Theme: A Shifting Scene

The theme of our event encompasses the idea of a constantly changing world. People switch jobs, from new relationships and discover groundbreaking theories– the bottom line: we are constantly evolving. From events as mundane as moving houses to the seismic effects of the rise of AI, life is always shifting. We want speakers to explore this broad theme through their own unique, personalized point of view.

Joan Pisani Community Center
19655 Allendale Ave
Saratoga, California, 95070
United States

Aneiya Thomas

student

Aneiya Thomas is a freshman at Saratoga High School. She enjoys volleyball, going on hikes, and listening to music. As social media becomes more relevant in everyone’s lives, she decided to center her talk around the negative impact of social media on teenagers. The subtopics she chose to discuss are specific to students at Saratoga high, and she hopes that through my talk, she can educate the audience and give more insight on this topic.

Charlotte Hu

student

Charlotte Hu is a sophomore at Saratoga High. Her speech “Embracing the Ambiguity of Life” is about the development of one’s identity, and reflects on her past experiences and growth as a person.

Ellie Shen

student

Ellie Shen is a freshman at Saratoga High. She is involved in speech and debate and has a big passion for science. Her talk “Passion: the Key to Productivity” is about finding motivation to study using psychology principles. She will explore the roots of procrastination and burnout, and will reveal how to combat them and develop better study habits.

Esha Verma

student

Esha Verma is a sophomore at Saratoga High. She is actively involved in speech and debate and interested in the intersection of AI and biology. Today, she will be speaking about a topic that is adjacent to both: the importance of ethics in artificial intelligence. Her talk is called “Beyond Human Limits: How AI is Transforming Cancer Detection and Treatment”.

Santosh Janardhan

Meta Head of Infrastructure

Our last speaker before intermission is Santosh Janardhan. He is the head of global infrastructure at META, where he supports the teams responsible for developing and operating the hardware, network, software and data centers. Though Santosh is passionate about his job, he does not shy away from new life experiences. Notably, in 2023, he climbed Mount Kilimanjaro. Today he will be talking about how he maintains his work-life balance and its importance on his happiness and health.

Sanyukta Ravishankar

student

Sanyukta Ravishankar is a freshman at Saratoga High. Sanyukta advocates for a world where youth are free from the grips of any prejudice. In her speech titled "Breaking the Silence: Challenging Sexism in Educational Spaces," she will describe her evolving perspective on sexism in a society that claims to have renounced it, specifically through her experiences in Speech and Debate.