A gamer since 1996, @sassacassidyyy is still a Nintendo girl at heart. The first game she ever played was Yoshi’s Story, but now you’ll frequently see this BroadcastHER Grant recipient playing Splatoon 2, The Sims 4, and Planet Zoo, among plenty of others. You might also catch her doing art, music, and makeup!

What is your dream as a digital broadcaster?

My dream is to build genuine connections with people and be the leader of a place where we can grow and learn together. I want to house a safe place for anyone suffering from mental health problems and disabilities, and I want to be the person who the younger me needed to look up to.

How will your award from the 1,000 Dreams Fund help you reach your goals?

I will be able to upgrade my equipment, which I am currently unable to do. With the upgraded equipment, I will be able to produce higher-quality content.

What does being a recipient mean to you?

Some days I don’t feel like I bring anything worthwhile to the table. However, when I look back at my work, I’m always super-proud of it. Knowing that others see this, too — even in the times when I don’t — means the world to me.

Women are underrepresented in gaming, broadcasting, and e-sports. What can we do to change this?

We need to continue to give women the opportunities that are not often offered to us. The more we’re able to produce means the more that we’re going to be heard.

What are some of the challenges you have faced along the way?

Every day, I face another challenge — from technical difficulties to struggling to get out of bed because I can’t stop crying. For me, it has been a journey to figure out how to be a leader when some days all I can think about is sleeping. However, I know that those days aren’t the end; they’re just bumps along the way. The same with technical difficulties; they’re not the end of the stream. So many live productions have issues come up that weren’t planned and, as they say, the show must go on.

What advice do you have for women who want to start broadcasting?

Find inspiration within yourself before you begin seeking it from others.

How do you stay motivated and focused on your goals?

I recently started doing tarot. Getting in touch with my spiritual side has helped me get the answers to questions I have without needing to seek out validation from others.

In the streaming space, it’s easy to get caught up in cliques and get sidetracked. To reach my full potential, I know that it must start with me. I do a lot of writing — whether it’s ideas or things to research — to improve my stream. As this is my full-time job, I treat it as such. I work 40 hours a week (probably way more!), but only a small frame of that is actually spent “live.” I spend my off times hanging out in other streams, making graphics, planning content, editing photos and videos — all the little things that I know will lead me to the places I want to be.