Youth Class Descriptions
Angela Baker
Take Off the Mask-Put on the Crown: Girls Class
Angela Baker
As young women, you are part of an incredible army of youth. You have a mighty work to do in your life. You know this. You feel it and you want to prepare now. Your preparation must be an individual and personal journey. It will be challenging and sometimes very hard, but it will also be joyful. No one can make this journey for you. But you are up to the task. You can do it. The world will send counterfeit, confusing ideas about who you are and what you need to do. Following them will lead you to wear a mask or rather a fake representation of who you are. But you were created to wear an amazingly beautiful crown of royal heritage. This is who you are. To discover this crown and learn to wear it you must make your journey with a true compass. Come, learn what this compass is and how you can successfully chart your preparatory journey so that you can be and do all you were created to be and do.
Thursday 3:30 - 4:10 PM
Dr. Andrew Behnke
Financial Smarts for Winning: Straight Talk on your Financial Future
Dr. Andrew Behnke
This workshop will help you prepare for a future of winning financially. Topics include: financial myth-busting, buying smart, credit cards/debit cards, investing smart, professional degrees, starting a budget, avoiding debt, and giving back. We will practice the concepts that will help you gain financial freedom and change the world. You will also receive links to various sites to help you start winning financially. It’s never too early.
Thursday 11:20 AM - 12:00 PM
Living in a Spiky World: Do You Have the Skills to Compete Globally?
Dr. Andrew Behnke
This isn’t the economy your parents grew up with! Whether you are planning to be a “Statesman,” a “Scientist,” or part of the “New Creative Class,” you will need entrepreneurial skills that will help you network across the globe. In this workshop, we will look at Freeman’s “Ten World Flateners” and the 21st century skills you will need to get ahead and stay ahead in the global economy. You will also receive links to all kinds of sites to help you get started as an entrepreneur.
Thursday 4:20 - 5:00 PM
Michelle Carbee
Book Discussion: The Great Brain
Michelle Carbee
There will be two book discussions this year (occurring at the same time) so you will have to take your pick! In this session, we will be discussing the book The Great Brain by John Fitzgerald. This book is about the life of a boy living in southern Utah at the turn of the 20th century…a non-Mormon living in a Mormon world. The true hero of the book is the boy’s older brother, “The Great Brain,” known for his abilities to solve any problem, especially if there is money in it for him! You will want to read the book (available at libraries, bookstores and on-line stores) before you arrive at the conference so that we can move right into an energetic dialogue!
Friday 10:20 - 11:00 AM
Dr. Julie Earley
Preparing to be Mentored 
Dr. Julie Earley
Mentors are vital to a great leadership education and yet they seem so hard to find today. It might be that we aren't looking hard enough…or we aren’t famous enough…or it might be that we aren't ready enough. To paraphrase a Buddhist maxim: “when the student is ready the mentor appears.” So what are you doing to be ready, how are you preparing to be mentored by a great mentor?
TJEd Youth Wednesday 2:15 - 3:00 PM
Zach Foxley
Fulfilling Your Mission: Principles You Can Live by that will Help You Fulfill Your Mission Every Day
Zach Foxley
All of us have an important role to fulfill in life. We may have even heard presentations about finding your mission or purpose in life. But what does this really mean? How do you know when you’ve found your unique purpose in life, and how do you actually go about fulfilling it? These questions can be answered (through diligent searching and honest prayer) by finding out who we really are. Our Heavenly Father has given us a royal heritage. He wants us to learn to be like him, in order to qualify as heirs to His throne. Our choices will determine whether we earn this inheritance or follow other paths. Come learn how discover your own royal birthright, and the steps you need to take to live up to it.
TJEd Youth Wednesday 8:50 - 9:35 AM
Dr. Andrew Groft
Keynote: A Renaissance of Kings Thursday
Dr. Andrew Groft
Thursday 8:45 - 9:30 AM
Moral Courage for Future Husbands and Fathers
Dr. Andrew Groft
The young men of the church aren’t mere teenagers, but princes who were born to be kings. Learn five timeless truths that have been twisted by the masses and rulers alike to justify laziness, greed and war. And learn how those truths, once rightly understood, become weapons in the only battle that really matters—the battle for men’s souls.
Thursday 3:30 - 4:10 PM
Chad Hymas
Closing Keynote: Who Needs Legs…When You’ve Got Wings
Chad Hymas
Friday 4:00 - 5:00 PM
Dr. Glenn Kimber
What Does it Mean to be a Chosen Generation?
Dr. Glenn Kimber
Time and time again the youth of today are told that they are the chosen generation. Have you ever wondered what they are chosen for? What are they chosen to do? And what makes them unique from other youth of this dispensation? Will they succeed in their mission? How will they know when they have completed their mission. Dr. Kimber will answer these questions in his presentation called "Today's Youth in Tomorrow's World – Youth in Prophecy."
Friday 3:10- 3:50 PM
Elizabeth Merrell
Finding and Nurturing Your Inner Mathematician
Elizabeth Merrell
Come play math games and puzzles to recharge your interest in mathematics! As a TJED youth do you wonder if math is a part of your mission? Though many youth claim that math is not integral in their life mission, Elizabeth Merrell challenges this assumption, claiming that significant math study adds power to any leadership role. Math opens doors of opportunity and increases logical reasoning skills. Real statesmen and stateswomen must have a strong understanding of numeracy and logic. Just as literacy is the ability to read, write and understand words, numeracy is the term given to a solid understanding of numeric values and the ability to manipulate and use numbers in effective problem solving. Come find the innner mathematician in you!
TJEd Youth Wednesday 11:10AM- 11:55PM
Kyle Roberts
An Introduction to Thomas Jefferson Education
Kyle Roberts
What is A Thomas Jefferson Education? Well, it’s not an education where you learn all about Thomas Jefferson, but it is a model of education based on the same kind of education he received. It will help you have the wisdom, intelligence, understanding, depth, influence, and overall genius as Thomas Jefferson did. This class will give you an introduction as to how it works and what it can mean for you.
TJEd Youth Wednesday 8:00-8:50 AM
How Do I Do It? Principles You Can Live by That Will Help You Fulfill Mission Every Day
Kyle Roberts
Are you tired of hearing that you need to find your mission? Do you know what mission is but are struggling with how to do it? Do you find yourself wondering how you actually fulfill your mission? This class will teach you powerful principles you can use that will help you both find your mission, and fulfill it every day.
Friday 8:35 - 9:20 AM
Robin Schneider
Public Speaking 101
Robin Schneider
As an LDS youth, you've probably been asked to speak in public--no doubt, more often than you'd like. How did you feel last time you did that: scared? embarrassed? incompetent? How all about all of the above? If giving a talk causes you to quake in your boots, you need to attend this workshop. We will cover topics like dealing with anxiety, deciding what you're going to say, holding your audience's interest, and delivering your address properly.
Thursday 11:20 AM - 12:00 PM
Earl Taylor
Statesmen in the 21st Century: "Honest Men and Wise Men Should Be Sought For Diligently"
Earl Taylor
Thomas Jefferson said future leaders must come from the “natural aristocracy.” America’s Founding Fathers trained themselves, while in their youth, to be part of this special group. Young people who want to be the statesmen of tomorrow must do the same. This presentation will describe what kind of individuals the Founders became, so that today’s youth can become like them and be ready to help America fulfill its manifest destiny.
Friday 11:10 AM- 12:00 PM
Kyla Thomas
Wanna Be Smart? Get Creative!
Kyla Thomas
Learning doesn’t have to be run-of-the-mill or boring. One way to spice up your education is to incorporate the arts into your schedule The arts improve mental clarity and even enhance the ability of the sides of your brain to connect. If you apply your creativity and imagination to your studies, you can actually learn more than you originally intended. Kyla will teach you how to incorporate the arts into your education and show you how to learn…creatively!
TJEd Youth Wednesday 1:30 - 2:15 PM
Gregory van Duyse
Entrepreneurship
Gregory van Duyse
Are you planning to accomplish something important during your life? Like
maybe raising a family, building a business/career or even changing the
world? That is what's called "entrepreneurship." In a way, LIFE is like a
business. You have to take the resources around you and try to produce
positive results. So don’t think this class is only about making
money...it’s about making things work out around you. Come and see how
you can take ideas that are used to run a business and apply them to your
life.
TJEd Youth Wednesday 9:45-10:15AM
Obstacles Could Not Stop Me
Gregory van Duyse
Thursday 10:25 - 11:10 AM
Dana Wood
TJEd Your Way to (Any) College
Dana Wood, Spencer Wood, Matt Wood and Andrew Wood
So you love your TJed high school experience… How do you translate that into getting into college? Into a decent job out of high school? This class will let you see how these young adults have used their TJed education to find and follow their own path of talents and abilities.
TJEd Youth Wednesday 10:15 - 11:00 AM
Book Discussion: The Alliance and The Giver
Dana Wood
There will be two book discussions this year (occurring at the same time) so you will have to take your pick! In this session, we will be discussion 2 books (for those who are interested in a challenge!). We will be comparing and contrasting The Alliance by Gerald Lund and The Giver by Lois Lowry. Both of these books deal with the concepts of self, agency and freedom, but are written from different perspectives. We encourage you to read the books before the conference so we can have an energetic and informed dialogue! The Giver is widely available in bookstores, libraries and on-line stores. The Alliance may be more difficult to locate in libraries, but it is available from several on-line retailers, including deseretbook.com and amazon.com.
Friday 10:20 - 11:00 AM
Dr. David Wright
Evening Entertainment: Phun with Physics
Dr. David Wright
You won’t want to miss this physics magic show. But unlike a regular magic show, Dr. Wright will explain why it all works. There will be clouds of smoke, cinder blocks, sledge hammers, flying eggs and toilet paper. It’s spinning, splatting, squeaking, bouncing and a whole lot more. You may have the chance to pull the table cloth out from underneath the dishes, or be vacuum packed. Come enjoy physics as you have never seen it!
Wednesday 7:00 - 10:00 PM
Science and Religion
Dr. David Wright
We’ll discuss everything from the role of faith in science to the infinite nature of the universe. From Moses to Einstein, we’ll examine the how and why of our existence. We’ll also use magnets, raw eggs, and bicycle wheels along the way to help us understand this relationship between science and religion. Parents are invited to attend this class. Parents are also invited to attend this class.
Thursday 1:30- 2:30 PM
Panel Discussion
Panel Discussion: How Does This Really Work?
Panel
Have you wondered if you are doing TJed right? How do you keep track of what you are learning? How do you decide what you want to study? This panel will give you the opportunity to find out how TJed has worked for other teens. Each of them has done high school a little differently, yet they have all been actively working towards their individual goals of making their education work for them. Some have pursued art, others are into music, and others have a particular interest in history… Where do your studies fit in the picture? Come find out how you can make TJed work for YOU.
TJEd Youth Wednesday 5:00-5:30 PM
Panel Discussion: Navigating the College Admissions Channels
Zach Foxley, Karen Thomas, Kyla Thomas, Cecelia Ward, Rebecca Watson
Moving from high school to college is a huge transition, and one that requires a lot of planning and preparation. You probably have a lot of questions: “When should I start preparing?” “How do I best prepare?” and even “WHY should I prepare?” Our panelists range from students preparing for college now, to students who have successfully entered college and the parents who have helped them get there! They will answer the most important questions facing you, including “What classes do I need to take?,” “How do I prepare a transcript or portfolio?,” “What about the SAT/ACT?,” and more. This class is a must for every homeschool student because as we know, “if ye are prepared, ye shall not fear.” (D&C 38:30) Parents are also invited to attend this class.
Thursday 1:30- 2:30 PM