ASM
P.32
Interview with Elisa Hendel, organizer of ASM’s first-ever TEDxYouth event, which was held in February 2021. Elisa, Class of ‘21, is now studying English and Spanish Law at King’s College London.
T E D x YO U T H @ A S M How did this all start?
How did you get the idea off the ground?
I had done a summer leadership program at Brown University that focused on Global Engagement. We learned how to apply leadership skills to our lives to make real change. During the program, I had developed an action plan that I could basically apply to any idea to get it in motion. The school year after that summer, I asked myself what really mattered to me. This was right around when I met my TEDx mentor and realized that bringing this to my school was the idea that mattered to me.
To get things going I decided to approach my friend, Carolina, and she agreed to help. We approached the ASM administration team about the event and got the green light to find students to support it. As the co-president of the Global Citizens Club, I was able to pitch the idea to other members and they all agreed to get involved and help.
Tell us about your TEDx mentor?
When we sent out the applications to all of the ASM community, even alumni, and got back amazing submissions. It was the moment when it got real. So many good ideas came back. We all sat down as a team and picked the top ten and it was so amazing. In the end, it’s all about the speakers and to see so many applications from our community was amazing.
During the summer of my sophomore year, I had spoken to an old friend who had studied at ASM. At the time, she was proposing to her school that they host a TEDx event. I was shocked! I didn’t know young adults could do this! I was 16 at the time and so was she. I thought to myself, “What an amazing initiative and a great idea!”. Hosting a TEDx event is truly a way to solidify the international school experience. My friend became my “TEDx mentor” and even let me see the initial documents and frameworks they were using at her school in Mexico.
What was the first big ah-ha moment, or “win” for the team?
What was going through your mind when you watched all the application videos for the first time? The feeling of gratitude, to be honest. At that time
