Oxfordian Life
Emotions Awakened During TEDx Talks
The audience at the TEDx McAllen Youth conference, held on 31 May, received with enthusiasm the positive messages of the Oxfordian high school students, who shared the stage with pupils from IDEA Public Schools, McAllen ISD and Edinburg CISD.
After months of preparation in which they practised several hours a day, took advice from experts and received the support of their families, friends and teachers — especially Ms. Cruz and Ms. García — the young people stood with confidence on the stage of the Cooper Center for Performing Arts at South Texas College to convey ten moving ideas that changed their lives, on resilience, perseverance, hope, expectations, emotions, fears and change, among many other compelling subjects.
In the first block, Diana Elisa García Paredes and Fernanda Marcela Hinojosa Basulto, both in eleventh grade, presented; the next block continued with Luz del Sol Díaz Cruz, of eleventh, and Bernardo Jr. Sánchez and Efraín Magdaleno Martínez, both of tenth.
After a break came the presentations of Constanza Marie Obele Cerda and Tadeo Alejandro Villarreal Arredondo, of tenth grade. Finally, Axel Elías Morales Arellano, of eleventh, and Gabriella Rodríguez Treviño, of tenth, closed the cycle of talks with their contributions in the last block of speakers.
Julia Saraí Chávez Castillo, of tenth grade, joined the participants virtually, with a recording of her speech to be enjoyed across the different digital platforms.
In the auditorium there were more than a few who brought the audience to its feet, as Constanza did with her talk “To have memory, the world created music”, which evoked nostalgia and made everyone present reflect on how music makes fleeting moments endure.
TEDx is a programme of independently organised local conferences that grew out of the non-profit organisation TED (Technology, Entertainment and Design), which holds conferences on “Ideas worth spreading”. Its talks can be watched online free of charge. More than 130 countries and 1,200 cities have organised a TEDx event, and our young people’s contributions will also be available on YouTube.
This great opportunity was made possible by the invitation of Marcos Silva, and by the event’s sponsors. Its aim was to create more Spanish-language content for this conference format, making it the first time it has been held with the participation of Mexican schools.
TEDx McAllen Youth also allowed us to strengthen ties once again with our neighbours in the Rio Grande Valley, creating great human and cultural experiences that give our young people the chance to share their ideas and emotions.
