International Renegades Podcast

Matheus Medeiros is an Electrical Engineer and a former Brazilian International Student in Spain and Scotland.   

Van L Vu is a former International Student, mother, and wife. 

Josh is a Nigerian-born and Nurse Practitioner, while Leigh is a New Yorker and a Music teacher. Josh and Leigh talked about how they met and how their paths crossed. Josh also shared how he secured work visa sponsorship as a newly graduated International student. 

David Callabero is a friend of all the hosts of the International Renegades Podcast, as many of our recent guests are. He works for the Department of Defense and tells us some of his stories and life journey as a **Wiper** (Tune in to find out what this actually means).

Ahmed Elian is a good friend of all the hosts of the International Renegades Podcast. He was in OCC and later went to Syracuse University to pursue his Bachelor's degree. He is an inspirational human being who talks about losing his father, growing up in America, learning a new language, and trying to make it in corporate America. Ahmed is truly the definition of what many people would see as "The American Dream," as he is now very successful and has bigger visions for himself in the future. We wish to continue following him on his journey. 

Eva is a recent graduate of law school, has recently taken the bar, and awaiting results to become a lawyer. She speaks about many of her experiences within the domain of immigration law. She started in Syracuse, NY, where she attended Onondaga Community College, met the podcast hosts, and later transferred to Syracuse University to earn her bachelor's Degree. She is a great friend of the crew and had a lot to teach us in this episode about what it really means to be a lawyer. 

May is half Chinese and half Korean, with her mother being from Korea and her father being from China. She spent a lot of her life in the USA as an exchange student starting from high school. Because of this, May faced many challenges with really understanding where to really fit in. She tells stories of how she does not relate as much to Korean or Chinese culture, but at the same time would love to embrace this side of herself. She lived in the USA from her teens up until college. She is currently back in South Korea, working as an English teacher.

Jho Pommells was born in Jamaica and moved to the United States when she was younger. She shares her journey through school and moves around a lot with the hosts. Currently, she works in the film industry and works with some pretty famous actresses like Eva Longoria. Jho aspires to one day produce a documentary on her roots, using it as a way of artistic expression to find her ancestry origins. 

Mariana Plaza is an architect and Astrologer from Brazil, and she spent some time in the USA studying English at Education First (EF). While in the USA, she has many experiences which she shares with us. She is currently back in Brazil and is an architect by profession. She has an amazing energy about her, and she teaches us some really cool things about astrology(which she studied intensely for 2 years)…

Philip Reis is an Engineering & Industrial Designer and also a friend of the hosts, and they met in the Onondaga Community College's(OCC) International Club. He is from Sweden and came here as an exchange student for one semester. Even though he only spent one semester here, he was very involved in many activities at the school and was always trying to learn a lot about American culture. He says the thing he misses the most about the USA is the BBQ :). Philip studied Architecture while in OCC, and when he returned to Sweden, he completed a degree in Engineering & Industrial Design. He is passionate about creating designs that can assist and be inclusive of all kinds of people. 

Stephanie is an International developmental biologist and also a Feminist as she likes to be identified as well. Stephanie talks about her experiences leaving her home country, Paraguay, and ever since traveling the world living out her dreams. Her father is from Germany, and her mother is from Brazil. She has studied biology in university for her bachelor's and master’s degrees. She wishes to continue on with a Ph.D. in Fertility in Spain. She is a proud feminist and believes anyone should have the equality of opportunity to accomplish their dreams.

Kristina is an ESL Teacher and Curriculum Manager at Education First (EF). Kristina was one of Jorge's first people, one of the hosts, met when he first came to the United States. He was her student, learning English for the first time. During this episode, Kristina describes some of her experiences teaching non-native English speakers the language. She shares a lot of wisdom with us on how people learn and best practices when learning a language. She is currently a Curriculum Manager at Education First (EF). She is very passionate about helping new immigrants and non-immigrants alike, coming to either further their education or, for professional purposes, learn English. 

Isabella is a Court clerk and Wedding planner. Isabella also happens to be an old schoolmate and friend of the hosts of the International Renegades Podcast. We all spent an amazing time together at OCC, the community college where we all met for the first time. In this episode, Isabella talks about her past, where she is now in life while undergoing many life changes over a relatively short period of time, and what she sees for herself in the future. Our talk with her covers relationships, marriage, grief, divorce, passion and touches on many other interesting topics. Isabella's background is also of mixed ancestry; her father was from Germany, and her mother, from Guatemala. Both her parents were first-generation immigrants to the United States. So, Isabella does fit right in with all of us on the podcast who are all at least bilingual. From the beginning of this episode until the end, we share many laughs, go down memory lane, and talk about many interesting things in Isabella's life. You'll be sure to enjoy this one. 

Jesse Robles is a band vocalist. His father is from Colombia, and his mother is from Watertown, NY. In some of his words "Too white for the black kids, and too black for the white kids..." He tells very gripping stories that range from him being home-schooled, deciding to start a band, working the regular 9-5, attending college, and interacting with different ethnicities who could not easily define who he was. From the start of the episode, until the end, Jesse kept on throwing curve balls at us that kept us all on our feet. Listen to the episode to find out where the crazy twists and turns in the conversation led to.