TedxBrentwood: Fusing Together the Community

Saturdays at Brentwood are usually filled with ties, blazers, and (to Mr. Patel’s dismay) rolled down knee high socks. October 22nd was a Saturday unlike the rest, because TedxBrentwood had arrived like Christmas on a gloomy December day. Gone were the mandatory uniforms and in was stylish smart casual attire. The countless hours that the organizers, speakers, and volunteers put into the event paid off when at 9:15am, a hoard of 520 students were let into the Killy Theatre to experience the third annual TedxBrentwood. Mr. Paul Collis hit the ground running like Santonio Holmes during Super Bowl XLIII. Shocking his students with an unusually sleek attire, Brentwood’s English Department Head used memes, his mellifluous voice, and videos to present the fusion of comedy and tragedy. Following Mr. Collis was Brentwood parent Narendra Varma. Narendra shared his personal journey from the high-tech world to organic farming, and explored the themes of agriculture, passion, and investment. Next up was a talk about literal fusion by physicist Peter O’Shea. Speaking about fusion energy basics and the state of the fusion energy research world, Peter offered a refreshingly scientific view on the event’s theme. Wrapping up the first third of the event was Brentwood student Gemma E, Alex ‘18. With passion, wit, and clothes that have yet to be paint-stained, Gemma made even the least artistic of audience members (such as myself) see the personal connections they subconsciously make with art pieces around them.  After a short coffee break, the audience was treated to an inspirational talk from Mary-Jo Dionne. Her talk about the power of perspective and how it can put together the seemingly shattered pieces of something horrible struck a chord in many audience members’ hearts. Author Danielle Krysa followed up with an interactive talk on turning your ruthless inner critic into a supportive friend. After a short TED video, Brentwood student Liam S, Rogers ‘17 called out everyone’s inner Dory and spoke about how technology has changed not only memories, but the world. The session was brought to a close by voice actor Matt Hill, who was joined by three of his friends, “Raphael” from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Care Bear’s  “Tender Heart”, and “Ton Ton” from DinoTrux. Matt shared the life stories that led him to realize the power of chasing a dream, and the power of small steps of effort.   Olamide O, Privett ‘17 brought his game face when he opened the third and final session of the event. With a talk on how to be the G.O.A.T. (greatest of all time), Olamide used his love of basketball to engage the audience. The event’s penultimate speaker, Brentwood alumna Trish Dolman, shared how fusing creativity and social issues together can change the conversation and make a positive impact on the world around us. TedxBrentwood 2016 was concluded by Ross Laird, who shared how quiet moments can restore the authentic wonder that we are often too busy to attend to. At the beginning and end of his talk, Ross encouraged the audience to sit in silence (with our phones turned off) and soak in the beauty of a picture of the Milky Way. Thanks to the keen efforts of Mr. McPherson, TedxBrentwood has planted itself as a Brentwood tradition. From organizing speakers to designing the logo, Mr. McPherson has put in a tremendous amount of effort into making this year’s TedxBrentwood the best yet. A massive thank you to the speakers, the volunteers, Mr. McPherson, Ms. Dalrymple, and Mr. Armitage for such an amazing event. See you next year, TedxBrentwood! Session 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kAGz1CShYTw Session 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uvkvnmtqlE Session 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6frLUpdS7aE Cara A, Mackenzie ‘17