LIVE BLOG: TEDx Makes Debut at Lake Forest High School

The popular and inspiring TEDx series makes its way to the North Shore for the first time today (April 16) with a series of presentations at Lake Forest High School. We will update regularly on speakers and the overall atmosphere prevalent at this one of a kind event.

8:38 AM - Twitter accounts for organizer Jimmy Juliano and the school district began posting photos pre-event. Students and visitors alike should be heading to the David Miller Theater in a few minutes. Some students are practicing their speeches in the school’s state-of-the-art library.

8:52 AM - Students all dressed in black “TEDx” shirts are filling up what’s know here at the DMT (David Miller Theater). Hosts Sydney Richman and Caleb Fietsam are on stage ready to begin.

9:00 AM- Event starts with intro from hosts and video introducing what TEDx is, “based on the Ted concept and ideals” but independently organized.

9:05 AM - Sponsors introduced including the APT, Lake Forest Bank & Trust, Lake Forest Foundation, City of Lake Forest, Sunset Foods and others.

9:06 AM - Superintendent Mike Simeck gives an intro and thanks sponsors/helpers. “Our school community has a huge number of dedicated people that work here as you will see evidence of this here today. This will be the first of hopefully many TEDx events here. Thanks Julie and Mike Eckhart for donation and advice. TEDx Lake Forest made up of “amazing team of students, teachers and community members.”

9:12 AM - Sydney announces first speakers. A trio to speak about “how we are reinventing the classroom.”

Cassidy Coughlin, Jenny McKendry and Maikal Yamauchi take the stage. They say the learning curriculum should be altered to fit today’s society.

“We are all different styles of learners but we are all put in the same classroom.” one said.

“Style of teaching is the same now as it was for our grandparents.” added another.

Positive example given of school’s incubator class, which shows students how what they learn is applied in the real world.

“Classic multiple choice test does not assess” education properly. A number of ways should be used to assess knowledge.

“We need you guys - the teachers, the incubators - to help us reinvent the high school classroom.”

9:20 AM - Ross Kugman, LFHS grad and student at London Academy of Music and Art addresses the crowd enthusiastically. This is about the importance of following your passions.

He shared his story about being denied from DePaul’s acting school, only to get back up and attend Illinois State and then find his way to the full-time acting school.

Kugman: “When we are told no, that strong to-letter word can carry the heaviest weight.”

When a college like DePaul tells you know, that’s a four year no.

“I didn’t audition for any other schools. I stopped. I was so afraid.”

He says “it’s worth it to get back up” after hearing noes from people.

9:31 AM - Kristin Mikrut begins with a Yi Fuan Tuan quote, one she carries with her through her entire life.

9:40 AM - Morning announcements play in the Theater. Kristin is smooth in talking over the disruption. Announcements stop after one minute, Kristin still talking about her art life and following her dreams.She is now the owner of the Reinvent gallery in downtown Lake Forest. Another local person following their passion in their home town.

9:49 AM - Helene Sudac begins talking about having a powerful voice.

She talks about food production and how factory farming jeopardizes overall health and includes problems with social justice. The farms are often located near underfunded residents.

“I see this as an animal welfare issue first and foremost,” she said. “When I first tried to see ways to change this, I felt hopeless. Too many forces looking to maintain the status quo.

These animals don’t have a voice, we do. Over the last year, I’ve worked with two teachers to form a new class called public policy.”

“Change happens at the local level. We sometimes underestimate our own abilities. The summer after my Freshman year I became a vegetarian and have seen my family’s attitude shift.”

Now, her family makes sure any meat comes from a good source.

“I no longer feel helpless,” she said.

Take a moment to pause and think when heading down the meat section at the grocery store, she says.

“Take that cart and find a different aisle,” she says. “Join the campaign that’s spreading across cities, states, restaurants and schools.”

If one day a week, everyone in the United States stayed away from eating meat, we’d save more than a billion animals from being killed every year - she said.

“Go out there and make a difference, because you can.”

9:56 AM - Bella Hill addresses the importance of taking shorter showers. The chances of getting water for those who need it in other countries is less when you take a 10 minute shower. If you take a 2 minute shower, it has the potential to make a greater number of people happy at the cost of just one person’s warmth.

Asks the audience to entertain the thought of becoming utilitarian. If everyone does that, some of the world’s pressing issues would be solved.

“The key to saving the environment is saving our own morality,” she says.

10:06 AM - Teacher Matt Dewar takes the stage.

Dewal talks about “well-being.”

“Well is not a state or feeling, it’s also a hole in the ground we draw water from,” he notes.

It was used first for that and then centuries later to describe someone’s being.

10:28 AM - Colin McDonnell is the last speaker of the first session. He talks about “the black hole.”

“Information is the coding which makes us who we are,” he said. “Information cannot be destroyed, only transferred.”

10:25 AM - Audience heads to the “incubator” room for the first break five minutes ahead of schedule.

10:30 AM - Patch interviews Judith Epcke.

Epcke, an employee for Lake Forest School District 67, said she is “impressed” with the level of poise and the content presented by the speakers.

“These kids are amazing,” she said. “The level at which the kids had to prepare and to just think about these subjects and what’s really important. Kids are always impressive, but this is taking it to another level beyond what I could conceive.”

She says the only drawback is Ted’s expectation that it be limited to 100 audience members. She says she’d like to see more invited the next time around.

11:03 AM - Break is over. People are filling in the seats again at the David Miller Theater.

11:05 AM - Kyle Levin welcomed on the stage to discuss “What if Neanderthals lived today?”

He explores the possibilities on how they became extinct. They had physical strength with a thicker bone and muscle structure. Humans brought their brain.

“Believe it or not, every one in this room has a little neanderthal in us,” Levin said.

11:36 AM - Freshman Katie Wicks takes the stage. She touches on “Women in Leadership: throughout history.

“It’s hard for women to gain recognition and when they do it’s on a calculated persona about what people want them to be,” she said.

She showed two examples from history.

Then she looked at Margaret Thatcher, Mary Wells and Hillary Clinton - modern leaders. Wells’ career shows a striking similarity to Thatcher, the first female Prime Minister.

“The way a woman presents herself hasn’t changed because the way society sees women leaders hasn’t either,” Wicks said.

11:52 AM - Allison Neumeister with a powerful presentation about the difficulty facing young girls in Africa. She uses a can as a perfect prop - a heavy one young girls are forced to carry a great distance everyday just to get water.

“Young girls are violated before they even know what sex is,” Neumeister said. “That’s why we need education.”

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Following lunch, the third portion of the event unfolded with a number of other speakers from the outside community. Everyone seemed to be in agreement that this should not be a one-time deal, but an annual tradition at Lake Forest High School.

Many thanks to Joe DeRosa, Steve Douglass and the entire crew for allowing Patch to tag along and live blog. See you at #TEDxLFHS in 2016!