Theme: It's Now or Never

The unprecedented times the world is currently in has been an eye opening experience for everyone; with a majority of the youth being quarantined for the past few months, it has given them time to reflect on what they can do to create an impact. Immediate action is a must at a time like this. Through this event, we hope to present a spectrum of ideas including nuanced scientific theories, meanings behind artistic expressions, historical perspectives, and cultural analysis. Yet, they are all united by the common link of humans acting during a time of need. After all, time does not wait, so why should we.

TED Conference
20 Level Creek Road NW
Suwanee, Georgia, 30024
United States

Akhil Turaga

Akhil Turaga is a current senior in Parkview High School. In middle school, he co-founded Sri Dutt Raga Dance Academy and has worked with non-profit organizations across the country. In his dance academy, he promotes primarily Indian culture and teaches western styles such as hip hop which provides him with open-mindedness. This is the catalyst that helped him jumpstart Unity in Diversity in order to understand other people’s backgrounds. Apart from dance and UD, he is a physics enthusiast and loves to research neuroscience as he aspires to advance the field of neuroengineering.

Avery Adaeze Uzoije

Avery Adaeze Uzoije (Adaeze) is a junior going to GSMST. She takes great interest in the arts and most any sociological topic. She is a two-time GHP nominee of Visual Arts and Communication Arts, and she has been given GSMST Academic Excellence awards in the autumn for the past two years. She wants to speak on the topic of homophily and how society can work with it as a community because she feels that it is integral to understand why we look to interact with the people we do, along with understanding how the world can interact with others different from one another in a more accepting and amicable way.

Chandni Pari Jain

Chandni Pari Jain is a Senior at Peachtree Ridge High School, and she is currently the Georgia DECA VP of Leadership and the 7A Representative on GHSA’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. She is also a GHP 56 (2019) Biology Major, has attended Stanford Pre-Collegiate to study Business and Entrepreneurship, plays Varsity Golf, has placed at the state science fair these last two years, and founded the Miss Incredible Pageant, an event that celebrates people with disabilities. During the pandemic, she utilized her time to network within the community of people with disabilities and learned about virtual means to access the community. She also developed a blog to discuss the impacts of the pandemic on special education and the growth that was obtained by the community of people with disabilities through video conferencing.

Daniel Kim

Daniel Kim is a clarinet player, currently a part of the Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra and Emory Youth Symphony Orchestra. He also holds position as Logistics coordinator with a student-led organization known as Fine Arts for All to serve the community through music and art. Other than music, Daniel also participates in activities around his school and currently serves as the junior class president of North Gwinnett Student Council.

Michaela Sawyer

Michaela is an avid community participant and works to help foster leadership and accountability in her community . She participates in track and field as well as flag football at her high school. She is also a senior representative for the Gwinnett student leadership team and helped found a community initiative for youth in the metro-Atlanta area entitled Liberation Support Group. When not at practice, volunteering, or tutoring she enjoys spending time with friends, reading, sleeping or watching classic films.

Olivia Schramkowski

Olivia is a junior at North Atlanta High School. She has been involved with fighting voter suppression for many years and has worked with many organizations including March For Our Lives, When We All Vote, Georgia for the Planet, and Generation Ratify. While Olivia is passionate about all political issues, she is especially passionate about women’s and voter’s rights. Her favorite experience while protecting the vote so far was being a fellow for Ballotpedia over the summer and working with the Georgia Democrats on voter protection. Besides politics, Olivia also enjoys dancing and stage managing.

Reagan Ritchie

Reagan Ritchie has been journaling since she was eight. Journaling has helped her through the toughest of times and the best of times. These best of times have been when she made the girls golf team at North Gwinnett, becoming a student mentor, and being a leader in her youth group. She hopes through her speech she can convey how everyone can destress and conquer life by writing down current issues and looking back on past accomplishments. Especially during these hard times of the pandemic, it is easy to worry about the future but through journaling, she believes everyone can look at past circumstances where people have struggled but overcame. Simply writing down the daily tasks people do will make them appreciate every day better and reach their goals more effectively!

Rhea Chitanand

Rhea Chitanand is a senior at Denmark High School in Alpharetta, Georgia. She loves both writing and speaking, especially on topics such as technology, innovation, history, and literature. She aspires to have a career in computer science but also wants to explore writing for websites and various publications in the future. Overall, she keeps a positive outlook on life and hopes to inspire others to do so as well!

Shivani Desai

Shivani is a senior at Peachtree Ridge High School who loves the intersection between STEM and the humanities. Her TedX Talk will present a scientific and philosophical perspective on how the year 2020 should inspire us to change our rhythm as a society and reflect on our purpose. She's Student Council President and on the Gwinnett Student Leadership Team. As the CEO/host of the annual Taste of Gwinnett, she and her team have raised upwards of $15,000 for Relay for Life, and she loves bringing the community together in a unique way. Shivani enjoys uplifting students in STEM and is a recipient of the 2020 Society of Women Engineers Global Innovator Award. Her favorite pastimes include learning new languages and watching HBO shows.

Timothy Hwang

Timothy Hwang is a current senior at the Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science, and Technology. In his TEDx Talk, Timothy will relay the significance of slacktivism and explore what it takes to digitally express concerns during times of need. As an award-winning speaker in the Georgia Association of Student Councils, he is passionate about serving the community and speaking on leadership topics. Additionally, Timothy is the founder and CEO of 501(c)(3), Covac Education Corp. — he and his team are dedicated to aid local businesses, support frontline workers, and tutor students in need throughout the pandemic. In his free time, Timothy often finds himself opening the fridge or practicing the ukulele. He is also a prominent national Taekwondo athlete who enjoys sports poomsae and tricking.