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).

Whitney High School
16800 Shoemaker Avenue
Cerritos, California, 90703
United States

Anjali Nambiar

Philosophy Enthusiast

Anjali Nambiar is currently a senior at Gretchen Whitney High School and she is very excited to be presenting her talk about her experience learning philosophy. In the future she hopes to become a physician and further explore ideas outside the realms of traditional western medical philosophy. When she isn’t at school, she’s likely planning cool lessons for her students at World of Medicine, discovering new world music genres, or watching the daily 7 o’clock Jeopardy episode.

Crystal Wang

Fan Fiction Devotee

Crystal Wang is currently a senior at Whitney High School. She loves advocating for feminist causes, playing the taiko drums, and participating in academic bowl competitions. In her free time, Crystal enjoys writing short stories (and fanfiction, which is the topic of her talk), playing with her dog, and learning about the history of different cultures.

Dave Sebastian

Certified Motivator

Dave Sebastian is a junior at Whitney High School who loves dogs, indie music, and avocado toast. In his free time, he loves to binge-watch YouTube videos, read fictional books, and take long naps after volleyball practice. Despite finding enjoyment in complaining about school, he actually loves to learn about anything humanities-related; like art history, philosophy, literature, and even theology (regardless of his agnostic beliefs). He hopes he can save the world one day by spreading his good vibes.

Eric Chan

Author

A freshmen from Cerritos High School, name is Eric Chan. He has an interest in literature and his dream job is to become an author. He came to the US after elementary school, and still is struggling with grammar. He feels lucky to have parents who speak English fluently and hopes his Ted Talk will explore his experiences with grammar and the significance of it.

Jess Weiner

Cultural Activist, Innovator, and CEO

Jess Weiner is a cultural expert and CEO of Talk to Jess, a consultancy that works with Fortune 500 companies to help them better reflect people in their media, marketing, and advertising. She’s been a catalyst in two culture-changing moments: Dove's Campaign for Real Beauty in 2006 and as a part of Mattel’s team in changing Barbie's body by introducing 4 new body types, 7 new skin tones, 22 hairstyles, and 24 eye colors. Jess is a best-selling author of two books on confidence and she's an adjunct professor at USC teaching personal branding and entrepreneurship.

Joseph Liao

Friendly Christain

Surprisingly inseparable friends, Whitney High School juniors Joseph Liao and Tuyet-Nhi Nghiem first met a year ago in their sophomore English class, brought together by a project involving a love letter written on a used McDonald’s bag. Despite holding different values and finding themselves constantly at odds, they forged a strong friendship built on open communication, endless patience in defending viewpoints, and a willingness to try and understand each other’s values and beliefs. They hope their story inspires others to seek out ideas that challenge their own and grow through conflict.

Joseph Stevens

English Teacher

Mr. Joe Stevens has been an English teacher at Cerritos High School for nine years. He previously was a staff writer for Newsday and the Long Beach Press-Telegram for 12 years and just completed his first full-length book: Advice to My Future Son-in-Law: Navigating Marriage in the 21st Century. He has a loving wife and two daughters — ages 14 and 11. He defines himself as a husband, father, educator and self-improvement expert. He has been writing his blog, snoozebuttongeneration.com, for 10 years.

Nhi Nghiem

Friendly Athiest

Surprisingly inseparable friends, Whitney High School juniors Joseph Liao and Tuyet-Nhi Nghiem first met a year ago in their sophomore English class, brought together by a project involving a love letter written on a used McDonald’s bag. Despite holding different values and finding themselves constantly at odds, they forged a strong friendship built on open communication, endless patience in defending viewpoints, and a willingness to try and understand each other’s values and beliefs. They hope their story inspires others to seek out ideas that challenge their own and grow through conflict.

Rhea Raman

MUN Secretary General

After spending countless hours watching YouTube videos of other TEDx speakers, Rhea Raman is excited to finally share her own voice on a platform where different opinions are all equally respected. It took Rhea a while to figure out what exactly it is she wanted to talk about, however the night before her audition (classic procrastination) she knew she wanted to talk about something that she hadn’t realized until this year: "Equality between the Stem and Humanities field." She hopes that everyone can recognize the power in their voice.

William Xu

Whitney High School Student

William Xu is a current senior at Whitney High School and aspiring intellectual. An avid fan of niche medium, he has always been fascinated by the adventures of superheroes and super-villains on the big screen as well as on the pages of a graphic novel. In an examination of deeper philosophies prevalent in these stories, William hopes to bring awareness to how expertly comics can challenge the very way we think.