Theme: Powering Teenage Vision

TEDx Clayton HS Youth is an event run by students for students to buoy the voices of teenagers in the cultural discourse. All of our speakers are high school students from the St. Louis area, each being hand-picked by our student-run content team. Each speaker will give a talk that is engaging, informative, well-researched, and opinionated; those who attend this event will walk away having learned something from the rising youth of our generation.

CHS Little Theatre (Black Box Theatre)
1 Mark Twain Circle
1st Floor
St.Louis, Missouri, 63105
United States

Adeline Law

High School Student

Adeline Law is a 15-year-old student studying at Francis Howell Central High School, hoping to pursue political sciences along with some other STEM field. Being in most clubs that are offered at her school, Addie has grown accustomed to students assuming she lives there. Through these clubs, such as Speech & Debate, Epsilon Beta, Marching Band, Future Business Leaders of America, and many, many, more, she has fostered a new passion for learning and youth involvement in government. While she may not have cured the world of cancer, she is a Girl Scout who still strives to make the world a better and more equal place for all. Through this speech, she will dive into the engulfing realm of social media and more importantly how it has impacted teen dating in today's modern age.

Ashwin Prabhakar

High School Student

Ashwin is an aspiring microbiologist at CHS who is fascinated by all things biomed. He also likes to dabble in other areas of STEM. Ashwin has won a Broadcom MASTERS award in the science fair and has placed 6th nationally in the Science Olympiad. He is also interested in philosophy and the works of Nietzsche.

Haowen (Will) Liu

High School Student

Haowen (Will) Liu is a Freshman at Clayton High School. He participates in clubs such as Science Olympiad, Speech and Debate, Tri-M and Asian Student Association. Through Science Olympiad, he’s competed at the state tournament for three years and placed top 5 individually every year. He continues this commitment to STEM by competing in Physics competitions and as a board member of the Clayton Science Olympiad Team next year. He’s a violinist that plays with Clayton’s Symphonic Orchestra, the YPSO, and currently studies with Angie Smart. He has gone to MMEA with Chamber Orchestra in 2023 playing and leading a concerto grosso, and has participated in All State Orchestra the past year. He looks forward to this event to share his unique ideas and thanks everyone involved for making such an amazing opportunity possible.

Julia Teves

High School Student

Julia Teves is a sophomore at Lafayette High School. She is a violinist and section leader with the Symphonic Orchestra and is a member of the Speech and Debate team competing in varsity/champion LD debate. In addition, Julia enjoys volunteering at school events and performing with her church orchestra.

Kit Roesch

High School Student

Kit Roesch is a civic-minded individual with a passion for politics. She’s been involved in the writing of legislation both nationally and locally. Her work includes local bills to combat gun violence and national legislation addressing the root causes of urban poverty. Kit is an Academic All-American and a 3-time winner of the NSDA Speaking and Service Award. In her free time, she enjoys learning about history and fashion, as well as the intersection of the two, and the way the politics of dress influence everything from daily life to government.

Lavanya Mani

High School Student

Lavanya Mani is a junior at Clayton High School with a passion for communication. She’s the Speech Coordinator for Clayton Speech and Debate, the Director of Peer Mentorship for The Globe, and a member of the Clayton Thespian Troupe. Outside of school, she loves to write poetry, play violin, sing, and watch Formula One Racing. She hopes to spend the coming year encouraging more people to find their voices, whether that be through speaking or writing, and she’s so grateful for the opportunity to speak at Clayton TEDX.

Mac Martinez-Gonzalez

High School Student

Mac Martinez-Gonzalez is currently a student at Clayton High School. They have won various writing awards, the most prestigious being a Superior rating from the NCTE in 2023. Mac also plays the upright bass in orchestra, having attended and performed at MMEA in 2023 with the schools Chamber Orchestra. Mac will be in Symphonic Orchestra next year, and excited for it. Mac enjoys writing and reading, being one of the top ten patrons at the school library this year. They look forward to what the future holds, and hope to be an author in dear time.

Odessa Javier

High School Student

Odessa is so grateful for this opportunity. This speech has been her competitive Original Oratory for Speech & Debate. She has championed numerous tournaments with this speech, even earning the Missouri State Champion title this past year. Odessa wants to thank her family, coaches, and everyone who made this event possible.