Students Become Teachers at First LWHS TedX Event

Lick-Wilmerding High School hosted its first ever TEDx event on April 20, 2023. TED events spread important knowledge through their accessible short talks. The range of topics discussed at TEDx at LWHS represents the diversity in LWHS students’ interests.

TEDx events are similar to TED events; their only difference is that they are local and self-organized. TEDx at LWHS was organized by AJ Naser ’24 and Christy Godinez-Jackson, the Director of the Center for Civic Engagement. “My goal for the event was to give students the opportunity to share their ideas worth spreading and inspire change,” Naser said.

Organizing the event took over a year and a half. “It takes a lot of dedication and perseverance to produce an event of this magnitude,” Naser said. He first applied for a license in his sophomore year, which he obtained in his junior year. He then followed TED rules and guidelines to co-organize the event with Godinez-Jackson, and many other LWHS community members.

“Christy was extremely supportive, and I couldn’t have done it without her. Mr. Zavala played a pivotal role in preparing students to speak in front of a large audience. Eamon Brannigan and the entire LWHS tech production crew jumped into action and helped out with everything they could. The whole process was a team effort,” Naser said.

Many student speakers discussed their big life experiences and takeaways. For example, Jasmine Leshnick ’23 explained the importance of mental toughness as a future collegiate soccer player. “The greatest athletes like Lionel Messi and Michael Jordan are obviously fantastic athletes on the outside. But inside they possess discipline, confidence, composure, and commitment,” said Leshnick.

Selene Jiang-Qin ’24 discussed the depth of various dishes, and how food can serve as a way to connect with identity and culture, growing up with Asian-American food. Jacqueline Simeral ’26 discussed what growing up with a sister who has OCD taught her about the disorder, and spread awareness of common misconceptions of OCD.

Other student speakers discussed their passions and proposed solutions to various social and political issues. Alia Azad ’24 discussed disparities in American wellness and public health practices. “In order to truly achieve wellness, we have to take all parts of ourselves into consideration. And this means we have to truly look within ourselves to find all the answers,” said Azad.

Mason Salma ’24 talked about data collection and manipulation and Saahil Mishra ’25 talked about social media’s ever pervasive effect on this generation’s teens.

The student speakers described their experience of giving a talk in front of a large audience. “The experience was pretty nerve wracking, partly because it has a large exposure but mostly because it felt like I was supposed to be the expert on the topic I chose,” Azad said. Taran Hano ’24 explained that balancing school work and simultaneously practicing for her talk was challenging.

While practicing for and speaking at the event itself was a large learning opportunity for the student speakers, it was also a learning opportunity for those who helped plan and organize the event. “A lot of planning, communication and logistics went into the event, which was very rewarding because it helps students build skills such as leadership, teamwork, communication and project management,” Naser said.

Naser hopes TEDx at LWHS will continue for years to come.

• Author
• Recent Posts

Emily Nguyen

Emily Nguyen is a junior at LWHS and a second year writer for the Paper Tiger. Outside of school, she serves on the SF Youth Commission and loves biking and reading.

Latest posts by Emily Nguyen (see all)