Senior Kaleb Brown organizes TEDxBelmont

BELMONT — When it came time to decide on a senior project, Kaleb Brown recalled his experience from two years earlier, attending TEDxBedford.

The independently organized TED (Technology, Entertainment and Design) event brought together local people for a wide-ranging discussion on various subjects. One that stood out for Brown was using comics to present a point of view.

“I thought it might be worth bringing that idea to this school,” Brown said.

TEDx offers a platform for speakers to present new, unique, and interesting ideas. Some events feature the showing of a video to promote a local discussion; others, such as Brown’s, will involve videotaping a discussion and uploading it to the TED website.

Brown had to officially license his program through TED, and agree to its rules, such as limiting the audience to 100 persons. Attendance will be free of charge.

A list of speakers and registration information is posted on the website https://www.ted.com/tedx/events/29086.

Brown found that organizing a TED event is not a simple task, but librarian Benjamin Russell provided help in working through the process.

Brown set a date of May 26 for his presentation, which will include topics on mental health and creativity in the arts, among others.

Having set the event date, Brown found he had created a hurdle: Occurring on Memorial Day weekend, it was hard to line up speakers. He said he now has several people lined up and will be posting more biographies of the speakers to the website and on his Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/TEDxBelmontNH.

Among the scheduled speakers are Christopher Strickland, an artist educator and researcher from Newmarket; Dan Huston, a professor of mindful communication and writing at the New Hampshire Technical Institute in Concord; and Emily Clement, a life coach who has taught around the world and served as director of Christian Education at the Congregational Church of Laconia for five years.

“A lot of the speakers were excited to have the opportunity to use TED as a presentation platform,” Brown said. “It’s well-known, and they were excited to share their ideas.”

Devin Poslusny, another member of the senior class, will act as videographer for the event.

“Nothing like this has been done before at Belmont High School,” said Principal Dave Williams. “He did virtually all of the work himself, and I hope this will become an annual event here. It may be organized as a school event in the future, or maybe another student will take it on.”

Williams noted that Brown had to work out the scheduling of facilities (the talk will take place in the high school cafeteria from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the 26th), and will arrange the setup of the audio-visual equipment, arrange the audience seating, and all of the other details necessary for the event to go off smoothly.

“It’s not specific to Belmont, or to education,” Brown noted. “People from the surrounding communities are welcome to participate as well. Belmont, Laconia, and Gilford have a specific autonomy that’s not often expressed, and all ideas are welcome. I’m just providing the platform for the ideas to be expressed.”

Brown has been involved in cross-country and outdoor track during his high school years, and he runs year-round. With his father being a pilot, he gained an interest in aviation at an early age and, as a sophomore, he got a private pilot gliders license, which he uses weekends during the summer. After graduation, he will be studying aeronautical engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York.

“I’ve always had an interest and skill set that brought me to aeronautical engineering,” he said.

Williams said he is very excited that Belmont High School can offer the TEDx event.