Theme: Meaning + ?

We invite speakers to harness the Avenues World Elements, combining Meaning with an element of their choice as the basis for their talk.

Avenues New York
259 10th Ave
New York, New York, 10001
United States

Ace Meltzer

Student + Pun Lover

Ace Meltzer is a senior at Avenues: The World School, who hopes to become a teacher of Religious Studies. He is interested in mythology, art, geology, language, writing, sewing, and a million other things. In his seventh year at Avenues, one of his proudest accomplishments is leaving the literary magazine Penumbra more well established than when he joined the club as a middle schooler. He is very passionate about activism and equal rights, and plans to continue learning about how to improve the world we share.

Andrew Kully

Student + Medical Researcher

Andrew Kully is a junior at Avenues: The World School who aspires to be a cardiothoracic surgeon. He runs the Avenues pre-med club and participates in extensive medical-based research outside of school. During his cardiothoracic-based research, he discovered the growing risk of microbial infection in and outside the operating room. Through extensive research and conversations with his late grandfather--who led a biotechnology firm--he discovered the exigency of the drug-resistant microbial crisis.

Caia Scarola

Student + Empath

Caia Scarola is a Junior in the 2025 class at Avenues: The World School. She is fascinated by the role that empathy can play in understanding "our adults" and easing the transition that adolescents experience with them. She pursues a variety of interdisciplinary subjects, including STEM (particularly engineering, physics, and chemistry), music, law, and entrepreneurial projects in sustainability.

Carlos Egaña

Teacher + Poet

Carlos Egaña (Caracas, 1995) is a New York–based Venezuelan poet. He recently earned his MFA in Creative Writing in Spanish at New York University. He has also taught courses on Gender Studies and Modern North American Fiction at Universidad Católica Andrés Bello. He has a novel and two poetry collections in Spanish in print, as well as a chapbook (mostly) in English published by Bottlecap Press. And he has written about fine arts, Latin-American politics, and pop culture for various Venezuelan and American publications.

Isabel Leight

Student + Singer/songwriter

Isabel Leight is a junior at Avenues: The World School. She’s a singer/songwriter/musician who spends a lot of time at the piano. She loves music, politics, baseball, skincare, and Taylor Swift (among many other things). She’s been a performer her whole life and has worked at ‘La Mama Experimental Theater Club’, ‘EST’, ‘CBS’, and ‘NBC’. She’s the co-lead of the ‘Avenues Drama Department,’ and is currently rehearsing to play Regina George in their production of ‘Mean Girls.’ She’s an avid grammarian and a massive fan of the Mets and Knicks.

Kyla Guimaraes

Student + Writer

Kyla Guimaraes is, currently, a junior at Avenues: The World School. Her interests include creative writing, neurobiology, and ethics. She particularly enjoys discussing the application of ethical and philosophical frameworks to modern challenges. Kyla is excited to continue exploring pressing ethical questions and hopes to, in the future, further expand her understanding of the different philosophies through which we make sense of the world.

L Betancourt

Student + Philosopher

As someone who has lived a life of impoverishment, L has become keen to the injustices of the world. They have a great depth of understanding of the complexities of the world, and are not perturbed by the horrors of this unjust world. They believe that complex dialogue is a necessary step to social equity, and have no problem saying the quiet part out loud, and feel comfortable having a respectful disagreement. L's goal in life is to climb the ladder and help as many people as is within their capacity on their way up, by directly combating inequality through supporting others who are less fortunate.

Malia Fay-Vazquez

Student + Storyteller

Malia-Fay Vazquez is a student, aspiring writer, and avid reader. She is particularly passionate about exploring philosophical questions about the human condition through speculative fiction. Her fascination with worlds outside of the western canon is what initially sparked her interest in Filipino mythology and legends. This played an integral role in uncovering parts of her Filipino identity. When she’s not getting lost in fictional characters, she can be found playing piano, working on the high line, dancing flamenco, editing a new writing piece, or working on a new civic engagement project.

Tobias Campbell

Student + Geologist

Tobias Campbell is a junior at Avenues: The World School. He is an aspiring geologist and loves to learn about the world and the people that live in it. He is currently working as an apprentice Blacksmith studying metallurgy. After graduating high school in 2025, he hopes to continue to learn about all things to do with rocks and to continue researching pressing environmental dilemmas in the field.