Theme: Rethinking Tomorrow Together

Yesterday’s ideas inform who we are. Today’s ideas shape who we will become.

Ideas worth sharing are fresh rays of light from our community seeking to transform our world into a better place for everyone.

Who will we become? What will we create? When will it happen? Where will we experience it the most? Why must we do it? How can we make it a reality?

These are the questions our speakers will seek to help us answer at TEDxClassicalAcademyHS as we are all Rethinking Tomorrow Together!

Classical Academy High School - Caiman Hall
207 E Pennsylvania Ave
Escondido, California, 92025
United States

Alexander Usher

Student leader, sustainability advocate and aspiring robotics engineer

Alexander Usher is a senior at Classical Academy High School and is passionate about sustainability, robotics, learning, art and fencing. He is the Co-founder and Captain of an internationally competitive robotics team and the Founder and President of the TEDed club at Classical Academy High School. Alex is the organizer of TEDxClassicalAcademyHS and is grateful for all the speakers that have joined him in sharing their voices with the community and igniting deep conversations that can help us rethink tomorrow together!

Annelise Jackson

Musician, student leader and aspiring teacher

Annelise Jackson is a senior at Classical Academy High School and a member of the student leadership team. She has enjoyed performing in musicals and playing piano since she was 7 years old. She is passionate about serving others and hopes to become an elementary school teacher after graduating from a 4-year university.

Caleb Schanzenbach

Amateur Philosopher, Musician, Student

Caleb Schanzenbach is a musician, writer, sketcher, knitter and so much more! He enjoys playing video games, especially the Legend of Zelda, and plays the piano, guitar, drums, ukulele, bass, recorder and a few other instruments. He has been in eleven theatrical productions including ten musicals and one play and has also written a book. Caleb believes that we all create our own reality. If we think life is bad, it is. If we think life is good, it is! Therefore, if we shift our perspective or change our attitude, we can change our world. So be positive and change the world!

Claire Weston

CEO, Reveal Biosciences

Dr. Claire Weston earned her Ph.D. in Cell Biology from Cambridge University in the U.K. and is the Founder and CEO of Reveal Biosciences. She is an accomplished and dedicated scientific leader with a track record of success in cancer research and has led teams and projects focused on cancer biomarkers in both large pharmaceutical and start-up environments.

Derek Montgomery

US History teacher

Derek Montgomery is a high school history teacher at Classical Academy High School. His life also includes family, mountains, music and canines. He believes our country appears to be divided in many ways and our politics over the past few years has bothered him. That concern led him to write this talk—The Politics of Personal Relationships: A Case for Radical Kindness—and he continues to hold out hope that we will reach for our better angels in the way we go about civic life.

Grace Carrasco

Musician and environmental advocate

Grace Carrasco is a senior at Classical Academy High School and a Palomar College student. She is passionate about environmental issues, music and education. As a musician for twelve years, she has seen firsthand the benefits of music in education and hopes to spread this idea to others.

Lauren Chiang

Non-profit leader, activist and student athlete

Lauren Chiang is a senior at Classical Academy High School and is passionate about the life sciences, tennis, origami, learning new things and helping others. Aside from her schoolwork, she founded and runs a 501c3 certified nonprofit organization called Unconfined the Project, dedicated to bridging the gap between art and activism. Her weeks are packed with volunteering, athletics, academics and other activities as she strives to reach her highest potential. Lauren is excited to give her talk and hopes everyone will enjoy it too!

Logan Brown

Mathematician and programmer

Logan Brown is a freshman at High Tech High School and loves cats, programming and playing the piano. He also enjoys physics, encryption, AI neural nets and playing Kerbal Space Program.

Lola McFarlane

Ecosystem advocate and outdoor enthusiast

Lola McFarlane is a sophomore at Classical Academy High School and also attends Palomar College. She has always had a passion for the environment and how living things connect to form a working ecosystem. She loves hiking and just about any other outdoor activity and hopes she can coherently share her passion with you!

Michael Brown

Video Game Developer, Robotics Coach

Mike Brown is a Game Developer for Activision with more than 2 decades of experience working on the some of the biggest and best selling franchises of all time. Credits include Myst, Transformers, Destiny and Call of Duty among many others. In addition to this, he is an avid maker, robotics coach, and STEAM advocate.

Nicholas Usher

Robot designer, maker and science enthusiast

Nicholas Usher is a sophomore at Classical Academy High School and is passionate about robotics, science, and inventing. He is the co-founder of a competitive robotics team and has been building robots with his teammates for the past six years. He is the lead mechanical engineer and designer for his robotics team and works extensively in C.A.D. (Computer Aided Design) to create and iterate upon designs throughout the season. He is also very passionate about a broad range of science topics and won the Grand Award in the physical sciences at the Greater San Diego Science and Engineering Fair with his project on the application of superconductors in transportation. During his spare time, he enjoys playing the piano, solving Rubik's cubes, and reading.

Raj Pabari

Social Entrepreneur

Raj Pabari is a social entrepreneur who believes every venture is an opportunity to serve a broader purpose. He’s a driven, inquisitive, outgoing self-starter with a passion for learning and inventing. Pabari finds unique solutions to real-world problems and has innovated in various fields including portable electricity generation, peer-to-peer tutoring, biotechnology, online education, and water leak detectors. His interests include robotics, policy debate, trivia, investment, and programming. When he’s not thinking about the next billion-dollar idea, you’ll find him hiking, caring for foster kittens, or laughing with friends.

Seth Peace

Comedic Timing Expert, Student

Seth Peace is a sophomore at Classical Academy High School and is very excited to deliver his very own TEDx Talk! Be prepared to laugh while he tells you the science behind laughter! Besides comedy, he enjoys programming, reading and swimming. Forty-two is his favorite number and sixteen is his lucky number. That was really random, and if you get to know him, you’ll understand that “random” describes his personality quite well!