Mental Health Gets the Spotlight at Student-Run TEDx Talk

“I hated my body at 6 years old,” said Sabrina Avolio, a 14-year-old freshman at Dos Pueblos High School, during the school’s first-ever TEDx event on Wednesday.

Standing in front of the classic TEDx letters under a spotlight on the theater stage, Avolio shared the harrowing story of her struggle with anorexia nervosa, an eating disorder. When she was 11, she was attached to her food scale like it was a life line, she said.

“When I saw the number on the scale go down, the calories went down,” she added. She lost her period, her clothes stopped fitting, and she was constantly dizzy and always freezing as she appeared increasingly gaunt.

Eventually, Avolio was placed in an intensive outpatient program. However, she recovered, and has since dedicated her time to helping others with eating disorders and body dissatisfaction — including understanding what eating disorders are and how they intersect with other mental illnesses, and promoting a healthier perspective on body image and societal expectations.

Hers was one of many stories shared on Wednesday, which focused primarily on youth mental health and how young people can make an impact, highlighting the ways that they can get involved in their community and make a difference in both their own and others’ lives

Student Kaitlin Martin warned her audience about social influence, using a demonstration to show that we are vulnerable to conforming to those around us. She mentioned that she bleached her hair to fit in with her “pretty white girl” friends in middle school, adding that it was a “dark time.” She emphasized that this kind of implicit influence shapes our values and behaviors, sometimes in a much more nefarious way than changing the color of our hair.

Student Elaine Hu spoke of rumination and “time travel” — including some interesting mathematical formulas about traveling at the speed of light — noting that while we can, theoretically, travel millions of years into the future, we cannot undo the past. Instead of holding nightly regret sessions, lying awake in bed and kicking yourself, we can grow from our mistakes.

“Do I still mess up? Yeah, I fumbled my words during this speech,” Hu said. “But do I need to travel back in time to fix that? No, I do not.”

All these young speakers expressed genuine vulnerability and authority in their topics. Some talked about struggles with depression and burnout and how to be more compassionate with ourselves and others. Others emphasized self expression, finding one’s passion, coping via creating, and being more present. Many addressed the “unprecedented” challenges this generation faces: from growing up in a global pandemic, to being “chronically online,” to shouldering an uncertain future in the face of climate change and other crises.

The impactful event was completely organized by students, led by DP seniors Amelia Vander May and Sienna Valentine, who also acted as the event’s emcees. These students organized media coverage, created the theme of “Youth Impact,” coordinated with campus resources, and thought of everything — down to the microphone batteries — to make the event come to life.

Dos Pueblos Principal Bill Woodard, who attended alongside other district staff, including Superintendent Hilda Maldonado, was beaming with pride.

“I told them I’d go get extra batteries for the microphone,” he said, “but they said, ‘Principal Woodard, we have five right here.’ They really did everything. I’m so impressed.”

DP News students recorded the event, which can be viewed on their YouTube channel: youtube.com/watch?v=9ZHCqfo72DU.