Maximizing the Moment: Looking Beyond High School

Have thoughts about your future beyond high school; college applications, or even making the most of senior year? On this last episode for Season 3 of the BE-U Podcast, rising college freshman (+ former BE-U Podcast editor-in-chief) Hannah Kwok, and incoming high school senior Lucas de Paula discuss all this, advice and more. Both sharing experience as members of Pepperdine's Youth Leadership summit, Rampage journalists, and Youth Committee members, Hannah and Lucas discuss perspectives through alike and contrasting high school experiences. Join us as we dive into topics from applying and finding the right college or career path for you, to passion projects, academic pressure and self-discovery to name a few :)

Today's guest speaker is Mary Sneed, who holds positions as an elected member on TCUSD’s Board of Education, the President of Temple City’s Women’s Club, and Museum Director for the city’s Historical Society.  After working as an independent Graphic Designer, Mrs. Sneed started her career in Temple City Schools as a parent volunteer and later instructional aide at Longden Elementary for 5 years. Encouraged by the teachers she worked with, Mrs. Sneed returned to college and earned her credential and Masters as a Reading Specialist.Mrs Sneed retired in 2018 after teaching at Longden for 25 years and has continued being a longtime community volunteer through involvement in PTA, Cub Scout Pack 156, Band Boosters, and the Temple City Camellia Festival. She also advocates for cancer patients and survivors alike through leading city events such as Relay For Life. Mrs Sneed’s goal is to serve as an advocate for all members of the school community: students, staff and families. She continues to encourage family involvement while promoting culture diversity and celebration. We sit with Mrs. Sneed to discuss her career in education and community impact through student and women empowerment, and her hopes for future generations.

Christy Lee is an eighteen-year-old senior in high school who at the age of 3 years old, was diagnosed with Group E Retinoblastoma, an eye cancer common in children. Christys condition has caused her right vision to be impaired in which she underwent her first procedure to remove a tumor that took her right eye. Christy endured chemotherapy at the Children Los Angeles Hospital and had an ocularist which helped her receive her first prosthetic. In 2021 during the Covid pandemic Christy had a second surgery with 2 procedures to insert a peg into her eye, and another to lift the eyelid to match. Today she is proud of how far she has come despite previous complications she had to face. Today we sat down with Christy Lee,  who talks with us about her battle with childhood cancer, how she learned to embrace her challenges with body image, and find acceptance and pride in who she is.

Today we have the opportunity to speak with body acceptance coach Kristina Bruce (@kristinabrucecoach) Our first podcast of Season 3 is out now! Kristina Bruce is a Body Acceptance Coach that helps people remember that we are all born knowing we are good enough, and that we don't need to change or force our bodies to be different. Growing up in Ontario, Canada, Kristina struggled with thinking that if she was only thinner or more beautiful she would be more valuable. After high school, she attended University and majored in sociology and health studies. After spending many years not eating enough and overexercising to control her weight, she realized that being thinner and "beautiful" didn't make her happier, it just made her feel more anxious and insecure. She eventually came across the Body Positivity movement and became interested in pursuits that would connect her with her deeper self - such as meditation and yoga. She now helps people realize this on her website, popular Instagram account, and through personal coaching.

Biedac Season 3 is here! We are so excited to feature new bi-monthy episodes and speakers with our 2022 Biedac Cabinet! Follow us @tchsbiedac on Instagram to be up to date on podcast releases and future club events! Stay tuned and don't forget to Be-U! 🐝

In today’s episode, we will be discussing body politics with guest speaker Erika Dvorak, a sociology major at UC Davis whose interests involve breaking down the intersectionality of feminism and body liberation and how it relates to social constructs, sexuality, race and fatness with her goal of redefining the concept of beauty.

In today’s episode, we will be discussing the importance of confidence, and body empowerment as well as the power of art and self-expression with guest speaker with Marissa Healy: 2020-2022’s Miss Temple City, as we go in depth on her journey through the Miss TC program as well as her representation of Temple City for the Queer and plus-size community. For two years during the Covid Pandemic, Marissa participated and earned the Miss TC title becoming a role model and representative for Temple City. Before she began her journey, Marissa was a former TC student who was immersed into her school’s art programs. Even as a young child, Marissa’s appreciation of the arts has been a prominent characteristic in how she perceives the world around her. In her free time, Marissa loves indulging in her hobby of short story writing. She enjoys the challenge of developing storylines and characters and has grown to enjoy writing as another expression of art. In addition, she loves hanging out with her friends, reading various novels, and watching movies and TV shows. Marissa’s love for novels  has opened her to a path of self-discovery and ambition that she continuously strives to achieve. Today, Marissa Healy is a graduate of Pasadena City College and will be attending University of California, Santa Barbara in the fall of 2022, pursuing degrees in Museum Studies and English. In the episode, we sit down with Marissa to talk about her journey through the Miss TC program, how she has grown as an artist and as a student and woman, as well as how she uses her representation to be a role model for many youth, in hopes they can become confident and accepting of themselves.

In today’s episode we will be talking to Audrey Baxter, a Holistic Dietitian who specializes in implementing intuitive eating into fitness. Audrey began her journey at Michigan State University as a dietetics major and later did clinical rotations at Wayne State University. Currently, she is a 2-year Primary Care office's sole Dietitian; and on the side, is the independent business owner of Fituition Nutrition, a program she established to focus and discuss blended intuitive eating and performance nutrition. During the pandemic, Audrey recognized her struggled with body dysmorphia and the eating disorder Anorexia; but began her healing recovery through self-care and the influence of her business. Today Audrey works to push back against unrealistic beauty standards and is passionate to help her clients meet their goals and strive for a healthy and balanced lifestyle.

Today we have the opportunity to speak with entrepreneur Annie Calvaneso (@theglamfitdiva on Instagram) who is a health and fitness and business coach as well as professional singer. Annie specializes in helping her clients heal their relationship with food through empowering exercise. From her past experience with the eating disorder Anorexia, that caused a rupture to her abdomen and had affected her singing ability, Annie had gone through hospitalization and recovery, where she was soon drawn to weight lifting. From there, she found the strength to her body appreciation journey hoping to teach and inspire others as well with her love of fitness. We sit down with Annie to hear her story through ED recovery and her thoughts on the pressures of unrealistic beauty expectations, the fitness industry and diet culture, as well her path in her business and promotion of self-validation.

Today we have the privilege of speaking with 17 year-old Stella Tran, a Los Angeles model, actress, and former badminton athlete. She currently works for model agency Elite, and has been featured for brands such as Nike, Alexander Wang, Sephora, and more. Currently, Stella uses media sources such as Instagram, TikTok, and Youtube to spread her knowledge on the fashion industry as well as create vlogs, and provide tips and advice on fashion and self-care routines. Through her platform, Stella is also able to share her experience with eating disorders and spreading awareness that not everything is picture perfect.