Theme: Ripples, Not Waves

The mindset society has instilled amongst the new generationen capsulates the idea that big actions must yield big results. When individuals seek to explore certain hobbies or interests, there is a general expectation that the activity should have a big impact, make a big splash. What many of us fail to understand, however, is that for most of us the things that really end up having significant impacts on our lives are most often seemingly unimportant, minor things that can easily go unnoticed.
Since 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic has thrown society into a dizzying whirlpool of loss, dread, confusion, and uncertainty, and even now, as things slowly return to normal, there is the ever-present fear that everything will get uprooted again. After a challenging 2022, the TEDx team saw the way our communities came together and helped each other through difficult times
In those tough times, what we all found is that it was the little actions and gestures that made all the difference and got us through those dark days. They were the ripples that carried us to shore.

The SMIC Private School
169 Qing Tong Road
Zhangjiang, Shanghai, 201203
China

Derrick Cope

Founder of Synapse Pilates Studio

Derrick is a health fitness connoisseur who started his journey in 2004 with the establishment of the first Pilates studio within Mainland China. From there, he has been apart of many great endeavors across China, with being the torchbearer of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, as well as being the Pilates instructor for the famed Cirque du Soleil 2016. After focusing much of his career towards fitness and health, he changed professions by taking on the challenge to translate and publish the book Return to Life, which saw a successful launch on shelves in 2017. Now, he owns Synapse Pilates in Shanghai, running the studio as its Education Director.

Euichan Shin

Class of 2023 at SMIC Private School

Euichan is a senior at the SMIC-I Private School. Combining his passion for biochemistry with a passion for exercise and working out, he often spends his time studying the science behind fitness and aspires to pursue orthopedic medicine as a career. In his speech, Euichan shares the ways through which fitness goals and excercise can be the pathway towards discovering the best versions of ourselves; most importantly, he believes that we learn in pursuing fitness goals can carry into growth in all facets of life.

Gillian Lian

Grade 11/12 College Counselor

Gillina Lian has been working as a college counselor for over 10 years both in the U.S. and China. Most of the students she worked with were from G10 to G12 and either from China or grew up in China. Universities that her students got accepted to include but not limited to USC, NYU, Vanderbilt, William & Mary College, University of Rochester, Boston University, Cambridge, etc. With bachelor's degrees in electrical engineering & public relations, Gillian was a crisis PR intern serving for brands like China Mobile and Huawei. She became a college counselor in 2012 and realized this could be her life career. At her 30th, she went back to the U.S. for her master's degree in school counseling & mental health counseling at Johns Hopkins University. This 15 months in JHU helped her incorporate her wealthy workforce experiences and cross-disciplicary knowledge and skills into her daily work with students.

Kai Liu

Public Speaker and Coach

Kai Liu is an experience educator and passioante public speaking coach. Originally from Westfield, New Jersey, he has been based in China for over 13 years. Kai has over 5 years of experience competing in national and international public speaking competitions with a dream of becoming a world champion. He is dedicated to helping students build confidence and achieve national championships in various contests, including at SMIC. Outside of work, Kai enjoys spending time with his three cats and pursuing personal growth through continuous learning and development.

Leila Du

Class of 2025 at SMIC Private School

Leila Du is currently a sophomore at SMIC Private School. Since she was young, she felt an interesting connection with the performing arts, seeing the stage as a platform for her artistic voice. However, as she struggled with her self-perception and mental health, she had felt that her ability to use that stage became a distanced dream. Over the years through her own trials and tribulations, she has come to understand herself in ways beyond the scope of a performer, but as a unique adolescent growing into who she hopes to become.

Tim Giovanni

Animator and Project Director

Tim has worked on numerous projects ranging from films, TV series,commercials and games. His career spreads across 20 years in productions in various countries. Tim started out as an ink and paint artist in Fox Studios and then worked on in-betweens on various TV projects in the industry induding "Sabrina the Teenage Witch" (1999-2000) and "Sonic the Hedgehog". in China, he had a chance to work on short films, commercials for OBag, Nike, Porsche, The European Union and more! Currently Tim is working at Toon Boom Animation & Film as a Consulting Director (Training &Animation), connecting and consulting with various studios around the world such as Mertury Filmworks,Toonz Entertainment, Bluezoo, and Disney.

Tonye Stuurman

CCS Volunteer and Mental Health Advocate

Tonye Stuurman is from Cape Town, South Africa. She is passionate about raising awareness and breaking the stigma around Gender-Based Violence, Mental Health, and Diversity. Tonye is a public speaker, a support group co-facilitator, and workshop facilitator. Tonye is a CCS Counseling Volunteer and is proud to lead the CCS-Teen Mental Health Advocates. She initiated the CCS Mental Health Clothesline Project in 2021 to dispel the myths around mental health.