Theme: The Trials, Tribulations, and Triumphs of the 21st Century Teen Experience

It cannot be denied that growing up in the 21st Century, has included certain obstacles that were never present in generations before. The increasing levels of globalization coupled with the advent of social media has deemed adolescence more than just an awkward period in one’s life; but a public one. Not only this, but perhaps the most prominent growth in our world regarding sociocultural norms has been in civil liberties, advocacy, and individualism during a time where maintaining unity seems prudent. With new social-norms bombarding the previously solid products of generational differences, the teen experience today cannot possibly summed up in a phrase, but by a plethora of advances towards finding the equilibrium between finding oneself in this ever-connected world, while not closing oneself off to learning through new experiences. This equilibrium must be found if we want the generations that follow us not to make feel our same awkward, fidgety struggles, leading the TEDxYouth@Brambleton team to create our topic: “The Trials, Tribulations, and Triumphs of the 21st Century Teen Experience” for this year’s conference!

Brambleton Middle School
23070 Learning Cir
Ashburn, Virginia, 20148
United States

David Schnurman

David Schnurman is the CEO of Lawline, the largest provider of online continuing legal education. He is also the President of Entrepreneurs Organization (EO) in New York and the author of the book The Fast Forward Mindset. Preparing today’s youth with the tools they need to succeed is very personal to David, as a father of three kids, 10 and under. Over the past 5 years as a board member of EO, he has been instrumental in starting and continuing the Young Entrepreneur Summit (YES). Additionally, he was the first to bring the Global Student Entrepreneur Awards Competition to the New York chapter, which is dedicated to inspiring college students to start their own businesses. David also speaks at high schools in New York City in coordination with the National Foundation of Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE), with his main goal to help students build confidence in themselves.

Maddie Edwards

Maddie Edwards is a student at Woodgrove High School and the Academies of Loudoun and is from Purcellville, Virginia. She pursues her passions in Engineering and Entrepreneurship and hopes to never stop growing.

Noah Levy

Noah Levy is an entrepreneur and a recent graduate of American University. He is currently a co founder and CEO of Solve Media, a podcasting platform, and a former co founder and President of Fact PAC, a data analytics political action committee. He is from Florida and is very proud of it!

Salimah Hagmagid

Salimah Hagmagid is a sixteen-year-old sophomore at the Madeira School. She is a poet, author, and spoken word artist. She began consistently writing poetry at the age of 12 and has continued ever since. Her debut book, a self-published poetic memoir entitled Lovely is coming out within a week of this event. She writes to connect with her audience from both the stage and on paper. Salimah enjoys giving to others and hope that her time here today will give you at least a little inspiration to take home with you.

Thomas ILAND

Diagnosed with autism at 13 years old, THOMAS ILAND (pronounced like “island”) has worked hard to achieve his goals: learning to drive, living on his own, graduating from college, obtaining full-time employment, running two marathons and having a girlfriend. Thomas recently left his career as a certified public accountant (CPA) to educate, inspire and motivate young people to become their best selves. One of only 4,000 Distinguished Toastmasters in the world and a member of the National Speakers Association, his mantra “Know Yourself. Love Yourself. Be Yourself.” has been featured in keynote speeches in conferences around the United States and Mexico and is among the topics in his award-winning book, “Come to Life! Your Guide to Self-Discovery.” Thomas recently had the honor of speaking at the United Nations as an emerging leader that helps people become their best selves through coaching and consulting. He plans to become a Toastmasters Accredited Speaker and a certified human potential coach this year. Thomas lives in Santa Clarita, CA with his dog, Bridget.

Wassim Bouhsane

Wassim is a high school student and entrepreneur working to use entrepreneurship and his diverse cultural background to bridge the gaps that exist between those that comprise our global society. Because his family is from four different nations, Wassim's experiences throughout his life have allowed him to understand the challenges faced by not only the youth of our nation but also the youth of our world. Using these diverse experiences, Wassim hopes to enact social change and foster a sense of global peace and understanding among all.

Xuan Huynh

Xuan comes from a family that knows what it means to start a new life in a new land. As an American and child of a Vietnamese immigrant, she understands the prejudices people can have and how important it is to minimize the gaps in understanding within communities. Since 2016, she has been a participating artist in the Youth Art Re-Imagining Community Program. In this program, she and others use art to address social and racial inequities. Xuan also participated in cross-cultural dialogues as a U.S. Student Ambassador with young girls from the Middle East and North Africa in the Tech Girls 2018 summer program. Inspired by her experiences, Xuan plans to continue empowering the ignored and silenced members of society.