Public Speaking
Public Speaking
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Grades: 1 to 8
Program Leader: Aarushi Sharma
Program Description: YAPA Kids Public Speaking is intended to give students an introduction to effective communication and teach them how to overcome any latent fear of speaking in front of an audience. The class will include lessons in diction, voice control, emotion, gesturing, as well as a number of other concepts crucial to being a powerful orator. Students will also have the opportunity to learn about applications of a strong voice, and to develop their passion for leadership. All skill levels are welcome, and no materials besides a pen & paper and a clear throat are necessary!
Class Times(s):
Option A: Mondays, null
Option B: Saturdays, null
Program Teachers: Pallavi Sharma, Nelson Mu, Maggie Dong, Olivia Song, Lila Rowland, Karin Liu, Adhya Krishnamurthy, Henna Chawla, Shaanvi Shree, Audrey Lui, Grace Baek, Katie To, Janelle Cai, Kate Jelfs, Sowmika Yeturu, Sophia Barghouti, Danika Dalvi, Zachary Nobunaga, Rachel Villagran, Yalda Said, Neha Noor, Laila Abed, Mary Piacente, Akshaya Raamya, Anya Lal
Teacher Bios
Pallavi Sharma
Hi all! My name is Pallavi Sharma, I am so happy to be your program lead for public speaking! This year I will be a junior at cupertino high school! I have been practing public speaking for about 5 years! I have not only been part of fbla, which practices public speaking but I am currently and have been taking public speaking classes through my high school career. I believe public speaking is very important and believe this is something that I am very knowledged in! I hope I can pass my public speaking skills to your children!
Asim Adhikary
Hi everyone! My name is Asim Adhikary, I am a senior at Millard North High School located in Omaha, Nebraska. At Millard North I have been apart of the varsity forensics speech and debate team for 4 years. I love being able to express myself through words and speech, and hope I can teach you all to do the same!
Maggie Dong
Hi, my name is Maggie Dong. I am a rising sophomore at Branham High and I enjoy public speaking and giving speeches. I am in our school's speech and debate team and I have been to several competitions. I look forward to improving your public speaking skills!
Olivia Song
Hey guys! My name is Olivia Song and I am a rising junior at Moreau Catholic HIgh School. I have been interested in public speaking for a long time. By practicing at school with all my projects and presentations to Mock Trial performances and competitions, I think that with my level of skill currently I can help all of you improve in speaking! I look forward to helping you all and feel free to contact me if you have any questions or concerns. I will answer them to the best of my ability!
Lila Rowland
Hey y'all, I'm Lila Rowland. I'm a freshman in high school, based in Washington State. Though I used to consider public speaking one of my greatest weaknesses, I now compete in policy debate. I've found my confidence through speaking and I hope to help others do the same!
Karin Liu
Hi everyone! My name is Karin Liu and I am a rising junior at Leland High School. Public speaking once took the place of my biggest fear–even over spiders. Yet I joined the Leland Speech and Debate team (top in the nation!) as a sixth grader, and visible growth of speaking, stage presence, and overall confidence has been observed by myself and the people around me. Public speaking is an essential lifelong skill and I hope to contribute in helping others improve this skill.
Adhya Krishnamurthy
Hey everyone! My name is Adhya and I am a rising sophomore at Cupertino High School. I am currently an attorney on my high school's Mock Trial Team where I've had the chance to present cases in front of judges and gain lots of public speaking experience. Public speaking is such a valuable skill to learn, and I'm really excited to teach you guys how to become better speakers :)
Henna Chawla
Hey guys! My name is Henna Chawla and I am a rising sophomore at Homestead High School. I am part of the Homestead Speech and Debate Club and have gone to several speech tournaments. In fact, I am now one of the speech captains and I’m so excited to help people feel more comfortable with public speaking since it’s a skill that will definitely be useful in the long run. Hope to see you guys soon :))
Shaanvi Shree
Hey everyone! My name is Shaanvi shree and I am so exited join this program! I've won multiple state awards for forensics public speaking and local awards aswell. I look forward learning from everyone here and spreading my knowledge as well!
Audrey Lui
Hello everyone! My name is Audrey Lui and I am a rising senior at Leland High School. I have been involved with Speech and Debate for the past three years, and have learned so much about being a public speaker and even about myself as a person! I believe the speaking skills I’ve learned will help me in the future. I hope to share my passion and skills with you all!
Grace Baek
Hi everyone, my name's Grace Baek and I'm currently a junior at Cypress Bay High School. I've been involved in debate and model UN for years, and I'm super excited to teach you all public speaking!!
Katie To
My name is Katie and I am a rising junior at Mark Keppel High School. I learned how to appeal to an audience though speaking during meetings, events, and school classes. I'm excited to be able to teach and inspire students to speak their minds in an oriented and organized way, as their voices will be the guide of our future.
Sophia Barghouti
Hello! I am Sophia Barghouti and I am currenlty and 10th grader at Mountainside High School. I have been apart of Speech and Debate for 2 years and have been apart of theatre for 4 years! I have lots of expirence of public speaking and I am glad to teach what I have learned over the past years.
Kate Jelfs
Hello, my name is Kate Jelfs and I'm a sophomore at Homestead High School. In my free time, I enjoy playing flute and swimming. In addition to swimming myself, I coach younger kids, so I have a lot of experience speaking to groups. I've had to present speeches multiple times, and realize what an important skill public speaking is. I'm so grateful to be able to teach it to others!
Danika Dalvi
Hi! My name is Danika Dalvi and I am a junior in highschool. Public speaking is an important part of my daily life. This includes talking in my classes and speeches I have done in class. I think this is an extremely important skill to develop and I am excited to be teaching it!
Zachary Nobunaga
Hi everyone! My name is Zachary Nobunaga and I am currently a Junior at Cupertino High School. I’m excited to teach public speaking because I believe it is an important life skill that everyone should learn. Although public speaking may seem scary at first, I hope to provide you with skills and tips to help build your confidence and become a better public speaker overall.
Rachel Villagran
Hey! My name is Rachel Villagram. I am a junior at Manhattan Center for Science and Mathematics, a school in New York City. I love smiling and spreading positivity. I have joined many programs/initiatives centered around advocacy in underrepresented communities, medicine, and education. Please feel free to send emails in regards of classwork or just a support system to find opportunities.
Yalda Said
Coming Soon...
Neha Noor
Hi everyone! My name is Neha Noor, and i’m currently a junior in high school. I am the 2020-2021 captain of our mock trial team. I have been in mock trial for over three years now and it has truly made me realize that public speaking is a skill that everyone should have and I’m here to help and teach everyone the best way to be a excellent public speaker :)
Laila Abed
Hi everyone! My name is Laila Abed, and I am a sophomore at Al-Arqam Islamic School and College Preparatory in Sacramento. Public Speaking can be scary at first but with practice and your enthusiasm to learn we'll do great! I have experience in speaking in front of an audience such as being a part of my school's advertisement committee and speeches on behalf of my class - council and clubs! I'm eager to learn with all of you!
Mary Piacente
Hi everyone! My name is Mary Piacente, and I am a junior at Carl Sandburg High School in Chicago. I am on the executive board of my school's Model United Nations program, so I have defenitely grown in my ability as a speaker since starting high school! I hope that by teaching at YAPA, I can use my experiences and skills to help those who want to grow in their speaking abilties!
Akshaya Raamya
Hey guys! My name is Akshaya and unlike many of you I live in Canada with the polar bears. I am a sophmore at The Woodlands Secondary School and am an International qualifier for DECA but little does everyone know I used to have severe stage fright. I'm here to help you guys become strong and confident speakers for life!
Janelle Cai
​Hello! I’m Janelle, and I’m a rising sophomore at Monta Vista High School. Although I'm pretty heavily involved in various STEM-related activities, I have been in Model UN for three years, and attended several conferences, which really helped me become more confident with public speaking, since I was a really shy student. I look forward to meeting you all and helping everyone improve in public speaking in the coming weeks!
Sowmika Yeturu
Hi my name is Sowmika! I am very excited to be a Public Speaking tutor as I have been a part of speech and debate for the past 2 years and learned a lot of skills which I can't wait to share with all of you. I hope to take part in building your skills and confidence. Looking forward to meeting you!
Anya Lal
Hi everyone! My name is Anya Lal and I'm a sophomore at Milpitas High School! I've been doing public speaking for a couple years now! I speak and evaluate others' speaking and I have learned so much over the years. I'm so happy and excited to be sharing my knowledge with you!