Aahil Bhayani: How has being in TED-Ed helped you learn about your identity?

Numerous factors influence a person's identity. Family, culture, friends, personal hobbies, and one's surroundings are all elements that frequently contribute to shaping one's identity. Family and culture can have an impact on a person's feeling of duty, ethics and morality, musical preferences, sense of humour, love of sports, and many other facets of life. For me, becoming a member of Encounters TEDEd and now having the chance to organise the IlluminaTED Conference 2023 have significantly shaped my identity and improved me as a person. I learned a lot about my faith and how it applies to my life as a student growing up in Canada as a member of the TEDEd club.

The way I live my life and conduct myself in my role as the student mentor for the Sponsors and Merch team for this year's conference have both been impacted by this. Through Encounters TEDEd, I was able to learn about various effective leaders and their leadership philosophies. I also learned how to choose the strategies that work best for each of them and put them into practise to make sure that the team functions well together and that we are able to raise enough money to put on a successful conference.