Theme: ENGAGE!

Attention, curiosity, interest, optimism, and passion. Do these words capture the power of engagement? This TEDx Youth event is celebrating thought, actions and activities through a series of talks by high school and middle school students reflecting on engagement. As Socrates said, "Wisdom begins with wonder."

500 Bradford Avenue
Placentia, California, 92870
United States

Amy Yoon

Student/Inquisitive Soul

Amy Yoon is a junior in the International Baccalaureate Program at Valencia High School. As a Korean-American that grew up in China, her vast cultural experiences have shaped her immensely and developed her bilingual abilities. She is heavily involved in debate and has competed on the local and national circuits for Public Forum and Lincoln-Douglas. She recently helped to establish Lincoln-Douglas at her school and coaches middle and high school students. She also consistently volunteers with the children's ministry at her church and with a local organization to facilitate a Kid's Club for families living in motels. In the future, she intends to pursue a career in medicine or teaching.

Brooke Fuller

Student/Dancer

If high school has taught Brooke Fuller anything, it is that success comes from a balance between the left brain and the right brain. In addition to ranking highly in academics as a candidate in the International Baccalaureate program, and being a part of ASB, Brooke is a four-year member and senior officer of the Valencia Dance Team. Dance team has made a large impact on her life, and she is grateful for the people she has met. Brooke hopes to attend an east coast university and study economics or finance while continuing to dance and choreograph in her spare time.

Daanesh Jamal

Student/Cat Enthusiast

Daanesh Jamal is currently a 14 year old freshman at Valencia and enrolled in Pre-IB. He has 3 siblings, an older sister, Zoha, older brother, Naadir, and a younger brother, Basim, and also has 2 pets, Paratha the rabbit and Howard the cat. Despite being busy with Orchestra and the Social Justice League, Daanesh loves to make time for sleep, jogging, and watching Youtube.

David Pacheco

Student/Athlete

David Pacheco is currently a senior here at Valencia High School. David Pacheco is 4-year varsity cross-country and track and field runner. He plans to continue his running career and study kinesiology at Chapman University or San Francisco State. David would like to thank his teammates, friends, teachers, and family because without them he wouldn't be who he is today. Lastly David couldn't wished for a better senior year to make his 4-year high school experience unforgettable.

Elizabeth Yin

Student/Soccer Teacher

Elizabeth Yin is a senior in Valencia High School’s International Baccalaureate program and plans to attend the University of Southern California next year as a pre-law major. As a member of Valencia’s Varsity track and soccer teams, Elizabeth spends most of her time after school at Bradford Stadium. When she isn’t dribbling down the soccer field, sprinting the 200 meter dash, or frantically studying for Chemistry, Elizabeth enjoys coaching soccer to special needs athletes. For over four years, Elizabeth has coached special needs athletes for both the TOPSoccer and Special Olympics organizations. At Valencia, Elizabeth is a member of ASB as well as co-president of the VHS TOPSoccer and VHS RACE clubs. In her free time, Elizabeth enjoys napping, baking, watching cat videos, telling terrible puns, and spending time with her friends and family.

Ethan Thio

Student/Public Speaker

Ethan Thio is junior at Valencia. He has a younger sister in the sixth grade and has lived in Yorba Linda for most of his life. In line with his talk, Ethan has done speech and debate for almost four years and heads the Speech and Debate club at VHS. Outside of speech, Ethan is in the IB program, which basically means he studies a lot. If he's not studying or speaking, you can probably find him reading comics or anything he can get his hands on, playing fantasy football/basketball, or volunteering at a local hospital.

Joe Quintero

Student/Actor

Joe Quintero is the current acting president of International Thespian troupe 4031. He has been a part of the Drama program here at Valencia High School for all four years. Over the years he’s played a plethora of roles, and he’s beyond grateful for the opportunity to portray each one. He’s currently the captain of the Comedysportz improv team. His years here have without a doubt helped him grow into who he is today. He’d like to thank Mrs. Stanton for everything she’s done for him and inspiring him to go on to become an educator in the future. He is thankful for all of his family and friends that have ever supported him. Joe considers himself an entertainer above all. He enjoys making well timed jokes that no one appreciates and hopes to continue making people smile and to entertain all throughout his professional and personal life.

John (JB) German

Student/Performer

John is a senior at Valencia High school. He has been in two plays, his first being The Diary of Anne Frank where he played the sullen dentist, Mr. Dussel and his second being Twelfth Night as a holy Priest and a shabby Captain. He has directed two DTASC (a drama competition) scenes both of them making it to finals and is currently working on his third scene. He worked backstage as a spotlight on last year’s spring musical The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. He is a thespian and has a true passion for the theatrical arts, both on stage and behind the scenes. He also enjoys drawing and painting as a small hobby for when he is stressed. This isn't his first nor last time on stage but he is hoping to give you a ted talk to change the way you view something very near and dear to him. He is grateful of all the love and support his family, friends, and girlfriend have given him. He really hopes you are excited and enjoy this TEDx event.

Melinda Guo

Student/Entrepreneur

Melinda Guo is a student entrepreneur working to bridge the gap of understanding between organizational leaders and today's generation of youth: Generation Z. As CEO and cofounder of JÜV Consulting, Melinda leads a global youth marketing firm that consults nonprofits, companies, and multinational corporations on connecting with Gen Z. To her, JÜV Consulting is not only a consulting firm -- it's a platform for youth to give themselves a voice in the business world. Besides business, she is passionate about increasing female representation across all avenues of leadership. Melinda enjoys slam poetry, quality Soundcloud remixes, Pilates, taking one second videos every day, and brunch.

Neha Abbas

Student - Kraemer Middle School

Neha Abbas is a 7th grader enrolled in Kraemer Middle School's GATE program. She is part of her school's Science Olympiad and Wind Ensemble, and has recently earned a Ph.D in procrastination after years of studying. In her free time, she enjoys sleeping, sparring tournaments at her karate dojo, drawing her webtoon, spending time with her family and friends, and avoiding productive work.

Rojan Rijal

Student/"White Hat" Hacker

Rojan Rijal is a current senior at Valencia High School and is enrolled in the International Baccalaureate program. Asides being a senior, Rojan is currently a Security Analyst at a San Francisco based HackerOne. He competes on high school’s Academic Decathlon team and CyberPatriot team. In his free time, Rojan works as freelance security researcher by reporting vulnerabilities to multiple companies. He has been recognized by multiple companies and government bodies including Department of Defense, Uber, Facebook, Google, Snapachat and Yelp to name a few.

Saleem Haider

Student/Musician

Saleem Haider is fifteen years old and a student at Valencia High School. He is currently in the tenth grade, and his passions include playing music, videogames, and hanging out with his friends. He is enrolled in the IB program as well as a member of his school's marching band. He feels very passionate about being good at what he does and he always aspires to become better. In the future he would like to follow after his father and work in the business industry. He likes the business industry, because he finds it interesting and likes how it is never ending and constantly changing.

Suzette Morales

Student

Suzette Morales is an 8th grade AVID student at Valadez Middle School who was specially selected based on her own experiences.