2017 HATCH Big Sky Bios (Students)

Graham is a senior at Bozeman High where he is an officer in the school's gender equity club, X Squared. He is a member of the Bridger Ski Foundation Competitive Nordic Ski Team, and a decent Latin dancer. He plays the stand-up bass in a bluegrass band, volunteers with the local land trust, and can fix a flat on a bike tire with pine cones. When not skiing or biking, he can be found at home tending to his flock of messenger pigeons.

Ella passed the last year living in Portugal, learning the Portuguese language and immersing herself in its history and culture. She began writing music at the age of 9 and has continued to do so with the piano and guitar. She is passionate about the environment, and this summer has participated in Montana Conservation Corps with a crew of 7 women in the woods of central Montana.

Cole's photographs have been published in National Geographic, and he is the photo editor and a reporter for his school paper Hawk Tawk, as well as the creator of Hawk Tawk’s podcast. He loves playing classical piano and plans to pursue it in his future. He is part of Bridgercare and Haven’s Peer Education team where he teaches sexual/reproductive health, healthy relationships, and gender and sexuality to Montana high schoolers and community members.

I am a graduating junior in neuroscience, a premed student with research experience in biology, chemistry, and autonomic disorders. I am passionate about people living their best life possible. For me, this revolves around a holistic approach to health and integrating knowledge of oneself so that our bodies can feel good and function as best as they were built to. This belief has driven me to found CalmLet to manage stress, share health knowledge through nutrition counseling, yoga and group fitness.

Royce Mann is a 10th grader at the Paideia School where he plays for the baseball team. He is passionate about social activism, politics, travel, acting, & being a kid, among other things. Since the video of Royce performing a poem titled "White Boy Privilege" at his school's poetry slam went viral, Royce has been asked to speak around the country & has continued following in his parents' footsteps through his activism & political work, including internships for Democratic candidates.

Dounia is a student at Big Sky High School, a film maker, photographer, beekeeper, artist, creative mind, and friend.

Althea is a senior at Bozeman High School, where she is active in Speech and Debate (with her partner Ava), is passionate about her role at the Cancer Support Center, and is a volunteer at Haven, the domestic violence prevention organization in Bozeman. She is endlessly curious about the world and loves to explore. Her adventures have lead her into the mountains, across North America, and all the way to Egypt.

Ethan in a NextGen HATCHer and passionate entrepreneur with a strong interest in science and robotics. He has a huge desire to do something impactful for humans and earth with what time the universe can provide.

Disha founded Savy at the MIT Launch Summer Program. She continued developing her company during her senior year of high school with the aid of the Catapult Ideas and Draper University. After graduating, Disha decided to forgo college, teach herself how to code and work on building Savy. Most recently, she worked with gang leaders from the Bloods, Crips and GDs in a six-week entrepreneurship bootcamp.

Kylie wrote and recorded her first song when she was twelve. Since then, she has written intensely, locking herself in her room and honing her skills on the piano, guitar, & ukulele. Now 16, Kylie has crafted these works into a daring debut EP. Her first single, "Lying Eyes," explores the dark depths of being in a dishonest relationship, and the difficult situations that come along with it.

Taliq Tillman is a senior at The Met High School in Providence, Rhode Island where he is driven by curiosity and his passion for learning. Taliq is an actor, photographer and activist who strongly believes that empathy is his most powerful tool. Most of his work is interdisciplinary; from arts integration to social activism through creative direction and photography. One motif in his work is the idea of otherness and understanding. Taliq is currently an intern at Trinity Repertory Company, Communications director for Cep Journal, and student facilitator and co-founder of Diversity Talks.

Maris is 17 years old (18 on September 16th), a singer-songwriter from Missoula, Montana. She just moved to New York City to pursue a career in music. In music she values the connection and communication between artist and listener, as well as the expression and release she experiences through it.

Myles is a 16 year old who really loves tech, mainly the electrical side of things. I have dipped my feet into many different branches of the tech world, from programming to soldering and even 3D modeling. I went to HATCH last year and it was life changing. I met some amazing people because of this event, and even got to have lunch with one of them almost a year later at the main Intel HQ.

Maiah's haunting vocals are often compared to the likes of Birdy, Fiona Apple, and Florence Welch. She was the 2017 winner of Claim to Fame's international songwriting competition. At 20 years old she has played across the northwest at some of the most prestigious festivals and venues in the country including the Roseland Theater, Hotel Cafe, South by Southwest, Sundance, and Red Ants Pants Music festival.