What’s your spark? Welcome to the Hewitt Time’s live coverage of the 2013 TEDxYouth@Hewitt! Check in throughout the day for updates on speakers and photos from the event.
10:19 AM – Pre-show crowd
10:23 AM – Curators Grayson Brower ’15 and Paloma Stafford ’16 and emcee Austin Mitchell (founder of the Broken Legs podcast) introduce the day and our first speaker
SLATE ONE: WHAT’S YOUR SPARK?
10:25: Sydney Sadick ’12 kicks off the “What’s your Spark?” Slate. Style Solutions, Sydney’s fashion blog, was born at Harvard Summer School (in the same dorm Mark Zuckerberg first created Facebook!) She set out to “come up with a twist that would make [her] blog a success,” and ended up discovering her niche by doing interviews with designers and celebrities (Rihanna, for example) and uploading photos of herself in outfits she puts together.
10:35 AM – TED talk video by Crystal Dilworth
10:38 AM – Austin Diamond, a bourgeoning entrepreneur, speaks about his passion:
“As an entrepreneur, if you do what you’re really passionate about, then you can never really be wrong.”
“The capacity for innovation is’t bound by age.”
“Don’t let the fear of being different trump the excitement of going after what you want.”
10:36 AM – TED talk video by Taylor Wilson
10:50 AM – James Parris, founder Paper Tiger Films, speaks about the evolution of his love of drawing and animation from the age 4 (“I was a conjurer of magic, I was an artist”) to the High School of Art and Design to the Pratt Institute and finally to the sets of movies like The Lion King, Spider Man, and Benjamin Button (which won an academy award for visual affects). He takes joy in “watching the imaginary become real.”
11:01 AM – Spoken word poet Malcom Wicks asks, “how many likes does it take to boost your self esteem?” in his poem about social media. His spark is seeing people “make moves outside of social networks” and overcome bullying.
11:14 AM -Break out session before the next slate begins!
SLATE TWO: IGNITE
11:33 AM – TED talk video by Amy Purdy, “it’s not about breaking boarders, it’s about pushing off of them.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2QZM7azGoA
11:44 AM – Jon Lee Brody, founder of Iron Will Productions, speaks about taking leaps of faith and his mantra of embracing “lack of prime directive” (a Star Trek reference for you non-trekkies out there). “Success is not a straight line, it’s a squiggle…the key is to stay motivated even after achieving success.” Look out for his next project Hurricane Kid, set to come out in 2015.
12:03 PM – TED talk video by opera singer Charily Tillman-Dick, “medical condition should not negate the human condition.”
12:13 PM – Darren Arthur slams about his resume as a “train poet” and his passion: “I am lighter fluid and matchstick spark.”
12:21 PM – Alexandra Wexler, a Hewitt alumna from the class of ’06 who now works for the Wall Street Journal, speaks about being a storyteller and significance of writing and reading good stories that connect you to the lives of others.
12:35 PM – Brent Comstock, the brain behind digital marketing and technological solutions company Bcom Solutions, speaks about his humble beginning as cookie-earning entrepreneur and his hand in the success of multiple start-up companies. “Our generation needs to look at the doors that are locked…innovation does not take place by going through doors that are already open.”
12:38 PM – Sofia Stafford ’13 is still saving the world. Now a freshman at Duke University, Sofia continues to mold her Question: how can she empower girls around the world by assuring they will receive an education?
12:59 PM – Lunch break: time to network!
SLATE THREE: FLAME
1:48 PM – Jessica Greer Morris is a human rights activist and playwright working at Girl be Heard (past shows include: Congo, Trafficked, 9mm America). Random and anonymous acts of kindness help her to live happy, joyously, and freely.
2:00 PM – Justin LeBlanc, an artist and fashion designer born deaf, talks about overcoming adversity by learning how to speak. “The bigger you think the greater you will become.”
2:16 PM – TED talk video by Easton LaChappelle about his robotic arm invention
2:20 PM – Rachel DeAlto speaks about the value of kindness.
2:27 PM – TED talk video by Eleanor Longden about overcoming her schizophrenia
2:41 PM – Sophie Beem ’17 performs her original songs “Two Way Street” and “I’m Different”
2:54 PM – Head curator Grayson Brower ’15 closes out the event–congratulations to the entire TEDx curatorial team!
