Theme: Flashpoint

On April 25th 1000 students from the Durham Catholic District School board are going to come together in Oshawa Ontario to be a part of our 6th TEDx event. The theme for this year's event is Flashpoint. A Flashpoint is a point at which someone or something bursts suddenly into action or being and, with the help of our speakers and their ideas, this event will be the flashpoint for our students prompting them to go out and change their world.

Embassy Church
416 Taunton Rd. W
Oshawa, Ontario, L1H 7K4
Canada

Austin Arts

Performance Group

We live in a world of boxes, labels, filters and status updates. It is difficult to define ourselves when we are either being categorized by others or editing our own profiles. Our piece explores generation X leaving generation Z to navigate life without the foundation and support it needs. The question posed is: when left alone how do we find our place in the world? Is it only through others eyes or the jobs we do, that we can truly navigate who we are? Today,14 performers will take us on a journey of discovery, as we witness the moments that a young woman experiences the flashpoints of her life. These are the moments that lead to major changes or events in one's life. Can she recognize these moments for what they are? How will she decide if what she does next is up to her or is up to those around her? As you explore the music and images presented, allow yourself the opportunity to recognize the moments in your own life that have defined who you are and who you have become.

Dylan Rapanan

TED-Ed Club Speaker

Dylan is currently a Gr. 11 student at St. Mary CSS. He is extremely passionate about rock and roll music and performing live in front of big audiences. Dylan was the guitarist for the school choir for several years, and by Gr. 8, founded a band which performed monthly at assemblies. By the time Dylan was age 12, he had performed at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, with an organization called the School of Rock. The highlight of the show was playing the guitar solo for Led Zeppelin’s Stairway to Heaven. Dylan was also a competitor in a guitar shredding contest with contestants from around the U.S. up to age 18. He placed third in that competition at age 12. Dylan enjoys performing at talent shows, school fundraisers, and community events. Dylan also enjoys playing other instruments, such as drums, bass guitar, and piano. He also loves math, physics, and computer science, in particular, programming. This is Dylan’s second time performing at TEDxStMary, and he couldn’t be more excited!

Ethan Lisi

TED-Ed Club Member

Ethan is a student at St. Mary Catholic Secondary and a member of the St. Mary TED-Ed Club.

Jennifer Turliuk

CEO Makerkids

Jennifer Turliuk is the CEO of MakerKids, the first and largest makerspace for kids in the world. She encourages learning in STEM, coding, robotics and more to help develop young innovators, inventors and entrepreneurs. She has shared the stage with Peter Thiel (the CEO of PayPal) and her work has been featured in the New York Times, Forbes, Huffington Post, Fast Company, CBS, and more. She is a graduate of the Singularity University program at NASA.

Judy Croon

comedian & motivational speaker

Judy is a comedian, motivational speaker, radio host, Second City stand up coach and author. She has worked with many celebrities including; Jon Stewart, Lewis Black, Robert Klein and Joan Rivers. Her specials have appeared on NBC, CBS, CTV and The Comedy Network. She is a co-author of ‘From the Stage to the Page: Life Lessons from Four Funny Ladies!” Judy draws from her standup performance experience to entertain, inform and inspire in her dynamic keynote entitled, ‘Relieving Work Related Stress with Humour’. Judy is the creator/host of ‘Laughlines’ and ‘Stand Up For The Girls’ which have both helped raise over $650,000 for breast cancer research.

Julia Cara

TED-Ed Club Member

Julia Cara is a grade 11 student in the French Immersion program at St. Mary CSS. She is a voracious reader and loves to write poetry. This passion led her to start a school Writing Club. She participates in many other extracurricular activities such as Retreat Leading and Reach for the Top Trivia. In her spare time, Julia volunteers with the Edge program at St. Isaac Jogues Parish. She has been nominated for the Catholic Stewardship Award for outstanding community service. She plays piano and guitar, has sung in the St. Mary choir and danced in a musical at the Whitby Courthouse theater. Last year, Julia studied abroad for 3 months in Rennes, France. She loved learning a new culture, making friends and becoming more appreciative of the French language. A strong believer of youth in action, Julia has attended and been inspired by events like We Day and has led many fundraisers and school initiatives. This is her first TEDx conference and she is elated to share her ideas with you!

Mike Downie

Documentary Filmmaker

A celebrated storyteller, Mike is writer, director, and producer of numerous documentaries, as well as a founder of Edgarland Films. When Mike Downie first heard the story of Chanie “Charlie” Wenjack—an Ojibway boy who died while running away from his residential school—it was like an arrow shot through his heart. Haunted, he shared the story with his brother, celebrated musician Gord Downie, and the two vowed to find a way to tell it to the world. The result was their multi-media project Secret Path,which has captured the hearts and minds of Canadians. Using Chanie’s story as a starting point, Mike helps audiences understand Canada’s troubling legacy of residential schools, to explore how to reconcile with the past and bring healing as individuals and as a nation. is co-founder of the Gord Downie and Chanie Wenjack Fund, part of the movement to jumpstart reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Peoples.

Myles Castello

Performer

An acoustic guitar playing singer-songwriter at heart, Myles Castello mixes elements of a variety of genres into his own songs. A lover of all genres, his music has influences of hip-hop, soul, R&B, pop, and rock. Myles’ versatility is paramount in creating his sound, which is ever changing and evolving. He combines a soulful tone with an added uniqueness that definitely is all his own. Most importantly, Myles is a storyteller, making his music personal and relatable. Lyrically, he will make you think while his hooks and word play will keep you engaged and wanting to hear more.

Rahul Singh

Director of Global Medic

Rahul Singh founded the David McAntony Gibson Foundation (GlobalMedic) in 1999 to honour the memory of his best friend who tragically lost his life in 1998. Combining a passion for humanitarian assistance with a frontline emergency perspective — having been a paramedic since 1988 — Singh developed GlobalMedic’s unique operational mandate of providing efficient and cost effective disaster relief in the immediate aftermath of a catastrophe using professional emergency workers. GlobalMedic teams have deployed on 185 missions in 63 countries following natural disasters and complex emergencies. Delivering water purification equipment, installing field hospitals, and running innovative programs like RescUAV, Singh continually strives to develop Canadian innovation to save lives. He’s received numerous accolades for his work, including the Humanitarian of the Year Award in 2006, the Order of Ontario in 2012, and the Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012. Singh as also been named on Time Magazine's

Rosemary Reid

Magician

"Canada's leading lady magician, Rosemary Reid, speaks and performs around the world and at the time of this publishing, calls Toronto, ON home. Passionate about all aspects of performance, Rosemary works closely with Conjuror.Community (an online Magic University!), using her experience as a professional magician, actor and director, to help her fellow magicians reach their highest potential. She's travelled across Ontario speaking to young entrepreneurs about running their small businesses and she regularly performs at corporate events, women's events and private parties."

Travis Steffens

Primate Conservation Biogeographer

Travis Steffens is a lemur researcher, conservationist, and explorer. His research investigates how lemurs, the most endangered group of animals in the world, survive human disturbance. Committed to conservation Travis is the Founding Director of Planet Madagascar, a community conservation organization trying to build sustainable forest communities in Madagascar (planetmadagascar.org). Through Planet Madagascar he has launched a fire management program, conservation education campaign, forest restoration initiative, and built a women’s cooperative around sustainable agroforestry. As an International Fellow of the Explorers Club Travis co-led an expedition to the Tsingy of Madagascar in 2014 to search for undiscovered cave systems, fossilized dinosaur footprints, and archaeological sites. Travis also has a passion for travel and has led more than 60 group tours around the world including in North and Central America, Russia, Madagascar, and Southern Africa.