Recent Student Stories

By Yasmin Abrar October 7, 2026 Youthcast Media Group® Growing up in Washington, D.C. as the second oldest of 4 children in an Ethiopian immigrant family, I was expected to go to college. After all, this is the country of limitless opportunities, my parents said. My mother and father never graduated from high school in Ethiopia. Instead, they poured all their stifled dreams and hopes into my post-secondary education. At the age of three, I emigrated from Ethiopia with my mom

By Gloria Collazo Huamani October 1, 2026 Youthcast Media Group® It wasn’t until I no longer had those 30 minutes of lunch and recess, when all the boys and girls would come together to trade bracelets, make up games, gossip about who we liked, play tag and sports, that I realized how much of my childhood happened during the parts of school that had nothing to do with schoolwork. I was in the third grade when the COVID-19 pandemic began. I remember my parents explaining that

By Kayla Adames September 22, 2026 Youthcast Media Group® The life saving medication I need costs $15,000 — a month. And that price isn’t dropping anytime soon. On and off for the past eight years, I have needed special medications to manage two autoimmune conditions that I was diagnosed with in elementary school. Without regular immunotherapy infusions, I get debilitating migraines and am more prone to common illnesses — like colds and viruses — that can wreak havoc on my

Being a female firefighter comes with unique risks — and rewards By Mariyah Matthews and Sarah Gandluri September 18, 2026 Youthcast Media Group® Firefighters are known for running into danger to save lives, but they may face another danger after the fire is out. Studies on firefighter health point to rising concerns about cancer risk, mental health struggles, and exposure to toxic "forever chemicals" (PFAS) found in firefighting foam and protective gear. Nearly 40% of firef

The new popularity of all things Asian in food, music and fashion, the author argues, warps the view of multiple cultures. By Lily Brugman August 28, 2026 Youthcast Media Group® As I was growing up, my parents often shared stories about how they were bullied when they were my age, just for being Asian. My mom is Cambodian and my dad is “Wasian,” Chinese and white. Students teased them for their looks, their homemade lunches and treated their traditional holidays as jokes. I o

By Adrian Malone and Shreya Jyotishi August 26, 2026 Youthcast Media Group® Dr. Yngvild Olsen (courtesy of Olsen). Many people think the telltale signs of drug addiction include sweating and vomiting. But a prominent addiction medicine physician says the best signals aren't always so visible. Dr. Yngvild Olsen says more accurate signs come from the brain, specifically the compulsion to keep using drugs, including opioids, despite damage to education, career and relationships.

By Shreya Jyotishi, Abonti Barua, Ethan Eccker, Mehak Fatima, Bruce Lipscomb IV and Emane Ondias-Souna August 19, 2026 Youthcast Media Group® Michael Willingham’s third e-scooter ride nearly killed him. The 48-year-old Silver Spring, Md. resident was making a final turn on his new e-scooter when a truck driver ran a red light and struck him. Willingham remembers little of the crash besides waking up in a hospital. Willingham purchased the scooter to avoid receiving speeding t

By Isabella Chavez, Bethel Kifle, Piper Mangold and Natalie Spina August 10, 2026 Youthcast Media Group® Getting into Harvard was supposed to be proof that Oyewumi Oyeniyi had done everything right. Instead, she found herself unable to start assignments and struggling to focus – even in classes she enjoyed. “Everybody else is succeeding,” she remembers thinking. “What is wrong with me that I can't do this?” Oyewumi Oyeniyi (courtesy of Oyeniyi). Nearly two years later Oyeni

By Shreya Jyotishi, Rosana Wahdat, Ghita Qordamet, Yinqi Xiao and Katalina Valdez August 7, 2026 Youthcast Media Group® Yesenia Barrios woke up from anesthesia after a colonoscopy with one thing on her mind: food. The 27-year-old nanny living in New York joked with a medical assistant in the recovery area about getting some crackers after fasting for a full day of pre-procedure prep. The nurse delivered only a serious look in return. Minutes later, doctors told Barrios they w

By Cara Kelly, Preontee Barua, Alice Cheng, Mariamawit Nega, Ximena Puican and Maria Romero August 7, 2026 Youthcast Media Group® Sly Young doesn’t always believe in “woo-woo” medicine. But she comes from a long line of traditional healers predisposed to trust themselves over conventional Western medicine. Which is one reason why, when she felt her treatment for her neurodivergence and chronic post traumatic stress become less effective during the pandemic, she started explor

By Joseph Jackson Jr. and Shreya Jyotishi August 6, 2026 Youthcast Media Group® The technology field can be a gateway to economic mobility. At E-INFOSOL, a service-disabled, veteran-owned business based in Rockville, Md., CEO and co-founder Fredy Pesante and Vice President of Service Delivery Charles Barnett say internships, mentorship and free online resources can help young people break into IT. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects an average of 317,000 job openings

By Brandon Serna August 5, 2026 Youthcast Media Group® Reckless and impaired driving, along with speeding, contributes to 30% of fatal car crashes and continues to cause deadly accidents on the road, according to data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Because of this, new technologies are starting to step in to help prevent drivers from making dangerous decisions behind the wheel. One example of this is Intelligent Speed Assistance (ISA), which

By Jayne O'Donnell June 16, 2026 Youthcast Media Group® You don’t have to be a news junkie to know that journalism has had a rough year. I still strongly encourage motivated students to pursue the tough but incredibly rewarding career I’ve loved since the ‘80s. I tell students that journalism isn’t for everyone, but the skills will serve almost anyone. YMG students acquire multimedia skills that include Canva graphics and social media video editing. Our students’ critical thi

By Julissa Sanders July 17, 2026 Youthcast Media Group® Until an Annandale High School rising senior needed to go to the emergency department for depression last summer, he had never told his parents how badly he was struggling. "They aren't really in touch with the subject," said the Fairfax County teen, who asked to remain anonymous. At the time, he thought, "They really wouldn't care." He said a fast-paced online class and the constant negativity he saw on social media pu

A majority of LGBTQ students in D.C. say they do not feel safe in school. The homophobia that I see at my school is troubling.