Bellevue Teen brings TEDx event to high school

BELLEVUE, Iowa -- A global phenomenon made its way to small-town Iowa Wednesday night, as students and faculty at Bellevue High School hosted a TEDx event.

Nearly 100 people attended TEDx Bellevue High School, which featured five speakers who focused on topics ranging from leadership to education and technology. The event was a spinoff of the popular TED Talks lecture series, which collectively have amassed more than 100 million online views.

"This is awesome and it is just amazing for the school and the community that we were able to bring this here," said Matt Jaeger, a teacher at Bellevue High School.

Jaeger credited Kate Boeckenstedt, a senior at the school, for bringing TED to the small community. Boeckenstedt said she first applied for the TED license in September, but initially was denied.

"The main reason we got denied the first time is our school isn't diverse enough, and we don't live in a big enough community," she said.

A subsequent application gained approval from TED, which issues licenses allowing entities to use the "TED" name while hosting events. The "x" in TEDx means the event was independently organized. (full article…)

BY JEFF MONTGOMERY, Dubuque Telegraph Herald, March 4, 2016

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