Madi Baldwin is the founder and host of Gen Z Girlies - a podcast dedicated to inspiring Gen Z women and non-binary folk to pursue their dream careers. They’ve interviewed guests including Forbes 30 under 30 CEO’s to filmmakers and artists. In our conversation, Madi and I talk about the power of peer-to-peer conversations and what it really means to be an entrepreneur. We also dive into Madi's early-stage startup, Zentrepreneurs, and her advice for discovering your passions.

Connect with Madi here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/madibaldwin/

Listen to Gen Z Girlies: https://open.spotify.com/show/78yRePvZlDeCTjiIBbn3fs

For podcast updates and more, follow @ourplaygroundpod + @allyphan_

Rachna Kumar is a recent graduate from the University of Washington Foster School of Business and is now a full-time strategy consultant. She is also a content creator with a community of over 17k on TikTok where she shares life in Seattle, college advice, and so much more. In our conversation, Rachna shares how she landed her first brand deal with Mejuri, if you really need a niche in order to grow, and her top five spots if you're visiting Seattle. We also dive into Rachna's time at UW - how to make friends and find a balance between work and play.

Connect with Rachna on TikTok: @rachnaxo

For podcast updates and more, follow @ourplaygroundpod + @allyphan_

It's the annual SUMMER RECAP episode!! It's been 365 days since the previous summer recap so go and listen to 2022's episode, you know, for funsies! Jaylah and I talk about how we spent our summers, our favorite reads, and what we're looking forward to for our senior year. We also tease a super exciting project that is launching SOON!

For podcast updates and more, follow @ourplaygroundpod + @allyphan_

Today, we are joined by Alex Ellsworth who is the current DECA High School Division President serving over 220,000 DECA members!! She previously served as a two-time Nevada DECA Association officer and is now a student at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas studying hospitality and international business. In this episode, we unpack what DECA is, how members can make the most of their DECA experience this school year, and Alex also shares her advice for being a successful leader.

Connect with Alex: @hsdecapresident

Learn more about DECA: deca.org

For podcast updates and more, follow @ourplaygroundpod + @allyphan_

Today, I am joined by Julia Dixon, the founder of ES.AI, a startup creating AI tools that help students tell their authentic stories in their college essays. In this episode, we dive into how Julia’s background in college tutoring led her to create this company, why we should all implement AI into our daily routines, and her advice for crafting a unique college essay.

Try out ES.AI: https://esai.ai/

Follow ES.AI on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@es.ai_toolkit

For podcast updates and more, follow @ourplaygroundpod + @allyphan_

If you aren't into reading then you NEED to listen to this episode. I sit down and share my ultimate guide to becoming a reader this summer. From my favorite books that will get you addicted to reading, my personal reading journey, how I read so many books (hint hint...may involve my Kindle), and so much more.

For podcast updates and more, follow @ourplaygroundpod + @allyphan_

THINGS MENTIONED:

Youtubers - Haley Pham, Sara Carrolli, Destiny Sidwell, and Rachel Catherine

Madison Kait Reads on TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@lettersfrommads?lang=en

Bookmark'd Podcast - https://open.spotify.com/show/1eYmQ9azOF2tQ0JrbIqQcb

Books -

Have you ever thought about the impact of the single-use cotton rounds and makeup wipes that we use in our daily beauty routines? Turns out, 75% of the population wants to be more sustainable. Today, I brought on Lena Chao, the founder, and CEO of Clean Circle - a low-waste personal care brand that creates products to tackle beauty waste and address the environmental impact on our skin. We chat about Lena's background in college admissions and how her experience with DEI work led her to the beauty industry, discovering the ✨north star✨ of her business, and easy ways to make your daily routine more sustainable!

Check out Clean Circle: https://clean-circle.com/

Our Playground listeners, enter OurPlayground20 at checkout for 20% off your order!

LET'S BE FRIENDS! @ourplaygroundpod and @allyphan_

Today's episode is a special one! After two years of Our Playground, I sit down and share 4 lessons that I've learned after speaking with nearly 50 guests and producing 50 podcast episodes. From realizing that podcast growth is s l o w to the importance of giving yourself space to experiment when starting out. This episode is perfect if you have a podcast, or have been thinking of starting one (do it!), or if you just enjoy Our Playground :) Thank you to everyone who has supported the show and here's to another 50 episodes!

LET'S BE FRIENDS! @ourplaygroundpod and @allyphan_

This week, I am joined by Julia Diaz, founder of Abitare Collective -- a brand that creates apparel that inspires you to get outside and celebrate the world that we live in. In our conversation, we talk about Julia’s start in entrepreneurship running lemonade stands, why she felt like she needed to pivot her business, and we unpack what it’s really like having businesses as high schoolers. The challenge of setting priorities and how it can sometimes be weird when someone from school finds out about your side hustle.

Check out Abitare: @abitarecollective

LET'S BE FRIENDS: @allyphan_ + @ourplaygroundpod

This week on Our Playground, I am sitting down and doing a solo episode! I recap how the end of the school year is going, including my favorite things recently (The Inheritance Games, Girl Scout Thin Mint Pretzels, and Cocokind!), and I answer all of your questions that were submitted on Instagram!

If you want to have your questions answered in the next solo episode, follow @ourplaygroundpod on IG.

Things mentioned:

https://www.instagram.com/drinkbenny/

https://www.instagram.com/waveformsocial/

https://www.instagram.com/homefromcollege/

https://www.instagram.com/gen.she/

LET'S BE FRIENDS: @allyphan_