Noah Karmali: Why do you like the Encounters TEDEd Club?

My name is Noah Karmali and I’m a grade 12 student in Calgary at Westmount Charter School. This was my first year doing Encounters TEDEd, and it’s got to be one of the most amazing experiences of my life! I learned about the Encounters TEDEd Club thinking it would be a great way to learn more about my identity and connect with Ismaili youth from around Canada. Plus, I thought writing a TEDEd Student talk would be super cool! 

I initially thought of soft skills for my talk idea, as I got to experience and learn their importance when I became an entrepreneur. I really liked that through Encounters TEDEd Club, I was able to learn more about my values and think critically about how they connect to my talk. 

Writing a TEDEd Student Talk is probably one of the most challenging things I’ve done, so I really liked how supportive a place Encounters TEDEd is, where we could share our passions, experiences, and ideas, and give each other advice for our talks. 

One thing that really stood out to me was that teachers made extra time for 1:1s, allowing me to ask for feedback when working on my throughline, drafts and even research! One skill I was hoping to learn was storytelling, and through Encounters TEDEd, I was able to learn how to share an idea by sharing the story of an experience in my life, doing research and articulating all the emotions and details to an audience. 

What really made this experience next-level for me was that we were able to connect with each other outside of class time. This allowed me to meet so many like-minded people, learn more about them, and create relationships with others from my community and around the country that will hopefully last many years to come!

I’m really glad to have been a part of this year’s Encounters TEDEd Club. I’ve had an amazing time so far, and I’m really looking forward to the conference!