Lawrence High School is home to many outstanding individuals, some of which will confront their greatest fears in order to spread their ideas.

Senior Sam Dykes has always been afraid of public speaking. But on Saturday, he is facing his fear by making a TEDx talk at the Lawrence Public Library at 2 o’clock. TEDx talks are short speeches given locally to share ideas.

After publishing photos in the newspaper, Dykes was noticed by Miriam Wallen, the organizer for the TEDx talks at the Lawrence Public Library. Wallen invited Dykes to speak at the next event. Dykes met with his public speaking teacher Jamie Johnson and his photography teacher Angelia Perkins to brainstorm ideas for the talk.

“Eventually we came up with an outline that we agreed on,” Dykes said.

Dykes’ talk is called “Take a Chance,” a discussion about how he confronted his fears to follow his ideas in photography. He wants to focus on confronting fears through hard work, which he did to show his ideas and follow his passion.

“I’m going to start with how public speaking is my biggest fear, and how when I started, my heart stopped,” Dykes said.

TEDx talks are an opportunity for students in grades 6-12 to express their ideas and opinions on anything from poetry to business. While the possibilities for topics are endless, speakers must be very knowledgeable and passionate about their topic.

“To give a TEDx talk you have to be an expert on your subject, but we are each an expert on our own lives,” Wallen said. “Our speakers will all be talking about their own personal experiences and achievements and what they have learned from them.”

To be a speaker, one does not have to have the most interesting life story to tell. However, eloquent speakers are frequently selected to discuss events happening in their schools and their communities. Applications are offered at the library and teachers are asked for speaker suggestions, but students can also suggest others.

Sam Dykes will be speaking on Saturday at the Lawrence Public Library at 2 o’clock. The event is free to attend.

“Lawrence is full of amazing teens doing really cool things.” Wallen said. “Our event is only going to showcase a few of them, so I hope that our attendees will be inspired to not only take our speaker’s messages to heart, but also go to out and ask their classmates and neighbors about their interests and hobbies. You never know when you’re going to learn something amazing that will change your life.”