TEDx Aurora highlights the importance of youth activism

On February 9th, Aurora High School held its first TEDx event, which was hosted by Juniors Nathan Welsh and Cassia Lavy.

The event held an array of presentations involving topics from water pollution to the education system to feminism.

“The TEDx event is a spotlight on "The Future of" featuring a total of 11 different acts covering the future of education, activism, society, and you. While most of our acts are speakers, we also have a singer and a couple of dancers performing as well,” said Senior Wendy Kristell, who was involved in the event.

In summary, Caroline Eggett spoke about the grading system, Kelsey Trecarichi informed about the stigma surrounding mental illness, Nathan Welsh opened our eyes about water pollution, Marissa Stojanovic talked about trash, Mackenzie Fields preached about feminism and womanism, Kikita Kumar and Simran Patura performed a Bharatanatyam and Kathak dance, Danny Abbas protested against racism, Natalya Duncan exposed racist stereotypes, Jacob French motivated us with the topic of motivation, Ashley Foster stressed about the importance of international travelling, and Hannah Schmidt sang about her reflection on life.

My personal favorite presentation is Natalya Duncan’s presentation about racial stereotypes. As a society, we tend to stereotype and put people into boxes. Many people in the audience never heard the term ebonics before her informative TED talk.

Another personal highlight from the event is Mackenzie Fields’ presentation on feminism and womanism. This personally opened my eyes in a way not many presentations have before.

In conclusion, TEDx Aurora was a fascinating event and should hold a second event next year.

Generations of past and present are coming together to shape the future.The future depends on us to stand and fight together for what’s significant and important in our society.

“I want the audience to gain a new perspective on our world and our future and be inspired by the incredible talent of the students in our community,” states Kristell.

Those with a passion to change the world and how we approach certain topics should definitely try out for next year’s event.