CCA’s TEDx-style Unite event highlights different meanings of success

by Del Mar Times

Canyon Crest Academy students staged CCA Unite, a TEDx-inspired conference on Oct. 24. Over 450 people showed up to hear from eight guest speakers and their takes on the theme of “Flourish”, challenging what it means to thrive by looking beyond traditional success.

Starting in 2018, CCA UNITE was an annual tradition, hosting CCA students, parents, and community members for a night of guest speakers and networking but it was put on pause due to the pandemic. After a three-year hiatus, seniors Aadi Jariwala, Kaelyn Liu and Lucas Han put together a team to bring UNITE back to CCA.

According to a news release, this year’s theme aimed to address the increasingly competitive academic environment by showcasing unique stories of “nontraditional” success.

“CCA has a reputation for being a high-pressure environment, so when designing the theme for this year, we chose to explore paths that maybe aren’t so common, but are equally important for students to hear about,” said co-director Kaelyn Liu in the news release.

The UNITE presentation featured eight speakers, including four students and four industry professionals, all sharing their unique stories about finding their own ways of “flourishing”. According to the release, the keynote speaker was Michael Cherman, a CCA alumni and now founder of Market Studios, a global brand and design studio. He spoke about going from being expelled from CCA and dropping out of college to finding his own meaning of success, which includes his experiences working under major brands.

Canyon Crest Academy students hosted Unite, a TEDx-inspired conference on campus with eight guest speakers. (Courtesy Megan Zhou)

As part of the event, attendees could also explore a student club bazaar featuring over 20 clubs and organizations such as Diversify Our Narrative, Enlight Education and student-run businesses like MoneyMind Games.

“The most rewarding part of this process has been seeing the turnout from the community and seeing how enthusiastic people are about learning and connecting with each other,” said Megan Zhou, Unite’s outreach lead.

According to the news release, the Unite team hopes they have inspired the next group of students and that the tradition will continue over the years.