It all started as the end of their eighth grade neared, when the two met High School Activity Director Mr. Lechich, who would help guide them and serve as their faculty advisor. At the start of their freshman year, they founded TED Club, a group of 9-12 grade students, whose time, efforts and dedication have played a crucial role in bringing TEDx to Dalton.

Dalton’s first ever TEDx Conference took place on April 11, 2015, and the theme was Community. One hundred attendees and ten inspiring speakers showed up to Dalton on a warm Saturday morning and left both inspired to enact change in the world, and in their communities.  TED Club began planning for TEDxDaltonSchool 2016

After much deliberation, the club decided to select a new theme. They began reaching out to speakers whom they believed embodied the meaning of Mahatma Gandhi’s quote, “Be the change that you wish to see in the world."

After careful planning, the day finally arrived. The conference consisted of three parts. First, four speakers delivered their talks with poise and passion, followed by a thirty-minute breakout session, with great food and a photo and video booth (supplied by Dalton parent Jamie Watts.) The attendees recorded themselves describing how they wanted to change the world. Club members compiled the clips into a touching video for all participants to view at the end of the conference. There was also a puzzle. Each participant received a piece of the puzzle. On the back of their selected piece, attendees wrote about how they wanted to enact change; the purpose of this activity was to demonstrate visually that every individual has the power to enact change, and cumulatively, amazing things can be accomplished. The second session of four speakers as enlightening as the first. Gift bags containing TEDxDaltonSchool 2016 tee shirts, as well as products from sponsors like Peter Thomas Roth, Juicy Couture, Cole Haan, Paper Magazine, and Cool Mess. All in all, the day was a great success.

Going forward, Isaacman and Heath hope to attend the TEDWomen 2016 conference in October, which takes place in San Francisco. They’re currently looking for donations and sponsorships to help them reach their lofty goal of $5,000 (for questions, please email tedxdaltonschool@gmail.com.) Attending this conference would allow them to host an over 100 persons TEDx conference in the coming years. In doing so, they would be able to open up the conference to the inter-school community and spread the spirit of TEDxDaltonSchool beyond Dalton's walls.