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CHICAGO GIFTED 
COMMUNITY CENTER

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  • Kids Climate Roster of Student Panelists

Kids Climate Summit 2021: Focus on the Community



Student Panelists

Meet our student panelists!  

Elementary School
Town Hall

April 13, 4 pm CST


Hermes Agirbicean

Hermes Agirbicean is 8 years old and goes to Beaubien Elementary in Chicago, Illinois. He  loves creating things with Lego and going for hikes in forests near his house or around the world. His favorite book is Keeper of the Lost Cities: Exile. He has a sister who is 10 years old and reports they get along great. Hermes wants to help with Climate Change because it's important that we understand how the environment is suffering and what we can do to prepare for the future. Studying the climate helps us predict how much rain the next winter might bring, or how far sea levels will rise due to warmer sea temperatures. Hermes also loves animals and wants to do as much as possible to protect them and help them live a happy and peaceful life.


Emilie Bishop

Emilie Bishop is a 10-year-old homeschooled student from Evanston, Illinois. She enjoys reading, cooking, playing piano, and walking her dog Pierre. Emilie loves asking questions and getting answers; that’s the reason why she has learned so much about climate change. She enjoys reading articles about climate, drawing graphs about it, and talking with others about climate change. She thinks that learning is a highlight in working toward climate change. Even though she’s a kid, she can do things.


Leah Khayum

Leah Khayum is 9 years old and is in Mrs. Hamilton’s 3rd grade class at Nancy Young Elementary School. She lives in Aurora, Illinois and has a pet cat named Chia Leah. Leah wants to be an ornithologist when she grows up. Her interests in climate change include how global warming and deforestation are causing animal extinction. She is also concerned about the impact of climate change on our oceans and polar regions. Leah wants to make a difference by teaching others about endangered animals and how climate change is threatening biodiversity on Earth.

Celsey O'Hare

Celsey O'Hare

Celsey O’Hare is a 4th-grade student at Elm Elementary School in Burr Ridge, Illinois. She is 10 years old. Celsey is very passionate about climate change, as her hometown was being polluted by an industrial company that emitted toxic fumes. She attended rallies and protests to close down the factory. After seeing what a group of people can do against climate change, she wants to do more to spread awareness about the environment, so that everyone can have a part in making a cleaner Earth.

Milan Suri

Milan Suri

Milan Suri is a 5th grade student at The Catherine Cook School. He participates in many different clubs and competitions. He currently competes in Future Problem Solvers, a competition where there is a topic and you have to write answers to problems that might occur in the future. Milan also participates in the 5th grade climate change group, and is starting at the school newspaper.


Raina Suri

Raina Suri is an 11-year-old, student, big-thinker, and amateur journalist, attending school at The Catherine Cook School in Chicago, Illinois. Attending many clubs such as Future Problem Solvers and her school's climate change group, Raina loves language, science, and math. Though she is just a kid, Raina will try not to pass up opportunities to make a difference.

Middle School 
Town Hall

April 13, 6:30 pm CST

Drake Boehm


Drake Boehm

Drake Boehm is a 14-year old homeschooler who lives in Chicago, Illinois. He enjoys reading, Legos, and quietly pondering ideas that when repeated aloud make other people look at him strangely. He enjoys lengthy discussions on the nature of the bettering of the world and society. He is fascinated about any ideas that may help to solve the problem of climate change. Drake believes everyone can change the world, and it is their responsibility to try and help the world around them.


Peter Datz


Peter Datz is a 6th grader from Chicago who is currently homeschooling. He is passionate about geography and qualified for the Illinois State Geography Bee in the fourth and fifth grades. He loves learning and in addition to geography is especially interested in math and Swedish. In his free time, Peter enjoys baking, traveling, camping, cycling, skiing, and learning about other cultures. His interest in electric vehicles led him to an interest in climate change and to working for a climate-stable planet. He created and maintains a website - ourelectricfuture.com - to share emerging news on EVs, solar, and wind energy.

Caleb Novick


Caleb Novick

Caleb Novick is a 6th grader at the Montessori Academy at Edison Lakes and a member of the Jewish Youth Climate Movement. He is very interested in exploring sustainable technologies and raising awareness about climate change in his school and community. He hopes to be an engineer when he grows up and perhaps to work on improving electric vehicles. In his free time, he enjoys tap dancing, origami, computer coding, Dungeons & Dragons, and watching SpaceX launches.


Brynne O'Hare

Brynne O’Hare is a 7th grade student from Hinsdale, Illinois and is passionate about creating change and promoting awareness when it comes to climate change. Some of her recent accomplishments include being the youngest member of the 2020 National Suicide Prevention Lifeline “You Matter” blogger council, sitting on the board of Writers Without Margins, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing inspiration through writing, and styling this year’s winning Kids Climate Summit logo. She is excited for the opportunity to engage in discussion regarding the condition of our Earth, and attempting to find solutions to cultivate a cleaner and greener tomorrow.

When not in the classroom, Brynne enjoys competitive swimming, baking, designing websites, and traveling with her family.


Lily Rue

Lily is excited to take part in the climate change movement because she likes to know she is part of something bigger than herself. World issues have always been of interest to Lily, and she loves to help people in any way she can. Her little brother is the person who inspires her most because she wants him to grow up on a healthy and undamaged planet. To do this, things need to be fixed and she wants to help fix them.

Arushi Tolia


Arushi Tolia

Arushi Tolia is in the 6th grade at Kennedy Junior High School and passionate about computer science and the climate movement. She loves to craft different cuisines in her free time and explore the world of cuisine. Arushi also loves coding and creating different types of applications and websites in her free time. She is the founder and president of the Computer Science Club at her school.

Thanks to our Sponsors and supporters


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About CGCC

The Chicago Gifted Community Center (CGCC) is a member-driven 501(c)(3) non-profit organization created by parents to support the intellectual and emotional growth of gifted children and their families. 

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