Instagram @safiaksouthey.

You can also check out her website:

Website: https://www.safiasouthey.com/

John Fuller is a recent graduate from The Ohio State University who will be pursue a Ph.D in Nursing at Emory University. As the youngest of four children, John was the first person in his family to graduate from high school where he was the valedictorian. Despite all his success, John had many challenges he faced. Challenges such as poverty, moving frequently, and imposter syndrome are just a few examples of what John faced growing up.

Growing up, John experienced challenges from moving to different places to dealing with poverty and homelessness. These challenges existed despite John being one of the better students in the classroom. While these issues existed, John always found people who were able to support him. One of the people that was John’s fifth grade teacher because like John, she was black. It inspired John knowing that education and representation can exist at the same time. It took a few years after that experience for John to decide he was going to pursue nursing as a career. When John was a student at Ohio State, he took a Human Development and Family Science class where one of his classmates thought he was here for an athletic purposes as opposed to academic purposes. This motivated John to be the best person he could be academically and show others that people like him can do things outside of sports. Even as John gets ready to attend Emory University, there are still mental challenges that exist such as imposter syndrome and anxiety but will continue to give himself grace and embrace every moment.

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 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 John Fuller be sure to follow him on Instagram @johnfull.er!

Godwin Kevin is the Founder of Inspire For Greatness - an organization that identifies, connects and empowers leaders and changemakers to take action in their communities (Description of organization comes from We Are Family Foundation). With his work, he has been recognized by the We Are Family Foundation in 2021 and awarded the Princess Diana Award in 2022. In addition, he is also a fitness coach and personal trainer.

From an early age, Godwin learned the importance of entrepreneurship and was motivated to educate himself on this topic. It then led to him leading entrepreneurship seminars and workshops in schools in Nigeria so that he can teach other students. However, Godwin was shocked to find out how very few students knew about entrepreneurship. This inspired him to create Inspire For Greatness in hopes of empowering young people to take action and create change. Since starting this organization, it has impacted thousands of students around Africa. Despite the impact it has already had on many young people in Africa, Godwin wants to continue to impact more young people. When not working on Inspire For Greatness, Godwin likes to travel around the world and learn about different cultures. At the time of this recording, Godwin is based in Vietnam where he is starting his journey as a fitness instructor.

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 also follow the podcast on Instagram @theomcgpodcast for more information on guests, preview clips, and more!

If you want to follow Godwin Kevin’s organization Inspire For Greatness, you can follow the organization on Instagram @inspire.for.greatness.

This is the link where information to describe Inspire For Greatness on podcast description was found: https://www.wearefamilyfoundation.org/gtl-2021/godwin-kevin

Nancy Bosnoian is the Founder & CEO of End No Sleep, a nonprofit that is raising awareness of sleep hygiene. After personal difficulties Nancy encountered, she started getting involved in research around sleep. Realizing that there is not much attention on the topic of sleep inspired Nancy to get involved in sleep activism. In addition to End No Sleep, Nancy is a student at Columbia University, where she is studying Human Rights with a specialization in Economics.

Originally born in Syria, Nancy and her family were doing well. However, things started to change after the start of the Syrian Civil War. This led to Nancy’s family moving to the United States. The plan was to return to Syria after 15 days but as the war started progressing, Nancy’s dad decided to stay in the U.S. and start from scratch. With her dad losing his business due to the Civil War and not being able to speak English, responsibilities fell to Nancy and her sister to help the family out. After seeing how hard her dad worked, it motivated Nancy to one day become an entrepreneur, although it did take some time before figuring out what to be involved in. Nancy founded End No Sleep after the personal challenges she had encountered with sleep. Sleep research was a relatively new field and it was the perfect time for Nancy to educate herself on this topic. Nancy’s goal is to not only continue raising awareness for sleep hygiene but also inspire more women in the Middle East into the field of entrepreneurship.

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 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 Nancy Bosnoian be sure to follow her on Instagram @nancybosnoian as well as End No Sleep @endnosleep.inc!

You can also check out End No Sleep’s website as well:

End No Sleep: https://www.endnosleep.org/

Kelly Salpeter is a content creator known for her series “Uncultured Parents,” where she takes their reactions and posts it on TikTok. Her videos have amassed more than a million views across all social media platforms. Despite her success, Kelly aims to focus on being true to herself and wants to work with brands that align with her values. In addition to being an influencer, Kelly is a fourth-degree black belt in taekwondo. She also recently graduated from SUNY (State University of New York) Geneseo where she studied in Communication & Environmental studies.

When TikTok first launched, Kelly would spend hours watching other content creators create their content. This led to the belief that one day, Kelly would create that would reach many people. Something that is important to Kelly is the importance of authenticity and always staying true to oneself. Having parents support her throughout her journey was helpful in shaping her identity. Originally, Kelly wanted to get into content creation when Vine was around but did not because the app was slowly dying in popularity. At first, Kelly was hesitant to start TikTok but later started it in December of 2019. In early 2020, Kelly started making her own videos and quickly became popular. By August (her birthday month) she reached 100,000 followers on the app. While she had success, there was a point in time where Kelly had trouble separating her life outside of TikTok. At times, she would stop eating and stay up to produce videos. With the support of friends and family, Kelly was able to go back to taking care of herself. Since creating content, Kelly has worked with many brands and organizations, including the New York Mets, a team that Kelly’s dad is a big fan of.

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 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 Kelly Salpeter, be sure to follow her on Instagram @kellysalpeter!

You can also check out Kelly’s website as well:

Website: https://kellysalpeter.weebly.com/

RuQuan Brown is an activist, entrepreneur, artist, and a collegiate athlete who played football at Harvard University. He is using his platform to educate people on spreading love in communities. He is also releasing new music and sharing his passion for creating art to the world. In the past, RuQuan has advocated for victims of gun violence after he lost people close to him.

RuQuan believes that to bring people together, it requires love in their communities. RuQuan experienced trauma and hardship growing up in his neighborhood. He lost his stepdad and one of his best friends to gun violence. To help him through those difficult times, he read books from notable figures such as James Baldwin, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, Malcolm X, and more. What he learned from these people is that they showed love towards their communities even during times of difficulty. He also learned about the importance of believing in himself if we wanted to be in a better place. Now as a student at Harvard, RuQuan wants to use his platform to inspire people and be someone of service. This is something he has done since elementary school when he was the student government president. RuQuan is also involved in art, music, consulting, and working in Venture Capital.

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 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 RuQuan Brown be sure to follow him on Instagram @ruquansavion.

Miles Franklin Smith is a musician and a student at The Ohio State University. This is an interesting episode because not only does Miles attend the same college as me, but he also attended the same high school as me in Hilliard Davidson. Miles gradated from high school in 2019, while I graduated in 2020. Miles has performed in many places and the instrument of his choice is the trumpet.

Born in Fort Collins, Colorado before moving to Columbus, Miles grew up with parents who were both musicians. His father is a percussion player and his mother is a violinist. Just like learning a language such as Spanish or English, music was a way for Miles to communicate with his parents. Because of the unique relationship with family and music, it inspired him to pursue a career as a musician. Miles’ desire to play instruments started when he was little when he received a drum set for his Christmas gift and started to make different rhythms. Later on, he would switch from drums to playing the trumpet. He has performed in many places in his career so far and will only continue to add more going forward. While being a musician can be a difficult career, it is a career that has helped Miles on a personal level. He was someone who did not have that many friends growing up and now he is able to meet with people from different backgrounds.

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 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 Miles Franklin Smith, be sure to follow him on Instagram @mfs.chicago!

Jade Zaroff is the Founder of Entertainment for Change, a nonprofit organization that aims to help people create change from an artistic and creative lens. Jade has a background in acting as well as sustainability. During college, she pitched Emerson College the idea of a Green Gala. This event was to raise awareness on the importance of the environment. While she no longer attends Emerson, it ran for three years without her after she graduated. She also produced and acted in an award-winning web comedy series known as “Jade & Jaded.” This series tells the story of two girls attempting to make a career as health and wellness vloggers. In addition, she is a certified Life Coach and uses this platform to empower young people to take action now.

From an early age, Jade learned about the importance of being different from everyone else. She aspired to be the best version of herself and did not mind if others did not understand her intentions. Jade cites her mom - who started one of the largest Health Institutes in the United States called The Institute for Integrative Nutrition - as her biggest influence and the person that taught her to be unapologetically herself. When Jade was a student at Emerson College, she wanted to spread awareness of environmental practices and do it in a way that sparks creativity and art. As an eco-representative, she faced challenges, but that did not stop her. Later on, Jade found more ways of promoting the environment such as the idea of The Emerson College Green Gala. Through the event, she found the tagline “Entertainment For Change” and ended up trademarking the name for the organization she has today. Jade believes that creativity and art can play an important role when it comes to making change. When Jade is not involved in entrepreneurship, she is also involved in acting in which she did “Jade & Jaded” with a friend from college. Recently, Jade became a life coach after taking the Jay Shetty Life Coaching Certification Program and wants to use this opportunity to help people become better in the present and in the future.

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 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 Jade Zaroff, be sure to follow her on Instagram @jadezaroff as well as Entertainment For Change @entertainmentforchange.

You can also check out Jade’s website as well as Entertainment For Change:

Personal: https://www.jadezaroff.com/

Entertainment For Change: https://www.entertainmentforchange.com/

Ohio State Representative Munira Abdullahi represents Ohio House District 9. She is one of the first Somali-Americans and the first Muslim woman to serve in the State Legislature. Additionally, she serves as the Vice Chair of the Ohio Democratic Women’s Legislative Caucus for the 135th General Assembly, where their mission is to pass legislation that improves the lives of women in the state. State Representative Abdullahi is another guest on the podcast who is either a current or former student at The Ohio State University.

State Representative Munira Abdullahi was born in Kenya in a refugee camp before first moving to Utah and then Columbus. She is the oldest of nine children! From this experience, she learned the importance of being a leader and how to be a problem solver. She also learned about staying true to her Muslim and Somalian identity from her parents. While she is a State Representative today, State Representative Abdullahi had a journey when it came to choosing careers. At first, it was to attend Medical School and then changed course to pursue architecture and then to public policy. From there, she found multiple ways to get involved with different Grassroots movements and educating herself on different issues happening around the country. During the 2022 Election in November, State Representative Munira Abdullahi ran unopposed but still had to win her primary which was held three months prior. After getting the support she needed, State Representative Abdullahi was able to win her election and make history. Even months after her election victory, she continues to participate in many events in her community in order to build relationships and trust.

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 State Representative Munira Abdullahi, be sure to follow her on Instagram @munira_y.a as well as her political page @muniraforohio!