What do an ex-convict, the last two Google Science Fair winners, and a Vine star have in common? Not much, except they were all speakers at this year’s 2013 TEDxYouth San Diego conference, which took place on Nov. 24 at CCA. About 400 students from high schools around the county and thousands more via livestream gathered to listen to speakers and engage in activities centered around the theme, “UnlimiTED”.

The event was organized by a group of 45 CCA students who worked over the past year to get speakers and sponsors for the conference. Schools and other student organizations were allowed to bring nine students each to the conference. At SDA, delegates from different groups and clubs were chosen to represent the student body.

Back by popular demand, professional athlete Grant Korgan kicked off the conference by sharing his story. Korgan broke his back in a snowboarding accident and was told he would never walk again. Today, not only can he walk, he seems to be doing better than ever, finishing his speech by making TEDsters scream “I AM UNLIMITED!” right back at him.

The day continued with four sessions of speakers ranging from Jack Andraka, a teenager who has found a more accurate and economical method of detecting pancreatic cancer, to Julia Dales, a beat-boxer from Canada, and Vine star Jerome Jarre. In between the speaker sessions were “experience salons,” a chance for participants to interact with speakers and learn about their projects and endeavors. The UnlimiTED theme was carried throughout the day with inspirational letter-writing activities and motivating videos.

The last speaker of the day may have been the most memorable.  Spoken-word poet Shane Koyczan and his band, The Short Story Long rounded out the conference with a moving performance that had TEDsters in tears. Koyczan’s emotional coming-of-age poems were so well-received that the audience demanded an encore—an equally inspiring performance that left participants feeling more UnlimiTED than ever.