Community Notebook: TEDx comes to Gunn May 24

Presenters including CEOs from the tech industry, professors and athletes will speak at Gunn High School’s TEDx conference Thursday, May 24.

The conference is part of a larger program designed to let its participants share ideas through discussion.

The selected speakers — including Palo Alto Mayor Yiaway Yeh, news anchor Raj Mathai and mobile gaming company CEO Arash Keshmerian — will give short presentations about their respective professional fields.

“I think TEDx is important because schools in general can sometimes be cut off from what actually happens outside the classroom,” said Maya Ram, freshman student and member of the TEDx club. “It allows us to look at the outside world and see more than what we’re just doing at Gunn. It’s a really good opportunity to be exposed to other fields that you wouldn’t see otherwise.”

The nonprofit organization TED provides a platform for individuals and groups to coordinate these self-organized events to host live speakers and offer presentations. The TEDx club consists of roughly 12 to 13 members and they plan the event throughout the year.

“Our primary focus is to plan and figure out how the event is going to work. In doing that, we apply for grants, and we have brainstorm sessions where we think of who in the community would be a good speaker,” Ram said.

The students of the club were led by Meg Omainsky, a librarian with the Palo Alto Unified School District, and Jennifer Hogan, Gunn’s photography teacher.

The program came to Gunn for the first time last year, and the club will continue to coordinate these events annually.

Admission is free and the event will be held in the Little Theatre at Gunn High School, 780 Arastradero Road.

“The event isn’t very well known yet. I’ve seen videos from last year and it was really good, so hopefully more people come this time,” Ram said.

A full list of speakers and additional information about the event can be found online at www.tedxgunnhighschool.com.