As the eloquent Peter Bensen, one of the evening's speakers, put it, it was "a hopeful gathering of people who choose to be optimistic about our future." We like that.

Some exerpts from Bensen's talk:

Our youth are not vessels to be filled, but fires to be lit.

Most choose to work with our youth from the outside in, filling them with our values, with factoids and expectations. Instead, what if we worked from the inside out? What if we let this person emerge for who he or she is, encouraged their spark, nurtured that?

Most teenagers, when asked what they felt their sparks were, cited being able to live a Creative Life. Wow.

It's all about the Science of Human Thriving.

To find out more, visit the TEDxTC site.