Voices of Western

Voices of Western

By Humans of WesternNews
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Voices of Western episodes

  • 61. Voices of Western - What's Your ETA?

    We got into our entrepreneurial bag with Episode 61 of Voices of Western 💼This week, our host Hossein welcomed Western alumni and current business law practitioner, Mario Nigro!! In our episode, Mario recounted his undergraduate and graduate journey and discussed some of the attributes and characteristics that make a successful lawyer 📊Additionally, Mario gave us a quick crash course on Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition (ETA), a relatively new form of entrepreneurship in Canada that focuses on acquiring and growing companies 📈

    55 min
  • 60. Voices of Western - Somewhere Between Exams & EPs

    This week, our host Yusuf sat down with student musician Naraiyan, who recently released his new EP titled “2004”. We learned more about his musical journey and what it takes to create, record and produce his music 🎶
    Be sure to give his new EP a listen and check out all of his other music (our favourite song is HML📲)

    17 min
  • 59. Voices of Western - Stories from Student Creators

    Episode 59 of Voices of Western is here and we’ve got a star-studded line-up 🌟
    Our host Yusuf was joined by four incredible content creators here at Western University, where we learned a bit about their unique creative journeys, future ambitions in content creation and the challenges they’ve faced through it all!

    37 min
  • 58. Voices of Western - Built on Gears of Growth

    Our senior podcast host, Hossein is back for another episode with Nour Habliza, a London-based business owner and current law student at TMU. During his undergraduate degree, Nour kick-started his own automobile dealership based on his love for cars and his personal entrepreneurial drive. As an active member of the London community, Nour has become a role model through his professional achievements, and his volunteer work with London-based youth basketball programs.

    54 min
  • 57. Voices of Western - Creating Culture on Canvas

    Season 6 of Voices of Western is here!


    In today's episode, our newest host, Yusuf, is joined by Ava, who is a talented artist and a 1st-year student at Western. Ava's artwork integrates her Afro-Latin Caribbean culture into pieces that tell a story of cultural heritage and pride.

    Listen for some of Ava's inspirations behind her artwork, the importance of her culture when developing her pieces, and her future career aspirations. Follow Ava's artwork page on Instagram @avajasmineartistry!

    22 min
  • 55. Voices of Western - Balancing Reps and Resumes

    Season 5 of Voice of Western is here! Join our discussion where our host Gregory sits down with Azam, a computer science student here at Western University. The duo talk about Azam's internship, how life is like living the internship versus student life, as well as a little dive into Greg and Azam's workout routines!

    21 min
  • 54. Voices of Western - Almost a Doctor, Then a Lawyer, Now a CEO: Steph’s Story

    In the season 4 finale of Voices of Western, Hossein is joined by Stephanie Curcio, CEO and Co-founder of NLPatent, a leading AI-based patent search and analytics platform.

    We talk about Steph's educational journey and her decision to attend law school instead of medical school. Along with learning more about the founder's journey in the early days of a startup, we also gain some insights into the fields of patents and AI.
    🚀 Don't miss our 'Hot Takes' section, where Steph and Hossein discuss their hot takes on the portrayal of lawyers in TV shows like Suits compared to the realities of practicing law in the real world 🚀

    Timestamps:

    0:00 - Introduction to Steph’s journey and her upbringing

    5:07 - Pivotal moments that made Steph decide to go the Law School route vs. Med School

    9:06 - Importance of taking a Gap Year to try new things

    13:49 - Law School experience at Western University

    17:57 - Favourite Law School memories

    22:39 - Hot Takes: What's your take on the portrayal of lawyers in TV shows like Suits compared to the realities of practicing law in the real world?

    26:00 - How do you help today’s startups with their IP strategy?

    36:51 - What does community mean to you?

    40:01 - What is the founder's journey like when building a product, testing initial traction, and finding product market fit?

    45:46 - How much savings did you have when you dove into Entrepreneurship?

    48:39 - Mystery Question: Who is someone you look up to as a role model or as an inspiration?

    54 min
  • 53. Voices of Western - A President’s Retrospective

    In today’s episode, Gregory is joined by Milan Mammen, a third-year BMSc student and our club president. Listen along as Milan offers her thoughts on Humans of Western, her hobbies, and the rewarding experience of being a student mentor.


    Timestamps:

    00:00 - Introduction

    06:45 - Milan’s favourite podcast guest

    08:19 - Go-to order at the Spoke

    16:36 - Growing as a person throughout university

    20:14 - Being out of date

    29:43 - SRAs

    35:00 - Getting into a productive mindset

    40:23 - Favourite libraries

    45 min
  • 52. Voices of Western - A Career in Public Service and Policy

    In today's episode, Hossein is joined by Bita Pejam, a seasoned community organizer with experience in public policy advisory and strategy. She earned her undergraduate degree in political science at Western and went on to get an MBA at McMaster.

    Her previous experiences include working on trade policy at the Department of Foreign Affairs, serving as a municipal economic advisor, and working as a management consultant in KPMG's advising division. She is currently the Manager of Operations and Stakeholder Relations for the Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern ON on Parliament Hill.

    We discuss Bita's schooling at Western and beyond, how she got exposure to politics, and get an insight into the day-to-day responsibilities that come with this unique profession.

    🚀 Don't miss our 'Hot Takes' section, where Bita and Hossein discuss their hot takes on how social media's increasing influence is shaping political narratives, and the pros and cons that come with it.🚀


    Timestamps:

    0:00 - Introduction to Bita’s journey

    4:06 - How were you introduced to politics growing up?

    7:39 - How did you nurture your interest in politics at Western?

    10:47 - Insight into what it’s like to volunteer on a campaign for a Political Candidate

    14:26 - Hot Takes: What's your take on social media's increasing influence in shaping political narratives? Is it improving our political conversations by including more voices, or do you see it causing more problems by making people more divided?

    21:20 - Pursuing an MBA degree and landing a full-time job offer while in University

    26:22 - How was your exchange experience in Germany? What did you learn about their culture?

    32:16 - What are some of your day-to-day responsibilities in your current role?

    35:05 - How has your Persian heritage served you in your role?

    39:04 - What are some of the myths people think about when thinking about politics?

    42:33 - Mystery Question: If money weren’t a factor, would you still be pursuing the career that you currently have? If yes - why do you think that’s the case? If not - what else would you be doing?

    49 min

About Voices of Western

From the publisher's feed

'Voices of Western' is a podcast series brought to you by the Humans of Western team. It delves into the personal experiences of our Western community members who are either presently on-campus, e.g. students, faculty, and staff, and members who used to be on campus, e.g. our alumni currently located in different parts of Canada and the world.