TEDxValenciaHighSchool 2015 Speaker Bios

Baltazar Montoya loves music. He enjoys performing, composing, and arranging music. He began playing music at 6 ears old with his father and moved from clave, guitar, violin, and currently upright and electric bass. He plays professionally with the Hats Jazz Combo and in various groups at school. 

Celeste Chen is a current junior in the IB program, varsity volleyball player, animal lover, self proclaimed artist, world traveler, and proud participant in an ongoing love affair with food. Her club at school, The Dead Cookie Jar, aims to spread knowledge about wholesome eating to teenagers. Although, she hadn’t originally planned to play volleyball, the sport has evolved into one of her biggest passions. In the little time that she spends off the court, you may find her at home snuggling with her dogs, going out to eat at exciting restaurants with her friends or speaking Cantonese with her lovely grandparents. On the weekends, she coaches for a local youth volleyball league and has hilarious conversations with her young players. Above all, her plans for the future include playing volleyball possibly at Carleton College, adopting a dog named Darwin, and attending graduate school specializing as a veterinary orthopedic surgeon.

Deanna Nguyen is currently a junior at Valencia High School and is a potential candidate for the rigorous academic program, International Baccalaureate. She was born in Irvine, California on February 17, 1998 and at the age of four moved to Yorba Linda, California where she currently lives a very privileged and lucky life. She is a member of the Teen Advisory Board at the Yorba Linda Library and has been in Orchestra since the fourth grade. She also actively participates in a club called World Vision, a club aimed at spreading awareness of third-world countries. From a young age, Deanna has had an affinity for musicals, her favorite being Wicked, playing Nancy Drew games, and taking naps. Deanna holds a passion for the natural sciences and mathematics which led to her participation in Science Olympiad. She hopes to pursue Biochemistry in her future education.

Jacob Leiken is a Junior enrolled in the International Baccalaureate and Val Tech programs at Valencia High School in Placentia, California. He founded a programming club on campus in which he teaches other students advanced topics in computer science. He competes on the school's U.S. Academic Decathlon team and individually in the U.S.A. Computing Olympiad. Upon graduation, Jacob plans on attending college to major in computer science or a related field. He is an avid science-fiction enthusiast and enjoys making electronics prototypes

Jinnie Rhee is a high school senior in southern California, planning on attending University of Berkeley, California as a psychology major. She lives by the motto of “Channel your stress into passion.” As an international baccalaureate candidate, she now walks away from Valencia High School with the ability to transform negative pressure into wholesome energy. Yoga and painting especially have been instrumental in minimizing this element in her life. She enjoys learning foreign languages and making green juices for breakfast. Her favorite subjects range from Chemistry to Fine Arts. Some of the things that make her smile are sunrises, babies’ laughter, pink peonies, and the sound of raindrops. She has been involved in WorldVision Making Our Voices Echo (MOVE) and plays cello in the Valencia’s Sinfonia Orchestra. She hopes to contribute to a chain reaction of kindness and compassion, the mission of Rachel’s Challenge.

Joyce Chew has always loved learning, from skipping naps in favor of reading to crossing her elementary school campus every day at ten o' clock for a math class. Now, she's often found clutching her Academic Decathlon study materials on her way to drumline practice. She plays marimba (it's like a big xylophone) in marching band and drumline, and she plays drum set in jazz band. She spends her summers reading mathematical entertainment, watching Sherlock, and making music. Joyce hopes to major in applied mathematics and eventually begin a career as an actuary. In her free time, she plays the piano and crochets.

No passion? No worries. | Noelle Schorn | TEDxValenciaHighSchool

Is it OK not to have a passion? Enjoy this student's exploration on what happens when what you truly enjoy doing finds you.

Noelle Schorn is graduating from Valencia High School in 2015 and has committed to the University of Southern California as a Trustee Scholar. Accepted into their top ranked Bachelor’s to Master’s Occupational Therapy program, she is excited to learn innovative ways to help people build fulfilling lives with any challenge they may be struggling with. Noelle’s involvement in Best Buddies has cultivated a desire to work with people with intellectual/physical disabilities and influenced her to pursue this particular career. As an active Associated Student Body member and International Baccalaureate candidate, Noelle is very involved at school. But in her free time, she enjoys ballet, painting, journaling, napping...the list goes on. Her main goals in life include: becoming the world’s leading occupational therapist, bringing back rollerblading, and completing her extensive bucket list. 

June Park was interested in academia for most of his life. Starting at a young age, he made sure to put his full effort in his studies, and, over time, within other extracurricular activities, such as the Future Business Leaders of America. What motivated June to stand here was his life in both Korea and the USA. When he immigrated to America in 1st grade, he couldn’t even say a single word in English. Since then he has gone back and forth between the two countries. He faced both language and cultural barriers, but pulled through. In the end, he has merged those two cultures together into his life. In his free time he enjoys reading horror or suspense novels, watching TV shows, and occasionally, playing video games.

Sana Talwar is a junior at Valencia High School who immigrated with her family from India when she was ten years old. At her school she is enrolled in the International Baccalaureate and Val Tech programs and on the Academic Decathlon team. Outside of of schoolwork , her favorite pastime is to dance -Bollywood dancing specifically . She has been learning this beautiful form of dance since she was five years old. Her passion for technology began when she was twelve years old and was asked what she wanted to be when she grew up. she automatically replied with 'software engineer' and ever since that moment her love and interest for technology has only grown .

Tanya Nguyen