Helena Ortiz, a sophomore at Rockingham Early College High, was chosen from a pool of nationwide applicants to co-host PBS News Student Reporting Labs’ sixth season of “On Our Minds.”
The podcast launched on April 15, and will release episodes weekly with stories from students across the country. The first episode is out and can be found below.
The award-winning “On Our Minds” podcast began during the pandemic and has taken on different forms through the years. This season Ortiz and her co-host, Zack Castruita, from Santa Ana, California, lead the podcast on an audio road trip.
In light of the United States’ 250th anniversary, “On Our Minds” goes across the nation giving student voices a platform and explores what it’s like to be young in America.
Each episode will be a different “stop” on the roadtrip, and with a new location comes a new story from a student. Ortiz and Castruita guide the audience across the country — and through stories — as the season goes along.
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Ortiz learned about the application through her History Club teacher Valencia Abbott. Ortiz saw the opportunity as an interesting experience — one that would take her to new places and with a stipend to boot. She hesitated to apply at first, but said in the end she thought, “Let me just try this out. There’s nothing to lose.”
“I want to bring representation to my part of the country,” said Ortiz after being selected to co-host.
Ortiz hopes her experience will motivate other students who are interested in opportunities like this. She says these opportunities feel out of reach, but believes you have to go for it. “Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there,” said Ortiz.
Becky Wandel, youth media producer at PBS News Student Reporting Labs, said they were looking for balance with the two hosts. Castruita had audio experience, and Ortiz had the enthusiasm to learn. It was a winning combination.
Wandel said of Ortiz, “What stood out to me was that she had an infectious personality, and a lot of conviction about representing North Carolina, representing rural people, Southern people, and bringing that voice into a place where it doesn’t always exist.”
Ortiz and Castruita were informed they got the position in December 2025. Thereafter the co-hosts had weekly meetings with Wandel until they flew to an audio workshop in Denver at the end of January 2026. In Denver, they met with Ryan Warner of Colorado Matters for training.
In March, both hosts, as well as other members of PBS News Student Reporting Labs, headed to SXSW EDU in Austin for in-person interviews and recordings.
“This season we get to share awesome local stories while finding common threads in teen life across very different hometowns,” said Wandel. “Our student producers are showing that community can be found anywhere and everywhere — tune in and get to know someone else’s neighbors.”
This article will be updated weekly with new episodes.
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