Meet KUOW's summer 2023 RadioActive youth producers

KUOW's RadioActive Youth Media is proud to offer our 20th annual summer introductory workshop for teens. In our first intensive hybrid workshop, eighteen teens, aged 15-18, spent four and a half weeks learning about radio journalism and audio storytelling.

Youth participants did all of the research, interviews, writing, voicing and editing to produce their own radio stories and podcasts. By the end of the four and a half weeks, the group produced six podcasts and eighteen radio feature stories.

Want more? See more photos and listen to the one-minute profile stories the RadioActivians made about each other in the first week of the workshop.

Aaron Ton (Senior, Mariner High School, Lynnwood)

Aaron is a busy, creative, and fiery spirit who is very involved in his high school. As a sports-enthusiast who is a varsity athlete and captain of the cross-country, swim, and track teams at his high school, Aaron loves to compete and improve himself. He is a certified United States Soccer Referee also can play the viola and the piano. Food, music, sports and running make up a majority of his hobbies. Past experience as a section editor for his high school's newspaper has helped engage him into journalism.

Alex Mengisteab (Junior, Renton High School/Bellevue College, Seattle)

Alex is a young Eritrean-American with a love for storytelling and media. His curiosity and enthusiasm drive him to explore a diverse range of subjects and engage in creative pursuits. With a deep appreciation for different perspectives and experiences, Alex finds inspiration in the power of radio and its ability to connect people. Through his passion for learning and sharing stories, Alex aspires to make a meaningful impact in the world.

Daniel Colindres-Flores (Sophomore, Mount Rainier High School, Des Moines)

Daniel was born into 3 different ethnicities: Honduran, Mexican, and the American culture. Being tied to multiple cultures, he grew an open mind to accept every culture and understanding them. Not only did he grow passion for exploring cultures, but he grew a curiosity for many fields. Being interested in Journalism, Chemistry, Engineering, Psychology, Social Studies, Language arts, Philosophy, and Physics, Daniel seeks to explore the vast sea of human knowledge, starting with storytelling.

Eliham Mohammed (Senior, Kent Meridian High School, Kent)

Eliham is a remarkable young Ethiopian Muslim black girl who dedicates herself to helping others and making a positive impact on her community. Her passion for supporting others and her abundant talents make her a true asset to those around her. Eliham has always been someone who gives her all in everything she does. Her parents instilled in her the importance of hard work from a young age, she has taken on with extraordinary enthusiasm. In all aspects of her life, Eliham strives to be the best version of herself and inspire those around her to do the same. Her unwavering dedication to service, positive outlook on life, and profound empathy make her truly remarkable.

Gavin Muhlfelder (Sophomore, Nathan Hale High School, Seattle)

Being born and raised in Seattle. Gavin has spent most of his life living in various different areas of the city and exploring the vibrant culture of the Pacific Northwest. First becoming interested in journalism and radio in seventh grade, Gavin has always had a knack for writing and meeting others. Being both black and white, race has always been something Gavin is focused on as it not only defines who he is to himself as well as his cultural values, but how others perceive him. Gavin participates in Leadership, Podcast Club, Lacrosse, and his school's newspaper. He really hopes to pursue journalism and radio after highschool as a career.

Jana Le (First year, University of Washington, Everett)

Jana is a Vietnamese first generation low-income student that has recently graduated from Mariner High School. She will be attending UW Seattle next year. She currently plans to pursue a career in medical research in hopes of alleviating the discriminatory practices and research used in the medical field. Jana is passionate about social justice and excited to apply the journalism skills she will learn to her work in other areas.

Jehan Hashi (First year, University of Washington, Burien)

Jehan is a Somali-American woman who has always had a strong passion for identity and culture. In her junior year of high school, she took an Introductory Communications course and became interested in how communication can impact all of our lives. As well as the intersection between communication and culture. She is attending UW in the Fall and is planning on majoring in Communication Studies! She is excited to learn and gain experience in this future career path.

Josue Villalobos (Senior, Tukwila)

Josue Villalobos is a young, Latino man with strong leadership skills and enormous ambitions. He likes to meet new people, whether that’s through new cafes around the area, school clubs, or an adventure through the city. He considers himself outspoken, which he believes helps him reach for every opportunity and goal he sets for himself. Josue loves to connect with his school and community through volunteer events, connecting with non-profits around the area, and planning community and school events. He’s excited about expanding his journalism and public speaking skills and can't wait to learn and grow with the rest of his peers.

Maymuna Yusuf (First year, University of Washington, Seattle)

Maymuna Yusuf is a Black, Muslim, Youthful woman who has a big heart and strong ambitions. In her free time she enjoys reading, shopping and hanging out with family and friends. She has a strong sense of self and isn’t afraid to speak her truth. She’s beyond ecstatic to see what her future holds as she continues to study writing at the University of Washington.

Natalie Lahr (Senior, Sedro-Woolley High School, Sedro-Woolley)

Natalie Lahr grew up listening to KUOW. Through her high school journalism program, she found her passion for radio. She also loves to write poetry, roller skate, and play music (especially bass). Natalie hopes to either pursue a career in radio or in student press law.

Nyla Moxley (First year, George Washington University)

Nyla comes from a multicultural and intergenerational household and values both experiences. She identifies as mixed race having Black, Hispanic, Filipino, and White heritage. Her passions include: social justice, poetry, and newspaper writing. She wants to combine her passions for activism and journalism in the near future. She will be a freshman at George Washington University this fall.

Phillip Zhou (Sophomore, Lincoln High School, Seattle)

Phillip Zhou is an aspiring student who loves the outdoors and nature. Being Asian American his culture is really important to him. Phillip is passionate about swimming and loves to be in the water. When he is not at school or extracurriculars, he loves to spend time exploring the greater Seattle area with his family and friends. He loves to listen to podcasts and talk shows, he hopes to learn even more about the world of journalism and the process of writing stories.

Redeat Debebe (Sophomore, Mount Rainier High School, Des Moines)

Being Ethiopian (Amhara/Tigrayan), and a first-generation immigrant, Redeat grew up with immense Ethiopian culture and high standards in school and daily life. As a retired gymnast of 9 years, Redeat grew to focus on school and her extracurricular passions such as holding officer positions in her schools DECA, STEAM club, and a member of Black Student Union, National Honor Society, Key Club, gymnastics team, and working as a part-time recreational gymnastics coach. Redeat enjoys staying occupied and advocating for her community, and wants to become a foreign relations lawyer in the future, and give back to her Ethiopian community. She hopes to double major in journalism in college, and is an avid KUOW enthusiast.

Rediet Giday (Sophomore, Newport High School, Bellevue)

Rediet is a young aspiring black poet who is passionate about activism and a strong believer in its power to shift the trajectory of our world, little by little, hoping to make a difference by feeding into the betterment of generations to come. She's constantly looking to learn more about different effective forms of advocacy, and as a firm believer that art is a vehicle for the change that youth today desperately need, she is always striving to implement important global issues, through her poetry. She is a youth ambassador at Bill Melinda Gates foundation, a part of Youthspeaks Seattle, and a jazz lover always.

Olivia Asmann (Senior, Bothell High School, Bothell)

Olivia is a self-proclaimed theater nerd and is very involved in her school's performing arts department, including chamber and jazz choir, and drama. She listens to an absurd number of podcasts in her free time and loves learning about the world through storytelling in any form— books, movies, music, you name it! Olivia is thrilled to be a part of this program and hopes this is only the beginning of her work in journalism.

Sidh Shroff (Senior, Mercer Island High School, Mercer Island)

Creativity is the word that encapsulates Sidh’s life. From the microphone to the piano, Sidh loves to use his imagination to create stories that capture the world around him, musically and orally, in different lenses. At Village Theatre, as part of the Kidstage Originals Program, Sidh wrote a musical, called While They Last, with a team of six people, to illustrate the universal emotion of grief and love through stories. Sidh is excited to continue his pursuit of storytelling by starting a new chapter with KUOW’s Radioactive.

Taniya Guster (Sophomore, Why Not You Academy, Des Moines)

Taniya Guster is a Black African American female whose passion for writing came to her at a very young age. Her love came from reading books, watching TV, and journal writing. Her current favorite books are The Hate You Give and Concrete Rose By Angie Thomas. She likes books about racial justice and black history. She also loves gymnastics, and you catch her watching Youtube videos for the latest dance trends. Taniya also enjoys community events and family outings.

Viviana Cardenas-Habell (First year, Wellesley College, Seattle)

Vivi’s journey with radio began during her preschool years when she found comfort in falling asleep to NPR on the way home. However, at the age of 8, her interest truly flourished when she discovered her first podcast, Planet Money. Ever since then, radio and audio storytelling have captivated her with their unique ability to connect and educate. She loves how radio is an accessible medium that can cultivate empathy by offering listeners glimpses into different worlds. Driven by this love for radio, Vivi sees herself using its power to create meaningful connections and work towards understanding.