• TEDx Logo

      logo-white 1

Purpose Through Impact

Organized by Miami Country Day School students, this TEDx Youth Event delves into the impact young speakers can wield within their community.
February 8, 2024

    • MCDS > TEDx

      tedx_hero_image-min

Meet the Speakers

This is a TEDx Youth event organized by Miami Country Day School students, exploring a broad range of topics that impact the lives and future of their community.

Individual Talks

List of 6 items.

  • Zoe Terry

    Senior
    Explore the Topic
    How can I Uplift Black Girls in My Community?
    In today’s divisive social climate, finding ways to bring together members of the community is of utmost importance.
    Zoe Terry hopes to create an immersive program that focuses on the Black community, her efforts range from promoting empowerment to helping those dealing with trauma.
    Zoe Terry
    MCDS Upper School Student
    Zoe serves as the founder of Zoe's Dolls and has been working on Zoe's Dolls for almost 12 years, ever since she was bullied for the color of her skin and the texture of her hair. Since then, she's worked to build an organization that has promoted positive Black body images by giving away thousands of Black dolls through chapters around the country and abroad. 

  • Ella Gilderman

    Senior
    Explore the Topic
    How Does Social Emotional Learning (SEL) Impact the Whole Learner?: The Intersection of Inclusion, Diversity, and Social Justice. 
    Open-mindedness, growth, reflection, and tolerance are necessary skills navigating a complex adult world. Ella recognizes that these skills need to be taught at an early age to create kinder, more compassionate global citizens.  
    Through her fieldwork in an Education Internship, Ella reached conclusions about the way belonging and social skills are connected to learning. 
    Ella Gilderman
    MCDS Upper School Student
    Ella started teaching lower schoolers as part of the Lower School X Term internship, and this experience ignited her love for teaching social-emotional learning.  She has been dedicated to developing a comprehensive curriculum ever since. Not content with just reaching students within the lower school, she expanded this essential learning to the middle and high school levels. By designing engaging hands-on activities, she has empowered students to apply their social-emotional skills in real-world scenarios.
     

  • Danielle Apfelbaum

    Senior
    Explore the Topic
    The Tensions Between Nonfiction and Fiction: How to Shift Student Perception and Transfer The Joy of Storytelling of Reading to Informational, Science-Based Texts. 
    Reading affects all students in every subject area. As we enter an increasingly technology-driven world, we must navigate the promise and pitfalls of the digital age. 
    Based on fieldwork and interviews with teachers across subject areas and divisions, Danielle Apfelbaum proposes a conversation in which we explore the way the teacher frontloads a reading assignment in Humanities and STEM classes.
    Her ultimate question is asking if we can transfer the joy of reading into the world of STEM. 
    Danielle Apfelbaum
    MCDS Upper School Student
    Danielle has interned as a lower school teaching assistant for three years within the lower school at MCDS. Additionally, Danielle serves as the President of Generation SOS along with having a passion for literature and social activism. 

  • Scout Hudson

    Senior
    Explore the Topic
    Creating Tomorrow’s Innovators: The Immeasurable Power of Robotics, Programming, and Maker Skills:
    Whether in a workplace, learning institution, as in real life, the integration of robotics, programming, and maker skills is for everyone.
    Scout Hudson shares the power of integrating innovative technologies, critical thinking, and problem solving to create impact on our wider local and global communities.
    Scout Hudson
    MCDS Upper School Student
    Scout is a prospective biomedical engineering student. She founded the Entrepreneurship, Innovation, and Invention Honor Society and the High School Robotics Team at MCDS. She currently serves as the Co-Captain for Robotics, Student Leader of EI Squared, and President of Model United Nations. Recently she spoke at the Florida Council for Independent Schools as the first and only student to take part. 
     

  • Isabella Brod

    Senior
    Explore the Topic
    What Does It Truly Mean to Support Your Child? Creating a Positive, Authentic Environment for Young Learners
    Bella Brod will be discussing her exploration into child psychology. Her guiding question: How can we cultivate the most authentic, productive, and positive learning environment for kids?  
    Bella’s fieldwork includes her Lower School Internship, meeting with LS counselor Ms. De La Cadena, her work with nonprofit The Good Student
    Isabella Brod
    MCDS Upper School Student
    Bella has always had a passion for working with children and a yearning to learn about psychology, but it wasn't until she took a course with UCLA and volunteered as a teacher assistant in a kindergarten class, that she knew she could combine the two into -what would become- a rabbit hole of knowledge, curiosity, and passion!

  • Caroline Jiang

    Seniors
    Explore the Topic
    The Power of Motion: Kinetic Tiles and Renewable Energy. 
    The use of Piezoelectric (Kinetic Tiles) are in their infancy and we want to impact the communities that need it most with this source of renewable energy. By simply walking on tiles, renewable energy is harvested and stored.
    Caroline is researching communities where energy is scarce: places where being able to provide energy to power a flashlight, light up a house, or charge small devices including a cell phone.
    This work has the potential to transform the daily lives of the people in these communities. 
    Caroline Jiang
    MCDS Senior
    From a young age, Caroline has been tinkering with legos, robots, and other toys. These experiences helped develop her passion for STEM and led to her joining the robotics club and develop the EI^2 honor society. She hopes to share the joys of innovation, analytical thinking, and problem solving with others. 
     

Group Talks

List of 1 items.

  • Amanda Nuñez Bastos, Angelina Del Guercio-Moran, Miguel Escobar

    Juniors
    The Retelling of American Stories
    Amanda, Angie, and Miguel grappled with ideas of translation, linguistics, and storytelling when they interviewed service keepers with the purpose of honoring their journeys and work. 
    These three bilingual students curated an exhibit featuring portraiture, text, and translation in a moving testament to story documentation, the nuances of linguistics, and the complexities of the American Dream. 
    The “Retelling of American Stories” installation includes opportunities for advocacy and service projects across the community. 
    Amanda Nuñez Bastoss
    Born in Mexico to Cuban and Costa Rican parents, Amanda seeks to make a difference on the world around her by helping those around her realize they must celebrate all the different identities that live within.

    Angelina "Angie" Del Guercio-Moran
    Angelina is a first-generation American in her family and has battled with the divide and bubbles that our society has constantly created. She has a passion for equal representation and providing awareness at our school.

    Miguel Escobar
    Ever since coming to Miami in 2018 at the age of twelve, Miguel Escobar has been trying to combat assimilation in his community through a mix of his two greatest passions: storytelling and music.
     

About MCDS

Miami Country Day School empowers every student, every day, everywhere to learn with vigor, explore with purpose, strive for excellence, and serve with honor, respect, and compassion as global citizens.
We do this in a community where every student is known and included by engaging the whole child, in and out of the classroom as they discover their full potential.

    • MCDS > TEDx

      ted-about

What is TEDx

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TED has created a program called TEDx. TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. Our event is called TEDx[name], where x = independently organized TED event. At our TEDx[name] event, TED Talks video and live speakers will combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events, including ours, are self-organized.
This independent TED event is operated under license from TED