MIHS rising senior Grace Go Wins Best Mental Health Podcast in NPR’s Student Podcast Challenge

Mercer Island, WA, July 18, 2023 – Mercer Island High School rising senior Grace Go has been announced as this year’s winner of the Best Mental Health Podcast in NPR’s Student Podcast Challenge.

This is the first time NPR has awarded a prize for mental health reporting, which Grace won for her podcast titled: Discomfort Food.

Grace's winning entry is her personal story about how the cultural and emotional connections to her favorite Korean meal led her to face and then overcome a mental health challenge.

There were more than 3,300 entries in NPR’s Student Podcast Challenge from students throughout the United States, District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.

NPR Weekend Edition Sunday published a story on Grace’s winning podcast. The story includes audio of NPR reporter Janet Woojeong Lee informing Grace she had won the Student Podcast Challenge.

Ayesha Rascoe, the host of The Sunday Story on NPR, spoke with reporter Janet Woojeong Lee and producer Lauren Migaki about the contest and how they picked Grace’s podcast as the winning entry.