Theme: Doppler Effect

We are very excited to finally present TEDxOlympiaHighSchool 2019! As this is the very first year to hold a TEDx event at Olympia High School, we cannot wait to see how many changes and impacts this event will bring to our community. This year, our theme is "Doppler Effect." Our goal is to talk about things that we often miss to see--things that may seem insignificant or different from a distance but have important values or are not the way it seemed when seen up close. We hope this event will inform and foster people to see and think from different perspectives and become more aware of what's taking place in our school, community, country, and even around the world.

Olympia High School
1302 North Street SE
Olympia, Washington, Washington
United States

Bahar Bouzarjomehri

Student

Bahar is 16 years old and is a sophomore at Olympia High School. Her parents and her brother immigrated to the U.S. from Iran in 2001, so she is a first generation American. However, she has remained very connected to her Iranian culture, and she is an avid participant of the Olympia Children of Persia community. At school, she is a member of FBLA (Future Business Leaders of America) and Climate Action Club, which have both given her the opportunity to speak in front of audiences. Her other hobbies include playing the bassoon, tennis, and hiking.

Ethan Brickell

Student

Ethan is fifteen years old and is about to finish his freshman year at Olympia High School. One of Ethan’s favorite pastimes is engaging in philosophical discourse. He finds philosophy to be very intriguing and can think endlessly about questions such as, ‘Where do our morals come from?’ and ‘Do we have free will?.’ He also devotes a lot of his time folding origami. He has strayed away from the figurative side of origami in order to focus more on geometrically centered pieces, such as tessellations. He enjoys learning and cannot wait for the next step in his educational career.

Julia Marzella

Student

Julia is 17 years old and is currently a junior at Olympia High School. She is passionate about connecting with people and sharing ideas through public speaking. Julia has been committed to organizations, such as Future Business Leaders of America and National Honor Society, throughout her time in high school.

Kaylee Shen

Student

Kaylee is a 15-year-old climate activist from Olympia, Washington. She is currently a sophomore at Olympia High School, and her climate activist work began in her eighth grade year when she first started to take interest in current events, specifically today's environmental destruction. From there, she was determined to take full advantages of her rights and began fighting climate change as a youth leader voice. Since then, she has spoken at city council, organized a school strike, and founded the Olympia High School Climate Action Club. She believes that climate change is the largest issue of this generation and must be approached differently in order to receive the attention that it needs. Along her interest in climate change, she plays oboe in the school band and is in the school varsity tennis team.

Mehr Grewal

Student

Mehr is a 6th grader at Odle Middle School in Bellevue, Washington. She is 12 years old and is passionate about her community and wants to make a positive impact. She has been volunteering since she was 7 years old with a focus on public health. She participates in biannual health camps in her community, food and clothing drives, and has initiated successful health campaigns. She was recognized the Outstanding Elementary Student by the city of Bellevue. Recently, she was awarded the Prudential Spirit of Community award for her outstanding community service. She is also an ardent writer of fiction and poetry and loves art.

Pranav Gundrala

Student

Pranav is a sophomore at Olympia High School, who is a council member on the Legislative Youth Advisory council of Washington. He enjoys writing, painting, and community service. Within the council, he devotes time to understanding youth issues and lobbying on bills that affect those issues, such as education and civic engagement. At school, he is a member of the Key Club and holds a district office. There, he takes part in service and raising awareness about community service in youth. He also works with Key Club to raise money and awareness for the global water crisis through the Thirst Project.

Tanmay Kulkarni

Student

Tanmay is 11 years old and is a middle schooler living in Redmond, WA. Tanmay loves logic, mathematics, and programming. In his free time, he writes mathematical fiction and poetry and is fascinated with traditional (language-based) logic as well as mathematical logic. He dabbles in and composes blues and rock music on his acoustic guitar. He also loves hiking in the summer and skiing in the winter. Fun fact: he has even hiked the Inca Trail to Macchu Picchu! As he says, “with my friends, I make brick films as LEGO is my world!”

Whitney Sederberg

Student

Whitney is 14 years old and is a freshman at Olympia High School. Her hobbies include art and music, and she enjoys playing cello in the school orchestra. She is also actively involved in Taekwondo and has achieved her second degree black belt recently.