In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized (subject to certain rules and regulations).

Valhalla Theater
41800 Blacow Road
Fremont, California, 94538
United States

Aditya Kaushik

I [Aditya Kaushik] wanted to do a TED Talk because I thought it would be fun to speak my mind in front of a bunch of strangers. I an passionate about a bunch of different things. The world is an amazing place, but unfortunately along with the positive there's a long of negative stuff that goes on, and I think people should be aware of the entire picture. Often times when you hear about a particular issue, people will be pushing their agenda onto you. Especially in the political sphere, many issues are morphed so they fit a particular viewpoint and help someone advance his or her cause. Bigger picture, to me, means stepping back from all the bull* brainwashing that goes on in the world, and viewing the facts for what they are -- letting go of our stereotypes, releasing the conceptions we want to have, and rationally examining all the evidence. Although I might sound pretty cynical, I genuinely believe that most people are inherently good, and I truly love human beings.

Christina Faitel

Christina Faitel has been a high school Social Science and French teacher for over 16 years. She is a graduate of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and a Secondary Teaching Certificate. More recently, she obtained a Master's Degree in French from San Jose State University. She has taught in Michigan and California, as well as overseas in Thailand and Vietnam. She first became a Viking in 2003 before leaving two years later to live in Vietnam; however, she returned to join the Irvington team in 2008 and has been a loyal Viking ever since.

Jay Jackson

Graduated with a degree in Psychology from Stanford University. Coached wrestling at Stanford for seven years. Received a Master of Arts in Education from Pacific Lutheran University and taught for nine years. Have been an Assistant Principal for four years. At Irvington, like at other high schools, I have noticed more anxiety and stress among the student body and less happiness. I think that the major reason for this lies in students' reason for being in school. If we can change student and parent mindset about this, we should have happier students.

Michelle Huang

Michelle Huang feels most alive when speaking before a crowd. For the past five years of her life, she’s dedicated herself wholeheartedly to speech and debate. She’s always dreamed of standing on the Nationals finals stage, before an audience of thousands, and isn’t afraid of working hard to make it happen. In the meantime, she’s made it to the final round of multiple invitationals and is currently ranked in both Extemporaneous Speaking and Parliamentary Debate. Her passion for speech and debate also sparked her interest in international relations and critical theory, which have enabled her to look to the Bigger Picture. Through her talk, Michelle hopes to inspire the community to critically re-evaluate cultural assumptions, especially ones that pertain to the myth of the Asian model minority.

Mitty Chang

Mitty Chang is the Founder & Creative Director of Candeavor, a digital marketing and design agency based in the Silicon Valley. At 27 years of age, Mitty has spent most of his life as an entrepreneur. Mitty started his first company at the age of 13. He is a graduate of the University of California Davis, and is a professional motivational speaker. Mitty has spoken in Canada, Australia, Thailand, Brazil, Portugal, and throughout the United States. As an active member of Rotary, Mitty's Bigger Picture is all about how we can all help each other and especially those who are less fortunate than us. In his free time, Mitty is going on food adventures and traveling.

Nathan Fu

Nathan Fu is not your typical speaker at a Ted Talk. He is not inspirational, smart, and definitely not a role model. In fact, he is in many ways the opposite of a role model; he is extremely cheap, does things in his own shady way, and occasionally, he weirds people out. However, Nathan is a guy passionate for a variety of things like cooking, gardening, and of course, music. Most importantly, he is happy with who he is, despite never really fitting in to certain stereotype. But before this, Nathan tried to change his character numerous times in order to fit in, only to end up looking like a fool time after time. It wasn't until when he gave up trying to fit in that he finally became happy and started ignoring what others thought of him and began living life in his own cheap, shady, and unique way. In his Ted Talk, Nathan hopes to spread his happiness to others and encourage people to start living their own lives.

Nikhil Shivakumar

Nikhil Shivakumar is a lot of things. Ever since he was really young, he’s been an avid reader. Because of that, he’s developed some sort of a vocabulary, and loves expressing his thoughts articulately. Nikhil is very opinionated about a lot of subjects. Being raised in an environment where he got to express his opinions frequently without retribution, he started talking a lot. He’s almost a little too energetic. He tries to channel this in DECA, and also south Indian classical music. He’s loved music ever since he was a baby, and it is definitely his one true passion. Nikhil’s really a mess sometimes, but he tries his best, despite his slight tendencies to procrastinate. He’s passionate about equality for everyone in all different facets, and most of all, he just wants to spread love all over the world with his sometimes naive, unadulterated optimism.

Tanisha Singh

Tanisha Singh loves talking. As a preschooler, she was always the first to raise her hand during show and tell. At her sixth grade graduation, the one thing Tanisha looked forward to was giving the valedictorian speech for her class. When she was introduced to debate in junior high, she finally found something that would stick with her forever. She has been an active member in the debate community every since. Tanisha has had the honor to participate at the state level and win various awards as a debater, but she participates for more than the competitiveness; she participates because she can speak. In her opinion, talking is one of the best ways that humans can share their thoughts, ideas, and experiences. So when she heard that Irvington was hosting its own Ted Talk, she had to seize the opportunity. Taking a chance at doing something you really want to is an important part of life, especially if it’s something you are passionate about.

Tina Mai

Tina Mai is an American-born Vietnamese film enthusiast who aspires to make a difference on the next frontier. She is currently a sophomore at Independence High School and is actively involved in ARK Club. In her free time, you can find her attempting to make short films, watching Korean dramas, and doodling. She hopes to be able break the stigma and silence of Asian Americans during discussions of mental health and cultural differences, as well as provide more representation for individuals of all types and backgrounds around the world.

Tristan Perona

Tristan is an up and energetic guy, who keeps his eyes on tommorow. Holding an overly optimistic view on life, his friends often remind him that life is not always fun and games. However, Tristan makes life fun and games by creating his own tempo and pace for life, constantly creating opportunities for himself to have his voice heard. As his life aspirations are to be an ASL interpetter, a high school English teacher, or a civil rights activist, Tristan uses his poetry and language to empower and inspire those willing to watch his piece. Constantly advocating for the arts, he loves to share both his photography and poetry with anyone willing to listen and see his unique perspective on the big picture. Today, Tristan will take a piece of the big picture and point out issues that the modern generation faces with prom, whether it be the outrageous costs or the horrible statistics curtailing the event.

Vanshika Jain

My names is Vanshika Jain, and I am currently a junior at Saint Francis High School. I enjoy sleeping, reading, flying, and doing math. After watching TedEd videos to learn about topics ranging from the origins of ballet to the science behind figuring out the colors of dinosaurs and TED talks that inspired me to act against slavery or the stigma associated with depression, I though that the TEDx platform would be a great stage to share my ideas. The central idea of this Tedx is "the bigger picture”; I like to think of this as simply a different perspective of looking at an ordinary activity or item. Since different views give more information, the “picture” that we see is automatically enlarged.