TED-Ed Club’s mission of bringing presentation literacy to students around the globe has resulted in participation from some pretty outstanding students. These students have interests they are passionate to learn more about, ideas they want to spread, and the courage to speak in front of their peers. Some even go a step further, taking a leadership role within their clubs or pushing themselves outside of their comfort zones. In this TED-Ed Club Member spotlight, we highlight one student, Georgia Loui, that has gone above and beyond as a TED-Ed Club Member.

Georgia Loui joined the TED-Ed Club at her school, ESL Creative Learning, excited and intrigued but without a clear idea of what exactly to expect. She found TED Talks and TED-Ed Lessons inspirational and motivating, but the idea of public speaking was something that made her nervous. Even as someone who plays the piano for an audience, the idea of speaking publicly was coupled with the fear of forgetting something or making a mistake.

However, Georgia didn’t let those worries keep her from doing something that exhilarated her. She put aside any hesitations and began attending club meetings, finding herself immediately drawn in by a variety of creative and fun activities — from performing a theatrical piece to experimenting with stop-motion animation. Georgia recalls, “It was a lot of fun, and for me, it was something new.”

Georgia and fellow club members experiment with stop-motion animation

Throughout club meetings, Georgia focused on both the structure and content of her talk, both helping to make her feel more comfortable with public speaking. Georgia’s presentation topic focused on the benefits of singing, a hobby of hers. Through her exhaustive research, she’s learned that singing helps to improve the immune system!

For Georgia, presenting on something she loves removed any fear of public speaking she had before starting in the club. “When you’re talking about your passion, everything just comes naturally. You don’t even think about words and structure. You just start talking. I strongly believe that when you’re passionate enough, your audience can see the love you have for a particular thing, can understand your presentation better, relate to the experience you had and therefore not become bored,” says Georgia. Now, Georgia looks forward to giving her final presentation and looks back on her TED-Ed Club experience in a positive light, saying, “We had so much fun, but at the same time we learned how to talk in public in the right way.”

We highlight Georgia for being a TED-Ed Club All-Star because of her outstanding participation, dedication and enthusiasm! She can always be found sharing her ideas in the weekly #TEDEdChat on Twitter and participating in monthly video chats with other clubs around the world.

Georgia and classmates as they take part in on online meet and greet with other TED-Ed Clubs

Georgia continues,”I’ve definitely become more confident, and now I can talk about my passion and what I stand for without thinking of the possibility of making a mistake. I’m more passionate about the things I love and feel ready to share them with the rest of the world.”

If you’re looking to similarly inspire and empower students, start a TED-Ed Club at your school!