HHS Juniors Hesse and Rawson Create a TEDx Event at Harrison High School

HHS juniors Valerie Hesse and Madeline Rawson created an inaugural TEDx event at Harrison High School, showcasing thought-provoking presentations from their peers.

A TEDx event is a local gathering where the content and design are unique and developed independently, but all have features in common with large TED events -such as videos and the diversity of topics – but are community driven and content is bias free.

Valerie and Madeline were looking for a unique CAS (Creativity, Action, and Service) project, a part the IB Diploma requirements, when one of their fathers suggested a TED event. The girls realized that TED talks are a natural extension of a component of the IB Diploma’s Theory of Knowledge course, which challenges student to explore Why They Know What They Know. The two researched the process to hold a TED event, applied for the license, worked with HHS administration, and held bake sales to support their idea.

The HHS TEDx event consisted of talks by eight students and the viewing of two official TED talks. The student presentations were:

Miwa Goble – “The Future is Female”
Emma Abramson - “Potential Therapeutic Treatment for Alzheimers”
Mihoko Sakanaka – “Music for the Deaf”
Tasha Garayo – “Vitamin B: Cognition & Academic Performance”
Maxine Lieblich – “The Gender Gap in STEM”
Amr El-Azizi – “Fundamentalism in the Modern Age”
Sammie O’Reilly – “Autonomous Medical Choices and Adolescents”
Connor Kelly – “The Changing Hetero-Normative Sphere”

Valerie and Madeline were pleased with the positive feedback they received from the presenters and those in attendance. The two will look to continue the event next year and hope future classes with pick up the baton.

“Young people have a deep interest in many things and it is such a great opportunity for students to explore their interests and have a forum to present their findings,” Madeline said. “The more kids can communicate with others, the closer we can become as a community.”