Sarah Wilson, News Writer

“Excited” to be included in making the Jan. 27, TEDxYeongheungForest hosted at GSIS, students were given the “great opportunity” to volunteer and help out with the event.

42 people volunteered to help with the event, 21 of them being students.

Most volunteer teams had a mix of students and staff helping out with TEDx but unlike the other volunteer teams, Mr. Coleman (Technology Director) had a team of only students who volunteered. His team helped with technology on the day of the event. Some were recording the event, while others were in the tech booth running lights and sound.

Eugene Jang, Freshman was part of Mr. Coleman’s tech team. “I was running the camera for filming on the right side so I just panned and tilted the camera as it was needed”, she said when asked about her role in TEDx.

“Not necessarily using TEDx as something to put on your resume for credit, but just having the experience was really fun. It helped me learn more about working with others and in a team. I had to communicate a lot with Mr. Coleman when I needed help running the camera”, Eugene concluded.

Francis Park, sixth-grader, ran another camera throughout the event. He said, “volunteering benefitted me as a student by helping me get camera experience and professional media experience”.

Mya Freeman, seventh-grader, also added that although she was not very familiar with film, she was able to “learn about the different angles and the basics of a camera and through being apart of TEDx”.

Brendan Hodge, sophomore, worked in the tech booth, and “designed, moved, and operated the different lights”.

Through this experience, “I gained insight into what goes on behind the scenes when making an actual, professional production, I got valuable work experience that I can use later on. Additionally, I of course got to see and listen to all of the informational TEDx Talks while I was working”, Brendan said.

Lucas Lee, junior, was part of the design team.  Before the event took place, he and seven other people helped design. He oversaw the presentation slides. During the event, Lucas and the other students on the design team took pictures of the event.

“Usually big events like TEDx are managed by administrators and teachers. It was cool to get involved and see how much hard work people put into hosting these big events that we, as students, often attend and enjoy”, said Lucas.

Sarah Jin, Senior, also a part of the design team, said, volunteering in TEDx benefited her as a student “in terms of staying organized and working under pressure with strict deadlines. Also, working with different grade level students strengthened my collaborative skills”.

“Not only did I take away insight of unique perspectives and ideas, but also how much work and time is required on all ends of the team to plan out an event”, she added.

Olena Vasyltsova, senior, was on Mr. Harding’s team. For TEDx, Mr. Harding was the Executive Producer.

Olena said, through “being a volunteer for an event like TEDx, allowed me to be a part of all the work behind the scenes of an event, thus it helped me to learn much more than I would have if I were to be a simple participator of TEDx”.

“I was able to see how everything falls into place through avid planning and organization from group leaders, and I was able to better understand how a large, influential company would be run on the inside”, she added.

June Lee, senior, managed “the general flow of the event” to ensure that nothing went wrong throughout.

As a fan of TED talks herself, June said volunteering “was a great opportunity” for her “to see what happens behind the scenes” for a video for TED.