At the age of 16, Riya founded FutureOfUs, an online platform that empowers youth to learn about the future through literary means. They have over 300 volunteers writing about their opinions on politics, the environment, fashion, and much more. Now 18 years old, Riya has spoken at a TEDx event and other tech conferences and is writing her own book. It should come as no surprise then that Riya's value was educating and engaging the youth to get more involved in solving the problems of today's world. She believes that the youth certainly don't have all the answers but it only makes logical sense to include them in the discussions, because the more diversity of thought we get, the better chance we have to solve these complex problems. This makes a lot of sense to me. Why wouldn't we want to get the additional perspective of those who aren't as jaded or burdened by the biases we all develop as we age? 

This was one of those episodes where I spent most of the show trying to pressure test and identify potential holes in Riya's logic (maybe to a fault). I did this not to try and prove her wrong, but because I think her approach is a good one so I wanted to test it as best I could to make sure. What really surprised me was the humility she expressed throughout the discussion. Riya constantly acknowledged there were things she didn't know enough about, that she might have her own blind spots, and that we need to work together to solve the problems we face. This was so important to her that as we discussed towards the end of the show, one of the biggest things she is trying to teach the youth today is to focus on being humble and admitting they don't know everything. Her belief is that can be taught at a young age and then carried throughout life.

As I listened back to this episode, I recognized I may have went a little bit "fan boy", but when someone basis their approach to life in logic and humility it is hard not to be a fan of that. It was interesting to note though, when I pressed Riya to try and understand where this approach to life came from--this drive to try and fix the world through educating the youth-- a lot of it had to do with her upbringing in Silicon Valley. She was raised in an environment that deeply believed the use of data and technology should be used to constantly improve our lives. The cynic in me wonders if the big tech companies in Silicon Valley are the best sources of inspiration for fixing the world. But that aside, I walked away from this discussion with a good deal of optimism about Riya and the youth movement she is trying to build. Only time will tell if the youthful optimism and humility will stay with her throughout her life, but I like where it is taking her thus far.