TEDx KISJ

1st February, 2019, by Julie P. (G.11)

As 2018 transformed into 2019, several students in KIS opened up about presenting their findings in TEDx speeches at KIS on April 23rd. With a total of seven students participating in this event, with a theme of time, five students from KIS - Avril C. (G12), Caroline R. (G11), Celine L. (G11), Louis L. (G11), and Michelle K. (G11) - will speak in the event with great insights and important messages. Among the five students, the following article delves into a deeper story of Caroline R. (G11), Celine L. (G11), and Louis L. (G11).

As TEDx is a speech with a scale of more than a hundred audience members, it has been a curiosity of mine to know the cause of their motivation. Caroline R. (G11) responded to this question by recalling a time when she was “scrolling through Facebook” and solved a quiz about global facts. “ I read an entire book called "Factfulness”. Through this initial exposure to global facts, Caroline reported that she was “overwhelmed with her ignorance” and was roused to share a message on the stage. Similarly, Celine L. (G11) referred her personal experience when she saw TEDx videos and was always “inspired by people who inspired others.” “Time has been a close concept and as a transfer kid, it would be an honor for me to talk about how I take time with other people” she added. As in the speech where she recounts numerous events in the day when she takes time, Celine L. (G11) also seems to have grown a light within herself.

The background story of Louis L. (G11) is also interesting to note. “ As soon as I saw the theme, I thought of the word legacy.” With his interesting idea of time and his passion for public speaking, Louis built his will to share his ideas about the different kinds of legacy. “ There are physical, mental, ideas and other kinds of legacies,” concluded Louis L. (G11). Although leaving a legacy even before reaching the age of an adult can be difficult, Louis stated to inform the students to enlarge the scope of legacy. “ I later realized what kind of mess I got into,” said Louis, ”as the speech could definitely be pressuring to students. “ But I thought it was my chance to make a legacy ... and decided to take on full responsibility.” Tackling a rather difficult and complex subject, Louis L. is ready for a hopeful speech that includes several personal anecdotes that would definitely be the fun to listen to different perspectives.

Although all three members started their journey in different standing points, each carries insightful messages they want to tell people who are currently at the same point as they were before. “ You have to think about the present so that we have correct knowledge about the present to advance to the future,” says Caroline R. (G11). To those who are stuck in the cycle of worrying about the future, Caroline gives us the advice to focus on the problems that are happening at the present.

What inspires these students to seek questions to their wanders? Caroline answered that she loves the feeling when people realize their own stereotypes. “Making a development with or without knowing the present leads to a very different result and letting people know gives me a responsibility to stay on track.” As knowledge does impact on an individual’s power, Caroline insisted on this aspect as her motivation. On the other hand, Louis spoke about Mr.DeBaun for his inspiration. “ We had a TEDx assignment and I did a speech about how to survive while watching a horror movie. He loved it and made me want to participate in this event.” Although Mr.DeBaun, a former English and public speaking teacher, left the school, he definitely seems to have left a legacy to Louis.

The TEDx organization has successfully attracted some of the most devoted and courageous students in the school. Students are looking forward to hearing the unique stories and wisdom of the student speakers. Hoping that this year’s speeches will inspire many in the audience,it anticipated that they could heal or chew on few of the ideas the speakers will present, go DRAGONS!