An annual tradition at Diamond Bar High School, the DBHS Wellness Center hosts its TEDx Talks during the second semester. For one day, three speakers deliver speeches during each class period, covering a wide array of topics.
Auditions for the TEDx Talks take place in November, a few weeks before first-semester finals. After presenting their speeches in front of a panel of Wellness Center along with Denise Mesdijan, the peer counseling teacher, 18 speakers are selected to present in January.
“The TEDx Talks are scheduled for January because that’s typically the time of the school year when students and teachers lack motivation,” Mesdijan said. “By incorporating wellness messages into our TEDx Talks, the goal is to inspire listeners to be their best selves and achieve their goals.”
Several speakers share the same goal as well, saying they auditioned in hopes of motivating their peers. Many hope their speeches can be used as inspiration for their peers and to motivate them to finish the school year strong.
“What motivated me to do this Ted Talk is my personal experiences and times where I didn’t feel motivated,” junior Russell Kuo said. “I did this TEDx Talk both to inspire others and to inspire myself.”
The speakers, however, were not going to go into their speeches without any rehearsal. All of the speakers rehearsed their speeches several times, often until they had their speeches fully memorized.
“I’m just preparing like how you would memorize for any speech,” Kuo said. “Doing a lot of runs of it and trying to memorize as much as I can.”
The speeches have also had a positive impact on the speakers as well. Several of them were able to improve their public speaking skills and confidence, something that could prove useful to them in the future.
“While some TEDx Talk speakers might be nervous initially, they will gain confidence from this experience,” said Mesdjian. “They’ll deliver an inspirational message to a theater full of students and teachers.”
The student speakers also believed that when the day came to ultimately present their speeches in front of the school, that they achieved their desired outcome. Several of them credit their constant practice in helping them prepare for their speeches.
“I felt all the practice that I put in was really worth it,” said sophomore Arivind Anwar. “I was originally scared of being nervous beforehand. But when I got up there the theater was really dark and I couldn’t really see any of the faces so I ended up being perfectly okay.”
As the second semester goes underway, the TEDx Talks have proven instrumental in helping students back into an optimal mental state.