On today’s episode of Who Is with Ross Oteri, Saumyaa Gandhi (she/her) talks to Ross Oteri (he/him) about how she got into entrepreneurship, working on her startup, and staying motivated and focused through everything. She tells Ross about how she got her time at a student startup opened her eyes to the hardships faced by student founders and led to her co-founding the UBC Startups club. Ross and Saumya bond over how difficult it is to find a work-life balance when trying to build something of your own. They also discuss dealing with imposter syndrome and part advice to aspiring founders and creators. 

Ross and Maydha discuss the joys of talking to strangers. They share stories from their recent night outs, but that comes after a fun rage-baiting session as usual.

Do you have a story to share? Do you have a question or need advice? You, too, may be featured on the show! DM @whoiswthrossoteri on Instagram or email [email protected]

Contact: 

Ross Oteri - @rossoteri | [email protected] 

Saumyaa Gandhi - @saumyaagandhi 

Credits: 

Executive producers: Maydha Sood and Ross Oteri 

Editor: Soltan Sukareye

Graphic designer: Heath Johnson 

Opening theme: Ethan Gohring | @Lyfe8k 

Transition and Outro theme: S. Henry

On today’s episode of Who Is with Ross Oteri, Emmi Tsiapalis (she/they) talks to Ross Oteri (he/him) about her love for animals, her years spent as a dancer, and her latest short film, Motherhood. She tells Ross about her love for her idol, Jane Goodall, and the time she met Goodall as a child. Emmi also walks Ross through her creative process for writing scripts and filmmaking. She explains how the idea for her award-winning film, Motherhood, came to her and how she developed it to its final state. 

Watch Emmi’s film, Motherhood, here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PdcnBXKzUQ 

Ross tries to multitask while talking to Maydha about parents and lying. Ross explains his Halloween costume and denies being sick! 

Do you have a story to share? Do you have a question or need advice? You, too, may be featured on the show! DM @whoiswithrossoteri on Instagram or email [email protected]

Contact: 

Ross Oteri - @rossoteri | [email protected] 

Emmi Tsiapalis - @Emmitsiapalis

Credits: 

Executive producers: Maydha Sood and Ross Oteri 

Editor: Soltan Sukareye

Graphic designer: Heath Johnson 

Opening theme: Ethan Gohring | @Lyfe8k 

Transition and Outro theme: S. Henry

On today’s episode of Who Is with Ross Oteri, Maydha Sood (she/her) and Ross Oteri (he/him) read some spooky stories in the spirit of Halloween. They’re in costume and ready to be scared. From creepy neighbours to police encounters with ghosts, these spooky Reddit stories are not for the faint-hearted! Can you tell what they’re dressed up as, though?

Do you have a story to share? Do you have a question or need advice? You, too, may be featured on the show! DM @valinofmedia on Instagram or email [email protected]

Contact: 

Ross Oteri - @rossoteri | [email protected] 

Maydha Sood - @maydhasood 

Credits: 

Executive producers: Maydha Sood and Ross Oteri 

Editor: Ross Oteri

Graphic designer: Heath Johnson 

Opening theme: Ethan Gohring | @Lyfe8k 

Transition and Outro theme: S. Henry

On today’s episode of Who Is with Ross Oteri, Karenne Lienou (she/her) talks to Ross Oteri (he/him) about moving to Canada from Cameroon, her chaotic childhood with four brothers, and her love for Afrodance that led her to start a UBC club. Karenne shares some devious stories from her childhood growing up around nature with Ross, leaving him speechless. She tells Ross about how she started dancing at a young age and how she founded UBC Dance HipAfro as a space for people to come together through dance. Finally, she teaches Ross a few dance moves (with a catch).

Maydha is struggling to perform her duties as the executive producer. She’s wearing sunglasses indoors because the studio lights are too bright. She had a really fun night. Ross tries to break her. She might not be the strongest soldier, but she is definitely the most avoidant one!

Do you have a story to share? Do you have a question or need advice? You, too, may be featured on the show! DM @valinofmedia on Instagram or email [email protected]

Contact: 

Ross Oteri - @rossoteri | [email protected] 

Karenne Lienou - @klienou | @ubcdancehipafro 

Credits: 

Executive producers: Maydha Sood and Ross Oteri 

Editor: Soltan Sukareye

Graphic designer: Heath Johnson 

Opening theme: Ethan Gohring | @Lyfe8k 

Transition and Outro theme: S. Henry

On today’s episode of Who Is with Ross Oteri, Kevin Heieis (he/him) talks to Ross Oteri (he/him) about turning anxiety into confidence, how social media ruins confidence, and what it means to be AMS VP student life. They talk about how anxiety has impacted their lives and the lessons they’ve learnt from it. Kevin tells Ross about his recent election as the UBC AMS’ VP Student Life and how he plans on contributing to this role. He also reminisces about a big, burly coach who helped him through some tough times and plays us some music on the Ukelele.

The executive producer, Maydha Sood, is actually not in this episode. Josefina Bestwick and Roz Golshani fill in for Maydha and tell Ross about their “stalker” in their class who keeps inching closer with every passing lecture. Ross misses Maydha.

Do you have a story to share? Do you have a question or need advice? You, too, may be featured on the show! DM @valinofmedia on Instagram or email [email protected]

Contact:

Ross Oteri - @rossoteri | [email protected]

Kevin Heieis - @kev_heieis

Credits:

Executive producers: Maydha Sood and Ross Oteri

Editor: Ross Oteri

Graphic designer: Heath Johnson

Opening theme: Ethan Gohring | @Lyfe8k

Transition and Outro theme: S. Henry

On today’s episode of Who Is with Ross Oteri, Josiah (he/him) and Elisha Ampadu (he/him) talk to Ross Oteri (he/him) about their lives growing up as twins, their bond, and their love for photography and videography. Ross and Maydha are completely taken by how similar the twins are and spend majority of the episode trying to see how deep the twin-bond goes. The Kofi twins demonstrate how twin-talk works and tell Ross about how they naturally complement each other in everything they do, making them the best team they can be.

Ross also tries (very hard) to explain Avatar: The Last Airbender to Maydha while she attempts to change the topic. Will Ross ever give up?

Do you have a story to share? Do you have a question or need advice? You, too, may be featured on the show! DM @valinofmedia on Instagram or email [email protected]

Contact:

Ross Oteri - @rossoteri | [email protected]

Josiah Ampadu - @j.ampadu_ | @capturebykofi

Elisha Ampadu - @capturebykofi

Maydha Sood - @maydhasood

Credits:Executive producers: Maydha Sood and Ross Oteri

Editor: Soltan Sukareye

Graphic designer: Heath Johnson

Opening theme: Ethan Gohring | @Lyfe8k

Transition and Outro theme: S. Henry

On today’s episode of Who Is with Ross Oteri, Delielah Moste (she/her) talks to Ross Oteri (he/him) about her youthful radiance and reminisces about her son playing with Ross when they were mere tots. Delielah gets emotional (on multiple occasions) while sharing stories of her life with us. Ross and Maydha discuss dating prospects for Mrs. Moste and give her ideas on how to find the love she is looking for. Mrs. Moste also reveals the secret to staying physically and mentally young as you age, often leaving everyone in the room in tears.

Ross and Maydha touch some grass! Ross talks about hosting a horse show, and Maydha tells him about her first-ever camping experience. To get there, they must power through some technical difficulties first.

Do you have a story to share? Do you have a question or need advice? You, too, may be featured on the show! DM @valinofmedia on Instagram or email [email protected]

Contact:

Ross Oteri - @rossoteri | [email protected]

Delielah Moste (played by Ellie Martin) - @elizabethm820

Maydha Sood - @maydhasood

Credits:

Executive producers: Maydha Sood and Ross Oteri

Editor: Ross Oteri

Graphic designer: Heath Johnson

Opening theme: Ethan Gohring | @Lyfe8k

Transition and Outro theme: S. Henry

On today’s episode of Who Is with Ross Oteri, Nicolas Costantino (he/him) talks to Ross Oteri (he/him) about family game nights, his grandpa Joe’s inspiring life, and his passion for Chemistry. He describes the differences between being Italian-American and Italian-Canadian, and reveals the truth about the existence of an Italian-Canadian Mafia. Nic teaches Ross how to play Bus Stop and tells him about the scandal that unfolded when his mother was found cheating at the game.

Maydha takes over the podcast after Ross is late because he was getting a slice of pizza. Ross is still shocked that she hasn’t seen the Marvel movies.

Do you have a story to share? Do you have a question or need advice? You, too, may be featured on the show! DM @valinofmedia on Instagram or email [email protected]

Contact:

Ross Oteri - @rossoteri | [email protected]

Nicolas Costantino - @nicolasc_c14

Credits:

Executive producers: Maydha Sood and Ross Oteri

Editor: Ross Oteri

Graphic designer: Heath Johnson

Opening theme: Ethan Gohring | @Lyfe8k

Transition and Outro theme: S. Henry

On today’s episode of Who Is with Ross Oteri, Jazmine Wall-Gordon (she/her) talks to Ross Oteri (he/him) about her growing up in Hamilton, Ontario and her mixed race identity. Jazmine talks about becoming more comfortable with her blackness, fitting in, hair journey, and spills some high school drama. Ross also attempts and fails to uncover some of Jazmine’s secrets, including (but not limited to) her favourite thrift stores.

Ross and Maydha try their luck at filling the void left by Jimmy Kimmel by breaking some fresh news in their own "Early Afternoon" news segment.

Do you have a story to share? Do you have a question or need advice? You, too, may be featured on the show! DM @valinofmedia on Instagram or email [email protected]

Contact:

Ross Oteri - @rossoteri | [email protected]

Jazmine Wall-Gordon - @jazmine_w.g

Credits:

Executive producers: Maydha Sood and Ross Oteri

Editor: Soltan Sukareye

Graphic designer: Heath Johnson

Opening theme: Ethan Gohring | @Lyfe8k

Transition and Outro theme: S. Henry

On today’s episode of Who Is with Ross Oteri, Solomon Yi-Kieran (any/all) talks to Ross Oteri (he/him) about the AMS petition to bring the Skytrain to UBC, an old promise made by the city that is yet to be fulfilled. Solomon also tells Ross about their time in musical theatre and why their goal is to become a high school history teacher. They give answers to some of the common retorts about the Skytrain petition and make their case for the cause, encouraging Vancouver residents to sign it.

Sign the petition today: https://www.ams.ubc.ca/what-we-stand-for/campaigns/skytrain-to-ubc/?fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAafbyj3ntcHCE0yuJ-BtZAtXBJ5fmIFBR-UorpjjF5cy0aAMZyWmJ9KDWMYCAQ_aem_KZX414SE0diNCAGJba4fAQ

Do you have a story to share? Do you have a question or need advice? You, too, may be featured on the show! DM @valinofmedia on Instagram or email [email protected]

Contact:

Ross Oteri - @rossoteri | [email protected]

Solomon Yi-Kieran - @solomon.xyk | @ams_ubc

Credits:

Executive producers: Maydha Sood and Ross Oteri

Editor: Soltan Sukareye

Graphic designer: Heath Johnson

Opening theme - Ethan Gohring | @Lyfe8k

Transition and Outro theme - S. Henry