In the Black Box Theater, the lights dim to red and chatter dies to whispers. What’s left on stage is a round, red carpet and four glaring letters marked “TEDx.” Two angled sections of auditorium seating are filled with students, teachers, parents and other attendees brimming with anticipation.

That is what the theater looked like moments before Lead Organizer junior Grayson Houston-Henderson walked out on stage for the first time to introduce the event, the presentation of a series of distinct TEDx speeches under the theme of “Catalysts of Change” on May 11. 

“This year’s event focused on speakers who have actively driven change across various industries or professions, allowing attendees to discover that the potential for creating impact spans a multitude of domains,” Houston-Henderson said.

The topic drew in many spectators, each attending for their own unique reasons. One viewer, Connor Barks, came to see his fiancée’s brother speak and ended up being surprised by how much he enjoyed the event.

“I didn’t really know what to expect,” Barks said. “I thought they were all really interesting, coming from different angles. The topics were informative; it was just really good to hear people’s perspectives.”

That level of organization took hard work. In preparation for the event, a large group of students helped to find and contact possible speakers, and Associate Head of School Natasha Bhalla and Executive Assistant to the Heads of School & Board of Trustees Claudia Cárdenas served as the faculty advisors. But despite the size and commitment of the team, nobody had any experience organizing an event like a TED talk.

“We approached this project with little prior experience, so we were navigating uncharted territory,” Houston-Henderson said. “We still had to learn a lot on the go, facing unexpected challenges along the way.”

Even with the difficulties, they made it work. Houston-Henderson, along with Associate Organizers and juniors Julia Forrester and Leonardo Sarzi Braga, worked five to six hours per week over five months to coordinate the event. The WIS technology and facilities teams staged the event, and external broadcasting company Shine D.C. handled event filming.

The seven presenters spoke for around 20 minutes each, covering a wide range of topics. The first speaker was the President and CEO of the North Carolina STEM Center Dr. Sam Houston. His talk analyzed the shortcomings of modern education and testing systems.

“We need to make sure we’re raising independent, not dependent thinkers,” Houston said. “Be thoughtful, not thoughtless. On many of the examinations we use, you can just regurgitate a response. The most thoughtful responses might not satisfy the rubric.”

Houston was followed by Coach Desmond Dunham, the youth sports expert and author of “Running Against the Odds” who has spoken previously at several WIS events. In his talk, he reflected on the negative culture around youth sports and parts of his own career.

“We are over-professionalising sports,” Dunham said. “Burnout happens, physically and mentally.”

He then discussed what he does to minimize that stress. Instead of focusing on results, he congratulates both his students and his own children for their hard work and effort.

“[In my house] we never talk about winning,” Dunham said. “We never talk about scoring. My son doesn’t have Division I [D1] talent. But he has a D1 work ethic.”

Next was gender acceptance activist and founder of transgender rights organization GRACE Alaina Kupec. She talked about her journey to accepting her own identity and how she’s come to terms with the changes in her life. Kupec highlighted the scientific studies that allowed her to truly accept herself, including one that revealed differences between people as seen in brain scans.

“Brain studies show that the brains of women, men and transgender people are entirely different,” Kupec said. “It was earth-shattering for me.”

After the event, Kupec shared that her motivation behind participating in the TEDx event was to help clarify the confusion that many experience on the topic of gender identity.

“I basically tried to think about which of my experiences could help people better understand [the journey of gender acceptance],” Kupec said. “[People] are hearing one side of the narrative through the media.”

The next speaker was Chief Operating Officer for financial technology company Moniepoint Pawel Swiatek, who works toward reaching financial inclusion in Nigeria. Swiatek’s talk addressed the disparity between financial possibilities in countries such as the U.S. and Nigeria.

“Financial services are not universally available in Nigeria,” Swiatek said. “We want to stop these issues of stability and financial infrastructure.”

After Swiatek, WIS parent Dr. Afua Banful took the stage. She gave an overview of her path to starting her own business, generally centered on what she learned along the way. One piece of advice that she gave the audience was to avoid letting hesitation become a reason for inaction.

“’It’s scary,’ ‘it’s hard,’ ‘it’s risky,’ are perfectly fine as descriptions, but not as reasons or excuses,” Banful said.

To her, the event was the perfect opportunity to pass on her acquired knowledge from over the years.

“Mentoring is something that I’ve benefited from a lot,” Banful said. “The main thing I’ve learned is that you have to be original in your mistakes.”

The next speaker was worker for the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Cristina Pombo, but she didn’t discuss anything related to economics. In fact, her speech was focused on her running life and its abrupt termination after she was diagnosed with a viral heart disorder in the summer of 2023. The experience led Pombo to realize the power of sensitivity.

“We live in a society that praises strength and invulnerability,” Pombo said. “Where vulnerability is seen as a source of weakness. But openness invites connection and chances lead to beauty beyond measure.”

The final speaker, Georgetown University Professor Sowmya Pelluru, has been through many career changes over the years. Her TEDx talk was about her experience as a female entrepreneur in a predominantly male industry. She commented on the double-edged nature of the expectations that people have of women in the field.

“We encourage women to speak up for themselves, yet studies show that if they do they are seen as less likable,” Pelluru said. “Don’t wait for women to advocate for themselves.”

All seven TEDx talks were an inspiration to those who watched and touched on topics that are widely encountered in today’s world. The videos of each talk are still being edited, but are on track to being published on the TEDx page in a few weeks.

Reflecting on the event, Houston-Henderson said that his goal in hosting the first TEDxWIS Youth event was to extend globally impactful ideas to the school’s community.

“Ultimately, the objective was to create an environment where attendees could not only enjoy but also learn from the inspiring and impactful speakers we hosted,” Houston-Henderson said.