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).

Clear Brook High School auditorium
4607 FM 2351
Friendswood, Texas, 77546
United States

Aahil Tharani

Aahil is a creatively driven Senior at Clear Brook Highschool who has lived most of his life acting the way others expected him to. After realizing he was losing himself, he knew it was time for a change. Through a bit of introspection and analysis, he found that conformity affected almost everyone around him. Join him as he navigates the journey of self-exploration through Coloring Outside The Lines with Art and Society, diving into how a life of authenticity is a life of fulfillment.

Aqsa Babar

Aqsa Babar is currently a student at the University of Texas at Austin studying Biology. As a native Texan and former third culture kid, there’s been a great variety of people in her life, who have all looked and acted differently as a result of their upbringings. She noticed that her perception of herself changed depending on her location, and who she surrounded herself with. These experiences helped shape her TedxTalk on self-perception in Western society through the eyes of a woman of color.

Brandon Than

When the COVID-19 pandemic struck unexpectedly and forced all students into an online school platform, Brandon, like his peers, was confined to his household boundaries. However, this experience allowed him to engage in self-reflection and embark on a journey of self-improvement. During this process, he discovered the purpose and goals he wanted to align his work with, and most importantly, how to achieve them. After trial and error, he found the method that worked best for him in achieving big goals. He now applies this method to everything he does, including his passions for self-improvement, tennis, community involvement, and learning. Next year, he will be attending an 8-year program between the University of Houston and the Tilman J. Fertitta Family College of Medicine.

Gabriel Torres

Gabe Torres is a first-generation American of Mexican descent and recipient of the National Hispanic Recognition Award. A lifelong creative and sedulous academic, he seeks to pursue an education in architecture and urbanism after high school. He finds passion in bringing awareness to social issues which subvert the sphere of public discussion, and is best described by others as considerate, concentrated, and offputtingly caustic.

Janani Murugan

As a seventeen-year-old senior, Janani Murugan is an ex-pessimist-turned-optimist who cares deeply about improving the lives of people. She was the typical moody middle schooler, the terrified freshman, and the anxiety-riddled sophomore. However, by working with children as a tutor, reading about historical events through novels like Human Acts by Han Kang, and simply witnessing the events around her, she learned that despite the many flaws of her world, there is an inherent goodness in it. She furthered her knowledge through 1 AM deep dives on topics like Liberal Feminism and Zen Buddhism through the Stanford Encylopedia of Philosophy and Wikipedia which further kindled her desire to better the world around her. At one point, she seriously considered derailing her plans to pursue medicine for Political Science or Sociology. She has learned, through her years doing research and advancing in science fairs, that she had an interest in computational biology– specifically, using machine learning algorithms to better understand the body’s response to cancer and treatments. Though she’ll be studying Biochemistry and Computer Science in the future, she ultimately hopes to help others-- to take action-- no matter how small.

Misbah Aziz

Misbah Aziz is currently a junior at Clear Brook High School and serves her community and peers through various organizations. She is the director of a student advocacy organization in her school district where she represents over 40,000 students and collaborates with district leaders, school boards, and community representatives to voice student concerns. Misbah is also the student council president, involved in debate, and competitive robotics teams. She spends her free time reading, teaching herself to play the guitar, and reading random Wikipedia pages. Misbah has always been passionate about working towards bettering the world around her and hopes to do so in the future as a Civil Engineer.

Safa Prasla

Safa is a high school senior that has spent the majority of her life hustling. Admitted to the gifted program at a young age and continuously taking rigorous coursework, her life has been a long wave of productivity and effort. Her work ethic has allowed her to gain international recognition for her music research, given her the opportunity to serve as Clear Brook High School's Debate Co-President, and advance to national business and speech competitions. Yet now she claims that she wants to quit productivity. Forever. Join Safa as she explores the consequences of hustle culture in modern society and shares why she quit hard work for good.

Vicky Nguyen

Vicky Nguyen mind endlessly spirals as she jumps from one passion project to another. Outside of the classroom, she conducted research at Houston Methodist, examining the effects on Potentiation of Adoptive NK Cell Therapy in Diffused Large B-Cell Lymphoma Treatment. She is now at Baylor College of Medicine exploring the effects of GLUT10KD on breast cancer metabolism. After she clocks out, Vicky works on her service projects in more than 35 undeveloped countries, serving more than 5000 students to bridge the health and educational gap. Her mind then settles on gazing outside of the bus window -- she admires the beauty of small things, the small details of glistening stars, the swaying trees, and the moving clouds. She ultimately strives to amplify the beauty of life that surrounds her: microscopic cells, selfless student, peaceful nature… and most importantly, those now part of her community, you.