Theme: Curiosity

Join current students and young alumni for our second TEDx CaryAcademy. This year’s theme is “Curiosity,” and we have 10 fabulous speakers on topics ranging from artificial intelligence to learning theory to time management. Free but limited seating sold out in hours for our first TEDx in 2016.

Cary Academy
1500 N HARRISON AVE
Cary, North Carolina, 27513
United States

Anna Ibrahim

The Interdisciplinary Discipline

Anna Ibrahim (CA '19) is an interdisciplinary activist who, a few years ago, began her journey to unravel the theology which was the cornerstone of her Coptic identity. In doing so, she discovered the vital role activism plays in religion. She's focused her theological activism on the intersection between gender studies and theology. Her biggest project has been ‘thecopticfeminist’ project where she seeks religious gender equity. Anna also has her own blog, is a writer for the Coptic Voice, and is a Cary Academy Speech and Debate team captain. She hopes to continue her writing in college while pursuing interdisciplinary activism.

Christian Sodano

Recasting Creativity

Christian Sodano (CA '19) navigates high school following one simple philosophy: everything is interdisciplinary. A devoted athlete as well as a scholar, he seeks not only to understand the connections between sports and school, but between action and thought. Hoping to study physics in college, he uses TEDx to defend his interdisciplinary approach to knowledge in a field characterized by specialization.

Emily Keady

Embracing Questions

After completing a semester at CityTerm in NYC, Emily Keady (CA '19) continues to explore learning theory inside and outside of the classroom. Emily believes that being open to exploring questions with curiosity is the key to true learning. In her spare time, Emily participates in cheer, lacrosse, a variety of CA clubs, and hostessing at her favorite taco joint.

Emma Ehrhardt

All the World's a Stage

Emma Ehrhardt (CA '16) is the Founder and Chief Officer at Stage Play, which provides acting classes focusing on social and emotional growth for children with autism. Emma will speak on the importance of interdisciplinary consideration when approaching challenges. She is a junior at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Ethan Norfleet

The Human Element of Robotics: What it Taught me About Life

Ethan Norfleet (CA '20) has served as co-captain of a FIRST Tech Challenge robotics team and as a scouter for the Chargers FIRST Robotics Competition team. Ethan has spent innumerable hours tinkering with the algorithms of his code only to realize he was missing a semicolon. Ethan knows that Girl Scout Thin Mint cookies are as essential to surviving a three day robotics tournament as duct tape and zip ties.

James Taylor

Machine Learning: A Pioneering Tool For All Disciplines

James Taylor (CA '19) loves math and sciences, linguistics, and flying. He is committed to bettering his communities by applying computer science and interdisciplinary approaches.

Lindsay Wrege

Brewing up Something Special

Lindsay Wrege (CA '17) is devoted to making a cultural shift in society. As the Founder and CEO of 321 Coffee (www.321coffee.com) --a nonprofit coffee shop run by individuals with special needs-- she is working to inspire customers to engage with the special needs community, ultimately promoting societal unity. Growing up with this community, Lindsay has recognized the significant impact this involvement has made on her, and she wants to provide an opportunity for others to interact with and learn from these individuals, just like she has.

Robert Coven

Breaking Through: Threshold Concepts as the Key to Understanding

Dr. Coven has been teaching high school history for the past 23 years. He teaches a wide variety of classes, including architecture, art history, history of science and technology, and a class on the use of statistics in historical research. Dr. Coven, along with Dr. Greenwolfe, and Mr. and Mrs. Hamilton—all colleagues at Cary Academy—designed the conceptual modeling pedagogy. Dr. Coven is the sponsor of the Shifting the Education Paradigm club at Cary Academy, a student-led group with a mission to provide the student viewpoint and promote education reform. Dr. Coven received his Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction from North Carolina State University. He holds degrees in international relations, architecture, and history from UC Berkeley, U Wisconsin, U Delaware, and U Chicago.

Tommy Hugus

Pop that Bubble

A self proclaimed citizen of the world, Tommy Hugus (CA '19) enjoys using his many experiences from traveling the world to inspire others to live their best lives. Forty-three countries in, Tommy has no plan on stopping anytime soon!

Vibhav Nandagiri

Got Time? Our Endless Pursuit of an Elusive Treasure

Vibhav Nandagiri (CA '21) is an avid tennis player, singer, and lover of all things learning. He often finds himself biting off more than he can chew. A self-admitted procrastinator, Vibhav uses this talk to share his story and the stories of his peers, with the hope of making some sense of the ever-growing problem of not having enough time.