• Be Your Own Hero: Elle Anderson
    Oct 2 2025

    Today's episode is with Elle Anderson. Elle is a CPR and preparedness advocate for teens. She shares her personal experiences that have helped her to overcome challenges and drove her to start a movement.

    Elle is Miss Timpanogos Teen 2025, a professional-level violinist, and a passionate youth advocate. She is the founder of Every Beat Matters, an initiative partnering with Utah fire departments to train teens in CPR and life-saving skills. As the President of her FBLA chapter and a Turning Point USA chapter president, she leads with vision and purpose, dedicated to empowering youth to discover their worth and build confidence. Whether through music, service, or leadership, Elle strives to inspire others and make a lasting impact.


    Connect with Elle on Instagram:

    https://www.instagram.com/elle.anders0n/

    https://www.instagram.com/every.beat.matters/


    Show More Show Less
    29 mins
  • Be Your Own Hero: Kaden Jensen
    Sep 25 2025

    On todays episode I get to chat with Kaden Jensen. We talk about his difficult road to recovery from substance abuse and suicidal ideation. Kaden shares how one single step can save your life. His message is sooo important and impactful!

    Disclaimer: In this episode we talk about abuse, substance abuse and suicide.

    My name is Kaden! 27 years old from Kaysville, UT. A few things about me… I love to be active, I love working out, I love to travel, and most importantly, I love to live life to its fullest at any opportunity I get.


    Follow Kaden on Instagram: @kadenxjenson

    Show More Show Less
    26 mins
  • Be Your Own Hero: ShayLee Hunter
    Sep 18 2025

    On todays episode I chat with ShayLee Hunter. She shares about her journey with chronic illness and invisible disability advocacy. He goodness shines through and is a great example to all of us.

    ShayLee Raye Hunter is the Fundraising Coordinator working for Mascot Miracles Foundation. She graduated with her Master’s in Professional Communication from Weber State University. She has her undergraduate in Communications, emphasizing in Civic Advocacy. ShayLee has worked for numerous companies that strive for advocacy such as The Oley Foundation where she is currently the HPN Hero Award recipient for 2025, Hope Hero Foundation, Hidden Disabilities (Sunflower Project), Miss Amazing, Social Health Union, and currently with Girls With Guts as their Social Media Chairperson. ShayLee was born with CIPO and eventually had her ostomy surgery at 16 years of age. ShayLee then had a colectomy in her early 20s leaving her with Short Bowel Syndrome and she has been dependent on Total Parenteral Nutrition(TPN) for the majority of her life. ShayLee has published Research in Communications Journalism on how AI is affecting job stability. ShayLee has a passion and drive for helping others and spreading her expertise and good nature to parents, consumers, and medical personnel. As of July 2025, ShayLee competed in the Petite USA nationals Competition in Chicago, IL and placed 2nd runner up and was also selected for the overall Social Media award and the Gold Presidential Service Award.

    Follow Shaylee on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/miss_raye/

    Show More Show Less
    29 mins
  • Be Your Own Hero Podcast: Brighton & Harper Chatterron
    Sep 12 2025

    On today's episode I speak with Brighton and Harper Chatterton. Two sisters that have suffered with life threatening food allergies their whole lives. We talk about their journey of overcoming and being stronger on the other side.

    Brighton (16) and Harper (14) are authors of the book "Hey, It's Me, Preslee!".

    Available on Amazon and Barns & Noble.

    More about the book:

    Eleven-year-old Preslee Thompson has serious food allergies. She dreams of a world where she doesn’t live in fear and have to worry if the food she eats will cause a life-threatening allergic reaction, putting her into anaphylactic shock. Preslee and her parents make the decision for her to go through an allergy treatment program (OIT), which means she’ll need to put the exact allergens into her body that her parents and doctors have told her to avoid at all costs.

    Although there are risks, the rewards of holding her crush’s hand, having a birthday party where she can eat all the same foods as her friends, and one day being able to eat a Chick-fil-A sandwich push Preslee to face her fears and begin the program. Along the way, she befriends the new girl at school and gets closer to her crush, Ashton. But her best friend, Ella, is jealous of Preslee’s new friends. She bullies Preslee and tries to keep her from having her dream birthday party.

    With the party being a masquerade, nobody will know if Ella attends as a guest—or who brought the brownies that both Preslee and her sister, Lindsey, are highly allergic to.

    The success of the allergy treatment program (OIT), means more than Preslee ever imagined. If successful, it will open up a world of possibilities she once thought was unattainable.

    Show More Show Less
    24 mins
  • Be Your Own Hero: Kira Gardner
    Sep 4 2025

    Welcome to season 2!! On todays episode we get to chat with one of my very best friends, Kira Gardner. Kira shares her love of the arts and how her experiences have shaped her personal initiative H.O.P.E. Through The Arts.


    Miss Utah’s Teen 2024, Kira Gardner, is a 18 year old senior at Freshman at Brigham Young University. She has advocated for her Community Service Initiative, Hope Through the Arts, since she was 13 years old. With background as the Lehi youth city council mayor, business owner, Hope Squad member, and a lover of many arts, she has loved creating an impact on her community since a young age.

    Connect with Kira on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kira.gardnerr/

    Show More Show Less
    22 mins
  • Be You Own Hero: Natalie Castro
    Feb 12 2025

    On today's episode I get to chat with my friend Natalie Castro. Natalie is not only Miss Utah For America, but also a Neurodivergent Child Development Coach. We talk about how teens today can be inclusive and advocate for the special needs community.

    More about Natalie:

    My journey began with my sister Angie, whose autism shaped my childhood. A turning point came at Denny’s when Angie’s actions left me heartbroken. But that moment of frustration transformed into understanding, as I learned autism meant Angie saw and communicated with the world differently. This realization fueled my dedication to supporting families on similar paths.

    From founding Pieces of Inspiration, a pediatric therapy center, to working with over 200 families, my mission has been clear. Now, with Beyond the Diagnosis, I offer personalized coaching, transformative speaking events, and consultations through my H.O.M.E framework – Habits, Opportunity, Mentor, and Environment. Together, we’ll create a nurturing space where you and your child can thrive.

    Connect with Natalie on Instagram: @Natalie.e.castro

    Show More Show Less
    25 mins
  • Be Your Own Hero: Haylee Sullivan
    Feb 5 2025

    My guest today is Haylee Sullivan. She is a teen on a mission to support veterans and their families. Learn all about how she is helping military families in her community and how we can do the same.

    More about Haylee:

    Haylee Sullivan is 15 years old from Lehi, Utah. She loves talking to and meeting new people. She is new to pageants and has fallen in love with them. Her Community Service Initiative, No Family Left Behind is about military families and is inspired by her dad who serves. Her favorite thing to do outside of work, school and pageants is to hangout with friends and go get a sweet treat.

    Follow Haylee on Instagram @nofamily_leftbehind

    Show More Show Less
    21 mins
  • Be Your Own Hero: AnaLeigha Meek
    Jan 29 2025

    On todays episode I get to chat with one of my favorite humans, AnaLeigha Meek.
    We talk about her community service initiative, Healthy Habits, Healthy Hearts and how we can make healthy habits today to help us in the future. We talk about perfectionism and how it’s not about being perfect; it’s about striving to uplift others and live with faith and kindness in everything we do.

    More about Ana:
    Spreading Kindness, One Connection at a Time: The Story of AnaLeigha Meek AnaLeigha Meek is a 21-year-old media marketing student at Utah Valley University who believes in turning small acts of kindness into big waves of change. As Miss Lehi 2024, she’s poured over 3,500 hours into community service, working with organizations like the Hope Hero Foundation and Special Olympics to spread hope and inspire connection. Whether she’s advocating for mental health, volunteering with local nonprofits, or cheering courtside for the Utah Jazz, AnaLeigha is driven by her faith and her motto, “Have courage and be kind.” An aspiring sports broadcaster with a love for storytelling, she’s passionate about creating meaningful connections and leaving people better than she found them.

    Follow Ana on Instagram: @analeighameek

    Show More Show Less
    24 mins