As of the 2023-2024 school year, TEDxMarlborough no longer includes students participating in Social Justice Capstones. TEDxMarlborough consists of talks in mid to late January where Honors Research students give a five-minute overview of their findings and research process thus far. The talks are open to all students to attend and are a preview of presentations seen in the end-of-the-year Celebration of Innovation. They began incorporating students participating in a Capstone in 2022.
However, this year marks the first year that students participating in a Social Justice Capstone are not participating in the TEDxMarlborough talks since they were added in 2022. This decision results from the ever-changing nature of the Social Justice Capstone course. The course undergoes minor changes each year in response to feedback from students regarding what prepared them best for the completion of their research and their presentations at the Celebration of Innovation at the end of the school year. Additionally, the Social Justice Capstone course is largely based on action research, versus academic research, and therefore takes a different path than the other Capstone and Honors Research programs. Oftentimes, this means that each student in the Social Justice Capstone is at a very different point in January, making it difficult to present their research and projects within the timeline.
“When you volunteer and you couple it with deep reflection, that’s when it becomes really meaningful, and I think that’s the secret of a Social Justice Capstone,” Dean of Social Justice and Community Partnerships and Leader of the Social Justice Capstone Pamela Wright said.
Students who participated in a Social Justice Capstone in previous years have reported that they didn’t feel prepared to present in the TEDxMarlborough talks by January. Despite no longer participating in the TEDxMarlborough series, students participating in a Social Justice Capstone are offered a multitude of unique opportunities to display their work.
Social Justice Capstone participant Hunter ’24 is working directly with Peace Over Violence, an organization fighting sexual and domestic violence, intimate partner stalking, child abuse and youth violence prevention center. Through her work with Peace Over Violence, Hunter has expanded her knowledge of particular domestic violence experiences and became an intern qualified to train others to work on the hotline. The active research portion of the Social Justice Capstone has allowed Hunter to enhance her civic and societal knowledge and understanding of public issues.
“It is fulfilling to know that my work at Peace Over Violence may help someone get the resources and support they need,” Hunter said. “Peace Over Violence has expanded my worldview of social justice.”
