Third Annual TEDx Filled With Ideas Worth Spreading

Ten Upper School students took the stage in the packed Experimental Theater on Friday, May 17, confidently speaking about an array of topics that ranged from how the education system perpetuates students’ perfectionist tendencies to how climate change impacts Lyme disease.

The event was the School’s third annual TEDxTheMastersSchool, a TED-style event that aims to spark dialogue and connection at the local level. The students spent five months researching, writing, rehearsing and memorizing their talks. The group of 10 was led by Lisa Berrol and Brendon Barrios, both Upper School history teachers who have coordinated the event since its inception in 2017. “We hope that in addition to learning how to craft cogent, articulate and inspiring talks, our students learned a lot about the value of tenacity, collaboration, asking for help, agency and overcoming obstacles,” said Berrol. While each year’s TEDx is impressive in its own right, Berrol noted that this year’s TEDx featured a diversity of topics and a significant number of female voices.

The 10 students and their talks are as follows:
“How Climate Change Infected My Life” by Juliette Chollet ’20
“Inside Knowledge: The Benefits of Practicing Self-Awareness” by Audrey Corrigan ’20
“Life Before the Grocery Store: Understanding the Value of Food” by Sophia Forstmann ’20
“The Intervention Paradox: The Creation of Modern Migration Crises” by Clyde Lederman ’22
“A Girl Walks Into a Guitar Shop…” by Julia Levin ’21
“Why We Hate Math: Three Reasons” by Carr (Yijin) Li ’21
“Media: A 21st-Century War Instigator” by Yevheniia Nykonorova ’21
“History of Whiteness: Through the Looking Glass” by Gabriela Seguinot ’20
“The Popularization of Self-Harm: A Multi-Generational Conversation” by Maeve Smith ’20
“Perfect… Wait, That’s Not the Right Word” by Sophia Viscarello ’21

Make sure to check out their talks, which will be available online, in the coming weeks.

TEDxTheMastersSchool 2019

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