Theme: Small World, Big Future

Thirteen students and five educational leaders invite you to act upon their ideas worth spreading about how to maximize fulfillment in our small world, while simultaneously make everyday decisions that will build a big future.

South Fayette High School
3640 Old Oakdale Rd
McDonald, Pennsylvania, 15057
United States

Aaron Skrbin

Building Principal

Aaron Skrbin is one of the building principals of South Fayette High School and a self described "displaced history teacher." He has a passion for history and the arts and is an advocate of their continued relevance in the academic world and everyday life. He holds a bachelors degree from Duquesne University, Masters from Carnegie Mellon University and is earning his Superintendents Letter of Eligibility from Point Park University.

Bhavana Kolla

Student

Bhavana Kolla is a senior at South Fayette High School. She is a member of the marching band, student government, and library club. Bhavana is also heavily involved in the fundraising events the school holds. Additionally, she is an avid dancer and has been involved in the art form for over 10 years. Bhavana also has a love for volunteering and travelling. Being involved in the school has been a passion for Bhavana the past four years, and she hopes to advocate for the mental health of students across the country through this talk.

Charles Herring

Educator

A nationally acclaimed educator, author, entrepreneur, and speaker, Dr. Chuck Herring draws from a wellspring of experience to engage audiences with humor and nuance. Currently, Chuck is the Kindergarten – 5th Grade Enrichment Coordinator at the South Fayette Township School District. Additionally, he is working with the Green Building Alliance and the International Living Future Institute & Harvard University to spread the word regarding SOCIAL JUSTICE HANDPRINTS which are intentional positive acts to offset the negative impacts of FOOTPRINTS (e.g. carbon footprints, water, privilege, etc.). Finally, besides being married to the love of his life, Chuck is living his best life as the official #bethekindkid spokesmodel.

Emily Thomas

Student

Emily is currently a sophomore at South Fayette High School. At school, she has developed a hard-working mindset and is determined to succeed greatly in life. She also enjoys playing volleyball, taking vacations to the beach, volunteering, and, most importantly, spending time with her friends and family outside of school. Emily, as well as her two older brothers and parents, volunteer for the Center for Organ Recovery and Education (CORE). Emily and her family are exceedingly strong advocates for organ donation because of the first-hand experience they have had with the process. Emily will keep supporting organ donation through constant volunteering and plans to achieve a goal one day in the future: being a living kidney donor.

Gary Smith

Educator

Gary has been teaching for 18 years, 13 of which have been at South Fayette High School. During this time, he has been involved in multiple activities, including Senior and Junior Class Councils and NHS. He is a very proud father of two little girls, Aubrey, who is five, and Alyssa, who is 2 ½. Although reading children’s books, coloring, playing games, and pretending to be whatever he is directed to be are now his foremost pastimes, when he has any moments to himself, he is a frequent movie-goer, an avid reader, a lover of television, and, sometimes regrettably, a passionate Pittsburgh Pirates fan.

Janhavi Gangisetti

Student

Janhavi is 14 years old and a freshman in South Fayette High School. She has a deep passion for dancing and swimming. Janhavi has been learning Bharatanatyam, a form of indian classical dance, for almost 8 years, and is currently part of the South Fayette Varsity Swim Team. Moreover, she is a part of Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA), Technology Student Association (TSA), and Model United Nations (MUN). Janhavi aspires to one day travel the world with her friends and family and start a non-profit that will help girls all over the world receive an education. Janhavi would like to thank the YouTuber Prince Ea for inspiring today’s talk.

Jeffrey Evancho

Assistant Superintendent

Julia Gilardi

Student

Julia is 15 years old and in the 9th grade at South Fayette High School. Julia has been dancing, singing, and performing all of her life, which helped her find her love of public speaking. Along with her love of dance, Harry Potter, Disney, The Hunger Games, and dogs, Julia finds joy in helping the less fortunate. She first found this passion when she was 13 years old on Light Up Night, when she asked her mom if they could buy some granola bars to pass out to the people sitting in the street. Since then, she has worked twice with the Beverly's Birthdays organization, and even started her own project which she calls “Jay Bags.” Julia would like to thank her Grandparents, Mom, Dad, sisters Mia and Bella, brother Dani, and dog Gucci for always supporting her.

Julian Pikras

Student

Julian is a senior at South Fayette where he actively participates in student-led initiatives and Student Government. He is also the Student Representative to the School Board. Julian is a lover of nature and describes Pennsylvania as the most extravagant state for the outdoors. He has a deep passion for baking, history, leadership, and living off the land. Julian plans on double majoring in Leadership Studies and Psychology, and he aspires to enter the Peace Corps with the skills he will acquire. He one day hopes to obtain a piece of property somewhere in Penn’s Woods where he can live sustainably off of the land.

Luca Workman

Student

Luca is in her freshman year of high school at South Fayette. In addition to participating in Student Government, she is the president of her class. In her free time, she enjoys reading, baking, boxing, and being a part of the school musical. Luca is very passionate about leading her generation in the right direction, whether through advocating for resisting peer pressure, or through promoting healthy outlets for teenage stress.

Marissa Stock

Student

Along with being a seventh grader at South Fayette Middle School, Marissa enjoys reading, writing, playing volleyball, hiking, traveling, photography, listening to music, and spending time with friends and family. Although she loves visiting new places, Marissa will always be content sitting on a beach with a good book. She has also found an interest in the ocean and marine life. Helping the environment has always been an important goal of hers, and she plans to use this passion along with motivational speaking in future careers.

Priya Matreja

Student

Priya Matreja is a sophomore at South Fayette High School. She is a well-rounded student with her roots spread across various activities such as dance, music, karate, tennis, art, various STEM clubs, leadership, and the speech and debate team. The talk she is going to give today stems from her own personal experience of managing her thoughts and time in order to stay positive and work towards an optimistic outcome. Being an ambitious student, she tries to eliminate any such roadblocks by seeking to understand the science behind her thoughts and their impact.

Savannah Vetterly

Student

Savannah Vetterly is a high school senior who desires to become a pediatrician and work for Doctors Without Borders. These career aspirations were inspired by her mission trips to Jamaica through Mustard Seed Communities. She spends the majority of her time playing competitive tennis, volunteering, and being involved in activities through her church. Savannah would like to dedicate this talk to Mustard Seed Communities for being her inspiration and teaching her the true meaning of simplicity in life.

Thomas Isaac

Educator

Mr. Isaac is a lifelong educator. His life path has taken him on a wild ride from working as a sailing instructor to banker; to “working” as a stay at home dad, firefighter, and EMT; to finally finding and fulfilling his passion in high school science education. Strident about the education of young minds, project-based learning, and earth and space sciences, Mr. Isaac strives to get young minds to open to the amazing world around them; “Get your head out of your phone,” he admonishes them. Mr. Isaac, the oldest faculty member at South Fayette High School, has been teaching for only seven years. He enjoys the responsibility and latitude of being the old guy that never follows the rules.

Vaishnavi Vura

Student

Vaishnavi is currently a junior at South Fayette High School. She loves playing tennis and participating in triathlons. Throughout high school she has tried to set an example to her peers and has always let her leadership qualities shine through. She wants to develop into a person who puts others before herself. Vaishnavi loves to hang out with her friends and family and appreciates every moment with them. She has recently taken a great interest in appreciating her culture and learning about her holy scripts. She hopes to grow up and become a doctor and eventually start hospitals in underdeveloped regions.

Yamini Yepuri

Student

Yamini Yepuri is a junior at South Fayette High School. When she’s not swamped in work, she enjoys playing the violin, singing, painting (even though she’s not really good at it), solving 1000 piece puzzles, playing basketball, and spending time with her friends and family. She has lived in India, specifically Hyderabad, for half of her life, spending grades 3-7 and 9-10 there. The inspiration for her talk stems from the constant moving of her younger and teenage years, and the burdensome, yet rewarding nature of it all. She would like to thank her friends and family for helping her adjust to a new environment, Mr. Smith for being a reliable mentor, and Ms. Jenkins for giving her the opportunity to share her story on this platform.

Zachary Betz

Student

Zach is a 9th grade student at South Fayette High School. Zach is an active student, passionate about running varsity cross country, track, and participating in student government. He participates in implementing a program called “Random Acts of Kindness,” which brings joy to others through compassionate acts such as making cards for children in hospitals and cancer ribbons to show support. Zach also has a heart for people with mental health issues, actively showing support and kindness to friends. After high school, Zach is interested in pursuing a career in journalism. Zach would like to thank his family for their support throughout his life.

Zoe Koutavas

Student

Zoe is currently a sophomore at South Fayette High School. She has been attending South Fayette since eighth grade and loves the school district. In addition to her love for academics, she enjoys many extracurriculars, such as Mock Trial and Quiz Bowl. She is the treasurer of the Underwater Robotics team, Technology Student Association, and the Speech and Debate team. After high school, she hopes to go to college and receive an engineering degree. Zoe would like to thank the following people who have inspired her and today's talk: Celeste Koutavas, Mrs. Lisa Passyn, Mr. Brian Garlick, Sergeant Sgro, and Mrs. Jeannie Scott.