On Friday, Feb. 23 at 6 p.m, Culver City High School held its annual Culver Talks with speakers including CCHS teacher David Mielke, Maia Goldman, Kennedi Smith, Salma Ibrahim, and more.

The night started off with a comedic presentation by Alejandro Perez and Shaun Griffin. Both of them talked about the amount of doors and wheels that exist on earth, even going so far as telling people which objects don’t have doors and wheels. One example mentioned were bikes, which have two wheels and zero doors.  

Next up, Makaylah Bahati gave a talk on how aspiring entrepreneurs can grow their business. It was encouraging to anyone who’s dream is to start a business one day. She gave great advice such as what social media to use for marketing, and additional affirmations for those who want to start a business.

Following Bahati’s presentation, Ibrahim did a talk on how jokes can become insensitive to the point of harming one. She said that while some offensive humor might seem funny, a line must be drawn as such jokes can hurt someone if they are taken too far or personal.

The next presentation was given by Myla Estrada-Wu. Her presentation was on the ableism that she experienced as an individual with tourettes. The talk managed to be comedic, yet sentimental at the same time with her experiences with ableist people. She mentioned her experience fighting against bullying while playing water polo and encouraged people to fight against ableism.

Continuing on, Maia Goldman educated the audience on Jewish holidays that aren’t as well known, such as Sukkot and Yom Kippur. She explained what occurs during these holidays, and the presentation served as a purpose to educate students more on the culture and tradition of Judaism. 

Next up, Renata R-Verdugo gave a presentation on cultured, lab-grown meat and how much better it is for the environment, compared to regular meat. Not only does this reduce the amount of animals being killed for human consumption, but is also much more environmentally friendly, as animals require much land and water to raise.

Mariamawit Estifanos then did a presentation on displaced persons in Tigray, Ethiopia. She first talked about the history of displaced people, and then gave advice on what people could do to combat displacement.

CCHS teacher Mr. Mielke gave a presentation on the harmful mental health effects that homework has on students. He talked about the busy work aspect of homework and how ineffective it is for students. He wanted students to socialize more, rather than doing homework.

To end off the night, Kennedi Smith did a presentation on how parents can support students close to or are entering adulthood. She talked about her personal struggles knowing she is becoming an adult. She also told students not to worry about becoming a legal adult, and gave great advice.

All in all, the 2024 Culver Talks was not only an entertaining and informative way for the school community to come together, but inspired students to be better people in the world, and succeed with their goals in life.