Bios
Our 11 speakers of TEDxYouth@DoyleAve 2019!
Shivanya Albas
Age: 17
Grade: 12
School: Penticton Secondary School
Favourite TED Talk: Shane Koyczan - To This Day
Title of Talk: Bursting the Safety Bubbles of Stereotypes
Bio: Shivanya Ra Albas was born and raised in the Okanagan Valley, where she continues to develop her passion and purpose for being of valuable service to those in need. Diagnosed at the age of 3 with autism, Shivanya faced many challenges including: speech and language delays, social awkwardness, information & sensory processing issues, loneliness & isolation. With the assistance and inspiration of committed helpers & family and a burning desire to contribute something of value, Shivanya exceeded all expectations and has risen to a position of leadership, citizenship, artistic & academic achievement in her school and community. She aspires to carry on the legacy of caring, sharing and support through her gift of seeing, appreciating and celebrating the value of all people beyond labels & stereotypes. Through the visual arts, theatre, spoken word and courageous, inclusive storytelling she's committed to creating a voice, a choice, an ally and an accurate representation of those in the margins seeking the light. Her motto is "if you're destined to be a little Odd, you might as well defy the Odds."-Shivanya Ra Albas
Alex Harte
Age: 17
Grade: 11
School: Kelowna Secondary School
Favourite TED Talk: Chelle Man - Becoming Him
Title of Talk: The Power in Vulnerability
Bio: Alex Harte is a seventeen year old actor and writer. He is in grade 11 at Kelowna Secondary School, where he can usually be found in the theatre. When he is not in the theatre or holed up in his room with a notebook and pen, he can be found gallivanting around the woods with his friends. He hopes to one day travel all over the world in pursuit of the best hiking trails.
Through both his writing and his TEDx Talk, he hopes to help others to feel less alone. He understands how isolating it feels to battle invisible inner demons, and aspires to cast some light on his own demons so that others feel less alone in their own struggle.
Jordan Cuthbert
Age: 18
Grade: 12
School: Mount Boucherie Secondary
Favourite TED Talk: Andrew Peek - How your personal narrative limits your future
Title of Talk: It's time to stop holding yourself back
Bio: Jordan considers herself a bubbly young woman, who is passionate about anything and everything she does. Whether that be managing a small business in Peachland, to paddle-boarding, to music. Jordan definitely over-works, but in the little bits of free time she finds, she enjoys driving around in her bright yellow Volkswagen Beetle with friends, fitting as many adventures as she can into her life.
Charlotte Ford
Age: 14
Grade: 9
School: George Elliot Secondary
Favourite TED Talk: Sally Kohn - What we can do about the culture of hate
Title of Talk: It's time for an Empathy Revolution
Bio: Charlotte is creative both musically and artistically. She has been recognized by SD73 as an emerging artist when her artwork was chosen to be on display for the year. Musically she sang in vocal jazz at her former school in Kamloops and plays the Violin and Clarinet in band class. Charlotte participates for the G.E.S.S. High school gymnastics team, practicing gymnastics several hours a week outside of school. She enjoys being active and is rarely idle. Recently joining the leadership program with her new and current school in hopes of making connections. Resilience, determination, and kindness exude from her. Charlotte will no doubt create positive changes through her actions for future generations.
Hailey Lewis
Age: 16
Grade: 11
School: Kelowna Secondary School
Favourite TED Talk: Luvvie Ajayi - Get comfortable with being uncomfortable
Title of Talk: The power of your words
Bio: Hailey is very outgoing person and loves being with people. You will usually find her where there is high energy and loud noise. She a creative thinker and likes stretching her imagination to new possibilities and ideas. Hailey is a musical performer and enjoys giving the gift of music back to people. She is a very adventurous person and always finds herself trying new things from food, travel, meeting new people or jumping into the water off a 60 ft cliff. Hailey is currently training to go on a missions trip to Thailand. Her friends always look to her for adventure, creative ideas, a good laugh and advice. Public speaking is also a risk that she wants to take. Hailey believes there are many things that need to be said and people that need to be advocated for. She wants to stand up for people that endure injustice. For Hailey courage, love and joy are three things she needs to live her life. "Seeing the bigger picture is so important in life and something that we often miss."
Aasfi Sadeque
Age: 17
Grade: 12
School: Penticton Secondary School
Favourite TED Talk: Jasvinder Sanghera - Fighting forced marriages and honour based abuse
Title of Talk: Youth navigating a culture of misogyny
Bio: Aasfi is a 17 year old student from Penticton Secondary from Bangladesh. Aasfi spends the majority of her time volunteering as she's been doing since grade 6 or watching The Office on Netflix. In the future, Aasfi hopes to become an international human rights lawyer, with the ultimate aspiration of working for the UN. Aasfi's main goal with her talk, or anything, in essence, is to elevate the 'I want to change the world' within all of us.
Theresa Schwab
Age: 17
Grade: 12
School: Rutland Senior Secondary School
Favourite TED Talk: Reshma Saujani - Teach girls bracery, not perfection
Title of Talk: Stop Striving to "Normalcy"
Bio: Theresa is a student who has found her passion in community service and advocacy with focus for improvement in mental health awareness and environmental sustainability. She hopes to not only make a difference in her community but globally as well and tries to do this through her involvement in initiatives such as the RSS Interact Club and Grad Council, Foundry's Youth Action and Advisory Council, Central Okanagan Public Schools District Student Council and Digital Wellness Committee. When she isn't busy with these initiatives she works to expand her knowledge as an AP student and avid reader.
Kaitlin Smith
Age: 17
Grade: 12
School: Mount Boucherie Secondary School
Favourite TED Talk: Catherine Pawley - After Anorexia: Life's too short to weigh your cornflakes
Title of Talk: Why is it so hard to love yourself
Bio:Kait Kaitlin plays soccer and dance competitively. She is a driven, passionate, and smart individual that enjoys spending time with her family and friends. Kaitlin is involved with the foundry youth advisory counsel as well as mental health advocacy through a Jack chapter that she applied for and started during her grade 10 year. She loves helping others and aspires to pursue a career in medicine
Trey Sutherland
Age: 9
Grade: 4
School: Shannon Lake Elementary School
Favourite TED Talk: Jon Cozart - The Truth About Disney Princesses
Title of Talk: Being a Foster Brother
Bio: Trey's classmates call him the class clown. He loves hanging out with his friends, acting out scenes and laughing. Trey enjoys spending time with different and interesting people. Sometimes he finds it hard to concentrate in school, but is generally a pretty good student. He was never really into sports, but one day found inspiration in his cousin who is an actor in Vancouver, BC. Trey's mom laughs because she says she has to remind him to put on underwear in the morning but for some reason he has a real knack for memorizing lines! Trey has now found, and is chasing, a passion for entertaining.
Madeline Terbasket
Age: 25
School: En'owkin Centre
Favourite TED Talk: Andrew Solomon - Depression, the secret we share
Title of Talk: Captíkwł is Medicine
Bio: Madeline Terbasket is a Syilx, Ho-Cak, and Anishinaabe performing artist that explores themes of cultural identity and mental health in her work. She was in the Acting for Stage and Screen program at Capilano University. There she discovered a passion for clowning and stand-up and expresses her comedy by telling traditional Okanagan coyote stories. Madeline was in šxʷʔam̓ət (home) with Theatre for Living and toured BC and Alberta with the production. She is currently studying traditional performance, creative writing, and fine arts at the En'owkin Centre. She recently was awarded a STORYHIVE Indigenous Storyteller Edition grant to make her film Q'sapi Times. Madeline is reconciling through her comedy, healing our colonial history through play and laughter.
Yvonne Wood
Age: 17
Grade: 11
School: Okanagan Mission Secondary
Favourite TED Talk: Will Stephen - How to sound smart in your TEDx Talk
Title of Talk: Guardians of the Good
Bio: Yvonne is a parkour coach and I loves what she does. She also has a youths black belt. Yvonne love rainy days - the best days to go on walks in her opinion - and reading a good book with a fuzzy blanket. At school she got involved with Quest BC, which allowed her to travel across British Columbia and learn to be a kinder, more courageous and curious person.
