TEDxVail Youth to shine a spotlight on teenage challenges, ideas and perspectives
10 speakers to take to the stage Sunday at Battle Mountain High School
TEDxVail Youth/Courtesy Photo
Eagle County’s next generation is encouraging each other to connect, collaborate, think bigger and Think Again.
Local high school students are preparing for the 2024 TEDxVail Youth event on Sunday, April 14. The event is organized and run predominately by local students and will feature 10 different speakers — mostly students — as well as performances from the Battle Mountain drumline and Cat Ridgeway, a local singer-songwriter.
TEDx is an initiative of TED — a global idea-sharing nonprofit — that allows local communities to discuss research and ideas as well as spark conversations. Since 2010, there have been TEDx events hosted in Vail, including youth-specific events since 2017.
The theme of this year’s TEDxVail Youth event is “Think Again” and will feature discussions on everything from surviving loss and grief, suicide prevention, resiliency against disease, artificial intelligence, having a growth mindset and more.
What: TEDxVail Youth
When: Sunday, April 14 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. (doors open at 12:30 p.m.)
Where: Battle Mountain High School (151 Miller Ranch Road, Edwards)
Cost: Ahead of the event, tickets are $10 for the public and free for students; At the door, general admission is $15 and $5 for students
Learn more or register at TEDxVail.com.
This year, the event’s student curators are Anna Glass, Tabitha Schroeder and Presley Smith — all seniors at Battle Mountain High School.
Support Local Journalism
“It’s a great way to meet new people, learn about what other people have to offer to the valley and hear their opinions,” Smith said.
High school students from across the county are encouraged to sign up and host a TEDx talk on something they’re passionate about.
“Locally, we have a few speakers talking about domestic violence and anxiety and all of that — so I think that’ll be great for our valley specifically just because we have such a high depression rate and there’s a lot of suicidal thoughts in our valley. I’m excited to hear those,” Smith said.
This year, the curators were aided by Kat Haber, a Vail TEDx organizer and curator, to round out their speaker list with international students as well. These students are part of a global organization called Moonshot Pirates. The organization helps build youth leaders between the ages of 15 and 20, encouraging them to solve challenges and build a better future.
At the Vail event, these international students will delve into topics like neuroscience and AI, sending postcards globally and more.
“One of them is doing a talk about the creativity that AI provides. So I think that’ll be really unique because it’s an opposing spin on AI, where I feel like most people look at it in a negative light. So I’m super excited to just see that, and even just to meet these international speakers,” Schroeder said.
Casey Cuny, who himself is an alumnus of the Eagle County School District, will be one of the few adult presenters, giving a talk on mythology and mindfulness. Cuny graduated from Battle Mountain High School in 1994, later pursuing a career in education. Now, Cuny teaches high school English and mythology in California. He was recently named the state’s 2024 Teacher of the Year.
Cuny said he is humbled at the opportunity to speak at his alma matter.
“It’s one thing to talk to a room of strangers, but this time the room will be filled with family, friends, and former teachers, and I feel an immense responsibility to make this talk the best it can be,” he said.
It was something he couldn’t say no to.
“This is right out of the hero’s journey — the opportunity to return home and share all I have learned. I was so honored at the request, and there is no way I would miss this,” Cuny said.
While Cuny has never given a talk like this, it will cover many of the topics he discusses with his students.
“The topic of my talk will be how the ancient myths can teach us about being mindful, living in the moment, and living a purposeful life. I teach Mythology, but really, I am teaching teenagers how to develop mental resilience and self-efficacy. I’m using the lessons from the ancient myths and the metaphors to teach these lessons,” Cuny said.
While youth-centric — and free for students — the event is open to all members of the public for $10 if you register ahead of the event. At the door, tickets will be sold for $15 for the public and $5 for students.
“The audience is really anyone who feels like they want to come watch a TED event, but the speakers and our organizers are very much youth-centric,” Smith said.
Schroeder added that for their fellow high schoolers, the goal of TEDx is “to reach out and be like, ‘You’re not alone in any of these (areas)’ and show someone who is bold enough to speak on their own experience.”
In addition to the speeches and performances, the TEDxVail Youth event will feature several interactive “social spaces” such as a free thrift store created by the students’ sustainability team, activations from Your Hope Center, a silent disco, a drunk driving simulation and more.
Want the news to come to you? Get the top stories in your inbox every morning. Sign up here: VailDaily.com/newsletter
“I hope that high schoolers can feel that they’re not alone. I think, especially in the Vail Valley, it can seem like everything is so perfect when in reality, that’s not necessarily true. So I hope that these speakers are able to reach some hearts, express the changes of the world and show that it’s OK to be unique,” Schroeder said.
“I personally hope that people just come together and see how much work high schoolers put in and how they want to be involved in the community, volunteer, meet new people and try new things,” Smith said.
