Doug Hughes
Teacher
Doug Hughes is a native New Englander who has called the desert home for nearly ten years. He teaches physics, facilitates the Mind Your Mind class, and runs the recycling club at BASIS Oro Valley. In his spare time he maintains a small botanical garden/wildlife sanctuary at his residence. An advocate of living a well-rounded life, Mr. Hughes strives to balance his love of science, the arts, and exercise. He hopes that his TEDx talk will inspire people to use mindfulness in their daily lives.
Hannah Park
Student (Sophomore)
Hannah is a sophomore at Basis OV and she’s the girl who’s always hysterically laughing in the hallway with her friends. She loves music, everything about it, and she loves to compose songs. She hopes to compose for a soundtrack on a TV show or a movie one day. She believes fine arts is an important factor in people’s daily lives because people can spread all kinds of positive messages through art, music, and drama. She hopes to spread happiness to all students and teachers at Basis and is always open to giving advice and encouragement when others need it. Through her speech, Hannah would like to show that encouragement is what’s best for everyone rather than criticism, and that changing the way you physically look should be a choice made by you, for your own happiness and desire.
Jake Wilhelm
Teacher
Jake is currently a US History teacher at BASIS Oro Valley. He received his Bachelor’s in History and a minor in philosophy from San Diego Christian College and is currently working towards his Master’s in Theological Studies from Reformed Theological Seminary. Jake has been married for 5 years to his wife Abigail and has two daughters Esther (2) and Elizabeth (7 mths). When not in the classroom, Jake enjoys reading, great coffee, cycling through Tucson, and getting donuts with his oldest daughter.
Leila Wiberg
Student (Junior)
Leila Wiberg has devoted her high school years to volleyball and homework. She is active in the Basis community as NHS President, Jag Pack co-President, and volleyball assistant coach. Outside of school, she loves to lift weights, surf, and play volleyball until she drops. She also spends lots of time on social media, where she noticed a problem with false news that she will explain and propose a solution to in her talk. In the future, Leila hopes to study science and find success in the business world.
Maren Eltze
Student (Senior)
Maren is a senior at BASIS Oro Valley. When she isn’t pulling late nights studying, you can find her at school playing sports, tutoring, or sharing food with her friends. She plans on majoring in biomedical engineering when she goes college in the fall, and hopes to continue her education afterwards by attending medical school. She has passion for continuously growing and learning, so when she realized that having plants in her room seemed helped her academically, she decided to explore the topic further in her TEDx talk.
Stephanie Bai
Student (Senior)
Stephanie Bai is a senior at BASIS Oro Valley who loves reading, walking outside, and trying to listen to as many podcasts and audiobooks as humanly possible. In her free time, she usually finds herself returning to tried and true comforts, like talking to friends, watching YouTube videos, and snacking on sour candy. Right now, she is working on a senior project, Teacher Preparation: Before and After, exploring how teachers can develop the skills that make them most effective. In the future, she sees herself as an elementary school teacher, striving to live up to the awesome work done by BASIS OV teachers. She'll be talking about race relations, education, and empathy in her TEDxBOV Talk: The Case for Empathy in Education.