EBS Talks: Learning from One Another

EBSTalks 2025, a Ted-style event featuring talks delivered by Eaglebrook students, was an evening to remember. Emceed by Nikita D. ’25 and Frank Z. ’26, the evening featured seven talks and three musical performances. To watch the videos, click on the links below.

The Eaglebrook Music Club kicked off the night with a quick performance. Andres S. ’26 took the stage to give the first talk of the evening entitled “How People Think.” We are all creative, Andres explained, but too many guidelines on how people should be creative make it hard to be creative. Andres used some guidelines to lead the audience through a creative exercise. “Start simple, dream big, succeed even bigger, and most importantly, keep creating,” were his finishing thoughts.

Kevin H. ’26 spoke about College Admissions. He took the audience through some points about why admissions into selective colleges are only getting harder. His solutions included reframing the situation and taking a new approach, citing a book titled Mind Magic by James Doty, who advocates a practice of manifestation and reframing. “Ditch the stress and focus on long-term goals,” were Kevin’s parting thoughts to the group.

Nathan P. ’25 then took the stage to tell the crowd: How to Lock In. Nathan was talking about how to do something well, like homework, that you really do not want to do. He took the audience through a few methods to do this, but ultimately came back to the importance of understanding your personal values and needs, and how tasks you must do fit in with those.

The audience learned about South Korean history in the next talk, given by Daniel P. ’26, Jun L. ’26, and Liam K. ’26. The trio focused on the history of Admiral Yi Sun-sin, 1545-1598. He was born to a relatively noble family, rose up the ranks of the Korean navy, and died a hero in a naval battle with Japan. The boys told the audience that for all of his life, Admiral Yi wanted nothing more than to protect his family and his country. He is remembered in Korea as someone who saved the country from disaster, and his battle tactics are still studied by the military around the world. 

Yuzu E. ’26 was up next to talk about the problem of water pollution on Shikoku Island in Japan, where his mother grew up. Back in the 1950s, people on Shikoku Island began exhibiting strange symptoms, which came to be known as Minamata Disease, a neurological condition caused by mercury poisoning from eating predator fish. Yuzu spread awareness about chemical pollutants in the ocean and also microplastic contamination. 

Jay C. ’26 jumped in to speak about the issue of alarming heat waves in Mexico, where many die as a result. He took the audience through the idea of radiant water cooling, a practice used in places like India that cools structures by running water through floors and walls. Radiant water cooling is a practice that can be retrofitted in many places because it uses nearby water sources, is efficient, and is cheap to employ. Jay urged the crowd to be a part of the solution as they move forward in life.

Alvin W. ’25 wrapped up the talks portion of the evening with his talk titled “One Acre, One Action.” Alvin proposed a plan that, for $100.00, people can sponsor an acre of Eaglebrook's forested campus to keep it preserved as a carbon lock. Preservation of the school’s surrounding forest will strengthen the educational programs Eaglebrook can provide to students while fostering environmental monitoring, forest maintenance, and community engagement.

The evening ended with a performance by a Faculty Band, and then our own Contraband. It was a night to listen and learn from our own Eaglebrook students.