As the TEDxBonitaVistaHS 2024 Conference approaches, the members of the TEDx club continue to work through organizing the conference. The BVH TEDx club is made up of different departments including speakers, public relations, tech, finance and stage design. TEDx President and senior Cherise Magtoto explains why they chose “Mosaic,” for this year’s theme.
“We wanted to highlight diversity within BVH and the surrounding community. We think that this theme could speak to a lot of different crowds and attract a diverse amount of speakers, which is something that we really wanted to highlight. We wanted to look into the different voices in our community and how they use them in their everyday lives,” C. Magtoto said.
While choosing the theme, each department brainstormed ideas and voted on them. C. Magtoto expressed how many of the topics that were brainstormed were similar because they were centered around human interactions and interpersonal relationships. They chose this topic because they felt it encapsulates that main idea.
“We have a lot of both student and teacher speakers. Since the conference is about our community and what BVH has to offer, we wanted to incorporate our diverse perspectives and voices. It’s really different this year because we’re trying to uplift people in our community and show them that their voices are appreciated and need to be heard,” TEDx Vice President and senior Brianna Magtoto said.
This conference aims to give a voice to students, staff and community members that shape the community with their different experiences. TEDx wants to put a spotlight onto people that may not use their voice regularly so they can share their experiences. Both C. Magtoto and B. Magtoto expressed some issues that they have faced during the production of the conference as well as advertising the event itself.
“I really look forward to empowering our students and community members. [This conference] gives them a public forum to spread their ideas and showcase the diversity [in our community],” B. Magtoto said.
TEDx aims to show the diverse experiences of those in the community through the theme “Mosaic” and how these people are shaped through various experiences. B. Magtoto adds on how this conference allows people a podium to speak and spread their ideas.
“I want TEDx to be a forum for our entire community, not just those in BVH. I think that our biggest challenge is getting our platform to grow bigger than BVH. We [want to] spread our voice to different people in our community,” B. Magtoto said.
Apart from managing all other aspects of the conference, B. Magtoto’s role in the public relations department is to promote the conference. Many of the members work together to grow their platform by including other community members in their conference each year. C. Magtoto has reached out to the CEO of the Fleet Science Center in order to bring together other voices that are not from BVH. She mentions a roadblock that the club faced at the beginning of the year when planning the conference.
“In the beginning there was a bigger roadblock, [the TEDx organization] initially told us that we might not be able to have the TEDx conference due to problems in prior years. But, we were able to convince them that we would make a great conference, so we’re still able to do it,” C. Magtoto said.
Another challenge they were able to overcome was finances for the conference. The TEDx finance department reached out to local businesses that could provide food along with other funding for the conference. The TEDx speakers department has also contacted those who wish to speak during the conference. One of the BVH students that plan to speak is senior Lyra Rhoades. She shares why she wants to include her voice in the conference.
“I am personally connected to this theme because I truly love merging art and real life, it is something I am very passionate about. When I was given the opportunity to talk about my life through the lens of a mosaic, I was so excited about the opportunity to share,” Rhoades said.
During Rhoades’ speech, she plans to highlight a variety of different days she has experienced, including mundane, bad and a notably good day to show how they connect and work together. Through this, she wants to showcase her life and how the different types of days can come together to create a mosaic of herself.
“I want to talk about this because a mosaic is a style of art but it is also symbolic of who you are as a person. My life as a mosaic doesn’t have to be extremely entertaining, it can be simple and whatever I make of it because it is mine,” Rhoades said.
TEDx has reached out to students and staff at BVH who expressed their interest in speaking through a Google Form they released. Throughout the process, students from the speaker department work with students, staff and community members who plan to speak in order to convey the theme and their experiences accurately within their speeches.
“I hope people are able to share their own unique perspectives on what a mosaic is and that there are many ways to connect to those around us through speech and the communication of ideas,” Rhoades said.
When choosing speakers for the conference, they seek out those who have made a noticeable impact on their community. B. Magtoto shares the importance of continuing to host TEDx conferences each year, and the opportunities this event offers BVH and the community.
“I think that TEDx is really important now because a lot of times students at our school lose their passion for spreading ideas. I think that TEDx really invigorates that idea and makes intellectual discourse more accessible for everyone,” B. Magtoto said.
