TEDxDwight-Englewood School 2026 is almost here! The production team is hard at work getting ready for the second-annual event, being held on Thursday, February 19, at 6:00 PM in Hajjar Auditorium. This year’s event once again features D-E Upper School (US) student presenters speaking on the theme of “Learning Unbound: Igniting the Future,” with a mission of “sharing ideas worth spreading.” 

Featured speakers are Cooper Carragher-Haim ’26, Megan Rhee ’29, Arnav Garg ’28, Kylie Karageozian ’27, Jason Lee ’27, and Tyler Pinniger ’27.

Event co-lead Krishnav Tapuriah ’26 said this year’s event “centers on the human experience in a nontraditional sense.” Another co-lead, Anna Ibargüen ’26, added, “All students at D-E are involved in all sorts of great activities, and this event gives them a platform to share ideas they’re passionate about to an audience that can synthesize those ideas.” 

During a run-through, speakers presented their talks to a panel of mentors, composed of D-E faculty and staff. Chief Innovation Officer Diana Gross and event producers Anna, Krishnav, and Madigan Kacmar ’26 were also on hand to provide thoughtful feedback. 

“I am often inspired by the ideas that young people have. It is one of the things that makes me really enjoy teaching,” reflected faculty mentor Petra van’t Slot, US Science Teacher. “TEDx provides a select group of these young people with the opportunity to take their idea, ground it in research, and then work on articulating it in an engaging and convincing way.”

In terms of their individual presentations, Madigan provided performance tips such as limiting distracting hand movements by wiggling your toes in your shoes. “When you get nervous, remember that you’re excited to share something important to you with other people,” she advised. “The more excited you seem, the more confident you’ll be!”

“It’s invigorating to be a part of a team of students and faculty who surround the aspiring TEDx speakers with the support they need to pull off something that will be awesome,” said Ms. van’t Slot.

TED Talk topics will include “The Illusion of Certainty” (Cooper), “Beating the Mental Game” (Megan), “The Myth of Balance” (Arnav), “Are You Really Immune to Evil?” (Kylie), “Is Analytics Ruining Baseball?” (Jason), and “System Reboot” (Tyler).