The Virtual Homies: Recent Episodes
Sharon Kim
Welcome to The Virtual Homies podcast. Join me, Sharon Kim, where I navigate the inner workings of virtual relationships. I chat about topics from cultural identity, online/IRL connections, and much more. Let's learn something new together.
A conversation with David Nguyen. We chat about how an Elon Musk video got him interested in space, his role as an embedded engineer at United Launch Alliance, and sharing some of the projects he has worked on at ULA.
David is an embedded software engineer for United Launch Alliance, a rocket company that helps customers fly their science experiments into space. David’s dream is to one day work firsthand with astronauts, or eventually, become an astronaut himself to explore the vastness of the universe. Outside of his career, David enjoys playing basketball, tennis, watching anime, and playing games with friends.
A conversation with Alex Mathew. We chat about his journey into game design, freelancing in Japan, and his current role as an action director.
Some of his past work includes Vane, Rime Gamescom, and Naruto to Boruto Shinobi Striker.
Alex Mathew is a Freelance Game Designer working in Tokyo. He has worked worldwide with both small indie teams and large AAA studios as a narrative designer, puzzle designer, combat director, and creative director. Alex used to be good at games but now he just makes them.
A conversation with Eutah Mizushima. We chat about his passion for music from the shamisen to synthwave, his life-changing pilgrimage when he lived in Japan, and his current pursuit to finding his sound.
Eutah Mizushima is a mental health peer support guide and aspiring multi-instrumentalist artist based in Vancouver, Canada.
Note: This episode includes Eutah playing his shamisen which may make the audio louder than normal. Please lower your volume from 19:10-19:49, if needed.
A conversation with Evan Auguste. We chat about his interest in the black psychology community that shaped his clinical lenses, his research on the racial trauma within the justice system, and his experience within forensic psychology.
Evan Auguste is a doctoral candidate in clinical psychology specializing in forensic psychology at Fordham University and an intern with the Superior Court of DC's Child Guidance Clinic. He has focused his research on the impact of racial trauma on justice-involved adolescents and on leveraging African-Centered psychology to optimize interventions. As a part of his clinical training, he has consulted and provided evaluations for justice-involved people seeking parole and provided treatment and advocacy to justice-involved people in forensic hospitals. He also writes on and advocates for leveraging the history of Haitian scholarship and practice for the well-being of Haitian people. He is currently the Chair for the Association of Black Psychologists (ABPsi) Student Circle.
Hello and welcome to The Virtual Homies Podcast!
Season 2 is finally here. I will be focusing on chatting with friends about some of the interesting jobs/hobbies they have. Hope you enjoy!
Continuing the conversation with Jee Kim, my IRL friend. We chat about her work-life experience both in Korea/America, comparing the Korean-American and Korean perspective, and what to expect for anyone curious about visiting Korea.
Jee kim is a 2D animator who aspires to make creative work that connects people by bringing forth the most universal human language - emotions. When I’m not drawing, it’s likely I'm out either running or exploring the city.
A conversation with Jee Kim, my IRL friend. We chat about her navigating friendships virtually, dive into her Korea/America experience, and assess how accurate kdramas are to real life.
Jee Kim is a 2D animator who aspires to make creative work that connects people by bringing forth the most universal human language - emotions. When she isn't drawing, she's likely to be out either running or exploring the city.
A conversation with Han Kim and Hiro Tran, friends I met on Discord and Twitch. We chat about their projects in content creation in part 2 of this episode.
Hiro runs stream productions for co-studying and fighting game events. Han is the Co-Founder of Hanko Academy where they guide students in becoming iOS Developers.
A conversation with Han Kim and Hiro Tran, friends I met on Discord and Twitch. We chat about their role as moderators for content creator Mayuko’s Discord and Twitch and how they build online communities.
Hiro Tran is a Cloud Security Engineer based in Dallas, TX. Interests include games, teas, and working out/dancing/sports. On the side, he runs stream productions for fighting game events!
Han Kim is a South Korean based in Nashville, TN. Professionally, he is an iOS Engineer and the Co-Founder of Hanko Academy where they guide students in becoming iOS Developers.
A conversation with Melody Valdez, a friend I met on Discord. We chat about her ongoing journey to find her personal identity (cultural, social, professional, etc).
Melody Valdez is a software engineer, theatre musician, and proud multipotentialite. Currently, she is developing a podcast about the creative journey into a new venture. She was born and raised in the Bay Area, and currently lives in Brooklyn.
A conversation with Jon Lee, a friend I met on Instagram. We share our thoughts on what friendship looks like, compare real life vs online relationships, and chat about whether guys and girls can be friends online (also can you make friends on dating apps?)
Jon is a product designer based in San Francisco. Outside of work, he loves playing tennis, taking dance classes, and working out. He’s also the coolest kid on the block 😎
A conversation with Karen Kim, a friend I met on Linkedin. We chat about our Asian identity, the anti-racism in our community, and how to build authentic relationships on Linkedin.
Karen is a second-generation Korean American, a product manager (former investment banker), and born again gamer. Inspired by the new wave of content on LinkedIn during the pandemic, she sought to build connections digitally under quarantine (Sharon being one of the closest!). People inspired her to fall in love with product, and people helped her break into PM. Her professional goal? To hit Level 100 in networking/connecting, uplift BIPOC, and grow together.
Hello and welcome to The Virtual Homies Podcast!
I'm your host Sharon Kim. This podcast is a series to celebrate AAPI X Mental Health Awareness Month. The guests on this show are my AAPI friends I met online who helped me through this pandemic. Let's take a journey into online friendships, mental health, identity, and much more.