Valentina is a senior at Mountain View High School. At school, she enjoys her involvement in Green Team and her tech internship, and outside of school, she’s a dedicated practitioner of yoga and meditation. As the first person in her family that will attend a four-year college in the U.S., Valentina has faced many obstacles, including a challenging period with her mental health. In this talk, she shares her journey of embracing mindfulness and discovering the transformative power of tools like yoga and meditation, which helped her find balance and the strength to move forward. Valentina hopes to inspire and help others by showing them ways to incorporate these transformative practices into their own lives. Valentina is a senior at Mountain View High School. At school, she enjoys her involvement in Green Team and her tech internship, and outside of school, she’s a dedicated practitioner of yoga and meditation. As the first person in her family that will attend a four-year college in the U.S., Valentina has faced many obstacles, including a challenging period with her mental health. In this talk, she shares her journey of embracing mindfulness and discovering the transformative power of tools like yoga and meditation, which helped her find balance and the strength to move forward. Valentina hopes to inspire and help others by showing them ways to incorporate these transformative practices into their own lives. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx

Saumya is a junior at MVHS. She is a passionate performer, who deeply cares about making music, songwriting, musical theater, recording, acting, and being an entrepreneur. She understands the fears and stigma surrounding the successes possible in the performing arts industries. Through her talk, she reconstructs the meaning of success, breaking false narratives to empower every person to pursue careers in the arts, no matter what their background may be. Saumya is a junior at MVHS. She is a passionate performer, who deeply cares about making music, songwriting, musical theater, recording, acting, and being an entrepreneur. She understands the fears and stigma surrounding the successes possible in the performing arts industries. Through her talk, she reconstructs the meaning of success, breaking false narratives to empower every person to pursue careers in the arts, no matter what their background may be. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx