(Photo/Whitney Dankworth’17. Media Team)

After months of hard work and planning from students, faculty, parents, and speakers alike, the first TEDx Columbus Academy event took place on February 4.

The updated Dining Hall space was decorated with gray curtains and red accents as the audience of more than 100 community members buzzed with anticipation for the first TEDx Columbus Academy event.

Advisors, Mr. Farrenkopf and Mrs. Izokaitis, started planning the performance last September, starting a little “later than compared to a typical TEDx event,” said Mr. Farrenkopf.  The student committee worked tirelessly, meeting two to three times a week to develop a theme, select and coach speakers, and juggle a “million moving parts,” according to Farrenkopf to ensure the event’s great success.

Its theme, “Wait a Minute,” flowed smoothly through the 13 different presentations, spanning from the hobby of bird watching to Columbus’s immigration and refugee services to the importance of trusting your intuition.

The process of selecting speakers was focused on “representing as many constituencies of CA” and highlighting themes that would spark dialogue, said Farrenkopf.

During intermission, the audience engaged in discussions with the speakers to reflect upon the impact of the evening’s first seven talks. Discussions were further enhanced when the audience was asked to sit in a different section and with someone new for the second session.

TEDx Columbus Academy changed the setting and the format of presentations that we are used to.  It brought a fresh platform that tied together diverse topics and stimulated thought-provoking discussions to add to the many positive changes that Columbus Academy maintains.

To learn more about the speakers and their topics, visit the TEDx Columbus Academy website.

Videos of the talks given will be posted in next three weeks on the TEDx YouTube.