Herricks High School freshman AyaSophia Abdrabo was selected as a finalist in the 2024 National Public Radio Student Podcast Challenge.
Abdrabo created her audio storybook titled, “Part-Time Egyptian” as the final project in the Content Creation Foundations class with teacher Michael Heit.
In her podcast, Abdrabo shares her experience as a teenager with strong cultural attachments to Egypt and the United States. Her podcast includes interviews with her mother, stepfather and grandmother. It explores what it’s like being an Egyptian American and whether she must choose to identify as one culture or find a way to be hybrid.
“We are so incredibly proud of AyaSophia and grateful that she chose to share a glimpse into her family and culture with her fellow students and our Herricks Studios podcast audience,” Heit said in a press release. “Her story was truly told from the heart and had an authentic quality that will resonate with countless students from multicultural families and backgrounds living throughout America.”
Abdrabo’s podcast was one of ten middle school finalists selected from over 2,000 entries from throughout the United States.
