Theme: Adapt, Unite, Grow
05 March 2022
Georgia Cyber Center 100 Grace Hopper Lane, Augusta, GA, 30901
What is TEDx?
In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TED has created a program called TEDx. TEDx is a pro gram of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. Our event is called TEDx[name], where x = independently organized TED event. At our TEDx[name] event, TEDTalks video and live speakers will combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events, including ours, are self-organized.
About Our Event
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, live speakers and performers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. We intend to host an event of youth speakers in high school who aim to share a new idea. Join us for an afternoon full of growth, uniting the Augusta community, and understanding how we’ve had to adapt as GenZ over the recent years. We will be providing refreshments during the intermission and inspiring activities to promote our theme.
Because of TEDx guidelines, our event only allows for up to 100 attendees, so please share this opportunity with whoever may be interested! We apologize if you are unable to attend, but all talks will be uploaded after the event on TED.com and the official TEDx Youtube Channel. Stay tuned for updates!
News Features
Check out our interviews to learn more about what we are doing!
Read about our interview in The North Augusta Star!
About the Speakers
Our bench of youth speakers will perform during an afternoon full of growth, uniting the Augusta community, and understanding how we’ve had to adapt as GenZ over the recent years.
Alexis Allen
Alexis is a Junior at Wheeler High School and a participant in the Center for Advanced Studies in Science, Math, and Technology magnet program. She has participated in various summer camps in fields like public health, life sciences, and chemistry, but her experience studying pharmacy was how she truly found her passion for science. Her love of chemistry and healthcare allowed for pharmacology to be the perfect bridge between her passions. Her access to science through her parents and school has instilled her desire to use chemistry education to help others, and she plans to give this TEDx Talk to teach her audience how fascinating and valuable scientific research is through discussing Liposomes.
Amber Aubas
Amber Aubas is a Senior at Greenbrier High School pursuing a career in teaching at Kennesaw State University this fall. Also serving as Multicultural Club President, she is the daughter of a Retired Military Lieutenant Colonel and has strived to make new students feel welcome. She is currently creating a program at her school named Wolfpack Ambassadors to help integrate new students into her school. She has received the 212 award for behavior 3 times and the Academic letter award her junior year of high school. She has made many morning announcements for her school and encouraged others to do the same. Amber is known as a joy to be around, and she wants to continue to make an influence in the lives of others.
Lauren Coughlin
Lauren Coughlin is a Senior at Lakeside High School, and she is part of the International Baccalaureate Program. She is a very active student inside and outside of school. In school, she participates in both Marching Band and Track & Field. Outside of school, she is a very active walker and enjoys participating in other outdoors activities in order to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Lauren is very adamant about maintaining what is healthy for her body and having a body-positive mindset, due to her experiences with eating disorders in the past. She is giving her TEDx Talk to inform the youth about the commonality of eating disorders in young people today. She is so excited to have the opportunity to spread awareness about this subject!
Aarushi Dua
Aarushi Dua is a freshman at Lakeside High School and has many passions. She deeply values the creative arts and sports, and she plays a plethora of instruments such as the classical guitar, piano, flute, ukulele, and percussive instruments. Aarushi’s curiosity guides her to analyze and unify the diverse fields of science and the creative arts into a cohesive concept, and she is grateful to have the opportunity to present it at this prestigious event. Through her unique firsthand experiences with music and medicine, Aarushi has developed an extraordinary idea that combines her dabbles with the arts and sciences.
Diya Garrepally
Diya is a sophomore attending Wheeler High School’s Center for Advanced Studies in Science, Math, and Technology. She was awarded 1st place in the 2020 Cobb/Paulding County Science Fair and taught students cell biology over the 2021 summer break. She is an active participant in Science Olympiad and will compete in the USA Biology Olympiad this year. With her TEDx talk, she hopes to unite and inform others about the ever-adapting world of science.
Arjan Kohli
Arjan Kohli is a senior at Peachtree Ridge High School in Duluth who aspires to pursue a career in quantitative neuroradiology. Having independently acquired the skills to build machine learning-based neuroimaging analysis tools over the summer, Kohli is currently working on building multimodal brain matter quantification models. Kohli’s enthusiasm for analyzing and contextualizing the things around him in a philosophical and moral sense has driven him to question and examine the ethics of his work implementing artificial intelligence in medicine and is the driving force behind the discussions he desires to encourage through this platform.
Tejas Srinivasan
Tejas is an IB junior at Lakeside High School in Evans. He is currently an officer at both the Science National Honor Society and the Technology Student Association at Lakeside. He gained an interest in space exploration in middle school, and after he learned more about the space industry by exposing himself to research papers, communicating with aerospace engineers, and taking up an atomics-based internship at GA Tech, he is willing to propose his general ideas regarding the key to the future for a successful space-faring civilization.
Ryan Yin
Ryan is currently a Junior at Lakeside High school and has been fascinated by the subject of human experience throughout his childhood. As a kid who has moved around a lot, he has seen many different cities and a wide range of social experiences. Throughout these moves, he was able to develop his own thoughts on human growth and experience to a much greater extent. Along with that, his time as VP of debate and competing for the debate team on policy have extended his ideas of human morality and human growth. Ryan, a type 1 perfectionist, developed this TEDx talk with the thought of helping motivate and influence people who are just as obsessed with the concept of perfection as he is.
Meet Our Team
Our entire team has dedicated countless hours and tremendous efforts to make this event a success. From preparing and encouraging speakers to crafting every merch item and obtaining sponsorships, we are committed to making this event a success and one to remember.
Reeya Verma
Hi all, I’m Reeya Verma, a senior at Lakeside High School in the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme, and I am the organizer of TEDxYouth@LakeOlmstead.
Regarding public speaking, I have served as president of Toastmasters Gavel Club of Augusta and received the competent communicator and leadership awards. To extend my impact to others, I have a paid internship with LeadYouth as a communication skills coach. This past summer, I attended the Governor’s Honors Program as a communicative arts major, where I not only honed my own skills in classes but also performed in coffeehouses, initiating my interest in bringing a similar platform to community.
Initially, I was interested in sharing my perspective on medical humanities until I found out that Augusta has actually never hosted a TEDxYouth event! I decided to apply for a license to host this TEDx event; I was accepted in August and quickly gathered a group of brilliant, selfless student leaders in the Augusta community to found and establish TEDxYouth@LakeOlmstead- here we are! I am ecstatic to see what the brilliant changemakers of our area can contribute and share to our platform!
Sharma Pogula
Hi, my name is Sharma Pogula, and as a Distinguished Toastmaster (DTM), I have always been interested in promoting public speaking among the youth. For the last 25 years in Toastmasters International, I held club and State level office positions. I also received first place in 2005 and 2019 at the state-level public speaking competition. Currently, I am helping youth as an advisor of the Toastmasters Gavel Club where they learn to develop communication and leadership skills.
TEDxYouth is an excellent program that provides a platform for youth to share their ideas with a larger audience. Until this event, Augusta, Georgia has never held a TEDx youth conference. I am inspired by this enthusiastic and fully energized team taking up this task. Their hard work to organize this event is commendable. As a co-organizer, I support organizing a successful event. I trust that this event will start a new chapter for Augusta youth for future events and opportunities. This small step by this group can lead to creating historical events in the future.
Madison Brueilly
Hi everyone! My name is Madison Brueilly, and I’m a senior at Greenbrier High School. I’m a part of the Curation and Finance team for the TEDxYouth@Lake Olmstead event.
Volunteering for TEDxYouth is essential because I believe that it is vital for everyone to have a voice. I am excited for this event to allow and give a platform for youth to share their ideas as they can be unrepresented amongst other age groups. Holding a TEDxYouth event in Augusta will help inclusivity and foster growth in our community, as there are often limited opportunities to do so. Furthermore, I’m volunteering in hopes that the event will spread important ideas so our community can learn and grow from new perspectives!
Sydney Kelly
Hey! My name is Sydney Kelly, and I am a senior in the IB Programme at Lakeside High School. I am a part of the Curation Team and the Public Relations for the TEDxYouth@Lake Olmstead event.
When I heard about this event, I was very excited to bring new ideas to the Augusta area through the youth whose views are so important because they will be the next generation to lead our world. In addition, they will be influential to the generation that comes after them. With this in mind, I want to do everything in my power to foster the great minds of tomorrow.
Mckenzie Matthews
Hello everyone! My name is McKenzie Matthews, and I am a part of the Marketing and Public Relations team for the TEDxYouthLakeOlmstead event.
Being able to speak to different people gives me an understanding of how to effectively communicate thoughts, opinions, and ideas. Talking to people is the only way to invite growth and innovation, and I would love to give this opportunity to my community!
Sofie Zeruto
Hi! My name is Sofie Zeruto, and I am a senior at Greenbrier High School. I am a member of the Curation team for the TEDxYouth@LakeOlmstead event.
I am beyond excited to bring the unique opportunity presented by TedxYouth@LakeOlmstead to both Augusta youth and the wider community. Our future lies in the hands of today’s students; oftentimes, the difficulty lies in finding a platform to spread our ideas. It is my hope that this event can both bridge the gap across the different generations in the Augusta area as well as inspire a renaissance of new, innovative thought for the betterment of our community!
Chloe Zhang
Hi! My name is Chloe Zhang, and I am a junior in the IB Programme at Lakeside High School. I am a part of the Curation, Marketing, and PR teams of the TEDxYouth@LakeOlmstead organizing team.
This event grabbed my attention as a volunteer because it gives a voice to people that might not be heard otherwise, and volunteering for this event has given me an outlet to help facilitate that. I think this is extremely important in today’s world to encourage people to share their experiences so that we can all learn from them and build each other up, as well as expand our own scope of knowledge. This event is an engaging way to find connections between different ideas, bringing people in the community closer together.
Our Sponsors
It is not possible to host several seminars in different locations without helping hands. We have sponsors and partners who financially make things happen!
