Theme: What's the Point?

TEDxKeystoneAcademyBJ 2025 is officially here! Whether it be during a boring math lecture or a heated debate over the possibility of raining bananas, we've all had those moments where we doubted the meaning behind things. While it may be impossible to answer life's big "WHY" questions, it is not impossible to ask. Join us on a journey that explores bold ideas, unexpected answers, and personal stories that are sure to engage you.

TEDxKeystoneAcademyBJ 2025 震撼来袭！
无论是在枯燥的数学课上，还是在"香蕉会不会从天而降"的激烈辩论中，我们都曾经历过这样的瞬间——怀疑事物背后的意义。或许我们永远无法解答生命那些宏大的"为什么"，但我们可以永远发问。
加入我们，开启一场探索之旅——这里有大胆的创想、意外的答案和引人入胜的个人故事。让我们一起追问意义，发现可能！

Performing arts center
No.11 Anfu Street
Houshayu, Shunyi
Beijing, Beijing, 101318
China

Arika Jiao

11th Grade Student

A Chinese G11 student enduring the process of college application abroad, still struggling with SATs. I’m into a lot of things but sadly none of them will help me win a Nobel prize.

Derek Han

10th Grade Student

Derek Han is a G10 student at Keystone Academy and a part-time urban planner with 600+ hours running his digital transit companies in Cities: Skylines, Transport Fever 2, and Railroute. While he’s not optimizing fictional train routes or judging Beijing's subway like a Michelin gastronomics, he’s cooking up both food and interesting ideas. Equal parts technical and unreasonably enthusiastic about public transportation, Derek is here to show you how transit can be faster, smarter, and—dare we say it—more fun.

Jake Herring

English Language Teacher

I teach English Language & Literature and Language Acquisition which means a typical day in the life is spent helping students think somewhat critically, communicate relatively clearly, and more or less survive public speaking. I studied English Literature as an undergrad at the University of Oregon, and I earned my postgraduate degree in Secondary Education from the University of Alaska Southeast. This training taught me, among countless other things, that a poorly orchestrated slideshow can derail an otherwise excellent message. Over time, I’ve become something of a presentation nerd, intrigued by how design choices can influence clarity. This talk offers a lighthearted look at small tweaks that make a big difference and explains how your slides can work with you, not against you. Expect research-backed tips, a few laughs, and the reassurance that you don't need animation to hold an audience's attention. If there's one thing you take away I hope it's this: skip the white background.

Karen Bailey-Summers

Drama Teacher

Karen Bailey-Summers is a theatre instructor, grade 10 advisor, and director at Keystone Academy, marking her 35th year in teaching (6th at Keystone). She began as a choral music teacher in Atlanta, working 21 years with choirs and theatre before transitioning to international education. Passionate about performing arts, she encourages students to share their talents within the community. Her career has always integrated service—from youth groups to classrooms—through food drives, free concerts, and charity performances. Inspired by the 2000 film Pay It Forward, she has woven service learning into her teaching for 25 years. In Mongolia, she served as a Service as Action coordinator, fostering her belief in giving back. Her TEDx talk, What’s the Point? “A Toy, a Toddler, and the Power of Paying It Forward,” explores how small acts of kindness can inspire change, urging audiences to find their own ways to pay it forward.

Lily Pan

10th Grade Student

Lily is a Grade 10 student at Keystone Academy who’s done the math: 1 abandoned pen pal --"global cultural exchange" 50 logged hours -- IB diploma requirement 1 well-framed shelter photo -- "community engagement" She logged hours that help her transcripts more than communities. She knows that “Service as Action” can sometimes feel less like real impact and more like checking boxes—or worse, just petting a cat at a shelter and calling it a day. After participating in every well-intentioned but pointless volunteer project imaginable, she arrived at a radical conclusion: If we’re not actually helping people, we might as well just pet the cat and be honest about it. Her TEDx talk reveals how to turn performative charity into real impact --before we all get demoted to full-time cat cuddlers. No cats were harmed in this talk. The children used as service project backdrops weren’t so lucky.

Mamta Bhanot

Math Teacher

I am Mamta Bhanot, born and brought up in ethnic city called Pune, in Maharashtra in India. My entire education, from school to university, took place in Pune, culminating in a Master of Science degree. I am an educator by choice. I am mother of 1 actually many more as a teacher all the students are just like our own children. Besides I serve as a dorm parent. Currently in my fourth year at Keystone, I bring 16 years of experience in the (IB) program and a total of 25 years in the field of education.

Max Lan

11th Grade Student

September 2024, I completed my first Half-Marathon at age 16. Before that, I was a G11 student who likes history and the human psyche. In the 21st century we’ve become more agitated than ever to question things—"what’s the point?”—falling into a void of meaning. Some see life as laborious to the point of pointless. Others live for living. If not by necessity, why do we keep working and running? I’d like to address this nihilistic sentiment tonight through an interesting perspective—Marathon running. Since last May, I started running and have put it into my life routine. Yes, running is laborious working—nothing more than the repetition of two legs—just like life sometimes. But I wish to show that there is more to its labor and pain. By submitting to its labor, we form spirit—and from there, freedom. In answering “why we run,” I wish to show that pain and labor in life may not be pointless. By confronting them we form spirit—and from there, meaning.

Summer Gu

8th Grade Student

My name is Summer, I got this name from stray birds "Let life be beautiful like summer flowers", my mom wishes that I could be just like that line, to be passionate and splendid. It turns out I somehow is like that; friends would describe me as lively and outgoing. (But I’m actually INFJ) I’m an eight-grade student turning 14 this year. I really like standing on the stage. My first performance was when I’m 6, at the National Grand Theatre. Then I decided that I’m going to stick with that. Right now, I’m a script writer, director, and an actor for a production that has performed in 5+ countries and 10+ cities. I also experienced when thoughts really changed people. We once performed a scene about feminist in an Islamic country. After the show, many girls came to me and said that they had new visions about some of the parts in their belief. It helped me realize that thoughts could really change a person.

William Luan

8th Grade Student

I am a grade 8 student obsessed with the power of tiny habits. After the 34th time flexing at the mirror, I was left questioning my strength (and my ability to open jam jars). I stumbled onto a simple question: How could I improve my strength, thus my confidence? Armed with curiosity, my dad’s advice, and a whiteboard in my bedroom, I began tracking my progress—one pushup at a time. Day 1: 1 pushup. Day 2: 2. Day 30: 30. Along the way, I discovered something unexpected: The pushups could drastically influence my confidence (and biceps). Later I began testing the science of incremental growth on myself——and some skeptical friends. And concluded that the +1 rule is stronger than I thought. In today’s talk, I would be revealing the power of +1 and how it shapes your lives.

Zhongyao Sun

Math Teacher

I graduated from Penn State University with a doctor’s degree in Physics. Physics taught me about space and time, the fundamental fabrics of our existence. Over the years, the question that puzzled me when I was in high school kept haunting me: what’s the meaning of life? Why do we exist? What is the answer to all those questions seemingly unanswerable? Over the years, I formulated my own philosophical framework, an aspect of which I am going to share with all of you tonight. I always believed, a philosophical endeavor is not an argument or a debate. It is not always about who’s right. More often, it is about rewiring the brain, about opening eyes, and about ignite more sparks of philosophical minds. The most beautiful happening, in my opinion, is the human psyche. We are so malleable, yet we are so stubborn. The human mind is deeper than the ocean, wider than the sky, and is the most intricate contraption the universe has ever seen. Tonight, let our thoughts dance.