Theme: What Now?

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).

W.C. Mepham High School
2401 Camp Avenue
Bellmore, New York, 11710
United States

Alex Schmelkin

CEO, Cake & Arrow

An impassioned digital leader who shares his insights with clients and the industry, Alex Schmelkin has been helping companies build their businesses online since 1994. As Co-Founder and CEO of New York-based customer experience agency Cake & Arrow, he's created an award-winning, results driven agency that is also a three-time recipient of Crain's Business and Advertising Age 'Best Place to Work' awards.

Becky Morawski

Student

Becky Morawski is the Poet Laureate at Mepham High School on Long Island, New York. A true spoken-word poet, she focuses on the aesthetics of word play, intonation, and voice inflection during her poetry performances.

Brooke Pesce

Teacher

Biology teacher Brooke Pesce from Mepham High School on Long Island spends her days teaching students about living organisms. While she is no stranger to the biology of the human heart, she has recently dedicated herself to helping that heart achieve happiness. Her "Happiness Matrix" helps people assess their own happiness and bring about positive changes in their lives.

Edward Delapine

Actor

Edward Delapine remembers being a writer from before he was an actor. At the age of 3, he would bang out jibberish stories on his grandfather's typewriter and "read" them to his family. Since that prolific early period, Edward has hop-scotched between backstage and onstage roles. He performed in plays throughout NYC, and most recently filmed pilots for "Comedy Joy Ride" and "Seeking Sublet". Jumping behind the scenes, Edward has worked at "Sleep No More" and produced the immersive "Phantasm" at Times Square Arts Center. Edward continues his career with Disney Cruise Line, where he happily resides in the Entertainment Department.

Emily Fontanella

Singer/Musician

Emily Fontanetta is a senior at a Mepham High School on Long Island who loves performing as a musical actress in the high school theatre department. She is extremely passionate about her music program and enjoys writing music in her free time as it allows her to connect with her emotions and with others through song. Though the stage lights may dim after each performance, her love for music always burns bright.

Gian-Paul Gonzalez

Educator

Hugh Ferguson

Entrepreneur

Hugh is currently a senior at Ward Melville High School in East Setauket, New York. Hugh is a captain on the school’s varsity hockey team and Vice-President of the school’s DECA chapter. Always brainstorming business ideas and projects, Hugh is currently working on a productivity app, 5er, set to release in winter 2016. In his free time, he works as a freelance editor and writer, plays guitar and bass in jazz bands, and manages his own stock portfolio.

Josh Farahzad

Entrepreneur

Currently a senior at Ward Melville High School, Josh plans to study business and economics in college. At school, Josh plays on the school’s varsity golf team, while also serving as co-president of DECA. Outside of school, Josh loves learning about entrepreneurship. Working on mission: toothbrush has taught him how incredibly rewarding social entrepreneurship is. He has also developed a social networking app, Reef, and works as a freelancer, specializing in website data scrapping and analysis, to fund his projects and ideas.

Matthew Singh

Student

High School Freshman, Matthew Singh parlays his linguistic and musical talents into leading roles in dramatic productions and choir concerts. Matthew aspires to attend Lehigh University and be an educator in the field of English. He loves performing and sharing what he has to offer to people of all ages.

Paul Wichansky

Motivational Speaker

Paul’s message is simple: when we allow our imagination and our realistic possibilities to soar, we can confidently leap over some of the most overwhelming hurdles that life throws at us. Paul shares the experiences within his own life that have allowed him to reach a simple dream he had many years ago — to be able to walk. He challenges the common perceptions and stereotypes that are so often applied to people with disabilities. There is also no better feeling in the world than to make students smile and feel good about themselves, because they then may develop the motivation to overcome their own challenges to realize the goals and dreams that they have!

Rina Sarfraz

Student

As a creative person and a heart for traveling, I like to consider myself unique. To me, home is the hot sand sifting through my hands in the Middle Eastern desert to the busy yet beautiful streets of Lahore, Pakistan. I love to write as well. Writing gives me sweet, precious time to mentally escape this world and write what my heart desires while traveling is not just only a great experience, it truly opens the mind to various perspectives around the world. I also like to consider myself as a person who tries to step out of their comfort zone once in a while and try new things. To me, life isn’t about a continuous routine. It’s about having fun and making the most out of the fun journey while you’re here.