Project Voice

We're 8 episodes in and there are plenty on the backend here ready to go! However, before I jump into releasing a preview of my next batch of episodes, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on the work that I was able to create with my guest speakers so far. As unique and personal these narratives are, lot of the content in them are made to be relatable.

Project Voice is and will always be led by voices of Asian women living the American experience BUT THAT DOES NOT MEAN that this Podcast is made to be exclusive. If you identify as an Asian/Asian American man or non-binary, a non-Asian person of color, or a human being who's interested in exploring self-identity, you are more than welcome to listen. Just because you are not part of my group of speakers, doesn't mean you can't listen or relate to our stories.

MISSION STATEMENT: Spearheaded by the voices of Asian/Asian American women, Project Voice is a podcast series dedicated to increasing visibility on issues that the Asian community has faced in the U.S. as well as providing a digital space where members can go to for guidance and resources.

Read our transcript here!: https://www.projectvoicepod.com/blog/2018/5/12/episode-9-who-is-project-voice-for

9.15.18: Project Voice has rebranded!

Connect with us @projectvoicepod:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/projectvoicepod
Instagram: http://instagram.com/projectvoicepod
Twitter: http://twitter.com/projectvoicepod

We are going to take a break from our usual conversations over social justice and identity, and focus on concerns that everyone has navigating though the real world. I hope that this Podcast episode will be of great value, particularly to our younger audience who are going through their own college and post-grad life struggles. Tune in to hear what advice Linh and I have to share for those who are looking to find their own meanings of happiness and success. Topics that we will be covering include choosing your college major, tips on finding the right work culture that fits you, and working with the time you have outside of school and work. Also, don't miss out what juicy things we have to say about living our twenties so far!

Linh Le, Smith College '15, is a close friend of mine. (Jess: aye, she wrote this) Originally from Vietnam, she went to the US when she was 16, and is currently working as a software developer in a financial firm in San Francisco. In college, she majored in Computer Science and minored in East Asian Literature and Languages (which she will tell you has no real value in the real world). When she's not working, she enjoys dancing and learning new things.

DID YOU KNOW that Project Voice was originally an idea conceived back in 2013-2014?  Yes, Linh was the person I invited to co-host Project Voice with at that time and that should say a lot. Having conversations with her in the past has greatly inspired and pushed me to grow as a person - more specifically, as a speaker on topics I care about. 

Read our transcript here!: https://www.projectvoicepod.com/blog/2018/8/15/episode-8-yours-20s-a-real-life-talk-on-college-and-post-grad-life

9.15.18: Project Voice has rebranded!

Connect with us @projectvoicepod:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/projectvoicepod
Instagram: http://instagram.com/projectvoicepod
Twitter: http://twitter.com/projectvoicepod

Even within our community, queer Asians can sometimes be pushed aside from having their needs met. In this episode, my close friend Angela and I will be sharing our thoughts and opinions on some of the issues that the LGBTQIA community face in and outside Asian America.  What role does gender presentation have on how queerness is perceived? How do your gender and sexuality impact your relationship with race and religion? What are some resources and safe spaces that we can go to for guidance and solidarity? I hope that this episode will further more dialogues on the dynamics between queer culture and the Asian communities in the U.S. If you would like to continue this conversation in future episodes, please email me at [email protected]! I am currently seeking out for volunteers who are passionate about sharing their take on LGBQTIA issues.

Angela Y. Law is an aspiring educator, poet, and artist whose passion is finding beauty in people and places around her. She is a first generation Chinese Pacific American and college graduate. Read her work at: http://yutongthepoet.wordpress.com

She is also a dear friend of mine who I can never get tired of having conversations on social justice and identity issues with, so I'm very excited to have her voice finally being heard on my Podcast. We actually recorded this episode back when the series was starting out so we only got about 20 minutes' worth of content related to this topic. Again, if you're looking for ways to contribute to the queer Asian community, being a guest speaker of mine is one way of doing so!

Read our transcript here!: https://www.projectvoicepod.com/blog/2018/4/28/episode-7-asian-queer-and-proud

9.15.18: Project Voice has rebranded!

Connect with us @projectvoicepod:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/projectvoicepod
Instagram: http://instagram.com/projectvoicepod
Twitter: http://twitter.com/projectvoicepod

We often forget that even Asian millennials have different personal experiences from each other. This realization has led me to reflect upon how different narratives between generations can be. Hence, I thought it would be helpful and personally significant to many of our listeners to shed light on what it means to be part of the 1.5 generation.  In this episode, we discuss the barriers that my guest speakers, Soojin Cho and Tam Nguyen, have faced transitioning into a world outside of their home culture. (And for those of you who don't know who the 1.5 generation includes, you should tune in!)

Tam Nguyen is a caffeine-craving, cat-obsessed introvert. As a 1.5 Vietnamese American, she is always curious about how cultures influence one’s psyche and identity. She graduated from Smith College in May 2016 and now is working as an application systems analyst for Smith College. Being able to understand people, understand design, and understand how technology can include human-centered design is very important to her. She also likes to make art and see art.

Sooj Cho is a Korean American. After graduating with a bachelor's in economics and chemistry at Boston College, Soo went on to work in the city's growing biotech scene. She is currently working as a project engineer at widely-known healthcare technology firm. Fun fact: she was the Associate Director of Entrepreneurship of the National Association of Asian American Professionals - Boston Chapter (NAAAP Boston) and was one of the lead organizers of Asiafest.

Read our transcript here!: https://www.projectvoicepod.com/blog/2018/4/20/episode-6-the-15-generation-asian-american-experience

9.15.18: Project Voice has rebranded!

Connect with us @projectvoicepod:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/projectvoicepod
Instagram: http://instagram.com/projectvoicepod
Twitter: http://twitter.com/projectvoicepod

There is always not enough talk about #representation in the theater world and pop culture and the challenges that go along with it. Besides fighting stereotypes, we also struggle to find a wide variety of Asian female role models to look up to or characters to identify with on mainstream media. Today, my friend Kitty and I will touch upon the importance of creating our own original narratives for the world to see - because no one Asian woman is the same - and bring up several of our personal favorite examples, both on stage and on screen. I hope this episode will further continue the dialogue of what it means growing up Asian in America and feeling not properly represented in the U.S.

Kitty, previously known as Lixin Lin (no one actually calls her that anymore) was born and raised in Beijing, China. The name 'Kitty' was drawn out of a hat in her first English class when she was 6. She got off the boat in 2011 and studied Theatre and Economics at Smith College. She has been, ehh, pretty straight, so far, and believes in gender and sexuality fluidity. She is an actor, dancer, and director. Her dream job is a Hollywood starlet spy.

Read our transcript here!: https://www.projectvoicepod.com/blog/2018/8/15/episode-5-asian-female-roles-on-stage-and-tv-where

 9.15.18: Project Voice has rebranded!

Connect with us @projectvoicepod:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/projectvoicepod
Instagram: http://instagram.com/projectvoicepod
Twitter: http://twitter.com/projectvoicepod

SEX. Did I get your attention? Great, because that is our topic of discussion of the week - more specifically: sex education. I hope you find our conversation not only entertaining but super educational as well (hence, I will be putting out a parental advisory notice for this episode just in case…). Some questions we hope to have answers for are: how do we make the birds and the bees less of a taboo topic within our community? What are some resources and spaces that we can look into to better educate ourselves on sexual health? And further deepening the conversation, why do some of us have intimacy issues (is it because of all the moments our parents told us to look away from TV sex scenes?)?

All I can say is this: expect to be enlightened and expect the uncensored.

Gilcy Aquino is a lover of Internet memes, flat Soda and soggy cereal. In no particular order. She is a native born Filipina who immigrated to the U.S. at an early age and thus, fueling her love for Filipino food and pointing at things using her lips. When she isn't writing she can be found in the last aisle of a bookstore crying over her favorite fictional characters. A recent English major graduate from University of Illinois at Chicago, she hopes to continue her elicit (and sometimes explicit - if you know what I mean) love affair with the written word by perusing a master's degree in editing and publishing.

Regina Wu /伍嘉嫣 is a human bean who likes to connect with other human beans. While they are waiting for the day they have a stable adult life to comfortably take care of their future pug, they often contemplate the meaning of life at Paradise Pond at Smith College. They hope to continue following life wherever it takes them (hopefully back to Taiwan soon). They are currently pusuing a bachelor's degree in education and child study at Smith College.

Read our transcript here!: https://www.projectvoicepod.com/blog/2018/3/9/episode-4-a-conversation-on-sex-education-and-intimacy-issues 

 9.15.18: Project Voice has rebranded!

Connect with us @projectvoicepod:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/projectvoicepod
Instagram: http://instagram.com/projectvoicepod
Twitter: http://twitter.com/projectvoicepod

My relationship with the English language has been a complicated one, and most likely, many of you out there can relate as well. In this episode, my friend, Angela Upreti, and I share our frustrations over the stigma and stereotypes behind English “accents” and overall struggle with the language. 

Having obtained a Bachelor's Degree from Smith College double majoring in engineering and computer science, Angela is currently pursuing her Master’s Degree in computer science at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She identifies herself as Nepalese.

Read our transcript here!: https://www.projectvoicepod.com/blog/2018/8/14/episode-3-me-and-english-its-complicated

 9.15.18: Project Voice has rebranded!

Connect with us @projectvoicepod:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/projectvoicepod
Instagram: http://instagram.com/projectvoicepod
Twitter: http://twitter.com/projectvoicepod

I wanted to officially start the series by dedicating an episode on a very important topic that we often overlook in our daily lives: seeking mental health services. In the second episode, my friend, Jessica Hao, a medical student at Washington University at St. Louis, and I discuss the importance of seeking help when needed and what we can do to combat against the cultural stigma of mental health.

Jessica Hao was born in Beijing, China and immigrated to Canada at age 6. After a whirlwind of adventures brought her back to Shanghai, China for her high school years, she went on to study psychology and linguistics at Princeton University, where a dashing Asian-American boy wooed her into marrying him and staying in the US. Her hobbies include open water swimming, triathlons, eating food to fuel the prior two things, and raising her two adorable puppies. She is now pursuing an MD and MPHS at Washington University in St. Louis and is hoping to go into a career in primary care medicine.

Read our transcript here!: https://www.projectvoicepod.com/blog/2018/8/14/episode-2-the-importance-of-mental-health

9.15.18: Project Voice has rebranded!

Connect with us @projectvoicepod:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/projectvoicepod
Instagram: http://instagram.com/projectvoicepod
Twitter: http://twitter.com/projectvoicepod

For our first episode, I wanted to share with you a very special interview with Anna Tsui. Anna is a life and business coach whose mission is to guide others to become the best version of themselves. She believes that everyone has the potential to be successful but in order to be successful, one has to be open to the idea of change, of activating our untapped selves.

On our first episode, we explore where having low self-esteem might've stemmed from and how we can tackle it.

To learn more about what being a life and business coach entails for Anna, visit her website at annatsui.com! Anna Tsui identifies herself as a second-generation Chinese American.

Read our transcript here!: https://www.projectvoicepod.com/blog/2018/2/20/episode-1-overcoming-low-self-esteem-and-finding-your-voice

9.15.18: Project Voice has rebranded!

Connect with us @projectvoicepod:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/projectvoicepod
Instagram: http://instagram.com/projectvoicepod
Twitter: http://twitter.com/projectvoicepod

Here's an introduction of your host of the Project Voice podcast, Jessica Nguyen. I identify myself as Vietnamese American - with a 1/4 Chinese blood!

Read our transcript here!: https://www.projectvoicepod.com/blog/2018/2/9/episode-0-introduction

9.15.18: Project Voice has rebranded!

Connect with us @projectvoicepod:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/projectvoicepod
Instagram: http://instagram.com/projectvoicepod
Twitter: http://twitter.com/projectvoicepod