Power Your Story

Hysan and May explore how we can empower ourselves to have a richer and more fulfilling life through mindfulness practices and the Law of Attraction.

Hysan mentions the book:

Who Will Cry When You Die? by Robin Sharma

Order it from Bookshop.org to support independent bookstores and Power Your Story.

This episode was produced by Hysan and May and edited by May.

Enjoy!

http://www.PowerYourStoryPodcast.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/poweryourstorypodcast

Instagram: @PowerYourStoryPodcast

YouTube: After School Matters - Power Your Story Podcast

***

Power Your Story is produced by students in the Podcast Tech & Production programs of After School Matters in Chicago. We represent diverse voices, telling our real life stories through the power of podcasting technology.

Each season features a new group of student producers under the mentorship of producer, Andrea Klunder of The Creative Impostor Studios, creating personal journals, interviews, and discussions about the topics that matter most to us.

Our theme music is by DJ Sparkz.

May is Mental Health Awareness Month and we know it's an important topic for teens around the world. Elvis, Emerie, Alejandro, and Jules interviewed Ashley Scott, a Chicago-based peer support specialist, mental health advocate, artist, fashion design student, and Lego fan. We talked about her career path, what it takes to work in mental health and how her own self-care practices.

Ashley tells personal stories about anxiety, depression, and recovery. We touch on suicide and suicidal ideation. We know these topics can be difficult to talk or think about, but we also believe it's important to have the conversation.

Take care of yourself and we hope you listen all the way through. This is a joyful and compassionate conversation that we hope encourages and inspires you.

RESOURCES:

If you or someone you know is thinking about suicide, please call 988 immediately.

Also check out: No Shame on U

For mental health concerns, feeling depressed or anxious please seek out resources in your area. Talk to someone you trust.

Chicago Resources:

City of Chicago Teen Support

NAMI Chicago Youth

Thresholds

Sista Afya Community Mental Wellness

For more info about advocacy, Ashley recommends:

NAMI - National Alliance on Mental Health

DBSA Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance

This episode features Jules, Elvis, Emerie, and Alejandro.

Enjoy!

http://www.PowerYourStoryPodcast.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/poweryourstorypodcast

Instagram: @PowerYourStoryPodcast

YouTube: After School Matters - Power Your Story Podcast

***

Power Your Story is produced by students in the Podcast Tech & Production programs of After School Matters in Chicago. We represent diverse voices, telling our real life stories through the power of podcasting technology.

Each season features a new group of student producers under the mentorship of producer, Andrea Klunder of The Creative Impostor Studios, creating personal journals, interviews, and discussions about the topics that matter most to us.

Our theme music is by DJ Sparkz.

Aliyah has been one of our star producers since the beginning of Power Your Story. When she graduated, she recorded this farewell episode in her final season with Power Your Story and her last year attending Ray Graham, a high school in Chicago for diverse learners and students with disabilities.

Aliyah works with Infiniteach, an incredible company that develops inclusive technology and apps for the autistic community. She continues to use the interview skills she learned and practiced on Power Your Story for their blog.

Check out Infiniteach's Blog!

Enjoy!

http://www.PowerYourStoryPodcast.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/poweryourstorypodcast

Instagram: @PowerYourStoryPodcast

YouTube: After School Matters - Power Your Story Podcast

***

Power Your Story is produced by students in the Podcast Tech & Production programs of After School Matters in Chicago. We represent diverse voices, telling our real life stories through the power of podcasting technology.

Each season features a new group of student producers under the mentorship of producer, Andrea Klunder of The Creative Impostor Studios, creating personal journals, interviews, and discussions about the topics that matter most to us.

Our theme music is by DJ Sparkz.

What kind of music do you listen to?

Can music take you around the world?

We talked with Ernie Adams, an incredible Chicago-based percussionist who says he's been blessed to work in 48 countries all over the world with legendary, Grammy Award winning artists from the jazz world, the pop world, fusion world, Afro-Cuban and Brazilian music worlds and beyond.

He's played on stages, done recording sessions, worked on music for the hit Chicago TV show "Empire," and so much more.

We talked about influences, balancing time between work and family and the importance of following your passion and making things happen!

Ernie's website

This episode was produced by Aliyah, Jonas, D'Angelo, Genaro, and Elvis.

Enjoy!

http://www.PowerYourStoryPodcast.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/poweryourstorypodcast

Instagram: @PowerYourStoryPodcast

YouTube: After School Matters - Power Your Story Podcast

***

Power Your Story is produced by students in the Podcast Tech & Production programs of After School Matters in Chicago. We represent diverse voices, telling our real life stories through the power of podcasting technology.

Each season features a new group of student producers under the mentorship of producer, Andrea Klunder of The Creative Impostor Studios, creating personal journals, interviews, and discussions about the topics that matter most to us.

Our theme music is by DJ Sparkz.

What do you love most about Instagram? What kept you feeling happy during the pandemic?

This episode was recorded during the height of popularity for a Canadian dance duo Flow XS. Watching their high energy choreography videos was a bright spot for our producer Anaid.

Here's the full transcript of our interview so you can follow along.

Flow XS Website

Instagram

YouTube choreo video Anaid mentions

This episode was produced by Anaid.

Enjoy!

http://www.PowerYourStoryPodcast.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/poweryourstorypodcast

Instagram: @PowerYourStoryPodcast

YouTube: After School Matters - Power Your Story Podcast

***

Power Your Story is produced by students in the Podcast Tech & Production programs of After School Matters in Chicago. We represent diverse voices, telling our real life stories through the power of podcasting technology.

Each season features a new group of student producers under the mentorship of producer, Andrea Klunder of The Creative Impostor Studios, creating personal journals, interviews, and discussions about the topics that matter most to us.

Our theme music is by DJ Sparkz.

INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT

Anaid: Welcome to Power Your Story. I'm Anaid. Today we are talking about Flow XS. Flow XS is a dance group. It's just Kevin and Michael. They are just brothers from Toronto, Canada.

I first found out about them because they were in a Disney movie, Zombies 1 and 2, and I see the background dancers and they're so amazing. I look them up on Instagram first. There was somebody from that movie who posted a picture and I just commented on that picture and then Flow XS liked my comment.

Ms K: Anaid, I think you spend a lot of time on Instagram. Do you love being on Instagram?

Anaid: Yeah.

Ms K: Tell us what you like about it.

Anaid: I like the filters. I like, I dunno, there's something about Instagram that I like. When I'm commenting on posts, I feel happy. I watch Flow XS on YouTube. They dance mostly to hip hop music.

Ms K: Why do you think they're special? What do you think it is about when they dance that makes them different than other dancers?

Anaid: I think they have a different flow and unique, and that's what I like about them. One day I will love to see them perform in person.

Ms K: So for you, you have a disability that would make it pretty difficult for you to move your body in the same way that they move their bodies. Probably even I could not move my body in the same way that they move their bodies. Because like you said, it's really unique and they've probably put in a lot of hard work.

Anaid: Yeah, I wish I could dance like that.

Ms K: Is there any physical activity that you have done, that you really enjoy?

Anaid: Standing up. When I can stand up, I feel strong.

I have a brain tumor. It makes it difficult to walk. And when I see other people dance, I wanna do that.

Sometimes I DM people I follow, but I don't hear back. It doesn't really matter. I have made friends on Instagram who like bands.

When I first got my Instagram account, I was 18 or 17 years old. I waited for a lot of years. I think it's because my disability doesn't, like, respond really quick.

Ms K: And how did it feel when you first started using Instagram?

Anaid: I was happy.

Ms K: Right away, you loved it?

Anaid: Yeah.

Ms K: I'm wondering cuz you've seen some movies and some performances and Flow XS – when I looked at their website, they've been in a ton of different things. Do you have, like, a favorite video or a favorite performance you've seen of theirs?

Anaid: There's this YouTube video.

Ms K: Mm-hmm.

Anaid: It was like a class and they were teaching us how to dance to "Somebody To Love" by Justin Bieber and Usher.

Ms K: So it's a class and they're teaching you how to dance to "Somebody To Love"?

Anaid: Yeah. I like how they're teaching us step by step. I go over the steps in my mind. It made me feel happy.

I think listeners should check out Flow XS because they are the best dancers. I think it will make you feel good and happy.

My name is Anaid. Go check out Flow XS and thank you for listening.

This episode was recorded in 2020, a year that was stressful for most of us, with a lot of debates about politics, racism, police violence, and health and safety. We were dealing with what some were calling protests and others were calling riots throughout the country and certainly in Chicago in the wake of the murder of George Floyd — with everything being emotionally amplified by the effects of being in lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic.

We were meeting for our program online for the first time (we used to meet in person). Generally we don't get too deep into politics on this show and in this season. But as we were talking about what was happening in society that was so present for all of us, there was a strong common point of view that most of our student producers agreed with.

One of our producers, however, felt frustrated that every time we had a round table conversation, his opinion seemed to be the odd one out. Being in the minority opinion in any group can be hard and he felt that every time he tried to share or explain his point of view, he was getting shut down. So he approached me to ask if he could have a chance to share some of those thoughts on the show.

I took it as an opportunity to try to both help him articulate exactly what he was thinking and feeling, and also for me to try to understand his point of view a little better, since I, like most of our producers, didn't fully understand where he was coming from all the time.

It's now of course, a few years later, and circumstances, experiences, and opinions may have evolved, but I thought it was important to present views that are representative of the experiences of all of our producers during that time.

This episode isn't about taking sides — it's about hearing another person's experience of what was one of the worst time periods in our lived history.

I invite you to take a listen, think critically about your own values and beliefs, and see what you can relate to in my conversation with Genaro.

~Ms. Klunder, Program Director

Enjoy!

http://www.PowerYourStoryPodcast.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/poweryourstorypodcast

Instagram: @PowerYourStoryPodcast

YouTube: After School Matters - Power Your Story Podcast

***

Power Your Story is produced by students in the Podcast Tech & Production programs of After School Matters in Chicago. We represent diverse voices, telling our real life stories through the power of podcasting technology.

Each season features a new group of student producers under the mentorship of producer, Andrea Klunder of The Creative Impostor Studios, creating personal journals, interviews, and discussions about the topics that matter most to us.

Our theme music is by DJ Sparkz.

What are your favorite social media platforms? No matter where you like to spend time online, you've probably had both good and bad experiences.

In this round table discussion, we share tips on how to have better experiences, deal with bullying, avoid scams and more.

This episode was produced by Genaro, Joel, Aliyah, D'Vonte, with additional stories by D'Angelo, Keyanna, Jonas, Alejandro.

Enjoy!

http://www.PowerYourStoryPodcast.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/poweryourstorypodcast

Instagram: @PowerYourStoryPodcast

YouTube: After School Matters - Power Your Story Podcast

***

Power Your Story is produced by students in the Podcast Tech & Production programs of After School Matters in Chicago. We represent diverse voices, telling our real life stories through the power of podcasting technology.

Each season features a new group of student producers under the mentorship of producer, Andrea Klunder of The Creative Impostor Studios, creating personal journals, interviews, and discussions about the topics that matter most to us.

Our theme music is by DJ Sparkz.

During the pandemic lockdown, we had a chance to talk online with Mexican American indigenous visual artist and designer Ivan Vazquez.

Using art as a weapon Ivan's work portrays resilience by embracing and trusting community to help and guide him on his childhood journey growing up in Chicago. His work has allowed him to grieve the loss of best friends (Luis Trueba , Lino Diaz, Juan Zapata, and Daniel Aragon)and positively deal with trauma. His goal is to share his way of healing to others struggling.

Ivan's has been featured in sponsored shows/charity and community events ranging from the Jordan Brand, Don Julio Tequila, Mountain Dew, Red Bull Music Academy, The NBA, Pepsi co. ,season 4 and 5 of "The Chi" on showtime, Howard brown health, broadway youth center and Toyota. Using art as a weapon Ivan Vazquez's work continues to evolve and grow finding better ways to serve the community. Come take a look into the past, present, and most importantly the future with visuals from Ivan Vazquez's budding collection "Aztec boys n the hood ".

Ivan's website: https://www.ivanvazquezart.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thechicagolago/

"I lost a few brothers due to the senseless violence Chicago is known for. I stored it away for over 15 years until I came across a 8th grade photo of them and had a epiphany . My art became the way I finally grieved and at the same time heal" its my way to pay tribute to them. My mission is to empower/educate youth with positive and relate-able alternative lifestyles.The representation of Chicago and hip hop culture in my work reflects the need for positive outlets , unity, love and positivity.

My paintings are a reflection of how it feels and looks growing up in Chicago. The beauty and brutality the city is known for. My art embodies the four seasons and the need for balance in a city where if you don't stay grounded you get swept away. My subjects are often very young and don the masks of Aztec/Zulu and indigenous warriors and gods. The characters represent modern day warriors and ancestors we call on for strength and to summon spiritual powers.The visuals are meant to empower, unify, inspire and educate . There is a darkness in my work as well as a sense of serenity, promise, and light. My goal is to preserve and contribute to the culture and represent the mis and underrepresented."

This episode features Joel, Al, Ryan, Jonas, D'Angelo, and Aliyah.

Enjoy!

http://www.PowerYourStoryPodcast.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/poweryourstorypodcast

Instagram: @PowerYourStoryPodcast

YouTube: After School Matters - Power Your Story Podcast

***

Power Your Story is produced by students in the Podcast Tech & Production programs of After School Matters in Chicago. We represent diverse voices, telling our real life stories through the power of podcasting technology.

Each season features a new group of student producers under the mentorship of producer, Andrea Klunder of The Creative Impostor Studios, creating personal journals, interviews, and discussions about the topics that matter most to us.

Our theme music is by DJ Sparkz.

Open Mic episodes are where producers can share their ideas about a topic we've voted on earlier in the week. This time, Jules brings up the question of whether and how we can make changes to how subjects are taught in our school classrooms to be more inclusive and relevant to our life experiences.

This episode was produced by Jules, Alejandro, Brandon, Natalie, Jacob, Brian, Ada, and Maya.

Enjoy!

http://www.PowerYourStoryPodcast.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/poweryourstorypodcast

Instagram: @PowerYourStoryPodcast

YouTube: After School Matters - Power Your Story Podcast

***

Power Your Story is produced by students in the Podcast Tech & Production programs of After School Matters in Chicago. We represent diverse voices, telling our real life stories through the power of podcasting technology.

Each season features a new group of student producers under the mentorship of producer, Andrea Klunder of The Creative Impostor Studios, creating personal journals, interviews, and discussions about the topics that matter most to us.

Our theme music is by DJ Sparkz.

Alejandro invited his mentor, Rudy Sosa, to the podcast to share his experiences as a leader in the Little Village community in Chicago. Rudy talks about leading vigils for neighborhoods grieving gun violence, mentoring youth through Youth Guidance's Becoming A Man® program (BAM®), lessons from Black Lives Matter, and connecting with the wisdom and traditions of your indigenous roots.

This episode was produced by Alejandro, Keyanna, Jules, Essence, and D'Angelo.

Enjoy!

http://www.PowerYourStoryPodcast.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/poweryourstorypodcast

Instagram: @PowerYourStoryPodcast

YouTube: After School Matters - Power Your Story Podcast

***

Power Your Story is produced by students in the Podcast Tech & Production programs of After School Matters in Chicago. We represent diverse voices, telling our real life stories through the power of podcasting technology.

Each season features a new group of student producers under the mentorship of producer, Andrea Klunder of The Creative Impostor Studios, creating personal journals, interviews, and discussions about the topics that matter most to us.

Our theme music is by DJ Sparkz.