The 23-2024 first class of SDL students nailed their very first TEDx event created all on their own. From the idea, to the structure, to the final product, the SDL class successfully hosted an event open to the public and the audience was up to 53 people.

The event took place at 7 pm right after Lucy Walters pop up coffee shop… which was a hit. The show then began and Zoe Gravitt started us off. Following her, James Robinson, Cheyenne Lescas, Lani Casto, and lastly Spencer Beckett spoke.

Spencer Beckett spoke about how his whole life he had a plan for what he wanted to do, which was flying fighter jets in the military,  all to find out at 18 years old he has a severe peanut allergy. He always knew he was mildly allergic but never tested.

“If I would have tested earlier I fear that I would not have worked as hard through out my whole life to get to this point,” Beckett said.

He connected his allergy to how he thought his identity would be permanently altered if people were to know about this nut allergy. Beckett explains that with growing up he learned that he needs to surround himself with people who will lift you up and tell you how it is.

Lani Casto spoke about how when they were very young they was forced to sit down and take a test to qualify her as a ‘gifted’ student. Though they thought that they enjoyed being the smart kid, they did not want that to define their as a whole.

Lani went to competition after competition competing in things they were ‘supposed’ to be doing as a gifted kid. Lani, finally, during COVID discovered their passion for writing. Lani’s writing gave them an opportunity to put their words on paper and write about what they were feeling. When Lani grew up and made it to high school the overall thing they learned was that how others perceive themselves does not have to be how they perceive you.

Cheyenne Lescas spoke about the philosophy of religion and the views on life that it brings. She goes deep into her past and explains how religion was introduced to her and what the causes and effects of that was on her well being.

Zoe Gravitt spoke about how growing up playing sports and being constantly active means you have to fuel your body properly and make sure you are feeding yourself with enough and good foods for your body type.

She compared our body to a sports car, and references how we as humans need ‘premium fuel’ in our body’s to keep pushing and staying strong. Zoe grew up always playing lacrosse and field hockey and didn’t know she liked it until she started pursuing theatre. She has an amazing singing voice and really is not as recognized for it because her “identity” is always playing sports.

James Robinson- Talks about the importance of maps and the impact they have on a persons identity. James shows multiple images of different maps used around the world, since the world was created. Us as people who are used to looking at a general ordinary map we never tend to question if the facts are real or fiction. James says that all these maps have some sort of bias and we need to start questioning what we are told as a fact and check it out for ourselves.

This whole event would not have been possible without every single persons help and creativity in the classroom. This event needed everyone’s different and unique skills to bring this together and the faculty is so very proud of the SDL class for putting together such an amazing event. GHS hopes to continue to put on events like these years and years down the road.