Cultural Competency and Nursing

As the country gets more diverse, hospitals are getting savvy, hiring people who understand patients’ cultural needs on top of their medical needs. Even big time medical schools like Penn, Harvard and UCSF are getting hip to this concept, changing their curriculum to include cultural training. Youth Radio’s Alyssa Wagner describes how these days, college graduates without strictly science backgrounds are breaking into the medical industry because their mastery of chemistry and biology may be less important than their ability to translate and help patients overcome cultural barriers.

Stop-Loss: A Personal Narrative

General David Petraeus’ call to sustain high troop levels in Iraq is raising new concerns about the effects of recurring deployments on military personnel. The toll is particularly acute for soldiers serving back-to-back tours with little time at home to regroup. Youth Radio’s Kevin Walters served as an infantryman in Afghanistan and Iraq. When he came home from his second tour, Kevin faced the possibility of a redeployment, even after his contract was supposed to expire.

Appalachian Voters and Race

Ada Smith thinks media coverage of recent primaries in rural America feed into negative stereotypes about racism in those areas. She says the coverage doesn’t accurately represent the viewpoints of young voters like herself in Appalachia.

One Monday

Rekia Jibrin teaches humanities at a Bay Area continuation high school. One weekend this year, a student at her school was shot. Rekia takes us through the following Monday, from the moment she arrived at school, through her students’ discussion of the shooting, to her own personal process of dealing with what happened in the community and back at home.

Teacher and Mom

Youth Radio’s Alix Black has a special appreciation for teachers. She comes from a family with several generations of educators, including her Mom.

Poverty in the Mountains

When Presidential Candidate John Edwards visited Machlyn Blair’s community in Jeremiah, Kentucky, for his “One America” tour, it got Machlyn thinking about poverty.

Standardized Tests

While Congress focuses on the economy and the Presidential election, efforts have stalled to reauthorize the nation’s keystone education act, No Child Left Behind. The act was just a few years old when Youth Radio’s Chela Delgado took a job teaching humanities at a Philadelphia high school. She thought she knew exactly where she stood on all the testing she had to administer... until she started listening to some of her classroom parents.

A Young Conservative’s Busted Enthusiasm

Meghan Scheidemann is a politically conservative college freshman who has all of that young voter enthusiasm this election but feels a bit robbed that her enthusiasm isn't echoed in the mainstream media where most coverage is highlighting the Democratic race for president.

Guerra Everywhere

Evelyn Martinez shares her family’s story of leaving the violence of the civil wars in El Salvador only  to arrive in the violence of the gang wars in East L.A.

Pope Benedict's Visit

Leslye Salinas and Jazmin Escobar who attend Catholic School in the Bay Area reflect on their religious practice, and how this generation of Catholics feels about the Pope.

The West Wing and My Political Identity

Will Nelligan describes how watching the West Wing sparked his interest in politics, and how his political identity grew from there.

Stepping into the Voting Booth in NY
Donald Moore is a 19-year old political junkie. He describes his experience stepping in the voting booth this week and talking with his friends afterwards.

How To Get my Vote
Young voters in Georgia, Illinois and Alaska explain the issues most important in their different communities and what candidates will have to do to get their votes.

Secret Dating
Consuelo Cisneros documents her attempts to keep her relationship with a boyfriend secret from her parents.