“How to Get Out of the Overthinking Abyss in Sports“ by Audriana Aguilar
Many have said that almost 50% of sports is mental. Today, the mental aspects of sports are commonly overlooked. Athletes undergo intense physical training to ensure the best performance possible. But what about the mental training? 85% of athletes, including Audriana’s teammates and herself, have admitted that they have been so nervous before a game that it negatively affected their performance. So, Audriana conducted a survey to find real solutions to enhance the physical and mental aspects of athletic performance.
About Audriana Aguilar:
Audriana is a high school sophomore in the Bay Area. She has played sports, including basketball, flag football, track and field, swimming, and soccer, since she was 4 years old. Now, she plays both varsity basketball and flag football. When she was introduced to sports psychology, she immediately knew what she wanted to do. Therefore, she is looking to pursue subjects such as sports psychology in the future that intertwine both of her interests.

“Developing a Novel Algae and Compost Biofertilizer to Help Feed the World” by Lilly Froeming
Harmful algae blooms are a growing global threat, fueled by pollution and climate change. They damage ecosystems, contaminate water, and endanger human and animal health, but what if the problem could become part of the solution? Lilly explores ideas of using algae collected from local waterways to create a biofertilizer. By combining it with homemade compost and testing it on radish plants, she aims to enhance crop growth, reduce chemical fertilizer use, and repurpose a harmful growth into something beneficial.
About Lilly Froeming:
Lilly Froeming is a senior at a California charter school. She hopes to major in environmental, biomedical, or architectural engineering because it’s the foundation for change and growth. She spends time training for cross country, and visiting the California Delta to fish and enjoy the company of friends and family.

“Reinventing the Wheel: A Spokeless Wheelchair That Prevents Injuries ”
by Ankith Girish
Wheelchairs pose significant hazards to their users, whose injuries commonly resulted from tips, falls and entanglements in the open spokes used in standard wheelchairs. Ankith has developed a unique solution to the problem by designing a spokeless wheelchair, for which he has filed for a provisional patent from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. His design not only reduces the chances of entanglement injuries, but offers enhanced stability and maneuverability, and a minimalist aesthetic.
About Ankith Girish:
Ankith Girish is a Bay Area high school senior whose interests include aviation and engineering, working with machines, and coming up with unique solutions to design and engineering problems. Outside of school he enjoys experimenting with CAD design, 3D printing, and playing the guitar.

“Ingenius Soles to Prevent Potential Injuries” by Lucida Chen
While walking home in Taipei, I noticed how people made space for the elderly, an act of respect that stayed with me. That moment inspired my idea for smart insoles, designed to improve balance and prevent falls. These insoles use force-sensitive resistors placed under the heel, ball, and toe to track gait and detect uneven pressure. Three adjustable air pockets to help adjust the foot in real time, providing support and stability. More than just technology, they are a representation of empathy and protection for our communities.

About Lucida Chen:
Lucida Chen is a senior at The International School of San Francisco. She spends most of her time outside of school figure skating, creating art pieces with different medias, and cooking new recipes. In the future, she hopes to pursue industrial design to help enhance the well-being of people.

“Wildfire: Life-Saving Strategies for Survival and Safety” by Tony Akin
Living in the wildland-urban interface (WUI) comes with unique challenges—and growing risk. Here Tony shares essential, actionable steps to protect yourself and community when disaster strikes. From creating evacuation and communication plans to identifying hazards and potential mitigation strategies, this talk is packed with life-saving insights that every resident in wildfire-prone areas needs to know.

About Tony Akin:
Tony Akin is a retired wildland firefighter with over 32 years of experience working in the northern and southern zones of California. Throughout his career, he worked in incident command as a division group supervisor, strike team leader, information office, and member of the Helitack crew. He is now the Defensible Space Specialist of a local fire district where he focuses on educating WUI residents on becoming fire adaptive.

“Make Lemonade: How to Turn Pain into Power, Peace, and Purpose”
by Terri Lomax

Healing isn’t linear, and it doesn’t mean skipping the sour parts of life. It’s about learning to process and transform them. In this heartfelt talk, speaker and podcaster Terri Lomax shares how she turned adversity and loss into power, peace, and purpose. Through raw storytelling and lessons in resilience, Terri invites listeners to honor every part of their healing journey and trust that growth can emerge, even from the toughest moments, if we’re open to the invitation.

About Terri Lomax:
Terri Lomax is a speaker, storyteller, and podcaster whose work explores the intersection of resilience, self-worth, and human potential. Her talks invite audiences to reflect on how personal transformation can shape meaning and purpose.

“Wildfire: How can Homeowners Save Their Fire Insurance?” by Marco Mack
What if you could lower your wildfire risk—and your insurance premiums—at the same time? As wildfires become more frequent and severe, many homeowners in the Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) have lost coverage entirely. In this eye-opening TEDx talk, [Speaker Name] introduces a bold new solution: a national wildfire retrofit standard that empowers individual homeowners to take action. By having properties evaluated and scored by a trusted third party, insurers could finally base rates on proven fire prevention—not just ZIP codes.

About Marco Mack:
Marco Mack has more than 30 years’ experience in the California Fire Service as a fire ground commander with specialty skills in community risk reduction, wildfire response, and wildfire risk mitigation.

Marco Mack is a volunteer and past president of the Santa Cruz County Fire Safe Council in California. He is actively involved in development of wildfire regulations, including the California Board of Forestry’s Zone Zero Workgroup and the International Code Council’s development of ICC605 Standard to address Residential Construction in Regions with Wildfire Hazards.

“Ode to Advance Directives” by Nicole D’Arcy, MD
By using a bit of humor and music, D’Arcy and Anna Krawisz encourage everyone to write their advance directives. By writing these, your loved ones will know how you want them to handle your end-of-life care and decisions. They produced this music video with the Stanford Videography Dept. while med students at Stanford Medical School.

About Nicole D’Arcy:
Nicole D’Arcy is the Medical Director of the Santa Clara County EMS Agency. She is also an ER doctor at Valley Medical Hospital in San Jose, CA.