Laguna Blanca Students Host TEDx Conference in Santa Barbara

By Patricia Martellotti, KEYT News

Laguna Blanca School gave the community a chance to experience its fifth annual TEDx event on February 1. "TEDxLagunaBlancaSchool is an independently organized event where we collect 15 speakers from around our community with incredible ideas to share with our student audience and our Santa Barbara community," said Lead TEDx Teacher Allison Armstrong.

 

But TEDx didn’t happen overnight. Students worked tirelessly for months to make it happen.

 

"I was on the business development team," said TEDx Student JJ Stone '26. "I helped budget, fund raise, and talk to sponsors."

 

"Over 16 weeks, I have learned a lot about TED and communication skills, how to work in a professional environment and really lead my peers in the best way I can," said TEDx Student and Co-Executive Producer Danica Damiani '24.

 

Students believe preparing for TEDx gave them skills to use for all their future endeavors. "It’s taught me skills I can use for the rest of my life," said Sarah Woodhouse '24. "I’ve taught people how to write an email, I’ve had business calls, meetings, and pitches."

 

"Whether it’s attending pitches, securing partnerships, or learning how to write a professional email, this was a fantastic learning experience," said Damiani.

 

"I love this event," said Armstrong. "It’s so rewarding and thrilling to see the growth of the students in this class and to see their hard work. It’s just a celebratory day."

 

"My hope is our guests and community and audience are just as passionate about it as we are," said Damiani.

 

The conference included a variety of interactive exhibits inspired by this year's theme, Metamorphosis. 

 

In the spirit of ideas, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events. It's meant to bring people together to share a TED-like experience.

 

TEDxLagunaBlancaSchool was held in the Merovick Gymnasium on the school’s Hope Ranch campus, 4125 Paloma Drive, Santa Barbara.