ChandlerPublicLibrary
x = independently organized TED event

Theme: Breaking Stereotypes: Beyond the Box

This event occurred on
August 13, 2016
Chandler, Arizona
United States

Entitled, lazy, rebellious, materialistic - just some of the stereotypes of today's teens. In reality, teens are builders, writers, composers, entrepreneurs, and so much more. Join us for an exploration of all kinds of stereotypes, and how we break them every day.

Chandler Public Library - Downtown
22 South Delaware Street
Chandler, Arizona, 85225
United States
Event type:
Library (What is this?)
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Speakers

Speakers may not be confirmed. Check event website for more information.

Aayush Rastogi

Magician
My name Is Aayush Rastogi and I was born on May 28, 2006. I am 10 years old and, I just passed 4th grade. I love Math and, my favorite sport is soccer. My favorite colors are blue, green, and red. My top two hobbies are magic and reading. I am still unsure about what to be when I grow up. Sometimes I express my feelings in poems (which turns out to be really good). Americas Got Talent is one of my favorite TV shows because you get to see many amazing talents. I love doing fundraising and sales (usually for a good cause). I really want a job and would love to earn a job. I have a two year old brother. His name is Paavan; though he is naughty I love him very much. I was born to my mother, Pooja Rastogi, and my father, Rajul Rastogi. I go to Basis Chandler South Campus (BCP SC). I really like Basis Chandler because it is the right fit for me. In my old school, I always the smartest in the class and that made me feel unusual. In BCP everyone one is gifted and I feel like I belong.

Calvin D'Souza

Student
Calvin D’Souza is a budding 9-year old explore attending 4th grade Gifted Program at the Jacobson Elementary School. He is an avid reader and a creative tinkerer, always building something amazing with Legos, especially robots. An entrepreneur with a large heart, whether it be making and selling paper airplanes at his school’s economics fair or selling home grown lemons to raise money for a cause is one of his personal trait. He is a competitive swimmer and an avid musician. Calvin loves history, especially the United States Presidential history. He aspires to graduate from Columbia Law School and be the President of the United States of America! Calvin’s entrepreneur mindset is backed by a strong sense of fairness and equality, driving his passion to be a voice for his peers, especially the ones afraid to stand up. Calvin has been recognized for being fair and compassionate and is a little fireball of inspiration everywhere he goes!

Charles Johnson

student
Hi My name is Charles Johnson I am 17 years old and I am from Chandler Arizona. I currently attend Chandler High as a Senior and I'm striving to be at the top of my class once I graduate this upcoming year. Throughout my life I have gone through a great deal of hardships hoping that one day I would make it to the top. In my early life I found a passion for dance it always brought joy to me or helped me let go of the hostility that I would let rest inside of me each day. I had my mindset so early in life that the two most important things were to do well in school so that one day I would be able to support my family so that they never will end up on the street again. Second was that dancing was something I loved to do It brought my darkness and turn it into light. I say that because now the scared, lonesome, poor little boy is not the man that you are listening to today it is a brave, hardworking, compassionate, honest person that I have worked so hard to be.

Diya Murthy

student
My name is Diya Murthy, and I am 12 years old. I love to write and play volleyball, and I am currently going to Basis Chandler for 7th grade. It all started one winter evening on January 7th. My parents decided to name me Diya, which means “light”, because I was the light in their life. Except for my sister, of course. Her name is Nithara and she is 4 years older than me, and she is the greatest older sister you could ask for. When I was four, I started going to preschool in Adobe Montesory. Not long after I went to Bright Beginnings School for kindergarten through fourth grade. In first grade, my love of writing began, and I started to write poems about everything. Fourth grade was the year I started volleyball and grew fond of it quickly. That was also the year I wrote a letter to the president about poached elephants and he responded back saying I should start by helping the animals in my community first. Now I have one fish, two parents, my sister, and a great group of friends.

Gala Palavicini

student
My name is Gala Palavicini and I was born in Puebla, Mexico, on July 11th 1997. In my family we are five, me, my dad, my mom, my younger brother, and my dog. We lived in a German community. In 2010, I moved to another state, where I met my best friends! I also learned French and English, and fell in love with the British culture. I enrolled in college on March 2015, to study Physics. I loved black holes and other Universe creatures. The biggest of all adventures was moving to the US. My family and I moved to Arizona on July 2015. I tried to continue my college education, but after all, I decided to repeat senior year. It was awesome: I learned some Turkish and Arabic, ate incredible food, and danced a lot. Still in senior year, I enrolled in a Mexican online college. Go Class of 2020!!! I want to study International Affairs; I want to help the world that had taught me so much happiness. I really don’t know what’s next, but everything is a welcomed surprise.

Janani Lakshmanan

Student
Janani Lakshmanan is currently a senior at Arizona College Prep - Erie. After spending a summer at Stanford University, where the unofficial mascot is the Palo Alto tree, she began researching the concept of greenery in our locality. She hopes to be able to see some more foliage in our city in the years to come. Academically, Janani wishes to pursue degrees in mathematics, architectural design and philosophy when she goes off to university next year. She is also an avid dancer, and will perform her stage debut in India this December. She learns Indian classical music and plays on her school's varsity tennis team. An active member of both her school's math and robotics teams and the proud owner of a blog, Monochromatic Tie-Dye, Janani brings her characteristic enthusiasm to everything she pursues. She firmly believes that cars are the pinnacle of mankind’s achievements, and that any problem can be solved with the aid of a mug of tea and some 80's pop rock.

Julia Crocco

Student
Julia Crocco is ecstatic to be apart of this year's TEDx Youth conference. She has always loved TED talks and even co-founded a TED ED club her freshman year. Julia will be a senior at Catalina Foothills High School this upcoming year. Her other passions include singing and learning. Julia hopes to become a choir director or a pharmaceutical scientist after college. Julia would like to thank everyone for coming and she hopes you enjoy her talk.

Justin Grigory

student
I am a sophomore at Perry High School enrolled in the STEM program (but there are changes to be made to our education!). My hobbies include writing thought-provoking poetry, stick juggling, ballroom dancing, gaming, and improv. I have done Destination Imagination for six years, and helped host the 2016 Arizona State DI Showcase. I have been a member of Back East Improv Theater Company for five years and am eagerly awaiting its next opening. I also rehearse at Improv Mania and do performances there monthly. In addition I was a Perrywinkle Improv Intern back when school was in session. I enjoy attending a Unitarian Universalist church every Sunday. I am a dance student at Arthur Murray Dance Studio, and go contra dancing twice a month with my friends.

Karalynn Schubring

Student/Composer
Karalyn Schubring is seventeen years old and recently graduated from Chandler Preparatory Academy. She began studying piano at age three and composing at age six. Since then, her music has received awards from significant organizations such as the American Composers Forum (ACF), the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA), YoungArts, Social Music Works, and the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP). This summer, she performed her composition for euphonium and piano, “Song of the Ancients,” on National Public Radio’s “From the Top” program, premiered her first musical with East Valley Children’s Theater, and was one of six winners chosen from around the country for ACF’s NextNotes Composition Awards. Karalyn will continue her studies in music at the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre, and Dance in the fall.

Nithara Murthy

Student
Nithara Murthy is a 16 year old Arizonan and will be starting her junior year of high school in August. She is a writer, singer, dancer, and musician, although she wants to pursue a career in the medical field. She loves science and wants to someday make breakthroughs in the field of mental health. She has her feet deeply rooted to the ground and her head floating in the clouds. She enjoys listening to a variety of music, with her favorite being Regina Spektor. She is a passionate LGBTQA+, women, and minorities rights’ advocate and hopes that someday people will be more tolerant. She enjoys terrifying her friends and family with horrible puns and dramatic hand gestures. She also loves torturing her little sister with creatively thought out nicknames. She despises being called cute, happy, or short, and wishes a painful death on any who call her so.

Somashree Biswas

student
Annyeonghasseyo! My name is Somashree Biswas and I am a sophomore at Basis Chandler. At age 11, I enrolled in Hindustani Classical vocal training and piano classes, two of the biggest milestones in my life. I have always been told I had an ear for music , yet it took a lot of courage on my part to begin and persist through my rigorous training in both areas along with school and other activities. If you’ve ever met me, you can tell I love talking just as much as I love music. As a child, I would get in trouble at school for talking to my friend, yet when I talked to the whole class, words wouldn’t come out. I made a resolution with myself later to open my mind as much as possible so I could talk to anyone, even about things like Kpop. Writing has also been a huge part of my life; when words couldn’t express how I felt I wrote. I ended up starting an opinion based blog later on as well. As I go through high school, I hope to have more opinions to express.

Ty Promreuk

Student/Composer
Ty Promreuk is a 14-year-old student at Mesa Community College. Since age 4, she has been taking piano lessons at East Valley Yamaha Music School, where she is now also an assistant teacher. She enjoys composing her own music and has performed her compositions at Yamaha’s 2015 and 2016 National Junior Original Concerts. She has also performed at the 2016 National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) show in Anaheim, California. Apart from music, she is also interested in Antarctica, astronomy, languages, ancient mythology, mathematical theories, prehistoric marine lifeforms, and neuroscience. Her composition, “Shadowfire”, is in a Latin style inspired by Astor Piazzola’s music.

Organizing team

Phyllis
Saunders

Chandler, AZ, United States
Organizer
  • Daniel Lee
    Operations
  • Jean Reynolds
    Team member