The Power Of Words | Coral Ortiz | TEDxYouth@BeaconStreet

This talk is about inequality in American and inequality in the American educational system. After experiencing what it was like to go to a privileged educational background and transitioning to an underprivileged background, I find it of upmost importance to talk about these issues. My personal experience in the classroom, along with my experience in working with educational policy as a student advocate has given me the tools to talk about this issue in an in depth manner. After my work on the State Board of Education, I saw trends of inequity amongst certain groups of people getting worse. It is imperative that America solves this problem of inequity for it to move forward Coral Ortiz is a student leader from New Haven, CT who is currently in her freshman year at Yale University. Growing up in Connecticut’s second largest city, Coral has seen multiple facets of the education system having attended a private school from K-8 before transferring to an urban public high school for grades 9-12. Her first-hand experiences witnessing educational inequalities led her to run for & win an inaugural student position on New Haven Board of Education and subsequently led to her appointment to the State Board of Education. Coral is passionate about giving voice to the student experience in urban education, the experience of underrepresented women & the power of public service to impact social change. Outside of her public service, she enjoys participating in the performing arts. Coral Ortiz is a student leader from New Haven, CT who is currently in her freshman year at Yale University. Growing up in Connecticut’s second largest city, Coral has seen multiple facets of the education system having attended a private school from K-8 before transferring to an urban public high school for grades 9-12. Her first-hand experiences witnessing educational inequalities led her to run for & win an inaugural student position on New Haven Board of Education and subsequently led to her appointment to the State Board of Education. Coral is passionate about giving voice to the student experience in urban education, the experience of underrepresented women & the power of public service to impact social change. Outside of her public service, she enjoys participating in the performing arts. 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