Theme: Look Both Ways

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized (subject to certain rules and regulations).

Saint Andrew's School
3900 Jog Road
Boca Raton, Florida, 33434
United States

Adrian Fente

Student

Adrian is a sophomore at Saint Andrew’s School, which he joined in the second grade after moving from New York City. He is passionate about music, having played the guitar for thirteen years and the trumpet for six. In addition to being a musician, he is also an athlete, playing tennis for the Saint Andrew's Tennis Team. He was excited to give a Ted Talk to share his solution to the universal problem of muscular fatigue that musicians face and the issue of music accessibility for people with disabilities.

Alexia Sotomayor

Student

Alexia is a competitive swimmer from Peru and a senior at Saint Andrew’s School, where she is a Residential Life Student. She has spent the past three years training at the highest level while balancing academics and life away from home. Born with unilateral vision, she has to navigate the challenges of depth perception and limited peripheral sight both in and out of the pool. Outside of the water, she has a deep passion for storytelling and loves music and art, perceiving them as different ways to see everything. She is always looking for new ways to challenge her perspective and understanding of the world. She joined TEDx because she believes in the power of ideas to create change and wanted to share her journey of overcoming mental and physical barriers beyond what the eye can see. Through her talk, she hopes to inspire others to rethink how they define success and recognize that sometimes, the biggest obstacles aren’t the ones we can’t see, but the ones we refuse to.

Blair Halperin

Student

Blair is a dedicated 7th grader at Saint Andrew’s, where she’s been learning and growing for nine years. Passionate about singing, songwriting, and poetry, Blair is always chasing new challenges to conquer. Beyond her love for the arts—whether she’s acting, playing guitar, or crafting lyrics—she also shines on the tennis courts and while running. From the stage to the courts, Blair gives her all, constantly pushing herself to be the best and never settling for less than 100%.

Bryce Boshell

Student

In this talk, Bryce hopes to convey the importance and value that “fractions of seconds” hold in people’s lives. Bryce is a sophomore at Saint Andrew’s School and has attended since his freshman year. He is Florida-born and Florida-raised. Bryce spends time playing basketball, writing, and exploring, whether it be in a city or the countryside. After an abrupt idea on “fractions of seconds” struck him in class, Bryce decided to articulate himself on the TEDx stage and be a part of the organization.

Charlotte Errico

Student

Charlotte is a high school freshman with a passion for mathematics, board games, and logical problem-solving. When she's not exploring new strategies in her favorite games, Charlotte can be found golfing, shopping, cooking, playing the guitar, or spending time with friends. Her TED-Ed Talk stems from a childhood memory of playing Monopoly with her brother, where she discovered that the game’s best strategies defy common sense. Through her engaging insights, Charlotte shows how Monopoly reveals broader lessons about decision-making in life, encouraging us to embrace reason, strategy, and thoughtful planning over impulsive choices.

Elle Evanter

Student

Elle is a 5th grader at Saint Andrew’s, where she has been attending for four years. Originally from New York, she returns each summer for sleepaway camp. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with friends and family, shopping, going to the mall, and visiting Disney. While staying motivated has been a challenge, her family motto has helped her push through and gain confidence over the years. Inspired by its impact, she joined TED-Ed to share how her motto has helped her—and how it can help others too.

Jordan Jaffe

Student

Jordan is a sophomore at Saint Andrew's School, where she has been attending since seventh grade. She grew up in Houston, Texas, and is still getting used to exchanging rodeos for sandcastles! You will usually find her in the theater, where she loves to perform onstage and help manage the backstage. Additionally, she spends what little free time she possesses reading, writing, and playing her guitar, to the annoyance of her two pets. She is beyond grateful for the opportunity to share her poetry with a larger audience than just her dog!

Jorge Endara

Student

Jorge is a freshman at Saint Andrew's, where he is part of the boarding program. He is originally from Panama City, Panama, and loves spending time with friends back home. In his free time, Jorge loves to read, watch sports, and enjoy all life has to offer with his loved ones. Although public speaking is a great challenge, he is looking forward to honing in on this key life skill with the help of the TED-Ed class.

Josslyn Schain

Student

This is Josslyn's first year attending Saint Andrews School as a senior. She plans to study abroad in Israel next year majoring in business and entrepreneurship. She is originally from Bethesda Maryland. In her free time you can find her on walks, doing hot yoga, or reading a good phycological thriller.

Liz Scott

Orthopedic Surgeon

Dr. Liz Scott graduated from Saint Andrew's in 2008, after which she completed her medical education at Duke University, the University of Iowa, and Boston Children's Hospital. She is an Assistant Professor of Orthopedic Surgery at Duke University. As a sports medicine surgeon with an eternal love for the medieval, Liz has forged a life path that blends history, martial arts, and medicine in a way that is uniquely her own. When she's not working, you can find her riding her horse Lance, coaching historical fencing, or diving deep into obscure medieval or renaissance history. She is thrilled to be back at her alma mater and able to share her message with the SAS community.

Maxx Viciedo

Student

Maxx is a sophomore at Saint Andrew's school. He enjoys spearfishing, investing, and hanging out with friends. He wanted to give this talk to express his feelings about his past semester without technology, and how it impacted his day-to-day life, hobbies, and education.

Mercedes Laub

Student

Mercedes is a seventh Grader at Saint Andrews, where she has been attending for 1 year. She is originally from Brooklyn New York but moved to Florida 3 years ago. You will usually find her playing tennis, painting, and dancing ballet. She also loves reading whenever she has free time. Mercedes loves traveling to Spain, New York, and Germany during the summer with her family. When she's not on the tennis court after school, she typically spends her time studying online, focusing on languages like German and Spanish. She joined TED-Ed to improve her writing and vocabulary skills. She also wants to inform people on how her passion can relate to something as common as chess.

Mia Song

Student

Mia is a sophomore at Saint Andrew’s, where she has been attending since freshman year. Growing up in Shanghai, she developed a love for discovering new food, exploring bookstores, and occasionally traveling alone. She has a passion for public speaking in all forms, from competitive debate to poetry. TEDx gave her the chance to share an idea she’s grown to appreciate firsthand: that sometimes, the best moments in life—like the perfect bite of spaghetti—are meant to be savored alone.

Olivia Koch

Student

Olivia’s own shoes tell the story of a freshman in high school who has lived in Palm Beach, Florida, her entire life with her parents, older sister, and dog, Hailey. She enjoys going to the beach, hanging out with friends, and skiing. Olivia loves traveling the world with her family, always seeking to understand other cultures, their traditions, and beliefs…and never forgetting to LOOK BOTH WAYS.

Pam Ascroft

Teacher

Pamela Ascroft is originally from Vancouver, Canada, and has studied, performed and taught in Canada, England and the US. She is an actor, director, singer and writer and has taught Theatre, Musical Theatre and Literature in Saint Andrew's Middle School for 18 years. Outside of teaching, Pamela loves spending time with her daughter, a Saint Andrew's 'lifer' now in Upper School, reading, writing poetry and plays, going to the theatre, watching British television dramas and historical documentaries, kickboxing, and fostering cats. She joined TEDx to shine a light on the power of poetry and the unending, richly colored skeins of words from which we can all choose and weave into our own unique tapestry.

Peyton Crage

student

Peyton is a freshman at Saint Andrew’s School, which she has attended since kindergarten. She was born and raised in Florida. She loves going to the beach, hanging out with friends, cooking, and creating art. She wanted to participate in TEDx to share her love for poetry and improve her public speaking skills.

Shirley Chen

Student

Shirley is an 8th grader at Saint Andrew's School and has been a part of the community for one year. Outside of school, you’ll often find her reading or playing squash. In her free time, she enjoys training. She decided to give this talk because she wanted to introduce Buddhism and show the profound impact it had on her life, hoping it would do the same for others.

Stella Nessen

Student

Stella is in the third grade and has been at Saint Andrew’s since Kindergarten. She was born in Florida and has lived here ever since. You will usually find her reading fantasy books, watching movies, or drawing. After school, she has activities almost every day. She enjoys team and individual sports, such as lacrosse and swimming. Stella would like to spread the word that being unique is what makes you, YOU.