NW Valley Times

Aaron Smith of North Valley Christian Academy celebrated his team's victory at the TEDxGCU Catalyst event, held on Friday. The event aimed to enhance public speaking skills among high school students.

Ainsley Ross, a Canyon Challenge finalist, shared her journey from being an apprehensive speaker to gaining confidence. She recounted her experience of moving from San Diego State University to Grand Canyon University (GCU) and becoming involved in various activities that helped her grow as a speaker. "The IDEA Club is where everything changed me," Ross stated.

Ross's story inspired approximately 100 students from three high schools who participated in the workshop. Forty TEDxGCU members guided students from Cactus High School, Peoria High MET Professional Academy, and North Valley Christian Academy on delivering effective TED talks. The students were divided into groups to work on selecting and presenting themes.

Connor Vicary, a graduate student assistant and former IDEA Club president, highlighted GCU’s entrepreneurship program. Steve Thomas, Program Development Specialist at Colangelo College of Business, provided teachers with a tour of the college.

Dr. Cori Araza noted the workshop's popularity, mentioning that about 45 additional students could not attend due to capacity limits. Justin Davis, an engineering instructor at MET Academy, emphasized the importance of such events for student development in presentation skills.

Students toured GCU's Technology Building before the workshop began. Dr. Araza expressed interest in future visits to other facilities like the College of Arts and Media.

Luke Fisher and Julie Lego, co-directors of operations for TEDxGCU, spoke about showcasing GCU's technology offerings to participants. Benji Garcia, TEDxGCU president, hoped students would leave with increased confidence in public speaking.

The event concluded with presentations on various topics by student groups. The winning presentation was "Social Media Shortens Attention Spans," chosen through a QR code vote.

Adam Smith represented his group from North Valley Christian Academy during their winning presentation and enjoyed exploring GCU's campus amenities.