Brad Elliot
With speakers from around the world, including some of our own students, the event ignited meaningful conversations that promoted change in our community.
This year’s theme, “Limitless,” embodied the spirit of breaking boundaries, exploring new ideas, and introducing new perspectives, and innovations.
“We picked the theme of ‘Limitless’ because we wanted to embody the spirit of endless possibilities and push beyond perceived horizons.
Each year, we aim to select a theme that allows for a diverse range of speakers and perspectives, and “Limitless” allowed us to do so,” said Chloe Gidney, one of the TEDx team executive producers.
“It gave us the flexibility to feature speakers with groundbreaking ideas and inspiring stories that challenge the norms.
Speakers such as Oneda Castillo, Abe Powell, Ada Green and Elisabeth Robilio shared how persevering and pushing the limits shaped their lives.
Castillo, a global education instructor for women’s golf, shared her experience as being one of the first African American women to achieve professional status.
“I had found my gift and, as usual, and I worked hard to be the best. Now I am the only black female Master Teaching Professional,” Castillo said.
TED talks aim to educate listeners on the lessons the speakers learned in their lives and to motivate the audience to seek change in their community.
Abe Powell started the Bucket Brigade as a response to the Santa Barbara debris flows in 2018.
In his talk, he spoke about the importance of community organization in a time of crisis, emphasizing how small acts of compassion and resilience made by a collective group of individuals can result in large-scale change.
“With just one percent of us working together, we can do a lot more than just move a mountain. With one percent of the human beings on this planet working together like this it would create a tidal wave of training, restoration and response. And maybe just maybe, this is the wave that could start to turn the tide on climate change,” Powell said.
Ada Green, an actress and Laguna senior, spoke about the process of moving into a new chapter of her life as she prepares to leave for college.
“Now, I’m finally in my moment before, this liminal space between legally becoming an adult and living as one. Between getting into college and going there. It’s a nine-month moment before to learn how to think for myself,” Ada said.
Junior Elisabeth Robilio has studied ballet for 13 years. She spoke about ballet’s role in her life and performed “Prelude” from Les Sylphides.
“Dance has been so important to me from such a young age, and I am so glad I got to share this part of me with my community,” Elisabeth said.
TEDx is a collaborative and student-driven event that allows students to take the lead in organizing, curating, and creating an engaging experience for the audience to enjoy.
“While there are many steps in organizing a TED event, our five teams, Executive Producers, Business/Communications, Curation, Design, and Operations, all put in numerous hours over the period of six months to fulfill their goals,” said senior Executive Producer Jinling Wang.
“From ordering lanyards, booking speakers, organizing catering for 600 people, and turning our school gym into a professional recording studio, these are just some of the tasks we accomplished for a successful event.”
Having students as the coordinators of this event provides them with valuable life skills such as leadership, communication, and problem-solving.
The Executive Producers this year are Chloe Gidney, Jinling Wang, Cyanne Blabey and Dania Zamudio. The different teams that contribute to the production are the Curation Team, the Design Team, the Communications Team, the Operations Team, and the Business Development Team.
Each has a specific role. The teams are overseen by faculty guides Michelle Finck, Mayumi Kodani, and Jill Sonbudtasan.
“My responsibilities included overseeing the actual event day and everything that came with that. My team’s jobs consisted of organizing catering, choosing booths, preparing the physical setup, and managing the overall logistics of the event. It was a role that required problem-solving skills, organization, and leadership,” said Operations Lead senior Georgette von Yurt.
TEDx leaves a lasting impact on the audience and the students, giving them a chance to learn, grow, and be inspired by new ideas.
“I would 100% recommend taking the TEDx elective to incoming students as it has helped me grow in so many ways. I have learned skills that I will take to college. One skill in particular is my ability to communicate professionally with outside organizations and partners. I learned how to write professional emails as well as pitching to companies and businesses, further strengthening my public speaking skills and professionalism as a high school student. Being on TEDx has been an amazing experience and a class that will always be one of my favorites!” Chloe said.