Big ideas explored at 2nd TEDxSaratogaHighSchool

The second TEDxSaratogaHighSchool event brought new ideas to the theme “Exploring beyond Boundaries” to the McAfee Center stage on April 15. 

The first student speaker, junior Kevin Chow, captivated the audience with his wide array of artwork, such as his creations that use polystyrene foam, to underline the importance of artistic innovation. He engaged the audience of several dozen with his explanation on how diverse and expansive art could be even without a canvas or paper.

Afterward, Chow said he felt relief that the event was over, but “it was satisfying to know that I had finally delivered something that I had really wanted to articulate.” 

TEDx is a program designed to spread ideas within a community through live speakers and videos. According to junior Rachel Won, a co-fundraising head for the event, this year’s TEDxSHS was separated into three responsibilities.

For instance, one of the responsibilities was the organize all the speakers, which seniors Edwin Pan and Michelle Shen focused on. TEDxSHS coordinators decided to bring the event back a second year, as “it was a unique experience for both the speakers and listeners” the first time it was held on Dec. 7, 2014. 

This year, the event included eight speakers who presented topics that related to the theme of “Exploring beyond Boundaries.”

Two of the speakers were in the form pre-recorded video. The first video, by Tim Urban, an illustrator and writer for his blog “Wait But Why,” was an explanation of procrastination. The second one was a talk by David Brooks, a New York Times columnist and author, on whether one can balance the self that desires success and the self that seeks a higher purpose.

Chow kicked off the event after Urban’s video as the first live speaker and was followed by Elizabeth Douglas, the president and chief operating officer of wikiHow, who described her experiences pursuing her true passion: engineering. Douglas explained her struggles of pursuing this profession due to her friends not sharing her enthusiasm. She concluded that in order to choose your passion, you must have confidence to determine if that passion fits you.

After Douglas, NASA engineer Jonathan Trent discussed the possible colonization of Mars and emphasized the preservation of resources on Earth, a task that he is trying to accomplish through the OMEGA Global Initiative, an organization that uses OMEGA to support blue-green economies and develop a sustainable future. 

Junior Daniel Luo was intrigued by Trent’s speech, as he “was fascinated by his ambitious project that had important implications for the future of the earth.”

Following Trent, software engineer Lorien Pratt explained how machine learning and decision intelligence (DI), a framework that organizes decision making, can be used to solve difficult issues such as water and energy shortages. 

After Pratt, senior Nina Nelson captivated the TEDx audience with her various acting roles, ranging from a Spanish persona to a British one. After she introduced herself, she transitioned to her speech about her fiery passion for acting and expressed how to find a one’s ambition through a process called “Little Feet on Big Steps.”

The sixth speaker, Ashu Desai, who founded a two-year college replacement for students called Make School, talked about a new approach to the college education system. Desai said that rather than learning in class and completing homework assignments, university students can create their own content through the material they have learned. He believes that simply completing homework assignments does not give students the necessary work experience after college. 

Senior Rhea Srivats enjoyed Desai’s speech since “he echoed a lot of concerns [she’s] heard about higher education, specifically in computer science.”

Shen said all the speakers did a “wonderful job” conveying their message to the audience. The event took around five months to plan since the TEDx team had to “work out ideas and topics that fit with the theme and would appeal to a high school audience,” Shen said.

Shen hopes the event will be able to have another iteration next year.

“It took a lot of effort as well as organization to get this done, and I was glad to have a great, experienced team to work with,” Shen said. “I hope that next year’s show will be as good as this year’s.”