TEDxBIBA Youth

Speakers

Speakers may not be confirmed. Check the event website for the latest lineup.

• Angel Cheng

  Student

  Angel Cheng is a sixth-grade IB learner with a huge heart and an even stronger sense of justice. She cares deeply about people whose voices are often overlooked—especially elderly individuals who have faced hardships early in life. Since she was young, she has believed that every story matters, and that no voice should go unheard. Her journey across writing, mathematics, and the arts—including becoming a Global Champion in Writing and a recipient of the 2025–2028 BIBA Scholarship—has shaped how she understands expression. Through piano, ballet, and theatre, she has learned that emotion often goes beyond words. These experiences led her to a bigger question: what if we could listen better—not just with our ears, but with technology? Inspired by innovations like brain-computer interfaces, Angel explores how we might bridge human thoughts and communication. This belief—and this question—is what brings her to the TEDx stage today.

• David Arthur Steele

  Head of humanities

  David Arthur Steele has taught in bilingual schools in Beijing for more than the past ten years. He holds degrees in Classics and Education and, at the time of this speech, is pursuing further studies in Psychology. Still struck by an adolescent desire to know everything, he is a voracious reader who will lend anyone a copy of Patrick O’Brian’s novels. While most of his free time is spent trying to be the best father that he can be, he fails more frequently than he would like to admit.

• Jacky Lin

  Student

  Jacky Lin is a 14-year-old high school student with a strong passion for media, photography, and cinematography. He enjoys creating video edits and is actively involved in multiple film-based clubs, where he contributes to community projects, including filming for the school’s marketing department. Jacky also works on his own projects, such as filming school events and competitions, and creating edits that help highlight others and bring more recognition to people within the school community. Through TEDx, Jacky aims to share the idea that not having everything figured out is a natural part of growth. Drawing from his own experiences, he hopes to show how stepping into the unknown, trying new things, and learning along the way can lead to unexpected opportunities. He encourages others to reflect on their own journey and rethink the pressure to have everything planned out.

• Jerry Yi

  Student

  Jerry Yi is a 16-year-old Grade 10 student at BIBA with exceptional academic performance. He has a strong passion for business, economics, and interdisciplinary learning. As an active campus leader, he serves as Director of EBC-ASDAN, President of BIBA Press Media Club, and co-founded the EBAF Youth Economic and Business Academic Forum. He also founded BIBA’s first campus bookstore, creating a cultural hub that supports campus public welfare. Guided by BIBA’s 4R Spirit, he deeply values Relationship and believes in trust, communication and mutual growth. Through TEDx, he hopes to share his insights on interdisciplinary learning, leadership and community impact, inspiring peers to turn knowledge into real action.

• Quennel Zhao

  Student

  Quennel Zhao is a student who spends much of his time at the piano, working through long hours of practice, repetition, and moments when progress feels slow or uncertain. He has performed in concerts and competitions, but what matters most to him is not the spotlight, but the process that leads up to it. Through these experiences, he has developed a strong sense of discipline and patience, learning to stay focused even when results are not immediately visible. Through this journey, Quennel has come to see that growth often happens in the unseen moments, when things go wrong, feel frustrating, or don’t go as planned. He has learned to embrace uncertainty and continue moving forward, even without clear answers. Through his TEDx talk, he hopes to encourage others to keep going during those times, and to recognize that these imperfect, often invisible moments are what truly shape who we become.

• Rachel Han

  Student

  Rachel Han is a 16-year-old tenth-grade student who has a strong passion for Chinese history, culture, and archaeology. She has experience in artifact restoration and has traveled to over 64 ancient sites and tombs across China. Her interest extends beyond textbooks, carrying her passion for history and letting it guide her in her everyday life. Her study of multiple ancient Chinese ideologies, including Confucianism, Legalism, Taoism, and Mohism, has contributed to her understanding of the topic as a focus on humans—the most important living organisms between the earth and the sky. This year’s speech was inspired by her favorite ancient Chinese philosopher, Han Fei, and his ideology of the “theory of the original evil of human nature.” She moves beyond the theory of evilness in human nature to explore how it connects and intertwines with the kindness we are taught every day, diving deeper into the eternal question of what truly makes us human.

• Victoria Zheng

  Student

  Victoria is a 6th grade student with a deep passion for space exploration and planetary science. Inspired by the movie WALL-E as a young child, she set her sights on becoming an aerospace engineer and has since immersed herself in the science of rocketry, Mars colonization, and terraforming. She closely follows the progress of programs like China's lunar exploration missions and SpaceX's Starship development, and enjoys thinking through the engineering and ethical challenges of making humanity a multi-planetary species. Outside of her space pursuits, Victoria enjoys playing chess and competing in badminton with her friends. This year's speech explores what she calls "insurance for the light of consciousness" — a bold, three-phase vision for how humanity can build a second home on Mars, and why her generation may be the one to make it happen.

• William Fan

  Student

  William Fan is a 14-year-old student at BIBA who believes that the most important lessons aren't found in textbooks, but in the heat of competition. For William, real learning happens when the clock is ticking and the pressure is on. He is a high-energy student who constantly tests himself across business, debate, sports, and the arts.

• William Jia

  Student

  William Jia isn’t your typical 12-year-old. A middle schooler with a passion for Jiu-Jitsu, debate, and science, he’s constantly pushing himself to grow—both mentally and physically. Through his TEDx talk, William shares a powerful personal experience that reshaped how he thinks about goals. He challenges the way we define success, uncovering the hidden impacts of what we strive for. By reflecting on his own journey, William invites others to rethink not just how they pursue their goals—but why they set them in the first place.