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).

Unionville High School
750 Unionville Road
Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, 19348
United States

Clay Budicak

Clay Budicak is a transgender student from Kennett Square, PA. He is a strong LGBTQ+ rights activist and hopes to inspire others to make the world a better place. Clay is also a youth mental health advocate and wants to spread awareness on the mental and emotional struggles of LGBTQ+ teens with a goal of creating a more supportive environment within schools and homes across the world. He loves participating in musical activities and is a proud member of his school’s marching band and drumline.

Darena Ho

Darena is a current sophomore at Unionville High School. Growing up, she has always found a passion for social issues, especially issues regarding race, gender, and the importance of mental health. She exemplifies her passion through her work on BoDEI, her school’s board of diversity, equity, and inclusion, and works to enact systemic change at her school.

Ella Troiano

Ella Troiano is an 11th-grade National Honors Society student at Unionville High school. She is the third-time captain of the UHS cheerleading team and was recently selected to travel to Hawaii for an All-American Varsity cheerleading performance in the Pearl Harbor Memorial Day Parade. She has been working for 2 years at Malena’s Vintage Boutique, a small business in West Chester, PA. She enjoys vintage fashion, vintage cars, and art history. She hopes to travel the world to broaden her knowledge and experience of other cultures and languages.

Felicity Chen

Felicity is a sophomore at Unionville High School, interested in the way social groupings are formed and how they affect reform. She is an orator on the speech and debate team, an opinion’s reporter for her school’s newspaper, a cellist, and a member of her school’s Future Business Leaders of America team.

Francille Zhuang

Francille is a senior at Unionville High School. As an officer of the National Art Honors Society, she can be found after school working on art-related community projects. She also often illustrates for the Unionville Post. In addition, she enjoys learning random trivia for the UHS Academic Team.

Lucas Ballenger

Lucas is a sophomore at Unionville High School. He currently co-chairs the school’s Philosophy Club where he gives lectures and facilitates discussions. Outside of school, Lucas enjoys a wide spectrum of reading topics such as history, fiction, and science. In addition, Lucas spends a good portion of his reading time performing a more in-depth exploration of philosophy with his current focus being ancient philosophy. Other favorite activities include drawing, writing, film, traveling to different countries, and listening to music from different eras.

Rob Rabena

Rob currently serves as Ascent’s Director of Sports Performance. At Ascent, Rob and his team work with all levels of athletes from middle school, high school, college and up to 50 professional baseball players in a given offseason. Rob is also an Adjunct Professor at Widener University in the Doctor of Physical Therapy Program and Cabrini University for undergraduate students in Exercise Science. Rob is also a Fitness Consultant for Altis Technologies and has published research on baseball conditioning in 2019.

Salwa Sulieman

Dr. Sulieman is a Pediatric Infectious Diseases physician at Nemours Children’s Hospital, Delaware. She originates from Little Rock, AR and completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. She then went on to osteopathic medical school training in Kansas City and stayed there to complete her general pediatric residency and chief resident year at Children’s Mercy Hospital. She moved to the east coast and did her Pediatric Infectious Diseases fellowship at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia from 2011-2014. Salwa’s first faculty position was back in Kansas City at Children’s Mercy, where she worked to create a second Infectious Diseases service focused solely on Transplant and Immunocompromised patients. She returned to the Philadelphia area in January 2017, when she started work in the Infectious Diseases division at Nemours. Her interests include infections and vaccinations in the immunocompromised host. Aside from her clinical duties, she is an active member of the bone marrow and solid organ transplant teams locally and serves on national committees focused on infections in pediatric transplant patients. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, she has been a medical consultant for the Unionville-Chadds Ford School District.

Samantha Diver

Samantha is a junior at Unionville High School and has been a student in the district for her entire educational career. She is also on the Unionville Girls Golf Team and is a member of the National Honor Society. Additionally, She participates in Four Diamonds Mini Thon and the Kennett Consolidated After-the-Bell program. Samantha has gone on a long journey with her mental health and wants to encourage others to find help.