Page 6 - 實中園地 第廿七卷第六期

實中園地 The Newsletter of NEHS 111年第 27卷第 6期

Summary of speeches:
As lights dimmed and spotlights were set at the center of the stage, Ms. Michelle Kuo began her speech by first
asking the audience a question she had asked the IBSH assembly a few weeks earlier: Do you feel free? Directed at
the young audience, many soon facing the drastic change to life that attending college will bring, Kuo opened the way
for her message of How to Approach Your Time in College. Expanding on her realization of extended freedom back in
college, Kuo spoke of the sacred nature of college environments -- college, as a place for lifelong friendships, exchange
of philosophy, the creation of ideas, and youth that are the “souls for transformative change” in a ground for “solitude
and collective action, refuge and revolution.” Kuo imparted that classrooms are “a place where we listen to and reflect
on the words of others,” a process to open the doors to compassion and capacity to discover beauty in others, and to
find power within ourselves. Drawing upon numerous stories of her college students, Kuo concluded by reaffirming the
potential of youths to find and live with purpose; to truly be free.
Clad in the neon-orange uniform of ARRC engineers, Mr. Zuo-Ren Chen began his talk with a clip of the recent
successful launch of the HTTP-3A S2 hybrid rocket in Pingtung County, Taiwan. Since his junior year, Chen sought
to become an engineer, with footsteps starting from fixing household appliances, to projects at NTHU, in Formula 1,
and eventually, in ARRC, the Taiwanese academic rocket startup at which he continues to work at. Taiwan, according
to Chen, has many advantages when it comes to a future in rocket technology, including its geographic ease of
allowing rockets to reach orbit, proximity to sea, and its advanced IC supply chain. With the passing of the Space
Development Act, ARRC now receives funding from the government. And despite its relatively low manpower and
financial resources, Chen says, his team has learnt a lot over the course of their projects. With the aid of government
and academic institutions, industry partners, and crowdfunding supporters, Chen and ARRC continue to inspire a new
generation of Taiwanese in sending self-manufactured satellites and rockets to space.
Despite difficult circumstances, Mr. Marc Cheng joined TEDx IBSH virtually and shared his views on the role of
youth in an age of technological and political change based on his experience at the EU Cheng spoke of the importance
of partnering and learning from “international peers” for a broader and more inclusive understanding of global issues,
especially in the wake of COVID-19. Cheng offered to the audience three pieces of advice in approaching the changing
world: uniting in diversity, mobility, and social responsibility. On diversity, Cheng notes that a multicultural background
is essential to independent thinking, and to prevent stereotypes from limiting our perspective. Cheng remarked that
mobility among college-bound students should be defined by “humanism, tolerance, and democratic citizenship,” in
which he cites the success of the EU ERASMUS+ program. Cheng concluded with social responsibility, in which he
emphasizes the value of dialogue and social action by the youth to push forward environmentally conscious and “digital”
solutions to global concerns.

Reflections:
.................................................................................... Rachel Hsieh / Organizer, Executive Producer, Licensee
Starting zero from writing the TEDx license application to gathering the team members and collaborating
together to bring forth this event, this year’s TEDxYouth@IBSH has truly been an indelible experience, where through
various hardships and encumbrances, I not only gained valuable lessons in team collaboration, but also personal
growth in terms of dealing with the unknown and improvising at all times. As a complete novice in organizing such
an event except for being a staff member in previous years, this year’s event is truly unique: it has given me the prized
opportunity to positively impact others through words.

........................................................................................................ Eric Huang / Co-Organizer, Event Manager
I am grateful that this event has given me the opportunity to help contribute to the TED community one speech at
a time. It also gave me the chance to offer to my school what I craved two years ago while locked in quarantine in New
York and missing human connection, an inspiring and introspective in-person TED talk.

.................................................................................................... Katelyn Chen / Treasurer, Organizer Assistant
The past few weeks of planning has allowed for many firsts. Throughout the planning of the event, I was fortunate
enough to have experience firsthand and encounter different perspectives of what truly goes behind the scenes of every
detail that goes into every stage. From the balloon decorations, to the emails exchanged between staff members and
speakers, and even to the social media promotions. Gathering insight into the different types of roles and responsibilities
that each member could perform. Looking back, I would say that being able to see the work we were doing brought to real
life has definitely been one of my most treasured moments.

6 TEDx Report