Students from two comprehensive high schools in Pleasanton, California determined to continue with the event even during a pandemic.

Amador Theater
1155 Santa Rita Road
Amador Valley High School
Pleasanton, California, 94566
United States

Avery Kuo

Student Speaker

Avery Kuo is a student at Amador Valley High School. She has been practicing Taekwondo since she was five years old. She is an international competitor and competed at the World Championships in Argentina in 2018. On top of competing, Avery is an instructor and shares her passion for Taekwondo with students of all ages.

Hiya Shah

Student Speaker

Hiya Shah is a junior at Amador Valley High School. She is deeply interested in leveraging the power of computer science and AI for educational and environmental impact. She strives to empower underrepresented groups in technology through building platforms for her organization TheCodeBakery, serving as a Vice-President for the Society of Women Engineers NEXT Club at Amador Valley, and volunteering to teach kids to code. Her hobbies include immersing herself in other cultures, watching animated shorts, and, of course, coding!

John Lester

Student Speaker

John was a senior at AVHS and he currently participates in cross country and track and field. He is also an officer for the AV Politics Club. He aims to pursue his interests in Psychology and Political Science in college, as well as compete in Track and Field.

Molly Wildy

Student Speaker

Molly Wildy is a 14 year old girl living with Epilepsy. This is her story in dealing with seizures. She hopes to spread awareness with people, and help break the stigma surrounding seizures. Epilepsy awareness is important. Epilepsy first aid is important.

Nick Jiang

Student Speaker

Nick is a current senior at Foothill High School and an active participant in his community. He is the cofounder of Odyssay (prev. StutterLess), an app that provides a comprehensive treatment for stuttering. He is also the founder of an education program Learn.Python in Dublin, which aims to promote the value of questioning among middle-school students. In his free time, he loves learning languages, reading, and (trying to) lip-read.

Rachel Zhang

Student Speaker

Rachel Zhang is a senior at Amador Valley. She has had a passion for public speaking since she started high school. She has run Amador's Speech and Debate Club for three years, and the experience has only grown her love for writing and delivering speeches. In the past few years, she has also worked very closely with the Wheelchair Foundation as one of their student ambassadors. Both her work with the Foundation and as a public speaker are highlights of her high school experience, and so she is very happy to bring the two together in this TEDx speech. Some hobbies she enjoys are reading, watching films, and playing the piano.

Yash Maheshwaran

Student Speaker

Yash is a student athlete at Amador Valley and I has been volunteering with the Special Olympics program since 8th grade. He has been an event volunteer, a basketball assistant coach, and more recently has been selected to be a member of the Youth Activation Committee at the Special Olympics of Northern California (SONC). As a member of this prestigious committee, he has the goal of spreading awareness and promoting inclusion of those with disabilities in his own community. He loves sports, and more specifically, basketball so the Special Olympics program was a perfect way for him to make an impact on my community through his passions.