Home » News » What It’s Like to Be a Teenager Speaking at TEDxMiramar
Most high school juniors spend their weeks thinking about school, sports, and what’s coming next after graduation. For my teammate, Zurich Ronert, and me, our focus for the past eight months has recently been a little different: preparing to give a TEDx talk.
On March 20, 2025, we’ll be stepping onto the stage at TEDxMiramar at the Miramar Cultural Center as part of this year’s event theme, “Elevate.” It’s honestly hard to believe that two high school rowers are about to share a stage with doctors, educators, and thought leaders who have spent years building their careers.
But that’s part of what makes TEDx so special. Great ideas can come from anywhere — even from two 16-year-old juniors in high school who spend six days a week after school on the water rowing. This is an especially demanding year with both of us taking 5-6 AP classes each, plus prepping for SATs, and rowing almost every day after school. But we keep showing up and keep going because we know this is an opportunity not everyone gets—and we don’t take it lightly.
Zurich and I will be giving a talk called “Lessons from the Boat: What Rowing Since Fifth Grade Taught Two Teenagers About Life.” Rowing has taught us more than just how to move a boat across the water. It has taught us lessons about leadership, resilience, trust, and teamwork that apply to life far beyond sports.
Like everyone, we’ve had setbacks along the way, and we’ve learned that things don’t always go as planned—but that’s where real growth happens. Rowing has taught us how to push through tough moments, rely on each other, and keep moving forward even when it’s hard.
In rowing, eight people sit in a boat facing backwards while trusting one person — the coxswain — to guide them forward. Every stroke has to be synchronized. If one person is even slightly off, the whole boat slows down.
That dynamic teaches you something powerful: success isn’t about being the strongest individual. It’s about how well you work together.
Those lessons are something Zurich and I have experienced firsthand through training, racing, and tough practices. Rowing forces you to rely on your teammates and learn that if someone “catches a crab” — a mistake that can stop the oar mid-stroke — everyone in the boat feels it. That kind of accountability changes how you think about leadership.
And that’s what we hope to share with the TEDx audience.
The event itself will be exciting. TEDxMiramar is bringing together an amazing lineup of speakers and performers who are exploring different ways to rethink our experiences and grow from them.
This year’s speakers include:
• Julie Jacques speaking about whether success can actually make us sick.
• Benny Salas discussing the pressures surrounding masculinity.
• Dr. Diane Moore-Eubanks is examining what happens when excellence still isn’t enough.
• Dr. Ralph Hughes is exploring how personality perception shapes the way people see us.
• Tayten Reed talking about youth leadership and how it’s built, not born.
• Dr. Anthony Richiez shares dynamic approaches to teaching and learning.
• Byron Faudie is challenging the idea that certification always equals true qualification.
• Xavier Murphy diving into how family secrets shape our lives.
• Dr. Andrea McKie is exploring the stories we attach to our pain.
• Lona Fink discussing how understanding can change everything.
And somewhere in the middle of that incredible group will be us… Two teenagers talking about rowing and life lessons.
The night will also include performances by vocalist Antoinette Apolon and 11-year-old world ballroom dance champion August Komkov, which makes the event feel even more special.
Preparing for this talk has been one of the most exciting experiences we’ve ever had. Writing and refining ideas, practicing on stage, and thinking about how to communicate something meaningful to a large audience has pushed us in ways we didn’t expect.
It’s also made us realize something important: leadership doesn’t have an age requirement.
You don’t have to wait until you’re older, or more experienced, or have a certain title before sharing what you’ve learned. Sometimes the lessons you’re learning right now can help someone else.
Rowing taught us that progress happens when everyone in the boat commits to moving in the same direction.
If our talk inspires even one person to think differently about teamwork, perseverance, or leadership, then stepping onto that stage will be worth it.
And honestly, we’re just grateful to be part of an event that brings together so many incredible voices in one place.
Because at the end of the day, whether it’s rowing or life, the best journeys are the ones you take together.
We’re also really grateful to the people who helped us get here—especially our speaker coach, Lona Fink, for pushing us to think deeper and say things that actually matter, and CeCe Espeut and the entire TEDxMiramar team for creating an opportunity like this for students like us. It means more than we can put into words.
