"Even when I was little, I knew that teenagers sparkled. I knew they knew something children didn't know, and adults ended up forgetting." – Lorde

Allison hosts a special program focused on hunger and food policy. She interviews teen Louis Rotgin, who, through volunteering, journalism, and independent research, works to raise awareness of youth food insecurity and the importance of nutrition. His goal is to encourage informed conversations that help improve food access and opportunity for students. Over the past several years, he has volunteered with Meals on Wheels West, an urban farm operated by Upward Bound House, Nourish LA, and his school's Giving Spirit program, helping support individuals and families experiencing food insecurity and housing instability. These experiences inspired him to research food policy and write about the connection between nutrition, learning, and youth development. In segment two, Allison addresses the relationship between homelessness and substance abuse. For some, substances may trigger a chain reaction where the final link leads to an individual's loss of housing. For others, substance use only emerges as a means of fitting into street culture. However, what remains consistent is the cyclical nature of the two, each one reinforcing the other, and, in both cases, one condition often worsens the other. How can we break the cycle of substance abuse and homelessness?

Bio: Louis Rotgin is a senior at Santa Monica High School and the Editor-in-Chief of The Samohi, the school's student newspaper. His interest in food policy developed through years of volunteering with organizations including an urban farm operated by Upward Bound House, Meals on Wheels West, Nourish LA, and The Samohi Giving Spirit. Inspired by these experiences, he has pursued independent research examining food insecurity, nutrition, and youth homelessness. He has written a research article and an opinion article on these topics. Louis hopes to continue combining journalism, research, and public service to address issues affecting young people.

Follow us:

https://www.starstyleradio.com/expressyourselfteenradio

https://www.starstyleradio.com/guests-express-yourself

https://www.facebook.com/ExpressYourselfTeenRadio/

https://www.facebook.com/BTSYAcharity/

https://www.instagram.com/expressyourselfradio/

Sign up for FREE Newsletter: https://cynthiabrian.substack.com/

Buy shirts and hats with BTSYA logos: https://www.bonfire.com/store/be-the-star-you-are-merch/

Listen to StarStyle®-Be the STAR You Are!® shows: https://sites.libsyn.com/556617

Or https://www.voiceamericamedia.com/show/starstyle-be-the-star-you-are/

Listen to all Express Yourself!™ Teen shows at https://sites.libsyn.com/560220

Or https://www.voiceamericamedia.com/show/express-yourself/

"There is always light, if only we're brave enough to see it. If only we're brave enough to be it." – Amanda Gorman

Allison Lu hosts a program about sports, specifically adaptive sports. She interviews Max Liu, who is the founder of SportsForAll, a program that bridges the gap between wheelchair basketball and able-bodied players. Their motto is Protecting Athletes, Powering Performance, where they offer injury prevention, adaptive equipment, and unified support to expand collegiate and pro wheelchair basketball nationwide. In segment two, Allison continues the conversation about inclusive sports, but specifically looking at how refugee athletes are covered in sports media. She focuses on Cindy Ngamba, who won bronze in women's boxing at the 2024 Paris Olympics—the first medal ever won by the Refugee Olympic Team and Yusra Mardini, the Syrian swimmer whose story inspired the Netflix film The Swimmers. She also breaks down what media coverage is missing.

Celebrate inclusive sports and support policies that give all athletes opportunities to participate.

Bio: Max Liu is a high school researcher and student leader at McLean High School (Class of 2027) working at the intersection of artificial intelligence, sports analytics, and athletic advocacy. As the founder of SportsForAll and Virginia Chapter Lead for SafeStrongSport, Max promotes inclusion and safety in youth athletics. His research and technical projects focus on developing AI tools for basketball injury prevention and expanding recruiting visibility for underrepresented athletes. At McLean, he serves as founder and president of the Sports Analytics Club and captain of the Wharton Investment Competition team.Outside of academics, Max plays varsity basketball, coaches youth camps, produces documentaries on adaptive sports, and releases original music on Soundcloud. Website: sports4all.us; Instagram: @sportsforall_org

Follow us:

https://www.starstyleradio.com/expressyourselfteenradio

https://www.starstyleradio.com/guests-express-yourself

https://www.facebook.com/ExpressYourselfTeenRadio/

https://www.facebook.com/BTSYAcharity/

https://www.instagram.com/expressyourselfradio/

Sign up for FREE Newsletter: https://cynthiabrian.substack.com/

Buy shirts and hats with BTSYA logos: https://www.bonfire.com/store/be-the-star-you-are-merch/

Listen to StarStyle®-Be the STAR You Are!® shows: https://sites.libsyn.com/556617

Or https://www.voiceamericamedia.com/show/starstyle-be-the-star-you-are/

Listen to all Express Yourself!™ Teen shows at https://sites.libsyn.com/560220

Or https://www.voiceamericamedia.com/show/express-yourself/

Climate change is intensifying. Sea levels are rising. Droughts, extreme rainfall, heatwaves, and fires are increasing and unpredictable. Food and water insecurity cause massive human displacement. Radio host Allison Lu tackles these threats and discusses how freshwater scarcity worsens hunger and poverty, creating vulnerable refugees. In segment two, she talks about "risk multipliers" and how they apply specifically to displaced populations. She shares information about the recent horrific glacial flood in Nepal/China that has killed thousands and the flash flood at Bright Angel Creek in the Grand Canyon. In both catastrophic events, floods damage systems that carry clean water. Water is life…and in disasters, causes death. It is critical to be educated about climate change.

Follow us:

https://www.starstyleradio.com/expressyourselfteenradio

https://www.starstyleradio.com/guests-express-yourself

https://www.facebook.com/ExpressYourselfTeenRadio/

https://www.facebook.com/BTSYAcharity/

https://www.instagram.com/expressyourselfradio/

Sign up for FREE Newsletter: https://cynthiabrian.substack.com/

Buy shirts and hats with BTSYA logos: https://www.bonfire.com/store/be-the-star-you-are-merch/

Listen to StarStyle®-Be the STAR You Are!® shows: https://sites.libsyn.com/556617

Or https://www.voiceamericamedia.com/show/starstyle-be-the-star-you-are/

Listen to all Express Yourself!™ Teen shows at https://sites.libsyn.com/560220

Or https://www.voiceamericamedia.com/show/express-yourself/