In this episode of GenNext, Ms. Cam sits down with Grade 8 student, chess player, cadet, hackathon participant, and young builder Tanish Dave, creator of Mindful Mirror, an AI-powered app designed to help students manage stress, organize their thoughts, reflect through journaling, and feel more supported.

Tanish shares:

• How video games sparked his curiosity for building
• What it’s really like to participate in hackathons as a teen
• Why he believes students today feel unheard and overwhelmed
• How he taught himself to build apps using AI tools
• The power of mentors, networking, and just starting before you feel ready
• Why young people no longer need to “wait until they’re older” to create something meaningful

This conversation is packed with insight, energy, and a reminder that some of the best ideas start with simply noticing a problem and taking the first step.

🚀 Try This Challenge:

Tanish’s challenge for listeners this week:

Grab a notebook, sticky notes, or your phone and start brainstorming ideas (even silly ones).

Write down:

• problems you notice
• things that frustrate people
• tools you wish existed
• ideas you think would make life better

Then narrow your list down to your top 5 ideas.

Links

Tanish LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tanish-dave-4176503b6/

BEP Website: https://www.bepwr.ca/

Youth Creativity Fund: https://youthcreativityfund.ca/

Instagram: _mindful_mirror

Camelia website: https://camelianunez.com/

YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@GenNextPodcast

Instagram: @thegennextpodcast 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gennext-podcast

In this episode of GenNext, Ms. Cam sits down with April Albano, Executive Director of the Business Education Partnership Waterloo Region and champion behind the Youth Creativity Fund, a program helping young people turn ideas into action.

Together, they talk about:

• Why creativity often gets quieter as we get older
• How one supportive adult (or local organization) can change a young person’s path
• Why young people don’t need to have it all figured out
• How the Youth Creativity Fund gives teens money, mentorship, and community to try bold ideas
• Why done is better than perfect

This episode is a reminder that you are not alone and there are people, programs, and communities that believe in what you can build.

🚀 Try This Challenge:

This week, notice one thing that annoys you in your day.

It could be:

• something at school
• something at home
• something in your community
• something about how people do things

Then spend 5 minutes brainstorming solutions.

No judging your ideas. No pressure for it to be perfect. Just practice seeing problems like a builder.

That’s where entrepreneurship starts.

Links

BEP Website: https://www.bepwr.ca/

Youth Creativity Fund: https://youthcreativityfund.ca/

Instagram: @bep_wr

Camelia website: https://camelianunez.com/

YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@GenNextPodcast

Instagram: @thegennextpodcast 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gennext-podcast

In this episode of GenNext, we talk to Damian—a Grade 12 student who has spent years playing competitive soccer, coaching younger athletes, exploring creativity through drawing and woodworking, and now building a video editing business.

At first glance, these might seem like completely different paths. But as Damian shares his story, a clear pattern emerges: the same skills—creativity, discipline, and curiosity—show up across everything he does.

From seeing details in architecture most people overlook, to applying creativity on the soccer field, to editing videos and building real projects, Damian is a powerful example of what it looks like to develop range instead of choosing just one lane.

This episode is for anyone who’s ever felt unsure because they have too many interests—not too few.

We talk about:

• How creativity shows up in unexpected places (even in soccer)
• What competitive sports can teach you about discipline and consistency
• Turning school assignments into real opportunities
• Why enjoying what you do matters more than being “perfect”
• How different interests can actually connect and strengthen each other
• Why you don’t need to choose just one path

If you’ve ever felt unsure because you’re interested in too many things… this episode will definitely hit home.

🚀 Try This Challenge:

Pay attention to something today that most people would ignore. It could be a building, a video, a design, or even something in your everyday environment.

Then ask yourself:  Why was it made this way?  How could it be different?

Links

Camelia website: https://camelianunez.com/

YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@GenNextPodcast

Instagram: @thegennextpodcast 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gennext-podcast

In this episode of GenNext, we sit down with two grade seven teachers who are doing things differently and getting incredible results.

Jennifer Schaefer and Jes Nielson are grade seven teachers at Groh Public School in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada and long-time teaching partners. They share how they’ve moved away from traditional teaching methods to create a more engaging, student-centered learning experience, one rooted in curiosity, collaboration, and real-world problem solving.

Instead of memorizing content, their students are solving real community challenges, building empathy through real conversations and creating projects with real impact. This isn’t something nice to have “in theory”. It’s what is happening right now in their classroom.

We talk about:

• Why traditional lesson planning can hold students back
• What “messy learning” actually looks like (and why it works)
• How removing tests changes everything
• A powerful student-led project supporting newcomers
• What the future of education needs to look like

If you’ve ever felt like school could be more,  this episode will definitely hit home.

🚀Try This Challenge:

For educators: try one small “quarter turn” in your teaching practice this week. Find one interesting provocation (something real, surprising, or thought-provoking) and bring it into your classroom. Put it in front of your students and simply ask: “What do you think about this?”

Let them talk. Let them wonder. Let them be curious.

Links

WRDSB Blog: Students Take the Lead with Design Thinking at Groh Public Schoolhttps://www.wrdsb.ca/blog/2023/10/26/students-take-the-lead-with-design-thinking-at-groh-public-school/

WRDSB Blog: Students Aim to Improve Experiences of Newcomers with Design Thinking

https://www.wrdsb.ca/blog/2023/01/04/students-aim-to-improve-experiences-of-newcomers-with-design-thinking/

The Community that Groh Built (Full Version Youtube Video): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpefkvsR12c&t=661s

Camelia website: https://camelianunez.com/

YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@GenNextPodcast

Instagram: @thegennextpodcast 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gennext-podcast

In this episode, entrepreneur, investor and dad, Jay Shah explains why young people should stop waiting and start building.

While Jay co-founded a company that was later acquired by Google, this conversation isn’t about getting rich or being famous. It’s about having a builder mindset starting in your youth.

Jay talks about growing up around entrepreneurship, why building is a muscle anyone can train, and why young people today have the best moment in their lives to take risks and try things. He also shares what people misunderstand about success, why learning matters more than your resume, and how curiosity and action can shape your future.

You’ll also hear about his newest project, Poppy, a device designed to give kids safe access to technology while encouraging curiosity, questions, and real-world thinking.

This episode is packed with advice for students, parents, and anyone who wants to stop waiting and start building.

In this episode, you’ll hear about:

• Why ideas are easy but action is rare
• The truth about startups and success
• Why young people should take risks early
• Learning vs resume building
• How parents can raise curious kids
• Why Canada needs more builders

Thy This Challenge 🎯

Jay gave you TWO challenges this week. Pick one and try it!

Challenge 1: Build something with AI

Think of a small idea for an app, website, or tool.  Use AI tools like ChatGPT, Claude, or other builders to create it even if you don’t know how to code.

It doesn’t have to be perfect.  It just has to exist. The goal is to practice the builder muscle.

Challenge 2:  Fix something in your community

 Look around your school, your neighborhood, or your city. Is there something that bothers you? (ie. Something broken? Something that could be better?)

Then find out:

• Who is responsible
• Why it works that way
• What you could suggest to improve it

Builders don’t just notice problems.

They do something about them.

Links

Poppy: https://talkpoppy.com/

Jay’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaykshah/

Buffer Box: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BufferBox

Google Acquires Buffer Box: https://financialpost.com/technology/google-snaps-up-waterloo-startup-bufferbox

Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@GenNextPodcast

Instagram: @thegennextpodcast 

GenNext LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gennext-podcast

In this episode of Gen Next, Ms. Cam talks with Cheyun and Eunseop, two international students from South Korea who came to Canada on their own to study in high school. They share what it’s really like to live far from home, learn a new language, adapt to a different school culture, and grow through challenges that most teens never experience.

We also talk about something people don’t always think about such as the misconceptions local students sometimes have about international students, and how small actions can make someone feel included, understood, and welcome.

This episode is about courage, independence, culture, and learning how to connect with people who grew up differently than you.

In this episode, you’ll hear about:

• The pressure of school in Korea vs Canada
• The hardest part of being an international student
• Misconceptions local students sometimes have about international students
• How Canadian students can be more welcoming and inclusive
• How living abroad changed their mindset about life and success
• Why doing something scary can make you stronger for life

Try This Challenge 🎯

1. Do something that scares you a little this week.
2. Talk to someone new,ideally an international student! Ask a question, try a new activity, or start a conversation with someone from a different culture.

Links

Camelia website: https://camelianunez.com/

Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@GenNextPodcast

Instagram: @thegennextpodcast 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gennext-podcast

Good news: as annoying you might think that may have been, it was actually the beginning of something big.

In this episode of Gen Next, Ms. Cam sits down with Grade 11 student Dasha Turetska, a curious kid who grew into a teenager who builds, creates and cares deeply about her fellow classmates.

From participating in various hackathons to launching Compass Tutoring during COVID to stepping up and running for Student Trustee, Dasha’s story is about seeing a problem and deciding to try.

We talk about:

• Why asking “why?” is a strength
• How building confidence comes from doing
• What leadership really looks like (hint: it starts with listening)
• And how small acts of courage can lead to big growth

This episode is about moving from frustration to initiative, from ideas to action and from why… to try.

🎯 Try This Challenge:

Start one conversation outside your comfort zone this week. Growth usually begins there.

Links

Camelia website: https://camelianunez.com/

YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@GenNextPodcast

Instagram: @thegennextpodcast 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gennext-podcast

Compass Tutoring: https://compasstutoring.ca/

Dash WRDSB Trustee Candidate Intro:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ut8h7lWfCOs&t=11s

Dasha LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dasha-turetska/

Dasha Github: https://dashatur65.github.io/personal_website/

In this episode of Gen Next, Ms. Cam talks with Vishnu, a Grade 12 IB student who created JamBites, a beginner-friendly game design competition for middle and high school students.

Vishnu shares:

• How he discovered coding
• Why he chose Scratch for beginners
• How he built and led a team
• The challenges of finding a venue
• What he learned about leadership, creativity, and ownership

This episode is packed with encouragement for young people to stop waiting and start building and for parents and educators to rethink what students are capable of when given autonomy.

🎯 Challenge: Learn one small coding skill this week and try to build something with it.

Links

Camelia website: https://camelianunez.com/

Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@GenNextPodcast

Instagram: @thegennextpodcast 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gennext-podcast

JambBytes: https://www.jambytes.ca/

In this episode of Gen Next, Ms. Cam talks with three Grade 4 soccer players who went door to door selling poinsettias to raise money for their team. This is something that made their stomachs flip and their hearts race, but they did it anyway.

One girl prepared a script.

Others improvised.

All of them felt nervous.

And that’s the point.

The girls share what it was like to:

• Knock on doors when they wanted to run away
• Hear “no” and keep going anyway
• Use a script (or forget it) and still succeed
• Build confidence by finishing what they started
• Realize that bravery grows after you take action
• 
  

They also brainstorm kid-approved ideas for selling, creating, and starting small businesses, and challenge listeners to try something a little scary themselves.

💡 Builder’s Challenge: Make something. Sell something. Or try one brave thing this week—with a script or without one.

Because bravery doesn’t mean you’re fearless.

It means you start anyway.

LINKS

Camelia website: https://camelianunez.com/

YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@GenNextPodcast

Instagram: @thegennextpodcast 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gennext-podcast

What started with observations in their own families (with their grandparents), curiosity and care turned into interviews and testing in retirement homes to learning how to code and building a prototype for their app. Along the way, these young builders learned that meaningful impact doesn’t require being an adult, having perfect skills, or knowing all the answers. They know that it starts with noticing a problem and taking one small step.

Together, they share:

• How the idea for LinkAge began
• What surprised them when they met and worked with seniors
• What it felt like to see someone use their app for the first time
• How the experience shaped their confidence, skills, and dreams
• What they’re working on now and what they hope to build next

This episode is a powerful reminder that young people don’t have to wait to contribute. They can build, connect, and create change right now.

TRY THIS — Guest Challenge

Send an email or text to someone you appreciate and tell them how grateful you are for them.

Connect with us!

Camelia website: https://camelianunez.com/

YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@GenNextPodcast

Instagram: @thegennextpodcast 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gennext-podcast

Ms. Cam shares that Gen Next exists to help young people see themselves as capable builders and contributors to the world around them, and to encourage them to take action even when they feel a little scared.

Every episode features young creators and a Try This Challenge, a simple prompt that invites listeners to try something new and take action.

Subscribe for new episodes and share this with a curious kid, bold teen, a parent, teacher or grownup who believes in them.

Camelia website: https://camelianunez.com/

YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@GenNextPodcast

Instagram: @thegennextpodcast 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gennext-podcast