TEDxYouth@MHS

Nearly one year into COVID, our students continue to learn, 成长, embody hope for a better future.

2021年1月, five students — from Brooklyn, 保加利亚, 中国, 乌克兰, Vietnam — pulled off a virtual TEDx they called “Boundless,” about activating positive change in the world.

由青年, 为青年, the TEDxYouth@MHS conference was two hours of bold ideas, 宣传, girls’ leadership, interspersed with live music, 数字动画, 虚拟戏剧, guided meditation. 这是惊人的!

Modeled after the popular TED Talks — short talks by influential leaders on global issues — TEDx events are independently run but similarly inspirational. Selina Li ' 21 和 Diana Sobolieva, 21届 conceived the idea 和 led a team of peers, including Neda Dimolareva, 22岁, R和i McGeary, 22岁, 芳武21岁, in organizing the event for their 视野 work this year.

“This event was a product of our teamwork, it wouldn't have taken place without everyone's dedication 和 contributions,塞琳娜说, who noted that no one can know how great the damage of 2020 has been to society or how long it will take to recover.

“The only thing we know is that we can't stop thinking 和 innovating, which is exactly why we decided to continue planning the event this year,她补充道. "We hope it can not only set an example of how we can still successfully carry out an event, despite all the challenges 和 obstacles from the outside environment, but also inspire youth to realize our potential, encourage our peers to start thinking about what we can do, as a young generation with great vitality, in a post-p和emic world.”

The theme of “Boundless” reflected the idea of using voice, regardless of challenges. After an introduction from the organizers, the event opened with 安娜的22 singing “365 Days of Paper Airplanes” in Vietnamese. An animated short from 汉娜的21 provided a brief interlude before the first of the conference's speakers.

• Cailyn的22 和 真实的22, who spearheaded the Community Action Fund at MHS, shared how the idea developed, got into motion, came to life. “It didn’t feel right to sit back, while people around us struggled,” Cailyn said.

• 艾米丽的23 shared two seemingly unrelated, but ultimately connected, stories to illustrate the connection between COVID-19 和 climate change, crises which will require a global response. “We can all make sacrifices to save or achieve something tremendously important,”她说。.

• 杰西呗, a software engineer at Goldman Sachs, spoke about how she fell in love with computer science 和 her experience as a female professional in the industry. “I wrote my first line of code when I was in high school. 就像魔法一样. It opened a new world to me,”她说。.

The program’s second half opened with a brief youth-led meditation guided by members of MeditaTeen, 多伦多, 加拿大, another animated short from Hannah.

• 拿俄米的24 then shared her story of navigating 2020 和 how racial injustice prompted her to alter her course. “The storms we weather make us stronger, if there is one thing that I learned this year, it is that strength is what allows us to better ourselves as individuals 和 as a society,”她说。.

• 凯萨琳的22 spoke about the importance of self-care 和 the stigma 和 double-st和ard girls 和 women face when it comes to their appearance. “We need to teach girls that their self-worth comes from their own fulfillment, not others’ views or expectations,”她说。.

Grace Notes, the School’s 没有乐器伴奏的 singing group, offered a brief musical interlude, performing, “Take Me Home,” by Pentatonix.

• 玛吉的22 closed the presentations by bravely sharing the story of how her adoption as a traumatized one-year-old by a family from the United States changed her life. “I am so lucky to have a family who never gave up on helping me heal, both mentally 和 physically,”她说。.

After a preview of the MHS Theater Ensemble’s 2020-21 production, 几乎缅因州, comments from members of the cast 和 crew, Selina offered a few closing remarks.

“2020 feels like walking through a tunnel with no light, now we made it through the first month of 2021,”她说。. “No one guarantees how this year 和 this time in our history will turn out, but at the end of the tunnel, 就会有光. 生活还会继续, I’m confident our young generation will find ways to contribute to our new world.”